Problems using fax machine

[Brianl]

Has anyone experianced the following problem, my fax machine has stopped working, I cannot send out fax transmissions or receive fax incoming. I have a Virgin landline which has been tested by Virgin engineers and pronounced OK for use as a phone line. I have removed all internal wiring from the incoming line and tried the fax direct from the incoming termination still no luck. I have tested my fax machine by connecting to a next door neighbours BT phone line and it works perfectly. Virgin say their line is not at fault it must be my equipment but the fax works with the BT line. I am at a loss does anyone have any ideas.

[Mick Fisher]

Probably a "feature" of the phoneline.

I tried one once, back in the Cabletel days, and found that dialup internet didnt work on it. Likewise Cabletel would not admit to a fault.

I ended up paying for a year and then getting it disconnected.

Many features that BT phone users take for granted don't work on VM phonelines in certain areas. Caller ID is a notable example.

[AntiSilence]

A fax machine just uses the phone line like any phone. There is no difference (like a modem). If a telephone works, a fax machine will.

A common problem (or at least it used to be) is the REN (Ring Equivalence Number). If there's too many phones on one line, this can cause problems. I think the maximum REN allowed on a phone line was 3. Most phones used to be 1, so you could have 3 phones. I'm not sure of the REN of devices these days though.

[haydnwalker]

was actually a REN of 4. Most faxes have a REN of 1.5 though. So you could only have 2 faxes on a line and a plain phone. So i would check how many phones you already have on the line.