Sending Faxes via Email with VoIP.ms

Some industries are still leveraging faxes, namely the legal and the healthcare industry, among others. They require to have the information sent via fax as it's the unique form to show that the document is legitimate and, thus, having the other party with a valid copy of the paper. Since having a fax machine is cumbersome depending on the office or house space, the internet came with a solution of faxing via T.38, and thanks to that, this helped come to a solution of faxing by sending emails and receiving faxes via email. In this article, we will guide you on how to set up your account to send and receive faxes via email with VoIP.ms

Configuring the feature on your portal

Assuming you already have a virtual fax DID in your account head into your VoIP.ms portal, DID Numbers, Virtual Fax section and then head into Email to Fax tab. From there, you will be able to click the button “Add a new Email to Fax” and some options will come up. Here are some guidelines for each option:

1. Enabled?: If checked, the email to fax service will be enabled for the email address provided.
2. Email Address: Add the desired email address you want to send faxes messages from.
3. Security Code: This is empty by default, and you may leave it as-is. If selected, your email messages will need to include this security code in the subject field (after the destination fax number) to be able to send the fax message using your email.
4. Default from Number: This is the number to be the default “from” number when sending fax messages. If no options appear, it is simply because you do not have a virtual fax number yet in your account.

Once completed, hit the checkmark button to save your entry.

Sending a fax from your email address

Prepare a test file with random information on your computer. It can be a notepad with some words, an image, or a simple PDF document. Just make sure that the file doesn't exceed the following restrictions:

1. The file must not weight more than 25 MB,
2. The files doesn’t contain more than 200 pages.

Once you have your file on hand, head into your favorite email service, create a new e-mail and follow these 3 steps.

1. Set the destination to [email protected].
2. In the subject, enter the number you wish to send your fax to (e.g. 5142001234).

Note that if you have added a security code, it will need to be set in the subject as follows: 5142001234(dot)(security code). For example, 5142001234.Az09.

1. Attach the file to your email and hit send.

(Please note that if you have images in your email signature, it can be added as a second page in the fax file)

This will process the email, and the fax will be received on the other end!

Bonus: Receiving faxes to your email address

Now let's talk about receiving faxes to your email address. Sending faxes requires a bit of configuration in the portal. However, receiving faxes is only a single modification in your VoIP.ms portal. Assuming you already have a virtual fax DID in your account, head into your VoIP.ms portal, DID Numbers, Virtual Fax section, and then head into My Fax Numbers. Edit the DID that you would like to use by clicking the pencil icon and follow these 3 easy steps:

1. Write down the email address you wish to receive faxes on and hit the check mark,
2. Hit the “Attach PDF file” check mark to enable the file attachment, and
3. Once both options are set, hit the Save button and you are ready to go.

If you have any questions or doubts, our technical support team is always available through live chat or email to help you with this great feature. For more information, check out our Wiki right here.