How to fax with an HP DeskJet 4152e or fax machine

Use an HP fax machine or fax-capable HP printer to send documents to another fax machine.

In most cases, faxing requires a traditional landline telephone service. Faxing is considered more secure than sending documents through email or postal mail.

Prepare the printer for faxing over a phone landline connection

Connect your HP printer to a landline, and then set up fax preferences.

1. Get a telephone cord. Make sure it is a cord with two wire leads, not four.

   

2. Connect the phone cord to the wall jack and to the 1-LINE jack on the back of the printer.

   

3. If you have an answering machine, connect a phone cord to the machine and to the 2-EXT jack on the back of the printer to allow your answering machine to record voice calls without fax noises.

   

   Callout	Description
   1	Wall jack
   2	Two-wire phone cord
   3	Answering machine
   4	Single-line telephone

4. Set up fax settings and preferences. The HP software includes guided fax setup tools, or you can navigate to the Fax or Setup menus on the printer control panel to change settings.

   • Fax header: Type text you want the recipients to see at the top of your faxes. A typical fax header contains your name, the name of your business, and your complete 10-digit fax number.

   • Answer mode/Auto answer: Turn this feature on if you want the fax machine to pick up your phone calls after a specified number of rings and accept faxes. If this feature is off, you must manually accept incoming faxes from the printer control panel.

   • Rings to answer: When the phone rings, the printer waits and counts the number of telephone rings before it answers the call.

     • If the phone line is shared with your voice calls, select a number of rings that provides enough time for you to answer the phone before the printer picks up the call.

     • If the phone line is shared with an answering machine, set the number of rings to two more than the answering machine to make sure the answering machine answers the phone before the printer.

   • Ring type: Use the All Rings setting for a dedicated fax line or select Distinctive Ring if you set up a special ring pattern for the fax line.

   • Dial type: Match the type of analog phone service you have; tone or pulse. If the dial type does not match, the printer cannot detect rings and answer incoming calls.

     The current industry standard is tone dial in most areas. You might have pulse dialing if you use a rotary telephone. If you are not sure of the dial type, contact your phone service provider.

   • Fax volume: Select a volume level to hear sounds made during the fax call, such as dial tones and busy signals. Set the volume to Off if you want silent faxing.

5. Test the fax setup.

   • Run a fax test from the printer control panel: Locate Run Fax Test or Fax Test Report in the Fax or Setup menus. A report prints with test results and any instructions to resolve issues.

   • Send a test fax: Send a one-page, black & white test fax to 1-888-HPFaxme (1-888-473-2963 U.S.). The service receives and returns faxes within 5 to 7 minutes to the fax number in the fax header.

Send a fax

Load a document in your printer, dial the receiving fax number on the printer control panel, and then send your fax.

1. If you know the recipient is in a home or home office and shares the phone line with their fax machine, call them to let them know you are sending a fax.

2. Load the document you want to fax.

   • Scanner glass: Lift the scanner lid, position the original print side down on the glass according to the guide on the printer, and then close the scanner lid.

     

   • Automatic Document Feeder (ADF): Load a single or multi-page document according to the guide on the tray. For most models, load the document print side up and top edge first. Adjust the paper-width guides until they rest gently against the edges of the paper.

     

3. Make sure blank paper is loaded in the input tray for any fax reports that might print.

4. From the printer, dial the receiving fax number, including the outside line access code, and the long distance country code, and area code. If you are using speed dial, confirm the saved number includes the dashes between numbers.

5. Press the Black, Color, or Send button to send the fax.

   • If you hear a busy signal, the receiving fax phone line is busy. Try faxing again later.

   • If you hear someone's voice answer the phone, wait until they manually accept your fax, or cancel the fax from the control panel if you suspect the phone number is wrong.

   • If you hear high-pitched sounds, your fax is being sent.

   A fax report prints.

6. Read the fax report to confirm the fax completed successfully or learn how to resolve the issue if an error occurred.

Receive a fax

Manually receive an incoming fax by pressing the Fax button on the printer. Otherwise, the printer or fax machine automatically receives incoming faxes, and then prints them, forwards them to email, or saves them to a folder on your computer, depending on your fax reception settings.

The following settings are in the Fax or Setup menu on the printer control panel or in the HP software.

• Answer mode/Auto answer: Turn this feature on if you want the fax machine to pick up your phone calls after a specified number of rings and accept faxes. If this feature is off, you must manually accept incoming faxes from the printer control panel.

• Rings to answer: Set a number of times for the phone to ring before the printer answers the call. If the phone line is shared with your voice calls, select a number that allows you time to answer the phone. If the phone line is shared with an answering machine, select a number that is two rings more than the answering machine so that the answering machine answers before the printer.

• Duplex fax printing: Depending on your printer model, turn on the 2-Sided Fax Printing option to print incoming faxes on both sides of the paper.

• Save faxes to the computer or email: Set up HP Digital Fax from the HP printer software to save incoming faxes to a folder on your computer or network or to forward them to your email inbox.

Test fax setup with the HP Fax Test Service

Use the HP Fax Test Service to confirm that your HP printer can successfully send and receive faxes.

Send a test fax

Send a fax to HP, and then wait for a return fax to make sure you are able to send and receive faxes.

1. Create a one-page black and white test fax.

2. Add your fax number to the fax header. The service uses the header number to send the return fax. Make sure your full 10-digit fax number is in the header, and that it matches the number of the phone line connected to the fax.

3. Temporarily suspend or disable any conflicting phone line services such as voice mail, call waiting, anonymous call rejection, privacy manager, and caller ID, as these can interfere with incoming faxes. Pressing *82 before dialing the HP Fax Test Service number unblocks the Caller ID blocking feature in most areas. Contact your telephone company if any of these services are interrupting fax communication.

4. Send the test fax to 1-888-HPFaxme (1-888-473-2963 U.S.).

5. Wait 5 to 7 minutes for the service to send a return fax.

If a fax is not received after 10 minutes, check fax settings and try again.

https://support.hp.com/