Faxpresso user guide

1. Getting started

You need an email address and a credit or debit card. No fax machine, phone line or software.

1. Pick your number. Click Get my fax number, then search by area code, or by city and state. Choose a number from the list. A new number is included in your plan.
2. Create your account. Continue with Google, Microsoft or Apple, or enter your email address and we'll send you a sign-in code. There's no password to make up.
3. Pay for your first month. Enter your card. You'll see exactly what you're paying today and when the next charge is, before you confirm.
4. You're live. Your number is ready within a minute or two. We show it in large type with a copy button, and email it to you.

Your first five minutes

• Send yourself a test fax: on the welcome screen, choose Send a test fax. It arrives in your Inbox a minute later.
• Check where faxes are emailed: received faxes go to your sign-in email by default. Add others in Settings → Fax delivery.
• Get the app if you'd like notifications on your phone.

2. Signing in

Faxpresso has no passwords. Choose any of these on the sign-in page, on the web or in the app:

• Continue with Google, Microsoft or Apple: uses the account you already have with them.
• Passkey: sign in with your phone's or computer's fingerprint, face or screen lock. The fastest and safest option.
• Email code: type your email address and we send a 6-digit code. Codes work once, for 10 minutes.
• Text-message code: if you've added a mobile number, we can text the code instead.

Add a passkey

1. Go to Settings → Sign-in and security.
2. Choose Add a passkey and follow your device's prompt.

Add one on each device you use. You can remove a passkey there too, for example from a lost phone.

Signing in on a new device

We email you whenever a new device signs in or a passkey is added. If it wasn't you, open Settings → Sign-in and security, choose Sign out everywhere, and email [email protected].

3. Finding your way around

The page meter at the top shows how many of your monthly pages you've used. The build number at the bottom of the screen tells you which version you're on; mention it if you contact us about a problem.

4. Sending a fax

1. Choose Send a fax.
2. To: type a fax number, or start typing a contact's name. Add more than one recipient if you like; each gets their own copy.
3. From: if you have more than one number, choose which one the fax comes from.
4. Add your document: drag in a file or choose Add files. You can add several; drag them into the order you want. In the app you can also Scan with your camera.
5. Cover page (optional): switch it on and fill in the subject and a note. Your name and number are filled in for you.
6. Check the preview. It shows each page exactly as it will be sent, and the total page count.
7. Choose Send.

What you can send

• PDF files, and JPG or PNG images. Several files are combined into one fax.
• Fax numbers in the US and Canada.
• Fax is black and white. Colour turns to shades of grey, and very light text may not come through, so check the preview.

Following a fax

In Sent, each fax shows its status: Queued, Sending (with the page it's on), Delivered or Failed. You can also get an email or notification when it's delivered or fails; set this in Settings → Fax delivery.

If a fax fails, we tell you why in plain words, and you can choose Resend. Faxes that fail don't count toward your pages. See When something goes wrong.

The delivery confirmation

Open a delivered fax in Sent and choose Download confirmation for a PDF showing the date, time, numbers, pages and a copy of the first page. Keep it as proof of sending.

5. Receiving faxes

When someone faxes your number, the fax appears in your Inbox, usually within a minute of the sender finishing, and:

• is emailed as a PDF to the addresses in Settings → Fax delivery;
• sends a notification to the app, if you've allowed notifications.

Working with a received fax

• Open it to read it. Zoom in, and rotate pages that came in sideways.
• Download it as a PDF, or Forward it by email or as a fax.
• Rename it, so it's easier to find later (for example "Lease, 12 Oak St").
• Delete it. Deleted faxes go to Trash for 30 days, then they're gone for good.
• Mark it as Spam, or Not spam if the filter got it wrong.

Sending faxes to several email addresses

1. Go to Settings → Fax delivery.
2. Under Email received faxes to, add each address. With several numbers, you can choose addresses per number.

New addresses get a confirmation email first, so faxes can't be sent to an address by mistake.

Finding an old fax

Use the search box at the top of Inbox or Sent. Search by fax number, contact name, the name you gave a fax, or a date. Faxes are kept for a year, unless you delete them sooner.

