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It may seem strange to still think about faxes in the email and social media age. Yet, faxing has proven surprisingly resilient.
In fact, there are still 46.3 million active fax machines worldwide. [1] Further, they comprise 75% of all communications in the medical field alone. [2]
That’s because some industries consider a faxed document legally valid and binding, more secure during the transfer, and HIPAA-approved. This makes fax an important technology in law and medicine even today.
But when you send a fax, it’s not always clear that it was received by the recipient. That’s when a fax confirmation becomes useful.
So, today, let’s examine why fax confirmation is important and how to confirm a fax was received.
How to Confirm a Fax Was Received
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The easiest way to tell your fax was completed or delivered successfully is if your fax machine prints a confirmation page. It’s a one-page summary that details the date, time, recipient’s fax number, and the number of pages sent. Most fax machines print out this confirmation by default.
Your fax machine will only print the confirmation page once it gets a “message received” or “message completely received” notification from the recipient or destination fax machine.
Some businesses opt to turn off the confirmation page function to save paper. But there’s a downside, as they can no longer receive a message receipt.
Another way to tell your fax was received is by checking your fax logs and cover page. The sending fax machine has a fax log, which details the number of pages, time, and duration of fax transmission.
A common way to view your fax log is by opening the web browser. Then, type your printer or fax IP address (often appears as four sets of numbers separated like this: 123.123.123.123). Click Settings > Reports > Fax Job Log or Fax Call Log.
Why Is Fax Confirmation Important?
Every minute has the potential to advance or impede a business. That’s why some entrepreneurs would say, “Time is money.”
And getting a fax confirmation is essential in a fast-paced business world because it spells the difference between a costly mistake and a successful transaction. Even in online faxing, getting a fax confirmation helps protect a business against fraud.
If someone tries to change the fax information after it was sent, the confirmation details/ page provides evidence of the content of the original document. It also provides a record of the transaction should there be any questions about what was agreed to.
Benefits of Using an Online Fax Service
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Online fax services have emerged to help users switch to internet fax services from traditional fax machines. And if you need convincing to make that switch, here are a few benefits of online fax services:
Cost Savings
Using an online fax service means no costs for maintaining a fax machine and no more wasting paper. You can send a fax from your email to a traditional fax machine that prints the data on paper when needed.
Time-Saving
One of the biggest challenges with traditional fax machines is the time it takes to send and receive a fax. On average, it takes about eight minutes. It does not include wasted time because of miss-dials, disconnections, and busy signals. Imagine how much time you’ll save.
Convenience
You can send and receive faxes from anywhere and don’t need to be in the office to start faxing. You may also share the fax service with your entire team.
A paperless fax service works on laptops, computers, and phones your business is already using. Depending on the platform or service you availed, you may effortlessly get a confirmation message in your email each time you fax.
Secure Storage
You won’t have to worry about losing papers as all your faxed documents will be in online storage or the mobile app. With Thatch online faxing service, you get unlimited storage so you won’t lose your important team data again.
People Also Ask: FAQs About Fax Transmission
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Is the fax received immediately?
Usually, yes. It can be transmitted successfully in about a few seconds to a few minutes. But if the receiver’s fax is busy, it may take a few tries before receiving it.
There are fax machines that can store outgoing documents in case of failure to send to the target number.
What happens if a fax isn't answered?
The fax machine will automatically retry calling. You can adjust the number of times the machine redials. An online fax service may hold back an outbound fax during a high volume of call times.
When you send a fax, do you get a receipt?
If you turn on a confirmation page feature in your fax machine, then you’ll get a one-page confirmation (proof of delivery) that indicates your fax was successfully sent. However, some businesses may not get a receipt if they turn the feature off to save paper.
How do I get a confirmation page for a fax?
It depends on the fax machine you’re using. If you use a Brother fax machine or printer with faxing capability, navigate to the Print Reports. Choose transmission using the Up and Down arrow keys to display Report Setting.
Then, press okay. You’ll receive a confirmation page for fax after that. A Brother machine is equipped with a transmission verification report as a confirmation page.
Regardless of the fax machine brand, you’re using, ensure that your option for confirmation pages is turned on. But if you’re using an online fax service, you’ll normally have a Faxes section to view the list of faxes you sent.
Where can I find my fax number?
It’s the same telephone number to which your fax machine is connected. But if you’re using a separate line, you’ll know your fax number by calling someone with a caller ID. They can then tell you the fax number that appears on it.
Can a fax machine work without the internet?
Yes, if you’re using a traditional fax machine. It functions using a photosensor, which converts sports from the document into sounds. When run through the machine’s scanner or rotating drum, it transmits in Hertz tones to send data to the receiving fax machine to convert, interpret, and print.
These days, however, modern fax machines work with an internet connection. The benefit is that they’re more secure and can be used only on a smartphone.
Switch to an Online Fax Service Today
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That’s it. We hope you find this guide helpful in confirming if your fax was delivered successfully.
Now is the time to remove the friction point in your business by switching to an online fax service. Replace traditional fax with easy-to-use and secure digital tools you and your employees can use.
TL’DR; You can confirm a fax was received if you receive a fax confirmation page. As a backup, other fax machine keeps logs of the date, time, number of pages, recipient's fax number, whether the transmission was inbound or outbound, and the success status of every transmission.
Looking for a paperless faxing solution that’s easy to use and incredibly secure? Try
Trythatch. It ensures you stay compliant with your partners, especially in finance, healthcare, and government.
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