THE FAX ANSWERS BEFORE THE ANSWERING MACHINE. ALL ALONG THE FAX WOULD ANSWER FAXES AND THE ANSWERING MACHINE WOULD ANSWER CALLS. NOW THE FAX ANSWERS ALL CALLS. ON FOUR RINGS. WHAT SETTINGS DO I HAVE TO SET THE RINGS AT TO MAKE IT WORK THE WAY IT WAS WORKING?

If you have an answering machine connected to the same line as your fax:

To make sure the printer picks up incoming faxes, set Auto Answer to On, and then set the printer to pick up after a greater number of rings than the answering machine. For example, if the answering machine picks up calls after four rings, then set the printer to pick up after six rings. This way, the answering machine picks up calls first and your voice calls are received. If the call is a fax, then the printer detects the fax signal on the line and takes over the call.

If you have a voicemail feature associated to the same line as your fax:

Voice mail and fax can share the same telephone line if you subscribe to a distinctive ring service offered by your telephone company. This feature allows you to have multiple telephone numbers on one telephone line. Each telephone number has a designated ring pattern (single ring, double ring, triple ring, or double and triple ring). The different ring patterns let you know which telephone number was dialed, and which device you should use to answer the call.

If you do not have distinctive ring service, then set the printer to receive faxes manually (Auto Answer Off). This setting lets you receive both voice calls and fax calls, but works best if you use voice mail more often. You need to turn off voice mail whenever you are expecting a fax.

I hope this helps.

Should you need further assistance, please contact Lexmark Technical Support Center.

To set the answer mode to manual or automatic via the control panel

? Press Auto Answer to turn the light on or off, as appropriate for your setup.

When the Auto Answer light is on, the device answers calls automatically. When

the light is off, the it does not answer calls.

To set the answer mode to manual or automatic via the embedded Web server

1. Open the embedded Web server, click the Settings tab, click Fax in the left pane,

and then click the Basic sub-tab.

2. Select On or Off in the Auto Answer drop-down menu in the Other Basic Fax

Settings section.

Set the number of rings before answering

If you turn on the Auto Answer setting, you can specify how many rings occur before

incoming calls are automatically answered.

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 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.

To set the number of rings before answering via the control panel

1. Press Setup.

2. Press Basic Fax Setup, and then press Rings to Answer.

3. Enter the appropriate number of rings by using the keypad, or press the left or right

arrow button to change the number of rings.

4. Press OK to accept the setting.

To set the number of rings before answering via the embedded Web server

1. Open the embedded Web server, click the Settings tab, click Fax in the left pane

and then click the Basic sub-tab.

2. Select a number in the Rings-to-answer drop-down menu in the Other Basic Fax
Settings section.

Receiving a fax
Receiving a fax automatically
1 Make sure the printer is on and is connected to a working phone line.
2 Make sure that Auto Answer is on.
To check if Auto Answer is on:
a From the printer control panel, press (tool icon).
b Press the arrow buttons until Fax Setup appears, and then press ok.
c Press the arrow buttons until Ringing and Answering appears, and then press ok.
d Press again.
Check to see if Auto Answer is set to On.
e If Auto Answer is not set to on, press the arrow buttons until On appears, and then press to save the setting.
3 Set the number of times the telephone rings before the printer automatically receives faxes:
a Press the arrow buttons until Pick-up On appears, and then press ok.
b Press the arrow buttons until the setting that you want appears, and then press to save the setting.
When the number of rings you set is detected, the printer automatically receives the incoming fax.
Receiving a fax manually
1 Make sure the printer is on and is connected to a working telephone line.
2 Make sure that Auto Answer is off.
3 To receive the fax, press (green botton) or press * 9 * on the telephone after you answer it and hear fax tones.
4 Hang up the telephone.
The printer receives the fax.
Receiving a fax with an answering machine
1 Make sure that Auto Answer is on.
2 Make sure you have set the number of times the telephone rings before receiving a fax automatically.
When a telephone ring is detected, the answering machine picks up the call.
• If the printer detects a fax, it receives the fax and disconnects the answering machine.
• If the printer does not detect a fax, the answering machine receives the call.

3 Set the answering machine to answer incoming calls before the printer does.
For example, if you set the answering machine to answer calls after three rings, set the printer to answer calls
after five rings.
Forwarding faxes
Use the fax-forwarding feature if you are going to be away, but still want to receive your faxes. There are three
fax-forwarding values or settings:
• Off—(Default)
• Forward—The printer sends the fax to the designated fax number.
• Print & Forward—The printer prints the fax and then sends it to the designated fax number.
1 Make sure the printer is on and is connected to a working telephone line.
2 Press the arrow buttons until Fax Setup appears, and then press ok.
3 Press the arrow buttons until Ringing and Answering appears, and then press ok.
4 Press the arrow buttons until Fax Forward appears, and then press ok.
5 Press the arrow buttons until Forward or Print & Forward appears, and then press ok.
6 Enter the number to which you want to forward the fax, and then press ok.

The answer mode determines whether the HP Fax answers incoming calls or not.

