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FAQ

Here you can find answers to your questions

Watch a short video, sending faxes with byFax is very easy

Signup and go to fax sending page

At first you should signup, you can do that via social networks or at simple signup form – enter your name, username (your valid email) and password. Then you will receive an email with an activation link to confirm your email address. Then you can log in and open your personal portal. At the left you will see a big white button "Send a fax", pushing it you will be forwarded to the appropriate page «Send a fax»

Add fax recipients and attach files

There you should add recipients` fax numbers in the INTERNATIONAL FORMAT (after entering a fax number make sure you clicked «Add recipient» button), after all recipients added - push «Next» button. Then Upload file(s) you like to fax and then click «Next» button again.

Finally send your fax

If you like to personalize your fax - add a cover page, and then push «Next» button. Make sure you documents were converted properly by checking pages preview. If you need to send a fax at exact time - use delayed delivery. At the end push «Send fax» button and send your fax.

Enter it in international format

International number format contains the following parts: +CC NDC SN NUMBER. + symbol is mandatory, CC - country code, NDC - region code, SN - city code, NUMBER – local number. For example +1 650 636 XXXX to send a fax to USA.

Use "Cost calculator" tool

You can find out cost of your fax using our cost calculator tool. Use it very simple - just enter a recipient`s fax-number in international format and count of pages to send. Please don`t forget to take cover page into account, if you use it.

Append number extension after main one

Just need to append number extension after main number without any spaces or special symbols. Please note that number extensions are processed by PBX and connection may be not stable.

In case of successfull fax connect - min 2 minutes

In case of successfull fax-connection single-page fax will be delivered in about 2 minutes.
In case or larger number of pages - delivery time will be extended on 1,5 minutes average per each page.

In other cases - minimum 5 minutes

If fax number is busy or call is not picked up, system will make 3 busy retries with 1 minute deplay between them.
In case of instable fax connection or bad line or any other abnormal conditions, system will automatically check available routes to the destination and will make 2 retries for each route with 5 minutes delay between them (For some countries we have up to 8 routes).

You just need to get a fax-number

In order to receive faxes from any country in the world, you just need to get a byFax fax-number and give this number to your partner or friend to send a fax to.

You just need to get a fax-number

All your faxes will come to your byFax account and will be copied to your email.

You just need to get a fax-number

You can take a fax-number with byFax in more than 30 countries around the world.

You just need to get a fax-number

This is very convenient if you have branches, business partners or just friends in other countries. If you need to receive faxes, we recommend that you use the Pro-plan, which includes a free fax-number.

Download sample cover page

You may take as a base and sample one of byFax cover pages, changing content and pictures as you need.

Or make your own cover page

Or you are able to make your own cover page in DocX format, put placeholders listed below to the page.
If you add your cover page to a fax, system will replace placeholders with the necessary data in realtime.

Supported cover page parameters

  • Parameter
    Sample
    Content
  • {Page}
    1
    Page number
  • {Pages}
    3
    Total pages
  • {From}
    John Sender, Sender Co Ltd. <+1 234 567 8901>
    Full sender data
  • {FromName}
    John Sender
    Sender name
  • {FromCompany}
    Sender Co Ltd.
    Sender company
  • {FromNumber}
    +1 234 567 8901
    Sender fax-number
  • {To}
    John Receiver, Receiver Co Ltd <+1 345 678 9012>
    Full recipient data
  • {ToName}
    John Receiver
    Recipient name
  • {ToCompany}
    Receiver Co Ltd
    Recipient company
  • {ToNumber}
    +1 345 678 9012
    Recipient fax-number
  • {FaxNumber}
    +1 345 678 9012
    Recipient fax-number
  • {Date}
    2018-02-25
    Sending date
  • {DateTime}
    2018-02-25 12:11:00 GMT+3
    Sending date-time with timezone
  • {Subject}
    Fax cover subject
    Fax subject (we are working on it)
  • {Message}
    Here is some fax cover message.
    Cover page message

Send us a message in customer portal

Follow the «Feedback» link in main portal menu or «Support» link in portal footer, you will be forwarded to contact form where you are able to enter your message and attach a file. Besides, you are able to write us an email

You just need to upgrade to the tariff plan Pro.

In addition to various useful features on this tariff plan, the period of storage of your documents is unlimited.

It`s very simple, you need upgrade tariff plan to Pro.

It has the lowest cost per page, many different useful features, and includes a free incoming number for the Pro plan duration.

Set up a notification in your account

You can receive notifications by sms and email about incoming and outgoing faxes. You can customize the notifications here

1 month by default

On the tariff plan Start (this is the default tariff plan, which is set after user sign-up) and tariff plan Basic documents are stored 1 month. On the Pro plan documents are stored all the time.

To start, take the number

You can automate fax receiving and sending with byFax continuing use your phone number. You should take a number in the byFax portal, then contact with your telecom operator and request a call forwarding from your number to the byFax number and follow the instructions of your telecom operator.

