Ask the readers: How do you fax without a landline?
I have an HP All-in-one fax/scan/print device that I want to use for faxing. But, I gave up on landlines YEARS ago. So I went to the Simmons with this question via Beejive IM on my handy dandy iPad 2. Here’s the chat:
me: Doug, have you ever set up a fax machine without a landline?
Doug: nope, and I generally try to sway people away from the whole faxing thing.
me: as do I
me: but my wife’s office offered to let her work from home as long as she can fax, but we don’t have a landline
me: I sure as hell don’t want to pay $45/month for one either
Doug: so that leaves you with some relaying service, no?
Doug: good ask the readers bit right here
me: yeah.. I’m going to try out magic jack as I’ve read a few people have had luck with it. If nothing works, I’m going to look into a landline
me: it has to be reliable
Doug: Ask the readers if a VoIP thing is sufficient for a fax, if one of these eFax outfits are “production” reliable or if you should just lay down for the landline. Just copy and paste this exchange you and i are having right here, including what I’m typing now, open up that live writer shit, copy paste, category ask the readers, publish, retrieve the answer in a way that benefits everyone
Doug: the sloppier, the more genuine it reads
Doug: smooth it out into the form of what an article ought to look like, you sterilize it
Doug: maybe add some obscenities
Doug: watch this.. “Mexicans”
So what do you think? Do services that allow you to eFax work? Scanning and sending via email for a $5-20 monthly fee? Has anyone tried to fax via Magic Jack? I’ve seen mixed reports since Magic Jack is a VoIP solution. Or should I just suck it up and find a company that will be willing to sell me the right to use antiquated communication technologies for an enormous monthly fee?
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Pamfax works well, and in concert with skype
Uh oh, you actually posted it. Well for all you Mexican fax alternative experts tuning in, that was taken completely out of context.
Why would you be expected to pay for any services required by her company to preform your wifes duties. They should either pay for the services or allow her to function as an independent contractor and then she can deduct them as office expenses.
If those options don’t appeall to you or them, set up a VPN and connect to “Their” network to send and receivee the faxes.
You can fax from your phone with Robo Print
http://www.blueplanetapps.com/products/RoboPrint.aspx
ok it still relies on an efax account but it’s still a neat trick
Vonage is pretty reliable for faxing, they have a $9.99 100 minute (outgoing) a month deal, incoming is unlimited. You have to call them and ask for it. I guess the question is how many pages of outgoing faxes? It’s 39cents a minute over a 100. This is a definite Tax deductable expense, plus home office deductions. Make sure you get this problem solved, you’ll be happy at tax refund time.
If I had my preferences, I would love to find a way to fax from my Mobile device. “Handyscan” app does a OK job sending docs to emails while I’m on the road, but I still need to send things to fax numbers too.
T-Mobile years ago allowed it’s customers to recieve faxes to their phones and then forward them to a fax line to print. The point is fax transmissions can be processed on Mobile networks.
@DavidK: David, Do you use Robo Print?
@Stan City: sadly I gave it a half assed chance at loading it with the PC client. After about 30 seconds I gave up so I never installed it but I may take another shot at it since it’s really something that would be great if it worked. you?
Maxemail.com. Receive faxes via email. Fax from your computer (scan to CPU first if need be). Have had it for years and is invaluable.
@DavidK: I did the same thing, the client software was a pain and I gave up. I realized I have a PC near every printer and that email to PC process seemed easier.
I’m in the same boat, added digital phone to my Time Warner cable and internet for an extra $30 a month but my company reimburses me for it.
Weird, there is a myfax.com ad in the top right of this screen, and below that one for Send + Receive. And at the top, one for Ring Central Fax!!! Ads by Google…
Ummm, why can’t she email the documents to/from her office? Is her work so backward that they don’t have a scanner and/or email?
Additionally, no one has stated whether these sources work at receiving faxes or just sending.
I, myself, have never had any dealings with Magic Jack. But I do have a close friend that has it set up for nothing more than a fax line. He claims that it works like a charm and has had no problems with is whatsoever.
Magic Jack does have a 30 day free trial so it’s a no-brainer in my opinion. What have you got to lose?
Here’s what the Magic Jack web site FAQ says about using it with a fax machine:
Question – Can I send and receive faxes using magicJack?
Answer:
We do not officially support using faxing with magicJack.
Please try the following steps to use magicJack with your fax (contact your fax manufacturer for details):
1.Turn off error correction on your fax machine or program
2.Set the fax machine or program to use the slowest speed available
3.Increase the speed, checking at each speed that faxes work
I haven’t used magicjack, but if you need a “landline” instead of just an email fax solution like maxemail.com, then try Vonage and for $30/mo you get full “landline” phone service, 3-way calling, and voice mail with email transcription of the voicemails. The email transcription is more accurate than google voice too.
OK.
I got the Magic Jack (cool little device BTW, I think it’s worth the $40)
Plugged in the device, setup my account, and then plugged my HP AIO OfficeJet 4500 Wireless directly into the MagicJack.
Tried SLOW (9600) and it didn’t work
Tried MEDIUM (14400) and it didn’t work
Tried FAST (33600) and it worked PERFECTLY!!
So to recap:
MagicJack w/HP OfficeJet 4500 Wireless works for scanning with Fax Speed set to fast.
Thanks for the replies people!
And the reason she MUST fax is because it’s for a doctor’s office. She could scan and upload just the same, but she’s going to be doing a metric shit-ton of work, and the system is optimized for scanning. Nothing we can do about that.