Do I have to connect the external telephone line to operate the fax machine. I share the fax telephone line with my regular telephone line. I am running the 2 line thru a line splitter which then connects to my computer. I do not have a openrequired outlet on my computer. I have also set up my receiving mode to TAD since my telephone has an answering machine included.

Hi irwinbadin,

HP fax products are designed so that other telephone equipment can be connected on the same line as the fax. The unit must be connected first using a two-conductor fax/phone cable like the one that shipped with the HP product. Using a four-conductor telephone cable may cause problems receiving faxes or calls.

There are two different types of phone cables. There are two-conductor phone cables like what originally shipped with the HP fax product and there are four-conductor cables. HP fax products are designed to work with a two-conductor phone cable. Look at the end of the cable and verify that it has only two copper leads or wires. Replace any four-conductor cables with a two-conductor cable. Only two-conductor phone cables should be used to connect the all-in-one to the phone line.

Figure 1: The difference between a two-conductor phone cable and a four-conductor phone cable



Step one: Connect the phone line to the fax
The fax will have two or three sockets (or jacks) for phone lines. Some of these may have a removable plastic plug in them. These sockets will be labeled with text, To Wall Jack , or with a graphic of the wall jack. See Figure 1 below.

Plug the two-conductor telephone cable that came with the HP product into the telephone wall jack. Then, plug it into this socket as shown below.




In areas with above ground telephone lines and electrical storms (lightning), it is a good idea to purchase a telephone line surge suppressor and connect it between the telephone wall jack and the fax. This will help prevent damage to the fax from a lightning-caused power surge on the phone line.

Step two: Add other phone-line devices
To connect other telephone devices, use the other socket (or sockets) on the fax. These are identified by text or with a graphic of a telephone and/or computer.

Connect a caller ID unit between the fax and the telephone.
Use the information below that matches the devices you need to connect.

Fax and telephone
Connect a single-line telephone to one of the added sockets on the fax. The telephone will share the same phone line as the fax. See the illustration below.




Fax, answering machine, and telephone
When a telephone answering machine and telephone are connected, connect the answering machine to the fax and then connect the telephone to the answering machine as shown below.




Fax and computer modem
To use a fax and a computer modem on the same phone line, connect the fax to the computer modem. The modem socket on the computer may be labeled Line or Wall jack .




Fax, computer modem, and telephone
To use a computer modem and a telephone with the fax, connect the computer modem to the fax. Then, connect the telephone into the second phone line connector on the computer modem or the third fax socket (if it is available). The image below shows how to connect a computer and a telephone to a fax with two sockets.




Fax, modem, answering machine, and telephone
The image below shows how to connect a computer modem, answering machine, and telephone to a fax. Connect the computer modem to the fax, then connect the answering machine to the computer, and finally, connect the telephone to the answering machine.
If the fax has three phone line sockets instead of two, some of the devices can be connected to the other phone socket on the fax.




Hope it helps.

Thank you for using FixYa.

I want to make sure I understand this completely. You get no dial tone from the fax machine when hooked up to VOIP. In the past, was there an audible dial tone from the fax, or did it just dial silently and give you an error if there was no tone? When you said you got a dial tone by connecting a phone to the ext phone port of "the machine" did you mean the fax machine? If you get a dial tone by running a phone through the fax machine, then the line is good. I have used a fax machine over Sunrocket before they went defunct, which used the same technology base as Vonage - so it should work. If you used to get an audible dial tone when using the fax, and no longer do, and you are geting a dial tone on a regular phone that is connected to the ext. port of the fax machine, then the problem has to be in the fax machine itself, not the VOIP. If you can verify that, we can go from there.

Did you connect an external telephone to your machine? If not, please check the lower left side when the back faces you and there are two telephone jacks. the one is to connect to the telephone line and another to an external telephone unit. after connecting the two lines, you should be able to get a dial tone when you lift the telephone's handset. I dont personally use the numbers in the machine but I use the telephone I connected to the machine when sending fax. Just start dialing using the phone and send the fax/ send button when fax tone is heard. hope this works.

According to the User's Manual for the Brother MFC-490CW:

• Poor Line Connection indicates an issue with your telephone line (Page 136). If you are sharing the fax line with any splitters or computers, try connecting the MFC-490CW directly to the phone jack and send a fax. If you are still getting a Poor Line Connection error message, call the telephone company and have a repair technician check your telephone line.
  
  
• Out of Memory error message means the machine's memory is full (Page 138).
  
  Try pressing Stop/Exit and wait until all current operations finish and try again.
  
  Try clearing the data in memory. To gain extra memory space. turn off Memory Receive (See Page 48).
  
  Try printing the faxes that are in memory (See Page 49).
  
