We recently emerged from the stone age in our semi-rural location and have gotten DSL. We have a wireless modem now that allows both of our desktops to be in the Internets! Yay!
The bad news is, I can’t get my fax machine to work now. Currently it’s plugged in to the phone jack via a filter that came with the equipment – the DSL router is plugged into the ‘computer’ side and the fax machine is plugged into the ‘phone’ side. Can’t fax a thing.
Is there any way to get the thing working again? The fax is an HP model similar to this one (can’t remember the exact model number off the top of my head, but I think it was the previous model to the one in the link).
I’d try borrowing someone else’s fax machine and trying it. If neither one works, call tech support for your phone company. If your fax doesn’t work and the other does, either call tech support for the manufacturer or get a new machine.
Incidentally, I have an almost identical setup that works fine.
Before doing that, I would try unplugging the modem and sending a fax, if that doesn’t work, I would unplug the modem and plug the fax into the wall (sans the filter) and try that. Assuming that works, maybe try a different filter, or for the heck of it, try plugging the modem back in and see what happens. But I would suspect the filter before the fax as the culprit.
You might not need the filter on the FAX line. I have a home security system that dials out when activated and when I got DSL I thought I needed a filter on the line. I called the security company and they said try it without it. I did and it worked fine. No filter required.
The problem is that I need to use the same wall jack for both the modem and the fax - they are in the same place and there is not another phone jack close enough to be used. The fax is an all-in-one and serves as the printer for the computer it is next to as well, so moving it elsewhere wouldn’t work.
If I’m understanding correctly, you’re using a combination splitter/filter that plugs into your wall jack and gives you 2 jacks, one for DSL and one for the phone.
I would try using a generic splitter and then put an in-line filter on the side that goes to the fax machine.
I’m with others here who suspect the primary culprit is the filter you’re using.
Yep - you are right about the configuration. The info that came with the equipment said I could use this splitter/filter to run the modem and a phone using the same jack.
The phones in the house all work fine without any modifications.
I gave up on machines and only use eFax on my DSL line.
They have free incoming and paid outgoing, 10c/page + about $15/mo.
There’s a couple of reasons I like it. One is that I often fax colored no-carbon copies of things, and by scanning with Word I can adjust for that and know exactly whether the result is legible.
Another thing that’s nice is that they retain incoming faxes for a year on their website, and I’t saved me some agony when my office disk wiped out.