6. The junk-fax filter

The filter reads each incoming fax and moves ones that look like junk (holiday offers, toner deals, "final notices") to your Spam folder. Nothing is thrown away: check Spam whenever you like.

• Not spam: open a fax in Spam and choose Not spam. It moves to your Inbox, and faxes from that number always reach your Inbox from then on.
• Block a sender: open a fax and choose Block this number. Their faxes go straight to Spam.
• Your lists: see and edit your blocked and always-allowed numbers in Settings → Spam filter.
• Switch it off: in Settings → Spam filter. Every fax then goes to your Inbox.
• Spam faxes aren't emailed to you, and don't send notifications.

Every page that arrives on your number counts toward your monthly pages, junk included. The filter keeps your Inbox clean; it doesn't change your page count.

7. Contacts and cover pages

Contacts

• Add a contact in Contacts → Add contact: name, company and fax number.
• Or save someone straight from a fax: open it and choose Save contact.
• Received and sent faxes show the contact's name instead of just the number.
• In the app, you can also pick from your phone's contacts if you allow it.

Your cover page

In Settings → Cover page, fill in what should appear on every cover page: your name, business, phone number and a standard note (for example a confidentiality line). When you send, you only add the subject and a message. Choose whether the cover page is on by default.

A cover page counts as one page.

8. Your fax numbers

The Numbers page lists each of your numbers with its label, where its faxes are emailed, and its status.

Add a number

1. On Numbers, choose Add a number.
2. Search and choose a number, the same way as when you signed up.
3. Confirm. Each number is $14.99 a month and brings its own 500 pages. For the first month you pay a part-month amount on your next bill.

Label a number

Give each number a label, like "Front desk" or "Billing", so it's clear which one a fax came in on.

Release a number

On Numbers, choose the number, then Release. It stops costing you money from your next bill, and it stays reserved for you for 30 days in case you change your mind (choose Restore). If it's your only number, release it by cancelling your plan instead.

9. Moving a number in or out

Moving a number between providers is called porting. It costs a one-time $10 per number, in either direction. Most US local numbers can move.

Bringing your number to Faxpresso

1. Choose Keep my current number when you sign up, or later go to Numbers → Bring a number.
2. Type the number. We check straight away whether it can move.
3. You get a temporary number to use while it moves.
4. Fill in the transfer form: the name and address on your current account, your account number and PIN, the person allowed to approve the move, and a copy of a recent bill.
5. We send the request and keep you updated. The Numbers page shows the status and the switch date. It usually takes one to three weeks.
6. On the switch date, faxes to your number start arriving at Faxpresso.

If the request is turned down, it's usually because a detail doesn't match your old provider's records. We'll tell you what they said so you can fix it. If the number can't be moved at all, we refund the $10.

Taking a number elsewhere

Ask your new provider to move it. They'll need the account details shown in Numbers → Moving a number out. We never block or delay a move; the $10 fee is charged to your card afterwards. Moving a number out doesn't cancel your plan; do that in Settings.

10. Pages and fair use

Each number includes 500 pages a month, sent and received together. The meter at the top of the screen and in Settings → Billing shows pages used this month, with junk pages shown separately.

• We email you at 80% and 100%.
• After 500 pages, you can send up to 100 pages a day.
• At 1000 pages, sending pauses until your next billing date.
• Receiving never stops.
• New accounts can send up to 25 pages a day for their first 30 days.

There are never any charges for extra pages. Read Fair use, in plain words for the details.

11. Billing and receipts

Everything is in Settings → Billing:

• Your plan: numbers, monthly total and next billing date.
• Card: choose Update card to change it. Cards are handled by Square; we never see the full number.
• Receipts: every charge, with a PDF receipt to download. We also email each receipt.
• Billing details: the business name and address shown on receipts.

If a payment fails

We email you and try again on days 3, 7 and 14. Update your card in Settings → Billing and we'll retry straight away. If it still fails after 14 days, sending pauses; you keep receiving faxes for 30 more days.