Make sure you send faxes to your home zone

After sign up, we will add a free credit to your account to send three pages to your home zone, the country defined by your IP address. The cost of sending to different countries depends on the cost of local telecom operators and may vary significantly. Therefore, byFax separates available countries into 8 price zones, depending on the cost of fax sending, please see them here . Thus, if, for example, to send fax from USA (zone 1 - the cheapest one) to Mexico (zone 4 - more expensive one) free balance will be not enough for sending 3 pages.
IMPORTANT! Free credit is limited to $1.13, so if you sign up from countries in expensive tariff zones, the number of free pages may be even more limited.

Our instructions are very simple

Address book contains the following fields for each contact - fax-number, name, company name and email address.
This data can be loaded into a address book as a CSV file with a list of contacts.
Sample CSV file to upload to the address book

number;name;company;email
+375172000230;name 1;company 1;user1@email.com
+375172000231;name 2;company 2;user2@email.com

";" Is used as a fields separator. The first line must contain a header with the names of the fields so that the system can properly recognize the loaded data.
number - fax-number of the contact in international format, starting with the "+" symbol without spaces. Required field.
name - contact`s name. Required if the "company" field is blank.
company - contact`s organization name. Required if the "name" field is blank.
email - contact`s email address. Optional field.

Download example

Below are some of the common issues and why they occur:

  • Error Message Why It Happens and How to Avoid It?
  • Error Message Insufficient funds Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error occurs when you do not have enough credit to send a fax. Perhaps the fax contains too many pages, or you are sending the fax to a higher cost tariff area. In order to find out the cost of sending to a specific fax-number, you can use our cost calculator. You need to add more credit and try to send again.
  • Error Message File format unsupported Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that you tried to upload a file which type or format is not in the list of types and formats we work with. To avoid such error, attach PDF files, or a image-format files - JPG, PNG, TIFF, etc., or an MS Office or OpenOffice files to the fax. You can also contact our technical support service and provide a file for analysis, perhaps this file format will be added for supported type.
  • Error Message Document file convertion failed Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that the system was unable to convert the uploaded file into the format required for fax transmission. The most common case is a password-protected PDF file or an image file with unusual compression.
  • Error Message Document file pages limit exceeded Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that you have uploaded a file with the number of pages exceeding the limit for a single one file. If it`s an MS Office or PDF file, split it into shorter parts.
  • Error Message Fax Container pages limit exceeded Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that the total number of pages in all uploaded files exceeds the limit for a fax-container. If you are using Start plan and you need to send exact long fax, you need to purchase Basic or Pro plan.
  • Error Message Transmission aborted by receiver Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that the fax transmission was interrupted before it was properly completed. This could be due to a lost connection, an abnormal transmission error, or fax was aborted at the receiving side. You should check with the recipient for how many pages were received and try sending the fax again by selecting the undelivered pages to send. If the delivery is constantly failing, you should contact our technical support
  • Error Message Transmission early hangup Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that the receiving side hung up before the transmission was properly completed. This error often occurs when the page is already printed on the receiving side and cal is hung up without waiting for fax session finalization.
  • Error Message Transmission error Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that an unexpected error occurred during the transmission or phone connection was lost. This error often occurs on old analog phone lines with high noise level, or on VOIP numbers with poor connection.
  • Error Message Fax negotiation failed Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that the call was established but the system was unable to synchronize the fax transmission parameters with the receiving side. There can be quite a few reasons for this error. If you resend your fax it may be successfully delivered