Different answer modes are :

* Fax

The HP Fax will automatically answer all incoming calls using the Rings to Answer setting. This is the default setting.

* FaxTel (unit with handset model only)

The HP Fax automatically answers all incoming calls using the Rings to Answer setting. If the call is a fax call, the HP Fax will receive the fax. If the call is a voice call, the HP Fax will create a special ring to indicate it is a voice call. The incoming voice call will need to be answered using the attached handset.

NOTE: If the HP Fax determines the call is a voice call, only the HP Fax will ring with the special ring tone. The other phones on the same phone line will not ring at all. You will not be able to pick up the voice call using the other phones.

* Tel

The HP Fax will not automatically answer calls. Faxes will need to be received manually.

* AnswerMachine

The HP Fax will monitor the line when an incoming call is answered by a person or by the answering machine. If the HP Fax detects fax tones on the line, it will receive the fax.

check your fax set up... for example doe yoyu have an answering machine in house or do you have to dial out to get messages? if its an answering machine change the rings to answer on the fax machine to at least 2 rings after the answering machine answers
if its voicemail/answering service the machine may not answer at all.
if it is a shared line but with a different number specifically for the fax try a distinctive ring for the fax line and make sure the auto answer light is on. if the auto answer is not on... then the fax will not answer

Issue: Unable to receive faxes with an answering machine on the same line
Solution: Reduce the number of times the answering machine will ring before it answers the call (perhaps 3 rings max.)

An incoming fax may "hang up" if it takes too long for the machine to answer.

Problem lies in your Receive Mode setting. If you don't have a dedicated phone line for the fax machine, you need to set it up for either Manual where you answer every call or Fax/Tel whereby the Fax machine determines if the incoming call is a fax or phone call. Instructions per Intellifax 4100 Manual.

Select a Receive Mode
Choose the mode that best suits your needs by pressing the Mode button
repeatedly until the FAX and FAX/TEL lights show the setting you want to use.
Manual
You must answer every call yourself.
The Brother machine must be started manually
to receive faxes.
Fax
For use with a dedicated fax line.
Every call is answered as a fax.
Fax/Tel
For receiving fax and voice calls on one line.
The FAX answers every call and receives a fax or
double rings for you to pick up a voice call.
TAD
For use with an answering device.
The TAD answers every call and stores voice messages.
Fax messages are printed.

Note: check your equipment for:
Fax machine must be connected to an answer machine

Receiving a fax automatically:
1 Make sure the Fax Auto Answer light is on.
2 To set the number of telephone rings before the printer automatically receives faxes,
Receiving a fax with an answering machine
When a telephone ring is detected, the answering machine picks up the call.
• If the printer detects a fax, it receives the fax and disconnects the answering machine.
• If the printer does not detect a fax, the answering machine receives the call.
2 Set the answering machine to answer incoming calls before the printer does.
For example, if you set the answering machine to answer calls after three rings, set the printer to answer calls
after five rings.
3 To set the number of telephone rings before the printer automatically receives faxes.

If you have call waiting on your phone service you can call your phone company and get "personal ring" service. It will cost a couple of dollars extra a month, but they will assign you another phone number and it will have a different ring style to it. Then you can set the ring type to the type of ring they assign you.

Link
Receiving a fax You can choose to receive a fax automatically, manually, or through an answering machine.
Note: For your All-In-One to receive a color fax, the machine from which you are receiving must also support color faxes.
Automatically Recommended for a dedicated fax line
Your All-In-One automatically accepts incoming faxes using the automatic answering mode. When the Auto Answer light is on, the All-In-One receives a fax after the specified number of rings set in the Options menu.
To set a number of rings for the automatic answering mode:

1. On the control panel, press Mode repeatedly until Fax is selected.
2. Press Options until ANSWER FAX WHEN appears.
3. Press + to choose After 1 ring, After 2 rings, After 3 rings (default), or After 5 rings.
4. Press Select.
5. Make sure the Auto Answer light on the All-In-One is on.

When the number of rings that you set is detected, the All-In-One automatically receives your fax.
Manually Recommended for a shared fax and telephone line
You can choose which incoming faxes to accept by setting your All-In-One to manual answering mode.

1. Make sure the All-In-One Auto Answer light is off.
2. Press *9* on the telephone after you answer the telephone and hear fax tones.
3. Hang up the telephone.

The All-In-One receives your fax.
Answering machine Recommended for a shared fax and telephone line
To receive a fax with an answering machine connected to your All-In-One, set the answering machine to answer incoming calls before the All-In-One does. For example, if you set the answering machine to answer calls after 3 rings, set the All-In-One to answer calls after 5 rings.

1. On the control panel, press Mode repeatedly until Fax is selected.
2. Press Options until ANSWER FAX WHEN appears.
3. Press + until After 5 rings appears.
4. Press Select.
5. Make sure the Auto Answer light on the All-In-One is on.

When a ring is detected, the answering machine picks up the call.

• If a fax is detected, the All-In-One receives the fax and disconnects the answering machine.
• If not, the answering machine completes the call.

Note: You must set up the equipment as shown in connecting to an answering machine.