Connecting a fax machine is pretty straightforward, however, some guidelines might come in handy. Two situations can appear: connecting a fax machine directly to the wall phone jack or connecting a fax machine to a home phone modem.
In order to connect a fax machine to the wall phone jack, three steps should be followed:
- Plug the fax into the mains power source;
- Connect one phone line to the fax machine port usually called Line, to the wall jack;
- Connect another phone line to the phone, from the port on the fax machine usually called Tel or Ext.
In order to connect a fax machine to a home phone modem, you also only need to follow three steps:
- Plug the fax into the mains power source;
- Connect one phone line from the modem’s MTA telephone port to the fax machine port usually called Line, either Line1 or Line2, as long as you a two-conductor phone line is used;
- Connect another phone line to the phone, from the port on the fax machine usually called Tel or Ext.
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The following troubleshooting tips can be useful in case you think you have failed to properly connect the fax machine:
- You can check if the fax machine has a dial tone either by using the machine’s handset, or by plugging a phone into the fax machine’s extension port;
- You can try and delete all voice mail messages in case you can’t send faxes;
- You can make sure he maximum baud rate of the machine is at 9600;
- You can disable the Error Correction Mode of the machine;
- Phone splitters can cause problems.

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