Standard fax machines cannot be connected directly to the Internet. There are a few Internet fax machines available but many customers complain about their difficulty of installation and limitations. Fortunately, there are some inexpensive and workable solutions. Vonage offers a product for about $30 per month, plus tax. The least expensive solution is the magicJack, which costs about $40 for first year of service and the magicJack hardware, and then it is $19.95 per year. MagicJack did have some technical problems when it was first introduced but those have largely been eradicated, and by following some you should find the process almost painless.
Close all other software running on your computer except virus protection. Plug your fax machine into the magicJack, turn it on and place a standard phone call. Make sure you can talk and hear clearly.
Plug your magicJack into your computer and allow the magicJack box to install the magicJack software on your computer. Fill out the required information on the screen and set up your account. You will receive a phone number with the area code of you choosing (based upon availability).
Set your fax machine to send faxes at the lowest transmission rate setting and turn off error correction.
Standard fax machines send and receive faxes through a normal telephone line. Fax machines convert the page you are sending from an image to digital information. That digital data is then converted to audible sounds which are sent over the phone line. You may have picked up a phone during a fax transmission and heard these beeps, buzzes and static sounds; this is the audio signal fax machines use to send and receive faxes. The process is then repeated, in reverse, on the receiving end. Keep in mind you are simply sending sounds across a phone line when you send a fax.
Send and receive a test fax. Increase the transmission rate on your fax machine one setting and send and receive another fax. Repeat this process until you reach the upper transmission speed limit of your fax machine or just before you start having problems sending and receiving a clear fax.
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