  
• System Busy error message wasn't in the manual, but I suspect it means there's a current operation in progress and the machine needs time to finish before moving on to another job. Just wait for the current job to finish, then try again.

For a phone line dedicated only to the fax machine, the process is as follows:

1. Press Menu/Set, 0, 1.
2. You will see the Fax Receive window
3. Use UP and DOWN arrows to change the setting to FAX ONLY
4. Press Menu/Set.
5. Press STOP/EXIT

Your fax machine will now answer every incoming call.
If the fax machine is sharing the phone line with a telephone, repeat the above steps and change from FAX ONLY to FAX/TEL This option will allow you to share the line with a phone only, not an answering machine. Once in FAX/TEL mode, the fax machine will still grab every incoming FAX call, and give a special ring (slightly different than a regular telephone ring) when it's a regular incoming phone call signaling you to answer the phone. I hope this helps with your problem. Best of luck!
Greg

hi you really have a very good choice of printers is one of the best printers from hp
inorder to set fax on ur printer you should first be sure what type of telephone line you are using
there are 2 type of line 1 dedicated -> that is directly attached for fax and has no other telephone or TAM connected if you have this line you can directly attach the phone line on the printer line 1
the other type of line is shared that means you use the same line for phone and fax in this the connection should be as :- telephone line from wall jack to the printer line 1 then from printer ext port to telephone answering machine (if any ) then from answering machine to telephone (if u have a dsl line that means u use phone and internet from the telephone line then there will be 2 lines comming out of the splitter 1 to router and other to telephone here follow the shared line connection mentioned above using the line that goes to the telephone )
now power on the printer and press the setup button (menu) now navigate to basic fax set up press ok and then go to rings to answer it should be 4 rings now go back and go to advance fax setting and then to distintive ring (DRP) select all rings and press ok now run fax test if it passes then ur fax is set up try sending fax now hope this will help you

Issue: How do I connect a telephone, answering machine or computer modem to my machine?
Solution: Connecting the telephone line and external devices to the MX310

Preparing the Machine for Faxing Typical examples of connecting the machine are described below. The machine cannot send/receive faxes if the connection is incorrect. Connect the machine correctly.

Important

If the Power Disconnects Unexpectedly

If there is a power failure or if you accidentally disconnect the power cord, the date/time settings as well as all documents stored in memory will be lost. User data and speed dialing settings are retained. If the power disconnects, the following will apply:

You will not be able to send or receive faxes or make copies.

If a telephone is connected to the machine, you can receive voice calls.

Whether you are able to make voice calls depends on the type of your telephone.

Methods of Connecting External Devices Connecting to an Analog Line
(A) Telephone line (analog)

Connecting a Telephone or Answering Machine Directly
(A) Telephone or Answering machine

Important

Do not connect the machine and external devices in parallel to the same telephone line using a splitter (A) . The machine may not operate properly.


Connecting a Telephone or Answering Machine via a Computer
(A) Computer

(B) Telephone or Answering machine


Methods of Connecting the Various Lines The following are some basic connection schemes that apply when you are connecting to a non-analog telephone line. These are examples and are not guaranteed to suit every connecting conditions. For details, refer to the instruction manual supplied with the network device (control devices such as an xDSL modem, terminal adapter, or dial-up router) you are connecting to this machine.

Connecting to an xDSL
(A) Digital Subscriber Line

(B) Splitter

(C) xDSL modem (splitter may be built-in to the modem)

(D) Computer

Connecting to an ISDN Line For details on ISDN connection and settings, see the manuals supplied with your terminal adapter or dial-up router.

Please be informed that you can access Canon's online support site for your printer by clicking here. You can find many solutions to your problems by searching their database once you have navigated to the support page for your model.
I hope this information allows you to resolve this issue. If not, reply back with a comment to this thread.
If so, please take just a moment to rate this post. Thanks!

Yes,

Fax machines are ANALOG devices and will not work reliably on DIGITAL phone lines

Dear friend,
it's very important to connect your MX 300 with the telephone line the right way! Please read once more the part "Preparing the machine for fax" in the chapter "Faxing" of the MX 300 User's Guide and mind the hint "Important: Do not connect the machine and external devices in parallel to the same telephone line using a splitter (A). The machine may not operate properly."

Greetings from Cologne (Germany) to the UK!

First this is a good machine, I use the same one and have my fax setup for the same thing. If you have a (TAD) Telephone Answering Device first you have to set up your phone to pick up before the fax, do this by setting the phone to pick up on three rings and the fax to pick up on four. Go to Menu/Fax/Setup Receive/Ring Delay. While there make sure Easy Receive is on. The machine itself will distinguish between regular calls and facsimiles and will display this info at the time of the call on its LCD screen, make sure you are using the line connection and not the phone connection. Hope this helped.