How to Hook Up a Fax Machine

Video Transcript

"Now we're going to discuss how to connect a fax machine. There are a couple different options you have as far as fax machine goes, fax machines go, rather. The, you have multi-function devices which combine you know, scanner, printer, copier, fax, just all in one device. They're usually good inexpensive options, especially if space is at a premium in your office. Another option is you, good ol' fashioned stand alone fax machine which has come quite a ways since they first debuted many years ago. As far as hooking the fax machine goes, it's pretty straight forward. The first thing you'll need to do is make sure you've got an available phone jack and a phone chord to connecting that phone jack. Keep in mind you might want to check your, you'll you'll, actually you will want to check the instructions for your fax machine to make sure that it doesn't require a certain type of cable. Sometimes you have to have a cable with four pins on each end on the connector. Sometimes you can one with just two, depends on the fax machine. Usually it doesn't matter but there are a couple of older ones out there that are that are picky. So make sure you check that out. The first step is to connect your phone chord to an available phone jack, which we've already done here. So this phone chord is live, it's it's going to have a a connection to the phone line. The next thing you'll want to do is go ahead and plug the unit in to an available powers, power source. I would recommend hooking it into a surge protector first. Once the machine is powered up, you'll take the phone connector, there are usually two lines on the back, two jacks on the back of most fax machines. There's a line in jack and an extension jack or phone jack. You'll want to hook the phone, the line that's coming from the wall into the line jack. The second jack, the extension jack, that is if you want, that is for routing a phone. You want to hook up a phone to the exact same jack, for example if phone jacks are at a premium in your space, that way you can run a phone from this one and you'll still be able to use a regular telephone when you're not faxing. And on this one, this is this is a multi-function unit. There's a USB port here as well and that is for using the other functionality like scanning, printing and so forth."