How to fax without a fax machine
A fax machine, a dedicated phone line, ink, paper, and toner are all optional now. If you have a phone, tablet, or computer with a browser and the document you need to send, you can fax it. OnlyFaxes handles the conversion and transmission over the telephone network so the recipient's machine receives a standard fax, indistinguishable from one sent by a physical machine.
How to fax without a fax machine: step by step
Skip the hardware
Instead of a machine, open the OnlyFaxes home page on any phone, tablet, or computer. The tool runs entirely in your browser and requires no downloads, plugins, or phone-line connections.
Upload your document
Add a PDF or image from your files, or photograph a paper document with your phone camera. OnlyFaxes accepts PDF, JPG, PNG, WEBP, TIF, BMP, GIF, HEIC, and plain text. Every file is automatically converted to a clean fax page.
Enter the number and send
Type the recipient's fax number, optionally add a cover sheet with your details, enter your email for the delivery receipt, and click Send Fax. The fax is delivered over the internet to their machine or line, and you get an email confirming it arrived.
Troubleshooting
- Recipient says they never received the fax
- Check the delivery confirmation email. If it shows 'Delivered', the fax reached the recipient's line successfully and the issue is on their end (paper jam, memory full, wrong machine). If it shows 'Failed', verify the fax number and try again.
- I need to fax to a country not listed
- Free faxes support the US, Canada, UK, and Mexico. For other countries, a dedicated fax number unlocks international sending to over 40 destinations.
- The fax number I entered is not accepted
- Make sure you are entering the full number including the area code. For US and Canada, enter all 10 digits. For UK numbers, include the leading 0. OnlyFaxes auto-formats the number, so you do not need to add a country code prefix manually.
- My fax has a different caller ID than expected
- Free faxes are sent from a shared OnlyFaxes number. If you need your own caller ID to appear, get a dedicated fax number. Your dedicated number shows as the caller ID on every outbound fax you send through it.
Frequently asked questions
Will the recipient know I didn't use a fax machine?
- No. The fax arrives through the standard telephone network just like a machine-sent fax. The only difference is the caller ID, which shows one of our shared numbers (or your dedicated number if you have one).
Can I receive faxes without a machine too?
- Yes. Generate a free QR code to receive faxes in your email, or get a dedicated fax number for automatic fax-to-email delivery.