A way to get the fax to cooperate w/ answering machine?

[katz]

As per the title - is there a way to get a fax to cooperate w/ answering machine?

Scenario:

Client has a MFP/printer/copy/scan/fax/etc. all in one. The fax is set to answer on five rings. He also has a separate answering machine set to four rings. Is there a way to get the fax to work in tandem with the answer machine?

I was thinking of setting the fax to answer on the fourth ring as well, but I don't know how that would work.

The way it is set up now, if the answer machine is on & he receives a fax, the machine will always pick up. Anyone have any experience with this?

['putertutor]

Some info on what type of printer (make/model) and whether this is an answering machine or voice mail would be helpful.

I can tell you that many AIOs do come with built-in features designed to manage just this scenario, and to make the most of that you might need to have the answering machine plugged into the printer. You would have to let us know what printer you are dealing with for specifics, though.

Probably the best answer, however, is to set up distinctive ringing through the telco. Most will, for a very small fee (<$5 in my area, including a second number so you can have the appearance of a 'dedicated' fax line) set up incoming fax calls with a different ring style - double ring vs single, or any number of different patterns. You'd have to make sure your printer is compatible with distinctive rings, but this solution works well. I Have a couple of small offices I support that use this exact solution, and once the employees are accustomed to ignore the distinctive ring, all goes well.

[katz]

This is at the client's home & it is a standard phone line, dsl internet. HP 4500 is the model. I mentioned distinctive ring when I was there, but he does such a small amount of faxing he feels it isn't worth it to invest in that.

When I go through the fax options I find single ring, double ring, etc., but no distinctive ring setting. I am not sure if this model is capable of that...

['putertutor]

The "ring, double ring settings" you are seeing are the distinctive ring settings. Regardless it sounds like this is not an option anyway. So, here is the manual for that printer. Page 189 describes how to set this up for your scenario.

Where should I send the bill?

[katz]

Originally Posted by 'putertutor

The "ring, double ring settings" you are seeing are the distinctive ring settings. Regardless it sounds like this is not an option anyway. So, here is the manual for that printer. Page 189 describes how to set this up for your scenario.

Where should I send the bill?

Duh - I knew that!

That's what happens when I'm trying to do 10 things at once including typing, lol. Guess my mind was elsewhere...

Guess the only thing to do in this situation is to turn the answer machine off when the are expecting a fax.

['putertutor]

Yes, you could do that. OR, you could check out the link in my last post that leads to the manual for your printer, which, on page 189, describes exactly how to solve your issue without distinctive ring.

[katz]

Please forgive - I'm not sure I understand which settings you are referring to -

Do you mean this from the manual?

The Rings to Answer setting is important if you have an answering machine on the same
phone line as the device, because you want the answering machine to answer the phone
Chapter 5
52 Fax
before the device does. The number of rings to answer for the device should be greater
than the number of rings to answer for the answering machine.
For example, set your answering machine to a low number of rings and the device to
answer in the maximum number of rings. (The maximum number of rings varies by
country/region.) In this setup, the answering machine answers the call and the device
monitors the line. If the device detects fax tones, it receives the fax. If the call is a voice
call, the answering machine records the incoming message.

If so, that didn't work for us. The fax displays "ringing" on the panel, and machine answers the call. Then the display will read "phone off hook". It doesn't detect any fax signals...

[computerdoctor]

Get the client to set up a FREE eFax account so they'll come to his email. As long as he gets <150 pages of faxes a month, he will not have to pay anything. http://www.efax.com/new-features-gift-pages

['putertutor]

Um, no. Actually, when I said the instructions for your scenario were on page 189, what I actually meant was that you should look at page 189 - the page with a little 189 at the bottom. There you will find a setting for your scenario labeled "Case I: Shared voice/fax line with answering machine."

Computerdoctor's free efax suggestion is a good one too. Might be the way to go if this set up is too challenging.

[HawkinsPC]

That printer is a little wonky. I have a client using it, but thankfully they have it on a dedicated fax line. Best of luck to you.