How to Send and Receive Faxes without a Phone Line

Working from home used to mean you had to invest a large amount of capital in office equipment in order to stay connected to the outside world - copy machines, fax machines, computers, etc. as well as the expense of an additional phone line. But the Internet has changed all of that. Now you can stay connected while working from your home office, even without a fax machine or even a phone line. Here are some tips for how to send and receive faxes without a phone line or fax machine.

There are a few things you'll need in order to start sending and receiving faxes without a phone line.
- Computer
- Scanner (optional)
- Access to the Internet

Setting Up An Internet Fax Account

The first step is to establish an email account. Having an email account is essential to the online fax process. You will be sending faxes virtually like emails. As you send your faxes you will get receipt confirmations sent directly to your email account. Also, as people send return faxes and responses they will also be sent to your email inbox. If you don't already have an email account, you can sign up for one free of charge through your Internet service provider, or through many companies online. Sites like google, yahoo, and many others will help you obtain an email address at no cost to you.

The second step is to create an Internet fax account. There are many companies that you can use for this service. With websites like eFax, maxemail, or MyFax you can pay a monthly fee to send and receive faxes. With this monthly fee you are assigned a fax number for your own use that you can give out to people. This fee also includes storage capacities and file extension choices in how you receive your incoming faxes.

Most Internet fax companies have a free trial period. If you find for some reason you don't like a particular company it is easy to switch to another one that better suits your needs.

Sending Faxes

The first step to being able to send a fax without a phone line is to log in to your Internet fax account. Next get the document ready that you are going to send. If you have the document already in file form on your computer, it can be uploaded directly to your Internet fax account. Or, if you only have a hard copy of your document or photo you can transfer the document to your computer by using a scanner. Once the document is on your computer in file form, you can then upload it to your Internet fax account. Enter in the number to which you want to send the fax. You will have the option to type a message to the recipient, which will also serve as a cover page. And your fax is sent to the recipient without the use of a phone line or fax machine.

Receiving Faxes

If someone wants to send you a fax, they simply dial your fax number into their fax machine. Their fax machine translates the information and sends it to you over the phone line. The Internet fax service receives the data and translates it into an image file. The Internet fax service then sends that image file to your email address. You are then able to open your regular email account and view the message, open the attachment, and view the file.

Average Monthly Cost

Depending on how many pages you fax over the course of a month, and how many minutes each fax uses, the average monthly cost for Internet fax services will differ. Some companies offer fax services for as low as seven dollars a month. But the average price is around ten dollars. Depending on the company, this monthly service includes different things. Some companies offer unlimited pages on the faxes to be sent and received, others have a page limit and charge you so many cents for each page in excess of that limit. You may end up paying more than ten dollars per month if you send and receive a lot of faxes. There are websites online that offer reviews on Internet fax service companies to help you get the most for your money and get paired up with a company that best suits your faxing needs. You can read other users' comments to find out how they liked the company.

You will find that sending faxes without a phone line or fax machine has never been easier than by using an Internet fax service. Stay connected while working from your home office without all of the hassle of purchasing or leasing expensive office equipment. Enjoy working from the convenience of your home with nothing but your computer.

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