The Fax Machine: 3CX Style

Alright kiddo, step one: you need a cloud-enabled phone line. Not just any phone line — we’re talkin’ SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). Sounds fancy because it is. This is how the cool faxes ride the digital highway these days.

Now here’s the trick: make sure your provider supports G.711, but ideally T.38 too — that’s the protocol made for faxes that hate dropping halfway through a 12-page insurance form. Luckily, your shiny modern phone system (lookin’ at you, 3CX) has a fallback plan if one fails. It’s got your back, like a trusty wrench in the garage.

Dad’s picks?

  ClearlyIP – Rock solid. Feels like the cordless drill of SIP providers.

  VoIP.ms – Classic, reliable, and a bit nostalgic. Like a Craftsman toolbox.

Pick your provider, and then snag yourself a DID (Direct Inward Dialing number). Think of it as your fax machine’s private line — no one else gets to bug it. Make sure that DID is properly routed through your SIP trunk to your 3CX setup.

Double-check it's connected right — because like grilling with propane, you want everything lined up before you hit ignite.

And once that’s in place?

Oh yeah. Now we fax. 🧾📠🔥

Alright, you've got your trusty DID riding in on your SIP trunk like a well-behaved teenager. Time to wire up your virtual fax beast inside 3CX.

Start by heading to:

Advanced → Fax → Fax Server tab

This is your fax HQ — the control panel for the Faxinator 3000.

🔧 Dad Tip: Make absolutely sure your DID format matches what your provider is actually sending. That means full country code and all. If it doesn't match exactly, 3CX throws its hands up, ignores your carefully crafted fax routing, and dumps it to the default trunk. We don't want that. We want laser-focused fax precision.

Here, you're going to:

• Assign the DID to the fax server so incoming faxes know where to land.
• ✅ Check the box for "Enable G.711 to T.38 fallback." Think of this like bringing both gas and charcoal to the BBQ — just in case the fancy stuff fails, you're still cookin’.
• Set the email address where 3CX will send incoming faxes as PDF attachments — no paper jams, no screaming printers, just smooth digital delivery.

You’ll also see authentication credentials here (User ID & password). If you’ve got a physical fax machine that supports 3CX, you can plug those in so it gets the faxes directly. Yes, that means your ancient fax beast can still play nice in the digital sandbox.

Next up: we’ll dive into fax extensions and fax forwarding, and soon enough you’ll be faxing like it’s 1992 — only this time, without the screeching and waiting for someone to hang up the phone.

Let’s roll! 📠💾🕶️

Alright, captain — we’re entering the final frontier: fax extensions and fax forwarding. It’s the last little tweak to make your Faxinator 3000 truly galaxy-class.

🧾 Fax Extensions

Not much to see here — just the solid, dependable crew members. These work exactly like what you saw in the Fax Server section. The authentication ID and password let a 3CX-compatible physical fax endpoint (yes, those still exist) securely receive faxes tied to that dedicated number.

Think of it as giving your old-school fax machine a seat at the grown-up digital table.

📤 Fax Forwards

Here’s where the magic happens. Fax forwards act like a smart email relay: instead of every single fax landing in one massive shared inbox (and sparking office chaos), you can route incoming faxes to specific users or email addresses.

Perfect for keeping HR’s paperwork out of Accounting’s inbox — and vice versa. Because no one wants to be caught reading someone else’s timesheets.

And that’s it — you’re officially fax-enabled, future-proofed, and finely tuned.

Go forth, fax long… and prosper. 🖖📠💼