Table of Contents
Quick answer: When a phone company moves your landline off copper, the new line usually runs over the internet or a mobile network, and fax machines can struggle on it: the call connects, then the fax dies partway through. Before you give up on the machine, slow it to 9,600 bps, turn off error correction mode (ECM) and plug it into the phone port on the provider’s box. If it still fails, an online fax service doesn’t need a phone line at all, and your fax number can usually move with you.
It tends to start with one fax that won’t go through. The machine dials, the other end picks up, and the page stops a few lines in. Nothing about the machine has changed. The line behind it has.
Copper landlines are being switched off across the US, and most people had already let theirs go: the CDC estimates that 78.7% of adults lived in a household with no landline at all in the second half of 2024. The FCC counts traditional phone lines falling by about 18% a year between 2021 and 2024.
This guide is for anyone with a fax machine on a home or small-office line: what’s changing, how to tell, and what to try.
Are landlines being discontinued?
Copper ones are, area by area. AT&T says it plans to leave its copper network in most of its wireline area by the end of 2029, and that less than 2% of its eligible customers are still using copper phone service. Customers get letters over a year-long process, with a clear date for the switch. The replacements AT&T names are AT&T Phone-Advanced, a home phone service in a box of its own, wireless service, AT&T Fiber and AT&T Internet Air. AT&T also spells out what happens otherwise: in affected areas, a customer who does nothing has their copper phone service disconnected.
Verizon publishes its own copper retirement notices. One dated 8 September 2026 covers 245 areas of Ohio served by Frontier, now a Verizon company, with the copper retired on or after 10 December 2026. It says homes there can switch to fixed or mobile wireless service, or to an internet phone line from Verizon or a cable company.
The rules have made this faster. In March 2026 the FCC put phone companies on a fast track to stop landline service wherever a qualifying replacement is available, and that replacement can be an internet (VoIP) phone line or a mobile service. Each request still gets a public notice, with a deadline for comments.
Where each phone company stands
From each company’s own pages and the FCC’s public notices, checked on 18 October 2026. We recheck this table every quarter. If your letter gives a date, go by the letter.
| Phone company | What it says | Latest notices | Where to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T | Leaving copper in most of its area by the end of 2029. | FCC approval to end landline service in parts of 39 local areas in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, from 12 September 2026. | Your letter, and the FCC’s public notices |
| Verizon, including former Frontier areas | Asking to end traditional landline service, with no end date given. It says its replacements, fiber or a home phone on its wireless network, work with many faxes. | Network change notices from August and September 2026 for areas in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. | Verizon network disclosures and Verizon’s copper page |
| Lumen (CenturyLink) | No published plan or end date. It kept its copper home phone service when it sold its fiber home internet business to AT&T in February 2026. | FCC approval to end landline service in small areas of Florida (from 31 March 2026), and Iowa and Utah (from 20 April 2026). | CenturyLink network disclosures, and the FCC’s public notices |
Has your line already changed?
Often you’ll know from the letter. If you don’t remember one, these are the signs:
- Your phone or fax plugs into a box, modem or router from your provider, not straight into a wall socket.
- Your bill names a product, such as AT&T Phone-Advanced, Xfinity Voice or Ooma, rather than plain local phone service.
- Calls sound normal, but faxes that used to go through now fail at about the same point every time.
The first two mean the fax is already on a digital line, and the third makes it likely. Either way, the settings further down are worth trying.
Why the fax machine notices first
A fax machine talks to the machine at the other end in tones, and it expects a steady, unbroken line while it does. An internet phone line chops sound into small packets, compresses them and sends them over the same connection as everything else in the house. A voice call shrugs off a lost packet. A fax handshake often doesn’t, which is why the call connects and the page still fails.
Ooma, which sells exactly this kind of line, says faxing over it is “highly dependent on the quality of your Internet connection”, and that if you need faxing to be reliable it recommends keeping a landline for it.
What the providers’ own help pages say about fax machines
What each provider’s page said when we checked it on 18 October 2026. Ask yours whether anything has changed.
| Provider | What its page says | Checked on |
|---|---|---|
| Xfinity Voice | Most equipment works. For a fax machine: turn error correction mode off or to its lowest setting, use the lowest baud rate, dial 1 before the area code, and turn off call waiting and voicemail. A fax machine that’s always on needs a second line. | 18 Oct 2026 |
| Ooma | Faxing is possible “with the proper equipment” but depends on your internet connection. It suggests turning off ECM, lowering the speed and sending fewer pages per fax. A separate fax line needs Ooma Premier. | 18 Oct 2026 |
| AT&T Phone-Advanced | Fax lines use the box’s numbered phone jacks, after any voice lines. Calling features don’t work on a fax line. Help with connecting a fax: 1-844-357-4784, option 2. | 18 Oct 2026 |
Settings to try on the machine you have
Work through these in order and send a one-page test after each change, so you know which one fixed it.
