Can You Call a Fax Number

What Happens When You Call a Fax Number?

When you call a fax number different things can happen depending on the settings of the receiving fax machine. If the fax machine is set to auto it will act like this:

1. Immediate answer: The fax will usually answer in 1-2 rings.
2. Fax tone: You’ll hear a high pitched tone, often described as a screech or beep. This is the fax tone (CNG tone – Calling Tone).
3. No human interaction: There will be no human voice or greeting. The fax is designed to talk to other faxes, not humans.
4. Brief duration: If you’re calling from a regular phone, the fax will usually hang up after a short time (10-30 seconds) if it doesn’t receive the expected fax signals.
5. Recording: Some modern faxes will record that a call was made even if no fax was sent.
6. Voicemail: In some integrated phone/fax systems you’ll be directed to voicemail if no fax is sent.
7. Automatic fax reception: If you’re calling from another fax, the receiving fax will prepare to receive the incoming fax.

But some fax machines are set to manual. In this case someone will have to press the ‘receive’ button to answer an incoming fax. If they don’t answer manually the call will go to voicemail and the sender will be confused and potentially miss important documents. 

Why Does a Fax Number Produce Beeping Sounds?

The beeps you hear when you dial a fax number are not just random noises; they’re part of a handshake between two fax machines. These beeps are a signal to the fax machine on the other end that you’re calling and it’s ready to receive a fax.

Those beeps are actually a series of digital tones that fax machines use to sync up the communication protocols. If no fax machine on your end sends a return beep, the receiving fax machine will hang up the line. This ensures the data being sent and received is accurate and the faxed document is intact.

How to Check if a Number is a Fax Number

It’s easy to tell if a number is a fax number if you know what to look for. Businesses often publish their fax numbers with ‘fax’ next to them. This is the easiest way to tell fax numbers from regular phone numbers. Calling the number to hear the characteristic beeping sounds is also an option. 

If it’s not labeled, you can look it up online to see if it’s registered as a company’s fax line. Many online fax services also have tools to check if a number is a fax line. This will ensure you’re dialing the right number and not voicemail or a live person instead of a fax machine. If you’re faxing at a convenient location near you, you may try and send a test fax to see if it gets delivered. 

Can You Use a Landline Phone to Call a Fax Number?

Yes you can use a landline phone to call a fax number through a phone line. When you dial a fax number from a landline phone the call will route through the telephone network to a fax machine or fax server. The process is the same as making a regular call but instead of hearing a person’s voice you will hear the fax machine’s dial tone.

Remember fax machines can make phone calls too, they use the same phone lines they use for sending and receiving data. That’s one of the many reasons fax machines are still useful in many business settings despite the rise of digital communication.

Why Does a Fax Number Produce Beeping Sounds?

The beeps you hear when you dial a fax number are not just random noises; they’re part of a handshake between two fax machines. These beeps are a signal to the fax machine on the other end that you’re calling and it’s ready to receive a fax.

Those beeps are actually a series of digital tones that fax machines use to sync up the communication protocols. If no fax machine on your end sends a return beep, the receiving fax machine will hang up the line. This ensures the data being sent and received is accurate and the faxed document is intact.

How to Dial a Fax Number

Knowing how to dial a fax number correctly is the first step in sending documents via online faxing. Whether local, long distance or international faxing the steps vary slightly but are important to ensure your fax reaches its destination.

For local faxing you need to know the fax number and the format which is usually 10 digits including area codes when necessary. For long distance faxes in North America you may need to dial ‘1’ as a trunk prefix. International faxes require country code, area code and the fax number itself. Knowing these dialing protocols will help you avoid errors and have smooth communication.

Dialing Local Fax Numbers

To dial a local fax number dial the full 10 digit number including the area code. In some areas where 7 digit dialing is enabled you may only need to dial the last 7 digits. But to be safe you should dial the full number to ensure your fax reaches the right recipient.

Dialing Long Distance Fax Numbers

When faxing long distance in the USA you should add a ‘1’ before the area code and the fax number. This will ensure the fax is sent correctly. This applies to both USA and Canada so your fax will be routed through the long distance telephone network. Including the correct prefixes is crucial to ensure delivery.

Dialing International Fax Numbers

For international faxing start with the ‘+’ symbol then the country code, area code and fax number. For example if you’re faxing to the U.K. you would dial +44 then the area code and the fax number. This will ensure your fax reaches its international destination.

Fax Online with Fax App

Calling a fax number might be a decent choice to make sure that your fax will reach the target but getting a dedicated fax app for faxing over the internet is way safer since you get tracking capabilities and confirmation of delivery for your faxes.

Moreover, a fax app has some other undeniable benefits:

• Integration with email and cloud storage

• Faster transmission speed compared to manual transmission through telephone lines

• Enhanced security and confidentiality compared to physical fax machines

Online faxing is an appealing alternative to traditional methods try it now on App Store or Google Play.