The HP Fax Can Receive Faxes but Cannot Send them

Run a fax test to make sure that the fax is set up correctly.

NOTE: Check the documentation and manuals that came with your HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device to learn how to run a fax test on your specific HP model.

• If the test lists faxing issues and solutions, the fax test failed. Follow the solutions on the printed report to troubleshoot the issue. This report is specific to your product and faxing environment so use the solutions on the report to resolve the listed faxing issues.
  Repeat the Fax Test after fixing the listed faxing issues to make sure the test passes.

• If the test does not list faxing issues and solutions, the Fax Test passed. Continue to the next solution.
  

• If the copy is successful, continue to the next solution.
  

• If the HP All-in-One printer cannot make a copy, search for support documentation for copying issues before continuing with fax testing.
  
  
  
  
  

1. Make sure the fax number is correct. Include any numbers that you have to dial to use the telephone, such as an area code, access codes such as ‘9’ for outside lines or long-distance services. 
   
   NOTE: If you have to dial a sequence of numbers to make a phone call from a given telephone line, you also have to dial that sequence of numbers to send a fax.

2. Connect a telephone to the Ext-2 port of the HP All-in-One printer, and then check if there is dial tone.

3. Try calling the fax number from a telephone and listen for fax tones.

The HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device can report a three digit error code if it detects an error condition when sending or receiving faxes. Turn on the fax error reporting to determine the error code.

NOTE: Check the documentation and manuals that came with your HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device to learn how to enable printing of fax error code reports.

1. Use the product keypad instead of a speed dial and send a fax to the correct fax number.
   
   NOTE: The document to be faxed should be placed face up if sending from the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) and face down if sending from the scanner glass.

2. Make sure you get a message Original Loaded on the display if placing the document on the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF).

3. Observe the HP All-in-One control panel display and listen to the sounds the product makes. If the product is working correctly, the following events occur:

   • When the HP fax begins to dial, a dial tone is audible, followed by the sound of the HP fax dialing. A Dialing message appears on the control panel display.
     
   • If a receiving fax answers the call, the product and the remote fax exchange tones. A Connecting message appears on the control panel display. During this phase, the HP All-in-One printer and the remote fax compare capabilities, exchange information about how to send the fax and try to establish a reliable transmission speed.
     
   • After the connection is established, the product sends the pages of the document. Messages appear on the control panel display indicating the current status, such as Sending page 1. 
     

4. Review the results of the fax attempt:

   • If the fax was sent, the issue is resolved and you do not need to continue troubleshooting.
   • If a receiving fax does not answer the call, try sending the fax to another fax that has been successful in the past.
   • If the second fax sending is successful then the issue might be with the first receiving fax.
   • If a fax error report prints, continue to the next step
     

5. Check the fax error report for a 3-digit fax code.
   
   NOTE: See the article related to 3-digit fax codes in the same collection to find solutions suitable for every 3-digit code.

6. Try sending a fax again. If the HP fax still cannot send a fax, continue to the next solution.

Try this solution if you are experiencing an issue during the dialing phase:

You might need to insert some pauses in the number sequence to prevent the unit from dialing too fast or too soon. For example, if you need to access an outside line before dialing the phone number, insert a pause following the access number.

• If the fax number is 95555555 and 9 accesses an outside line, you can insert pauses as follows: 9-555-5555.

• To enter a pause in the fax number you are typing, press the Space key repeatedly until a Dash (-) appears on the HP All-in-One control panel display.

• If you are using a speed dial entry to send the fax, update the speed dial entry to include pauses in the number sequence. 
  
   
  

Changing the Fax Transmission Speed setting to Medium may improve the HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax ability to receive faxes over a troubled phone line.

NOTE: Check the documentation and manuals that came with your HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device to learn how to slow down the fax transmission speed.

Turning off Error Correction Mode can improve the ability of the fax to send a fax successfully when the phone line quality is poor. However, the image quality of the received fax might be affected.

ECM should be turned on under normal conditions. If ECM must be turned off to send faxes successfully, have the phone service provider check the phone line quality.

Turning off ECM from the HP All-in-One front panel does not necessarily mean that the fax transmission will not use ECM. For example:

•  All faxes sent in color will use ECM.

• All faxes sent at the highest transmission speed will use ECM.

• The ECM setting affects only faxes sent, not the received ones.

1. Plug the telephone cord directly into the telephone jack and not through any other device.

2. If present, remove any splitters or other devices attached to the line, except for the DSL filter.

3. If the phone cord exceeds 3 meters (10 feet) long, move the fax closer to the phone jack and use a cord no longer than 3 meters (10 feet).

4. Connect the telephone cord directly to the back of the product into the port labeled 1-Line.
   
   
   
   1 - Telephone jack
   2 - Telephone cord

5. Remove any devices, such as telephone answering machines or computer modems, attached to the phone line.
   If devices attached to other extensions of the same phone line are present, remove them for this test as well. 
   
   NOTE:Each device attached to a phone line has a Ringer Equivalence Number (REN). The REN indicates how many devices can be simultaneously connected to a telephone line.
   In most areas, there should not be more than five devices on the same line.
   If too many devices are attached, they may not ring properly. This may cause the ring to not be detected by the HP fax.
   
   Once the other devices have been removed, try to send a fax.

6. If removing other phone devices and connections allowed the HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device to send faxes, that would indicate interference from one or more of the removed devices.
   Interference can be caused by incompatibility or by using too many other phone devices at once.
   Add back one by one the phone devices previously removed to make sure they do not interfere again.
   

7. If a DSL filter is needed on the line, try replacing it. Thereafter look at the end of the plug on the HP All-in-One phone cord and check whether two or four wires are visible.
   
   
   
   Replace the phone cord with another one (preferably one with only two wires at its end) and try to send a fax.
   
    

Performing a Partial Reset on your HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device returns all fax settings to default values.

NOTE: Performing a Partial Reset may remove all speed dials and other fax settings. Besides it might be necessary to re-configure the language and country/region settings after the Partial Reset is complete.
(Due to previous considerations, Partial Reset should be used only as a last resort).

1. Disconnect the power cord from the back of the HP All-in-One printer.

2. Wait 20 seconds, and then press and hold # and 3 on the HP All-in-One control panel.

3. While still pressing # and 3, reconnect the power cord to the back of the HP All-in-One printer.

4. Release the # and 3 keys when the product turns on. The HP All-in-One printer resets to factory defaults.