- Slow the machine down. On Brother machines the setting is called Compatibility, and “Basic (for VoIP)” drops the modem speed to 9,600 bps and turns off ECM. Brother recommends it for most VoIP services. Other makers call it transmission speed or baud rate.
- Turn off ECM if the speed setting didn’t already. Xfinity and Ooma both ask for it.
- Plug the fax into the phone port on the provider’s box. On AT&T Phone-Advanced that’s one of the numbered jacks.
- Dial 1 and the area code every time, even for a local number.
- Keep the line quiet while it sends: no call waiting or voicemail on it, and no big downloads running on the same internet connection.
- Send in black and white, and in smaller batches of pages.
If every fax still fails after all six, the line may not carry fax well, and no setting will change that. Ask the provider whether it supports fax on your plan, or whether a second line would help. Our guide to sending a test fax covers testing the machine itself.
Faxing with no phone line at all
An online fax service takes the line out of the picture. The document goes from your phone or computer to the service over the internet, and the service delivers it to the other end as an ordinary fax, so a copper switch on your street can’t touch it. Our guide on how to fax without a phone line walks through the options.
If people already fax you on your landline number, you don’t have to give it up. Municorn Fax can usually take over an existing number through a support request, as long as you ask while the old line is still connected. You scan pages with your phone’s camera, send over Wi-Fi or mobile data, and keep a confirmation for every fax. You can try it with one free single-page fax. EveryFax does the same from a browser or an email account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my fax machine work after the switch?
It might. Xfinity, Ooma and AT&T all describe how to connect one, but faxing over an internet line depends on the connection. Try the settings above first, then ask your provider.
Can I refuse and keep my copper line?
Usually not for long. AT&T says a customer in an affected area who does nothing is disconnected once the date passes. You can comment to the FCC while a request is open: its public notices give a deadline and ask commenters to explain how they’d be affected, including whether they can get a substitute service.
What happens to my fax number when the landline goes?
The number goes with the old service unless you move it first. A number can only be transferred while it’s still active, so start before the switch date.
Can I fax from my cell phone instead?
Yes. A fax app sends over Wi-Fi or mobile data, so it doesn’t need a landline, and a fax number in the app lets you receive faxes too.
How do I find out whether my area is affected?
The letter from your phone company is the surest sign. Verizon lists its copper retirement notices on its network disclosures page, and the FCC publishes a notice for each request to end landline service.
Sources
- AT&T, “Keeping Customers Connected with Reliable, High-Speed Connectivity” (28 April 2026): the 2029 plan, less than 2% of eligible customers still on copper voice, letters over a year-long process, the replacements, disconnection if you do nothing. Checked 18 October 2026.
- AT&T Phone-Advanced online guide (2024): fax lines on the numbered jacks, calling features, the help number. Checked 18 October 2026.
- Verizon, public notice of copper retirement, Ohio (8 September 2026): 245 areas, on or after 10 December 2026, replacement options. Checked 18 October 2026.
- Verizon network disclosures: the list of its copper retirement notices. Checked 18 October 2026.
- FCC 26-19, Report and Order (adopted 26 March 2026): the fast track for ending landline service where a qualifying replacement exists. Checked 18 October 2026.
- FCC public notice DA 26-724 (13 July 2026): AT&T’s request for 39 areas in 14 states, from 12 September 2026, and the comment deadline. Checked 18 October 2026.
- Verizon Network Modernization: seeking authority to discontinue plain old telephone service; replacements support many faxes; letters well in advance. Checked 18 October 2026.
- Lumen, “Lumen Completes Sale of Consumer Fiber-to-the-Home Business to AT&T” (2 February 2026): Lumen keeps its copper-based consumer services. Checked 18 October 2026.
- CenturyLink network disclosures: its network change notices. Checked 18 October 2026.
- FCC public notice DA 26-227 (9 March 2026): CenturyLink QC, Laurens and Renwick (Iowa) and Springdale (Utah), on or after 20 April 2026. Checked 18 October 2026.
- FCC public notice DA 26-46 (13 January 2026): CenturyLink of Florida, parts of Kenansville, on or after 31 March 2026. Checked 18 October 2026.
- Xfinity, “Troubleshooting your Xfinity Voice and fax machines” (last modified 31 August 2026). Checked 18 October 2026.
- Ooma, “Faxing with Ooma: Setup and Troubleshooting” (last updated 14 May 2026). Checked 18 October 2026.
- Brother, “Telephone Line Interference/VoIP” (MFC-J1010DW, MFC-J1012DW, MFC-J1170DW): the Basic (for VoIP) setting. Checked 18 October 2026.
- CDC, Wireless Substitution: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, July–December 2024 (June 2025): 78.7% of adults in wireless-only households. Checked 18 October 2026.
- FCC, Voice Telephone Services: Status as of December 31, 2024 (February 2026): retail switched access lines declined at a compound annual rate of 17.8% from December 2021 to December 2024. Checked 18 October 2026.