Cancelling

1. Go to Settings → Billing.
2. Choose Cancel my plan, then confirm.

Your service runs to the end of the month you paid for. Download your faxes before then. Your numbers are held for 30 days in case you come back. More about cancelling.

12. The iPhone and Android apps

The apps use the same account, numbers and faxes as the website. Sign in the same way you do on the web.

• Scan: in Send a fax, choose Scan, point at the page, and the app finds the edges and straightens it. Scan several pages in a row, then send.
• Notifications: allow them when the app asks, or later in your phone's settings. Choose which ones you get in Settings → Notifications.
• App lock: switch on Face ID, Touch ID or fingerprint unlock in Settings → Sign-in and security.
• Share to Faxpresso: from another app (Files, Mail, Photos), share a PDF or photo to Faxpresso to fax it.

13. Your account and data

• Change your name, email or mobile number in Settings → Account. A new email or mobile number is confirmed with a code first.
• Download all your faxes in Settings → Account → Download my faxes. We prepare a ZIP of PDFs and email you a link.
• Delete your account in Settings → Account → Delete account. It's immediate: your plan is cancelled, your numbers are released and your faxes are deleted. Download anything you need, and move any number you want to keep, first. Can't sign in? Use faxpresso.com/delete-account.

How we handle your information is in our privacy policy.

14. When something goes wrong

A fax failed to send

I'm expecting a fax that hasn't arrived

• Check your Spam folder, and mark it Not spam if it's there.
• Check the sender used the right number: it's on the Numbers page.
• If it's in your Inbox but not your email, check your email's spam folder and Settings → Fax delivery.

A received fax is hard to read

Fax quality depends on the sender's machine and the original. Use zoom and rotate, and if it's still unreadable, ask the sender to send it again, ideally from a clearer original.

I didn't get my sign-in code

Wait a minute and check your spam folder. Then choose Send a new code, or sign in another way, such as Google, Microsoft, Apple or a passkey.

Still stuck?

Email [email protected]. Tell us the fax number involved, the time, and your build number (bottom of the screen). A person will reply.

15. Words we use

Page

One physical page of a fax, sent or received.

Cover page

An optional first page saying who the fax is to and from.

Porting

Moving a phone or fax number from one provider to another.

Temporary number

A number you use while your own number is being moved to Faxpresso.

Fair use

The rules for your 500 monthly pages: what happens near and over the limit.

Passkey

A way to sign in with your device's fingerprint, face or screen lock, instead of a password.

Billing date

The day each month your plan renews and your page count starts again.

Build number

The version of Faxpresso you're using, shown at the bottom of the screen.

16. The Free tier

The Free tier lets you try Faxpresso in your browser without paying. It's on the website only, not in the apps.

Signing in

1. Go to Free tier and type your email address.
2. Enter the 6-digit code we email you. You stay signed in for a day.

Sending a free fax

1. In Send a fax, type the fax number (US or Canada).
2. Add your document: PDF, JPG or PNG, up to 3 pages.
3. Optionally, choose Add a note to the cover page for a name, subject and message.
4. Choose Send fax. It goes from one of our free numbers, with a Faxpresso cover page in front.

Watch its status in Your free faxes; we also email you when it's delivered or if it fails.

Receiving a free fax

1. In Receive a fax, choose Reserve a number. We give you one of our free numbers.
2. The number is yours for 10 minutes. Give it to the person faxing you.
3. Faxes that arrive in that time appear in Your free faxes and are emailed to you as a PDF. A fax that started in time but finishes up to 3 minutes late still comes to you.
4. Done early? Choose I'm done, release it.

You can reserve a number again 30 minutes after a reservation ends. If all the free numbers are in use, the page shows when the next one frees up.

Limits

• 10 faxes sent and 10 received a day, for your email address and for your internet connection. Resets at midnight, New York time.
• Up to 3 pages per fax you send, plus the cover page.
• Free faxes are kept for 7 days. Download any you need.

Want your own number, no timers, and the apps? Get your fax number.

Something missing from this guide? Tell us.