Content Table
- Fax from Android Device
- Fax from iPhone/iPad
- Fax From Windows Phone/Tablet
- Fax from BlackBerry
- Fax From Smartphone
How To Fax From an Android Device
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to send or receive an important fax Message but you didn't have any access to a PC or a fax machine?
As long as you have an Android device handy, there are options for you, here's how you send or receive Fax Messages with an Android phone.
What you should be aware of is that there is no way to connect an Android device to a fax machine and control it that way, fax machines just don't support that level of connectivity.
Likewise, you can not turn your Android into a fax machine like you can with a PC and fax modem.
The only options you've got are using online fax services, or faxing apps.
Method 1: Online Fax Services
This method of faxing has gotten pretty popular over the last decade, as it takes communication method that is bulky and unwieldy and turns it into something very similar to e-mailing, quickly and simply.
You'll need an Android device with access to the internet and a browser installed, and you're good to go – online fax services use online browser interfaces to let you do all the work.
Just know that some of the services may require you to create an account and activate it on a PC before you can use it from your Android phone.
Receiving faxes on your mobile device is just like receiving an e-mail with an attachment – you can download the document and send it to your office computer or to wherever you want to print it from (if you want to print it at all, a digital copy of a fax may be enough for you).
These services are not free, but they offer prices that don't differ that much from regular faxing prices and can, in some cases, be even more affordable than dealing with your local phone line provider.
Method 2: Android Faxing Apps
Much like using Windows Mobile and iStore apps for faxing, Android apps allow you to buy credits that you can use to send and Receive Fax Messages through an app interface, designed to be used easily and quickly with no need for your browser.
Of course, you will still need to be connected to the internet to use Faxing Apps.
Here are three most popular faxing apps for Android, you can find more in “similar apps” tab of the Google Play store:
FaxFile
FaxFile is an easy to use app that that has been around for a while, and on different platforms.
It's originally an Android app, and while every major Android update brings out a few new bugs, they get resolved reasonably quickly.
The price tag for faxing credits is higher than sending from your regular online faxing services, but the features offered within an app are well worth it.
PC-FAX Free Fax
Dr Fax has a much more professional looking layout when compared to FaxFile, but the functionality is more or less same.
It covers over 50 countries and you're good to go.
There is one free page per day, but you need to buy credits for more than that – don't be tricked by the name
eFax App
eFax App lets you receive, sign and send faxes from your Android devices.
Out of the three options here, this one is the one that people complain about when it comes to bugs, but if it runs fine on your phone, than you've got a reliable option for sending and receiving faxes from your phone.
One thing you should have in mind with both of these options is that there are no apps that can sync up a fax machine with an Android phone.
Using Android to send and receive faxes is a more expensive option than using landline fax, and it uses your data plan, so if you're limited on data transfer, you may push your charges even higher.
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How to Send and Receive Fax Messages from an iOS Device
At the moment, there are no methods of connecting a handheld iOS device (iPhone, iPad, etc.) to a fax machine and letting it interface with it.
That leaves users with only two practical options for sending and receiving fax messages from an iOS device – using online faxing services and using Apple store apps dedicated to faxing.
Method 1: Online Faxing Services
Using online faxing services is quickly becoming the most used method for both private use and corporate use, as it's quick and can be done from any platform.
You may have to set up your online faxing services account and set up all the settings from a PC, but once everything is setup, you can access the service through the web interface, allowing you to send and receive fax messages using an interface pretty similar to an e-mail inbox with faxes being sent and received as attachments.
Method 2: iOS Faxing Apps
iFax
Judging by the customer reviews, iFax seems to be the very best option for app-based sending and receiving of fax messages on iOS with tiny competition.
There have been quite a few updates for the app, and it is keeping pace with the modern iterations of Apple's mobile OS, allowing you to quickly and affordably send faxes.
The price is very competitive, especially when compared to some of the other online fax services.
One thing to bear in mind is that both of these methods for sending and receiving fax messages on iOS use up your WiFi data plans, so if you are on a limited plan, you may want to keep an eye out on how many faxes have you sent and received so you do not go over your monthly plan, increasing the cost greatly.
Use your iOS device to send Faxes! Test drive our #1 Choice. Click here!
How to Send and Receive Fax Messages Using a Windows Phone or a Windows Tablet
You never want to find yourself in a situation where you have to send or receive a fax immediately and you just can't because you're out of your office and out of range of a fax machine you can use.
There are options for all platforms of mobile phones, including Windows Phone and Tablet users.
Expect to spend some extra money on using these options, but that's the price of wanting to have access to all of the features of the office while being on the move.
If you just wanted to send and receive fax message from your phone while being in the office, just for the novelty of it, there's no product on the market yet that allows that sort of office integration.
In theory, your mobile device could be turned into a remote control for you PC, allowing you to send a fax message from your PC the regular way, but that's just making a simple task of sending a fax message very complicated for no apparent reason.
Most well known faxing methods for Windows devices
Method 1: Online Fax Services
The first method of sending and receiving a fax from the Windows Phone or a tablet is using one of the available online fax services.
