Machine dials during phone calls

If your printer is connected to a modem make sure that the port has a dial tone. To check for dial tone, try to plug in a phone to the same port that you printer is connected to. If it doesn't have dial tone, you might want to check with your phone provider. Or you can plug in the printer straight to a wall jack.

Once the printer is connected to a line that has dial tone, you can then setup the printer to receive faxes. To set it up, on the control panel of your printer, press on Setup > Fax Setup > Ringing and Answering.

If you have an answering machine, set your printer to pick up 3 rings higher than your answering machine. If not, set it to pick up on the 5th ring that way you will still have time to pick up the phone if it's a voice call.

If you have a voicemail service from your phone provider, you'll need to contact your phone provider to get a distinctive ring feature. Once you'll have that feature, you can assign a distinctive ring to your printer. You can find that under Fax Setup > Ringing and Answering > Ring Pattern.

Try resetting the machine to it's defualt settings.

Please go through the following checklists:

• Make sure the that the fax line is working. To check, insert a telephone device straight to the fax line. You should get a dial tone.
• Make sure the telephone cord from the phone jack in the wall is plugged into the Line port on the back of your Lexmark printer.
• Assign the correct fax number on the printer.
• If you have an answering machine connected to the same line as the fax, set the answering machine to answer incoming calls before the printer does. Increase the number of rings by a factor of 3 over the answering machine. For example, if the answering machine is set to pick up on 4 rings, set the printer to pick up on 7 rings.
• If you have a voicemail feature in the same line as the fax, you may subscribe from your phone service provider for a distinctive ring pattern feature. You can program your printer to have a distinctive ring pattern and phone number for incoming faxes.

If these don't help, please contact Lexmark Technical Support Center for additional assistance.

Not sure how a fax machine is supposed to sound when it rings, before the fax answers it will sound exactly the same on the phone as dialing a regular phone number. If you are using distinct ring tone service where the fax line is supposed to double ring and it is not then it is possible that your phone provider has problems. Are you able to make a regular voice call on the phone line that the fax is supposed to use? If no, then it is definetly the line not the machine.

Distinctive Ring basicsDistinctive Ring service is an optional service available from many telephone companies. The Distinctive Ring service permits you to assign more than one telephone number to the same telephone line. Distinctive Ring allows you to use a single phone line for both voice and fax calls. You can assign a unique phone number and ring pattern for incoming fax calls. When a fax comes in, each telephone number makes a distinctive ringing sound, such as a single ring, double ring, or triple ring.
NOTE: The Distinctive Ring Service is the name HP and others use to describe this feature. Distinctive Ring is also known as:

• Call Sign
• Custom Ring
• Ident-a-Call
• Ident-a-Ring
• Ident-a-Ring
• Multi Ring
• Personalized Ringing
• Ringmaster
• Smart Ring
• Teen-Ring

The Distinctive Ring Service allows the HP product to work similarly to a dedicated fax line. If you connect an HP fax product and a telephone to one telephone line, you can assign one telephone number for fax calls and another for voice calls.
NOTE: You cannot send or receive faxes when the phone line is in use. Even if the HP fax product has a separate telephone number, it is still sharing the same phone line. Set the Distinctive Ring Service Using the menus on the product control panel, follow these steps to set a distinctive ring pattern. Step one: Turn on Auto Answer Turn on Auto Answer by pressing the Auto Answer button on the control panel. The button light indicates when Auto Answer is on.If the button light is already on, you do not need to press the button. Step two: Set the distinctive ring patternFollow these steps to change the answer ring pattern.

1. Press the Setup button ( ) on the product control panel.
2. Press the Right Arrow button ( ) to select Advanced Fax Setup , and then press the OK button.
3. Press the Right Arrow button ( ) to select Distinctive Ring , and then press the OK button.
4. Press the Right Arrow button ( ) to select one of the following options:
   • All Rings
   • Single Rings
   • Double Rings
   • Triple Rings
   • Double & Triple Rings
5. Press the OK button to select the option.
6. Press the Back button ( ) to return to the main menu.

Now if you have anymore problems copy the link from below and paste it in your address bar and it will help you further with a document. Follow all the settings in the document and your fax should be setup,keep in MIND THAT THE RINGS TO ANSWER SHOULD BE 2,SO YOU CAN RECEIVE FAXES AFTER TWO RINGS

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01647469&tmp_task=solveCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3795406

Firstly, you will need to get a 2nd ringtone from your phone provider. Most of them will provide a designated "fax ring" (not a new number) for little or no cost.

In DRPD mode, you can receive a call using the Distinctive Ring Pattern Detection (DRPD) feature. “Distinctive Ring” is a telephone company service which enables a user to use a single telephone line to answer several different services.

Using the Distinctive Ring Pattern Detection feature, your fax machine can “learn” the ring pattern you designate to be answered by the fax machine. Unless you change it, this ringing pattern will continue to be recognized and answered as a fax call, and all other ringing patterns will be forwarded to the
extension telephone or answering machine plugged into the EXT. jack. You can easily suspend or change Distinctive Ring
Pattern Detection at any time.