    - The system initiated a fax transmission but could not synchronize with the far end fax.
    - A remote fax machine was detected, but the sending and receiving modems could not establish communication.
    - The fax service received a message that it did not expect given the current context.
    - We received an unexpected response while querying the fax machine’s capabilities.
    - A call was established but there was no response from the far-end fax machine.
  • Error Message Not a fax machine Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that we tried to deliver the fax, but could not detect the fax machine on the receiver side. To fix this error, you should make sure the recipient has a fax machine, or ask the recipient to turn on their fax machine before you try to send your fax again.
  • Error Message Voice answer Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that we tried to deliver the fax, but a human picked up the call on the receiver side and answered by voice instead of turning on fax machine. To fix this error, you should make sure the recipient has a fax machine, or ask the recipient to turn on their fax machine before you try to send your fax again.
  • Error Message Number is busy Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that our system started a call (including the required number of retries), but the destination is busy. You need to wait a while and try to send the fax again. This error can also occur if the destination is a VOIP number and it is not online at the moment, this case you should try dialing the number from an ordinary phone and make sure that it answers.
  • Error Message No answer Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that our system started a call (including the required number of retries), but the other side did not pick up the call - neither a human nor a fax machine. You need to wait a while and try to send the fax again when you know the other end will answer or have their fax machine on auto answer. This error can also occur if the destination is a VOIP number and it is not online at the moment, in which case you should try dialing the number from a regular phone and make sure that it works.
  • Error Message Temporary unavailable Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that the recipient`s phone number is temporarily unavailable for calls. This situation may arise if the VOIP number is not connected to the network or the telecom operator on the sending or receiving side is experiencing problems. You should try to repeat your fax after a while or contact our technical support
  • Error Message Unallocated number Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that the given fax-number does not exist. This situation can occur if the owner of the number has disabled it, or the VOIP number is not connected to the network. You should make sure that the number works by calling it from a regular phone.
  • Error Message Invalid or incompleted number Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that you entered an incorrect phone number - too short or too long, incorrect region code or incorrect country code. You need to check the correctness of entering the number and repeat your fax.
  • Error Message Unsupported number or network Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that delivery to the entered phone number is not supported. This situation occurs if you specified a mobile or satellite number. There are practically no fax machines in these networks, and calls to them are very expensive. If you are sure that a specific number has a fax machine, you can contact our technical support and we will include this number in the allow list.
  • Error Message Number is blocked Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that delivery to the entered phone number has been blocked for security or other reasons. You can contact our technical support for details.
  • Error Message Number is unobtainable Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that the recipient`s phone number is temporarily unavailable for calls. This situation can arise if the VOIP number is not online or the telecom provider serving this number is experiencing problems. You need to wait a while and try to send the fax again or contact our technical support
  • Error Message Destination unreachable Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that the recipient`s phone number is temporarily unavailable for calls. This situation may arise if the telecom provider serving this number is experiencing problems or our network cannot access the destonation provider network. You need to wait a while and try to send the fax again or contact our technical support
  • Error Message Dialing error Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that the remote phone number dialing process failed. Our system will try to repeat the dialing several times. If you see this error you need to contact our technical support service.
  • Error Message SIP gateway timeout Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that there was an exception during establish a connection to one of the telecom operators within our network. Our system will try to repeat the dialing several times. If you see this error you need to contact our technical support service.
  • Error Message ISDN network failure Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that there was an exception in the network of the telecom provider serving the route to a destination number. This case our system checks other available routes. If you see this error you need to contact our technical support service.
  • Error Message No dial tone Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that the system could not detect the line activity signal from the telecom operator. In case of this error, the system will try to repeat the dialing several times. If you see this error you need to contact our technical support service.
  • Error Message Incompsatible receiver Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that a call was established with the receiving side and remote fax machine was detected. An incompatibility was found during the synchronization of fax transmission parameters. You may try to send your fax in STANDART quality or contact our technical support
  • Error Message General delivery failure Why It Happens and How to Avoid It? This error means that there was an unknown exception, either in the dialing and call setup or during the transmission. You need to wait a while and repeat the fax, if the error occurs again, you can contact our technical support

Flexible reservation of amount

From March`2021, we launch a flexible price calculation of sending fax in byFax. The calculation is based on the price per page for your tariff plan (you can find it here https://hostName/costs). The system analyzes the speed at which the receiving fax number is operating, and if the number is "slow", a multiplier is added. Besides the number operating speed, the selected transmission quality (Standard or High), and the conversion method (Text or Photo) parameters are taken into account - for High quality and Photo conversion, increasing factors are also applied, which are then summed up.

Possibility of partial or full refunds

The system will notify you about the use of increasing factors to calculate the final amount that will be reserved from your balance for sending a fax. The amount is exactly reserved with the possibility of partial or full refund after delivery.

The system checks the length of time your fax has been delivered

Once the fax delivery process is finished, the system checks the duration of your fax delivery, and if its speed does not exceed 1 minute of telephone connection per 1 fax page, the additionally reserved funds are returned to your balance. If the delivery time exceeds 1 minute per page, the system calculates the final cost based on the time of the telephone connection and the number of delivered pages and then returns the excess funds to your balance.

The system generates detailed reports

For example, you send a fax consists of 1 page to a "slow" number in Turkmenistan, in "High" quality, and with "Photo" conversion. In this case, the system will generate the following multiplying coefficient: 2 (slow number) + 2 (High quality) + 2 (Photo conversion), the total cost of the page will be multiplied by 6. I.e., the system will reserve funds for 6 minutes of telephone connection for the transmission of each page of your fax. After the fax transmission is complete, the system sees that the delivery took, for example, 1 minute 38 seconds. In this case, funds will be returned to your balance in the amount of the original page cost multiplied by 4, i.e. amount for full unspent minutes. If the delivery of the fax takes longer than 6 minutes, then the system will leave all the reserved funds to pay for the fax. After the transmission is completed, byFax generates a report in which all the necessary data will be presented in detail.

Follow instructions below or watch this

  1. In Solution Explorer select References and click "Add service reference"
  2. At the opened window click "Advanced"
  3. At the next window click "Add Web Reference"
  4. At the next window enter or paste service WSDL URL, for example, "https://sandbox.byfax.biz/faxout?WSDL" and click the arrow at the right
  5. Change service name if needed
  6. Click "Add reference" and Visual Studio will generate proxy classes.

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