The HP Fax Cannot Send or Receive Faxes

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

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 All-in-One model.

• If the test lists faxing issues and solutions, the fax test failed. Follow the solutions on the printed report to troubleshoot the issue.
  
  NOTE: The Fax Test 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 issues diagnosed by the test 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.

The HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device must be able to perform a scan in order to send a fax. Place the fax test page on the scanner glass or in the document feeder and make a copy.

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

• If the HP All-in-One printer cannot make copies, search and follow available support documentation for copying before continuing faxing troubleshooting.
  
  

Follow the steps below to discard a wrong fax number as cause of the faxing issue:

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 fax 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 that describes the issue.

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 product control panel display and listen to the sounds the product makes. If the product is working correctly, the following events occur:
   
   a) When the HP fax begins to dial, a dial tone is audible, followed by the sound of the product dialing. A Dialing message appears on the control panel display
   
   b) 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.
   
   c) 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 related to 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 the 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 provides access to 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.
  

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

NOTE: Check the documentation and manuals that came with your HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device to learn how to disable Error Correction Mode (ECM) on your HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax model.

When the Auto Answer feature is on, the HP fax product automatically answers all incoming fax calls. When off, the HP fax product does not answer any incoming fax calls.

NOTE: Check the documentation and manuals that came with your HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device to learn how to set Answer Mode to Automatic.

Some HP fax models incorporate more specific Answer Mode options, namely:

- Fax: The HP Fax will automatically answer all incoming calls according to the Rings to Answer setting.

- FaxTel (only for models that incorporate a phone handset):
The HP Fax device will automatically answer all incoming calls according to the Rings to Answer setting.

• If the call is a fax call, the HP Fax device will take it.

• If the call is a voice call, the HP Fax device will create a special ring to indicate that it is a voice call.
  
  NOTE: Voice calls need to be answered using the attached handset.

- Tel: The HP Fax device will not automatically take calls. Faxes need to be received manually.

- AnswerMachine (TAM): The HP Fax device will monitor the line when an incoming call is answered by a person or by the answering machine. If the HP Fax detects fax tones on the line, it will activate to receive the fax.
 

Most telephone service providers offer services intended to prevent the reception of unwanted calls. These services may be blocking incoming faxes. If there are any of these services on the telephone line connected to the HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device, contact the telephone service provider for its recommended solution.

The following services may block incoming faxes:

• Voice mail
• Privacy block 
• Security screen 
• Anonymous call rejection
• Privacy manager 
• Any other service that screens or intercepts incoming calls

NOTE: A Distinctive Ring service, if available from the telephone service provider, often resolves this issue.


 

Distinctive ring is an optional service that is available from most telephone companies. This service allows one telephone line to have multiple telephone numbers. Each telephone number has a distinctive ringing sound (a single ring, double ring, triple ring...).
When the phone rings with the ring pattern assigned to your fax line, the HP Fax device will activate to answer the call and receive the fax.

NOTE: Faxes cannot be received when the telephone line is in use with the main telephone number. Even though the HP Fax product has a separate telephone number, it is still sharing the same telephone line.

The HP Fax must be adjusted to match the ring pattern assigned to the fax number.

NOTE: Check the documentation and manuals that came with your HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device to learn how to access the Advanced Fax Setup menu and configure the Distinctive Ring feature.

If the ring pattern is different than expected, the Distinctive Ring service might not be correctly set up. Refer to your telephone service provider or configure the HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device to answer All Rings. 

The HP All-in-One printer of 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 and try to receive a fax.

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. Make sure the HP Fax is ringing when the fax call is received.

2. Observe the HP All-in-One control panel display and listen to the sounds it makes. If the product is working correctly, the following events occur:
   
   a) When it receives a call, ring tones are audible (in case the loudspeaker is not disabled) and an Incoming Call message appears on the control panel display.
   
   b) When the HP Fax answers the call, the HP fax and the remote fax exchange tones. A Connecting message appears on the control panel display.
   
   During this phase, the HP fax and the remote fax compare each other’s capabilities, exchange information about how to send the fax and try to establish a reliable transmission speed.
   
   c) After the connection is established, the HP Fax receives the pages of the document. Messages appear on the control panel display indicating the current status, such as Receiving Page 1.

   • In case there is no rings or an Incoming Call message, try calling the fax number to check if the line is active.

   • In case the rings can be heard or the display shows an Incoming Call message, check what is the phase of the fax reception during which it became interrupted and continue the troubleshooting.

3. Review the results of the fax attempt.
   
   - If no error report or error code appears, continue to the next solution.
   
   - If a fax error report prints, continue to the next step.

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

5. Try to receive a fax again.
   

Changing the Fax Transmission Speed setting to Medium may improve the HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device 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 fax transmission speed.

Once fax transmission speed has been slowed down on the HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device, try to send and receive a fax.

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 allows the HP All-in-One printer or HP Fax device to send faxes, it indicates interference from one or more of the removed devices.
   Interference can be caused by incompatibility or by too many other phone devices being connected 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 and receive 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.