Before using the Distinctive Ring Pattern Detection option, Distinctive Ring service must be installed on your telephone line by the telephone company. To set up Distinctive Ring Pattern Detection, you will need access to another telephone or someone available to dial your fax number from outside (a cell phone will do!).

To set up the DRPD mode:

1 Press Menu until “Fax Setup” appears on the top line of the display.
2 Press the scroll button ( or ) until you see “Receive Mode” on the bottom line and press Enter.
3 Press the scroll button ( or ) until you see “DRPD Mode” on the bottom line and press Enter.
4 When “Set” displays on the bottom line, press Enter.
“Waiting Ring” appears on the display.
5 Call your fax number from another telephone. It is not necessary to place the call from a fax machine.
6 When your machine begins to ring, do not answer the call.
The machine requires several rings to learn the pattern.
When the machine completes learning, the LCD displays “End DRPD Setup”.
If the DRPD setup fails, “DRPD Ring Error” appears. Press Enter when “DRPD Mode” displays and retry from step 3.
7 To return to Standby mode, press Stop/Clear.
When the DRPD feature is set up, the DRPD option is available in the Receive Mode menu.

To receive faxes in the DRPD mode,
you need to set the menu to DRPD;

NOTES:
• DRPD must be set up again if you re-assign your fax number, or connect the machine to another telephone line.

• After DRPD has been set up, call your fax number again to verify that the machine answers with a fax tone. Then have
a call placed to a different number assigned to that same line to be sure the call is forwarded to the extension telephone or answering machine plugged into the EXT. jack.

• In Tel mode, you can receive a fax by picking up the handset of the extension phone and then pressing the remote receive code Alternatively, you can press On Hook
Dial (you can hear a fax tone from the remote machine) and then press Start on the control panel of your machine.
• In the Fax mode, the machine answers an
incoming call and immediately goes into fax
reception mode.
• In Ans/Fax mode, the answering machine answers an incoming call, and the caller can leave a message on the answering machine. If the fax machine senses a fax tone on the line, the call automatically switches to Fax mode.
• In DRPD mode, you can receive a call using the Distinctive Ring Pattern Detection (DRPD) feature. This option is available only when you set up the DRPD Mode.

The full user manual for your machine is located here

Hope that is of help to you :)

You have to have either a dedicated phone line just for the fax --or-- pay your phone company approximately $2 a month for a service called Distinctive Ringtone. This service will ring a certain way when you have an incoming fax. You will then configure your fax machine to pick up when this distinctive rington is heard. The ringtone is usually two or three quick rings. Your fax machine's settings will have this setting.

Unfortunately, you can't just plug your fax machine into your phone line and start sending/receiving faxes. Look through your fax machine's manual regarding the distinctive ring service. Good luck!!

How to Set the Receive Mode (MF4140/MF4150)
1. Press [Additional Functions]. 2. Use [Left cursor] or [Right cursor] to select [FAX SETTINGS], then press [OK]. 3. Use [Left cursor] or [Right cursor] to select [RX SETTINGS], then press [OK]. 4. Use [Left cursor] or [Right cursor] to select [RX MODE], then press [OK]. 5. Use [Left cursor] or [Right cursor] to select the receive mode, then press [OK]. [FaxOnly]: Answers all calls as faxes and disconnects voice calls. [AnsMode]: Receives faxes automatically and records voice messages. [NET SWITCH]: Distinguishes between fax and voice calls. [FaxTel]: Switches between fax and voice calls automatically. [MANUAL]: Does not answer any calls. You have to manually receive faxes. NOTE: a. For [FaxTel] or [MANUAL], make sure the optional handset or an external telephone is connected to the machine. b. For [AnsMode], make sure an answering machine is connected to the machine. c. The [NET SWITCH] mode is available for certain countries only and requires subscription to a network switch service. 6. Press [Stop/Reset] to return to the standby mode.

Its called distintive Ring. This is the instructions from the manual -

VERY IMPORTANT
If you have Voice Mail or a TAD (Telephone Answering Device) and want to keep
one of your phone numbers dedicated only to fax calls, you must leave the fax machine
in MANUAL mode at all times while using the distinctive ring feature. Here’s why:
Manual mode will never pick up a call by itself, since it is «Neutral ». When the fax
machine is in this « neutral » mode, the Distinctive Ring Feature can be activated. The
distinctive ring feature is actually an answering mode. So, do not activate FAX ONLY
mode or FAX /TEL mode while using distinctive ring; otherwise, the fax machine will
answer calls for all the numbers.
Registering the Distinctive Ring Pattern
1 Set the fax machine to MANUAL mode.
2 Press Menu/Set, 0, 1.
3 Press to select DISTINCTIVE:SET?, and then press Menu/Set.
4 Press to select the prestored ring pattern you want to assign, and then press
Menu/Set. (You will hear each pattern as you scroll through the four patterns.)
Be sure to choose the pattern assigned by the Telephone Company.
5 Press Stop/Exit.

and a link to the manual if you need it -
http://static.tigerdirect.com/pdf/brother-IntelliFax-775-Manual.pdf

It is to do with "smart ring" feature or in your area called "distinctive ring" feature. The machine won't receive unless the ring pattern matches your distinctive ring pattern. If you are not using that feature, then you must turn the feature off. Then set your receive mode to "fax tel" mode if it is your only line.