From time to time, your fax machine may stop sending faxes.
Situations like fax not working can be a hassle, especially if you have an urgent fax errand. We often see fax machines showing “no answer” for faxes, what does this mean? No answer means there is no fax machine at the entered fax number, or the fax machine cannot be connected.
Why Is It “No Answer”?
This error means that when FaxBetter dials the fax number you provide, the recipient’s fax machine cannot receive and provide fax tones. Every time I try to send a fax using FaxBetter, FaxBetter makes several attempts to dial the recipient’s fax number within about 30 minutes. Only after several failed attempts will FaxBetter send you a “reason: no answer” error message and stop trying to send a fax.
Check the Quality of the Fax Connection
A fax connection requires a clear line. If there is static or noise on the fax line (on your fax machine or the fax machine you are sending from), you cannot send faxes, especially faxes with many pages or complex visual effects.
VoIP phone lines are notorious for working very poorly with faxing. While there are many workarounds, VoIP and fax are mostly incompatible.
Check the Number You’ve Entered
Most “no answer” fax problems result from an incorrect fax number being entered.
If you’re in a corporate office, sometimes you need to add a “9” or “7” to your phone number to make an outside call.
If you’re making an international call, check to make sure you’re dialing in the correct order. International fax numbers may be listed with instructions on how to make calls from countries other than the country you are calling from.
If you have been sending faxes using speed dial, try manually dialing the fax number to send the fax again. The fax number may have changed, but the speed-dial system may still retain the old fax number.
Calling your fax recipient and confirming their fax number can also help ensure you have the correct fax number.
What To Do When It Is “No Answer”
When you receive “Reason: No Answer”, FaxBetter recommends that you:
- Double-check that the fax number you are trying to send is correct.
- Dial that fax number over the voice line. If no fax tones are heard, there is a problem with the recipient’s fax number.
- Wait 24 hours and try to resend the fax.
- Contact the recipient’s voice number to have them confirm their fax is available and received within the past 24 hours.
- Confirm that the number you dialed is correct. You must dial all the numbers you need to make calls from the same line. This includes numbers that must be dialed to gain access to an outside line or to access long-distance services.
- If you’ve been using speed dials or faxing from your computer, print the page you want to fax and dial the number manually from the fax’s front panel. If you can send faxes when dialing from the front panel, recreate the speed-dial settings and insert some pauses.
- If you are trying to fax from a computer that supports PC faxing and the fax does not attempt to dial when sending the fax job, test communication with the all-in-one by clicking Status in the controller or by trying to print to the all-in-one.
- If it is reported as disconnected or failed to print, verify that the communication cable from the computer to the all-in-one is connected properly, and then restart the computer.
- If communication still cannot be established, troubleshoot the communication.
- If the problem persists, see Unable to Send or Receive Faxes or Unable to Determine the Problem to continue troubleshooting.
Conclusion
To transmit fax, the line must be clear so that the fax machine can communicate. The most common problem with line clarity is the use of VoIP phone lines
“No Answer” is an error message if something interrupts the fax call before the fax starts communicating.
