I have recently established a phone line and fax line in the United States for my business. I need to receive a phone call and test fax FROM OUTSIDE THE USA (i.e. from Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, etc) to ensure that my lines are correctly calibrated to receive calls and faxes from abroad.
What is the best way to do this? I don’t know anyone outside North America who can send me a fax or call me.
Any ideas?
Thank you.
If your machine can receive a fax from the house next door, then it can receive a fax from abroad. As for the call itself, its up to the phone company to make sure you get an international call correctly. So if you’ve ever received an international call on this line before, there’s no reason why you can’t still do so.
Yeah, fax standards are basically universal. The fax machine that is sending the fax can be anywhere. Your fax machine will answer and trigger the handshake with tones. The phone number has nothing to do with it as long as the connection quality is reasonably decent. Faxes are literally transmitted by the sound coming through the line.
Unbelievable bonus fact: the first fax machine was invented in the 1840’s and predates the telephone by several decades.
Not true. I have another line that is an 888 number. Works fine from other businesses in the United States (I’ve tested it), but it does not work when clients try to send me a fax form outside North America, because international clients can not call 888 numbers from abroad.
You all are missing the point here.
I’m not using a physical fax machine. I am using a series of forwarded numbers and fax2email-type accounts.
I don’t need a scientific explanation of how a fax machine works. I need a way of testing that my settings are calibrated correctly.
You are really asking if your phone number works abroad and not the fax itself. That is a legitimate but different question. You don’t need a fax machine abroad to test it. Just ask someone from your location of interest to call the number and see if it works or ask your phone company.
What you need to do is learn to ask a proper question. You didn’t include any of this in your OP. That is not good form on any message board or whenever people that could help you are trying trying to help you.
Any more tidbits you want to share or are you just going to toss those out as the new answers fail to live up to your expectations? You still haven’t been specific enough to get a good answer except through blind luck it is your fault alone.
I am not asking that at all. As per my original post, I am asking if anyone knows of a way to test if I can receive a fax, from abroad, at a particular number here in the United States.
But thank you for wasting the space in my Inbox.
No, it is more interesting to see how folks misinterpret a perfectly clear question.
An answer as simple as “URL this website will send a fax from a machine originating in India to any fax number you enter, and it will do it at no cost” would be absolutely wonderful!
Reported.
Thanks, Bucko; you too.
Reported.
What “settings” are you referring to? If I sent you a fax, how would that be different from someone in Antarctica sending one?
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Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, mettatim.
As a general rule, if people all seem to be misinterpreting your question, you should look first to the way you wrote the question rather than getting snarky with everyone on the board. You’re asking people to take the time to do you a favor and answer your question. You might want to be nice about it.
The GQ forum doesn’t allow personal insults, and this thread is swiftly headed that way. Please bring it back on track and calm things down a bit.
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PM me the number and I’ll attempt to send you one from England over the weekend.