Skip to main content

Fax explained

Receiving a fax: what it takes, and what this service does not do

Sending and receiving are not the same problem. Receiving assumes a number that belongs to you, and therefore a subscription — which this free, registration-free service does not offer.

Short answer

Receiving a fax requires an allocated number and a line that answers at all times. Three options exist: a virtual number from a carrier, the fax option of a router, or a machine on an analogue line. This site is a sender: it allocates no receiving number.

The three ways to receive

  1. 1

    The virtual number

    A carrier allocates a number and forwards incoming pages to an email address. Billed monthly, with no hardware at all.

  2. 2

    The router fax option

    Some carriers offer reception on the landline number. The router answers and forwards the pages by email.

  3. 3

    The classic machine

    A device wired to an analogue line. It remains the only option that prints without an intermediary, and the most fragile since copper switch-off began.

Why this service allocates no number

Allocating a receiving number means reserving it with a carrier, keeping it reachable around the clock, and tying every incoming page to an identified holder. That requires an account, hence registration and billing, which contradicts being free and registration-free. The service therefore accepts being a sender only.

Frequently asked questions

Can a fax be received free of charge?
A few offers provide an advertising-funded number, usually capped in pages and in retention time. A stable number, kept for years, has to be paid for.
Is a receiving number permanent?
It is, for as long as the subscription runs. On termination the carrier returns it to circulation: documents transmitted afterwards reach its new holder.
Can pages arrive at an email address?
Yes, that is the principle of the virtual number: the carrier converts incoming pages to PDF and relays them by mail. The page therefore passes through a mail server.

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