You just came to work and you need to send an urgent FAX to your boss and co-workers. You put the document in as usual, dial the number, and OOPS! It gives you an error message (normally it prints it out). Now what?
The first thing to do is try at least one more time. The big thing is that if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. Don’t spend all day on this. Try to troubleshoot the problem, or have somebody else that knows what’s going on do it. Some companies have a department that can handle the problem. DO NOT just throw the machine away and buy a new one. You may find out you still have the problem. It also may upset somebody when they find out you just wasted their time and money.
Here are some steps that should work.
- Be sure that the phone line is physically attached to the fax machine and that it isn’t damaged in any way. Maybe the phone line was run over by a vacuum cleaner. This is no joke. It happens.
- Unplug the machine and move it to a phone jack that you know is good.
- If you can send a FAX you know there is another problem.
- Find a good phone other than the FAX machine. You still need to verify if the phone line itself is bad.
- If the phone is either noisy or does not work you know the line is bad.
- If you are getting a dial tone and can make a call your machine still may be bad.
- In any case call your phone provider. This could be AT&T, Verizon or any number of other companies.
- Once you have the company on the line have them run a test on the line. This can be done remotely and doesn’t cost anything. Most companies can help you with the troubleshooting also.
- They most likely will get you a trouble ticket and send somebody to your location or tell you the next step to take.
What if all this fails?
You will need to find a phone installation expert in your area that can help you resolve the problem.
The main thing to learn here is do not assume your FAX machine is bad. Have it checked out to be sure. You can take it to the store you bought it from also. Some stores can test your machine at little or no charge.
How does this relate to computer repair?
It doesn’t. Yet every office that does any amount of communication has a FAX machine. You will most likely have a document that you created on your computer faxed to some other location. There are software programs that will help you fax a digital document.
Why use a FAX machine to start with?
SECURITY! There! That says it all. It is still the most secure way to send documents. A computer is subject to hackers or spyware that can intercept your very valuable documents. Also, if your computer goes down it is one way you can still send a document if need be.
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August 3rd, 2010 at 10:07 pm
Whoah! How much is that? Is this as affordable as a printer? Sorry, I really don’t have an idea about this.
It’s just that I’m planning to use an internet fax provider. How much is the difference? I have to prefer the one that will give me the best service.
August 4th, 2010 at 1:15 am
hhhhmmmp… I understand that security is the most important thing I should consider. However, what if I don’t want to buy a fax machine because it’s bulky?
Web fax service it’s much easier and faster to use. I just can’t decide now.
August 4th, 2010 at 2:20 am
Howdy! So it’s how you’ll determine if you are using bad fax machine. Then I must say thanks for sharing, though.
It’s because it allows anyone to send faxes online and receive faxes online without the need for a fax machine. Sending a web fax is as easy as sending an email and now there’s no more waiting at the fax machine for your fax to arrive when you receive faxes online.