Find troubleshooting tips about using fax machines with Xfinity Voice service.
Troubleshooting Tips
- Dedicated fax machines — If you want a dedicated fax machine that's always on, you need a second telephone line for the fax machine.
- Note: A second line isn’t necessary if you only occasionally want to plug in your fax machine.
- Incompatible equipment — Most equipment works fine with Xfinity Voice, but there are a few devices that do not. For a list of devices that don't work with Xfinity Voice, see equipment incompatible with Xfinity Voice.
- Dialing — Many fax machines can't tell the difference between long-distance and local calls. Always dial 1 before the area code to ensure a proper connection.
- Disable features — Turn off call waiting, voicemail, privacy block, selective call rejection, and anonymous call rejection as these features interfere with receiving faxes.
- For details on turning off features, see the Xfinity Voice features quick reference guide.
Recommended settings
- Check that no ring types are selected on your phone.
- Check that the ring pattern in your fax setup is set to a basic or standard ring cycle.
- Check the auto answer or manual answer setting.
- Set the fax machine to its lowest baud rate setting.
- This may also be labeled as transmission speed or something similar.
- Set the Error Correction Mode to off or its lowest setting.
- Change the Fax Speed Adjustment setting to Medium to improve the ability to send a fax over an IP network.
- Send the fax in black and white unless you are sure that the other fax machine can receive color faxes.
Hookups
Standard wired hookup
If you have one line connected to your fax machine for occasional use, the fax machine must be connected directly to the wall phone jack. The cable should be plugged into the jack on the fax that is labeled Line, 1 – Line, To Wall Jack or that has an image of a wall jack.
If you have a second line dedicated to faxes, the fax machine should be plugged directly into the Telco 2 port of the Xfinity wireless gateway.
Silver Satin Two-Pin cable
If you have an HP fax machine, use the phone cable or connector provided with the machine. These models come with two-prong conductors instead of the standard four-prong conductors.
Two-Pin Silver Satin jumper
All fax machines are sensitive to voltage on the two outside pins of a four-pin Silver Satin Jumper, so always use a two-pin Silver Satin Jumper (red/green) on fax machines to avoid this issue.
Some fax machines don’t support any activity on the line 2 pair of Silver Satin (yellow/black). Make sure line 2 isn’t connected to the fax machine.
Correct wiring/polarity
Most fax machines need the correct polarity to receive faxes. If polarity is reversed, it won’t recognize that the phone is ringing.
- Switch the wires in the phone jack.
- Power cycle the fax machine and try again by dialing 1 before the area code.
- If this does not work, connect the fax machine directly to the Xfinity wireless gateway and try again.
- If you continue to have issues, connect a telephone to the outlet to see if there’s a dial tone and if a call can be made.
Additional information
Visit our Online Support Center to find common solutions.
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