Send a test fax to your fax machine

Read this first

ProntoFax sends faxes. It does not receive them. So if what you are looking for is a test fax number to send something TO, somewhere that will answer and confirm your machine can transmit, this is not that and we would rather say so now than after you have paid.

What this page is for is the other direction. If you want to know whether your fax machine still receives, send it one page from here. You pick your own fax number as the destination, we send a page to it, and you get a delivery confirmation with the date and time the receiving machine answered. If the page comes out of your machine, it receives. If the fax does not go through, you are not charged.

That covers most of what people mean by fax testing: a machine that has sat unused for months, a line that was moved to a new provider, an office that switched to voice over IP and wants to know whether fax still works over it.

What the confirmation actually proves

A delivery confirmation means the receiving machine answered, negotiated, and accepted the page. That is a real result and it is the thing a fax receipt is for. It does not tell you the page came out legibly, that the toner is not empty, or that anyone picked it up off the tray, so look at the paper as well as the email.

It also tells you nothing about sending. Sending and receiving are separate functions on the same box, and a line can be fine for one and not the other. A received page tells you the line rings through and the machine picks up, and no more than that.

If the test does not go through

A no-answer means nothing picked up. The commonest reasons are dull ones: the machine is off or out of paper, the line was disconnected, or the number is a voice line rather than the fax line. A busy signal means something answered but the line was in use, which is worth retrying a few minutes later.

Either way you are not charged. We only take the $2.99 once a receiving machine confirms it has the page, so a failed test costs you nothing and tells you something you needed to know.

It works the same whatever make the machine is. A fax machine is a fax machine to the network, so an HP, a Brother, a Canon, an all-in-one printer with a phone socket, or a fax service running on a virtual line all receive the same page the same way.

How to test your fax machine

1

Enter your own fax number as the destination. We check that the line can receive before you pay.

2

Add one page. Photograph anything with your phone camera, or upload a PDF. A single page is enough for a test.

3

Pay $2.99 and watch it send. You get a delivery confirmation with a timestamp, and if it does not arrive you are not charged.

One page is enough

A test does not need a real document. Photograph a sheet of paper with today’s date on it and you will be able to match the page that comes out of the machine to the confirmation email.

Why ProntoFax for a test

Flat $2.99, no subscription and no trial to cancel
No account or sign-up required
The line is validated before you pay
No charge if the fax does not go through
Email receipt with the delivery time and page count
Works from a phone, with nothing to install

Questions about test faxes

Is there a free fax test number I can send to?

Not one we operate or will point you at. Free test numbers appear and disappear, and a page that named one would be wrong without anything here changing. If you need to confirm your own machine receives, sending it a page from here for $2.99 is a result you can keep.

How do I test whether my fax machine still works?

Send it one page and see whether the page comes out. Enter your own fax number as the destination, add a single page, and check the tray against the delivery confirmation you get by email. That tests the line and the receiving side of the machine together.

Can I test a fax machine for free?

You can ask someone with a fax machine to send you one, which costs you nothing. From here it is $2.99, and you only pay if the page is delivered, so a test that fails is free either way.

Does this work with my HP or Brother machine?

Yes. The network does not know or care what make the machine is. Anything that answers a fax call and accepts a page will receive this, including all-in-one printers with a phone socket.

Can I send a test fax to myself?

That is exactly what this is. You put your own fax number in as the destination, and the page goes to your machine.

How many pages can I send?

Up to 25 in one fax, for the same $2.99. For a test, one page is plenty.

Test it in about two minutes

One page to your own number, $2.99, and you are not charged unless it arrives.

Send a test fax