Skip to main content

Fax explained

Sending a fax from a computer: what each system can do

All three major systems have, or once had, a built-in fax feature. None works without a fax modem and an analogue line — that is, without the very hardware you were trying to avoid.

Short answer

Windows still ships Fax and Scan, Linux has the efax and HylaFAX clients, and macOS has lost the “Fax PDF” option from its print dialog. Both surviving features require a fax modem on an analogue line. Without that hardware, the only route left from a computer is an online service, which owns the line on your behalf.

What each system offers

  1. 1

    Windows — Fax and Scan

    Present since Windows Vista and still shipped with Windows 11. It expects a fax modem, internal or USB, or a corporate fax server. With neither, the wizard stops at configuration.

  2. 2

    macOS — the removed option

    The print dialog once offered “Fax PDF”, a leftover from the days when Macs shipped with a modem. Apple removed the feature: on a recent version there is nothing left to enable.

  3. 3

    Linux — efax and HylaFAX

    efax sends from the command line; HylaFAX runs a server for several workstations. Both are maintained and dependable, and both assume a serial or USB modem the kernel recognises.

The real obstacle is not the software

Built-in features are not what is missing; the line is. A fax modem needs a switched analogue line, and in France Orange stopped selling new ones in 2018 and has been closing existing ones in batches since. On fibre or through a router, the fax signal passes through a voice codec that distorts it — hence failures mid-transmission while the configuration looks perfectly correct.

Frequently asked questions

Is a USB fax modem enough?
It is enough on the computer's side, but it does not create the line. Plugged into a router, it meets the same voice codec as any fax machine: negotiation starts, then fails, often after the first page.
Can you print to a fax as you would to a printer?
That is exactly how Windows Fax and Scan works: a virtual print driver that asks for a number instead of a tray. The convenience is real; so is the dependence on the modem.
What is left with no modem and no line?
An online service, which owns the line and speaks the protocol for you. From a computer this comes down to uploading a PDF to a form — on this site, a French number and a file of at most 10 MB.

Send a fax now

The form fits on one page: a PDF, a recipient and a return address. No account, no card.

Open the form

Go further