There are plenty to be used these days, and if you find yourself needing to send a fax on the move often, this may be the more affordable option for you as they usually have a better price per fax ratios.
Sending a fax this way pretty much resembles sending an e-mail from your mobile Windows device, as online fax services usually function through a web browser interface, they don't have an app or a program of their own.
As long as your phone has a good internet connection that would allow upload or download of a file, you're good to go.
As far as receiving documents go, you'll get an e-mail with a PDF document containing all of the fax data sent to you; you can do whatever you want with it – there are options for printing documents from a phone, or you can just mail the document to your PC for later viewing.
Method 2: Windows Mobile Fax Apps
There are several Windows Mobile apps that allow for sending and receiving documents directly from the phone, not through an internet browser interface, but through the interface that has been designed specifically for this task.
Some of them even bring advanced integration to the printers, so you can easily print and access your received documents.
You can see top 3 options here, but be advised that you will be paying for their service and that the prices are above the costs you'd incur on online fax services.
Use them only if you are firmly set on having a fully integrated phone experience and if you don't have a need for a mobile fax service all the time:
iFax – Send & Receive Faxes
As the name suggests, this is an adaptation of an app that was originally developed for iOS but is cross-platform now.
Ease of use is it's main strength, and it's very high compatibility rates for different versions of Windows Mobile platform, 8, 8.1 and Metro platforms easily deal with the demands of this app.
PamFax
PamFax is an Online Fax Service, but they have developed an app so their users can get a better experience while on Windows Phones.
The mains strength of this app is the competitive price – it's more affordable than other two options on this list, so you'll get more faxes for the same cash.
The downside comes in the form of poor customer support – there are a lot of reports of this app glitching and being unable to be used on some phones, so give it a try before you invest in one of the bundle packages it offers.
Fax Pro – Fax PDF & Photos On The Go
If the beautiful user interface is the main thing on your mind when picking an app for faxing for your Windows phone, you're in for a real treat, as Fax Pro looks stunning.
It's easy to use and turns your Windows device into a mobile fax station… as long as it works.
This app as well has had many reports of glitches and downright crashes making it unusable, but there are almost as many positive reviews, so give it a try if a pretty looking software is what you're after.
All of these Windows platform apps are free, but they're just free to install – all have some form of credits systems, and you need to buy those credits to be able to send and receive fax messages.
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How to Send and Receive Fax Messages from a Blackberry
Most platforms for handheld and smart devices have at least two methods of sending and receiving fax messages, but Blackberry's only method of handling fax messages is through use of online fax services.
These services operate as digital fax machines in the virtual space, connected to the land lines by the online fax service company, so you don't need to worry about having an access to a fax line – all you need is a stable internet connection and you can get and receive fax messages in a manner very similar to e-mailing.
You can access your virtual fax machine through the web interface of your online faxing provider, and it doesn't take too much getting used to.
Sending fax messages require you to have a digital copy of your document as well as a fax number you're sending to, you create a message, add a cover, attach your document and you're all done.
Receiving the files is just as easy of a process, as you get a message with a PDF of the sent fax attached – you can download that document and manipulate it at will from your smart device or from your PC, print it, do whatever you want with it.
Some things to keep in mind while using online fax services with Blackberry:
Sending and receiving faxes from your Blackberry device will be charged as data, as everything goes through the internet connection, if you're using plans with limited data than this may prove to be a very costly option for sending and receiving faxes.
Blackberry phone doesn't need to be on to receive messages, nor do you need to be connected all the time.
Your faxes will be waiting for you in the online fax service inbox.
Some of the more advanced features may not be available from the Blackberry phone, but you can set those options up from a PC.
Sending and Receiving Fax Messages from a Smartphone
First of all, you should understand that there's no way to connect a fax machine to a smartphone or a tablet as of now.
Using an existing fax line as a line that is connected to a phone so it can act as a fax modem is also not possible.
That is a very limiting factor that forces you to use the only remaining option for sending and receiving fax messages from a smartphone – Online Fax Services.
There are some differences when it comes to using online fax services to send messages from a PC when compared to the options you have on the smartphones and tablets.
PC users have a web interface and software suites dedicated to this while mobile users may prefer using dedicated apps for sending and receiving faxes.
What do you need to send fax messages on your smartphone?
- A smartphone or a tablet with an active internet connection – both the web browser interface services and faxing apps require internet to work.
- A subscription to an online fax service – be advised that some online fax services require you to set up an account from a PC before activation on your smartphone.
- A document you want to fax – PDF files are the industry standard, so you should have your fax prepared for sending in the form of a PDF document.
No matter if you're using a web browser interface or an app, you will face an user interface much similar to an e-mail inbox, with incoming and outgoing messages being marked distinctively.
Some of the advanced apps allow you to print the document directly from the phone, if you have a networked printer in the vicinity, or you can just save the received fax as a document and print it once you connect your smartphone to the PC.
One thing to bear in mind is the fact that the cost of individual fax messages is much higher if you're using this method of sending and receiving fax messages.
Also, while you do not require a landline to send and receive these messages, you still use up your data plans, and depending on the transfer plan you have, it may push you over the limits of affordable wireless internet use.
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