How Do I Fax to an Extension Number?

I need to fax a document to an extension number. Every time I try I get a “No Response” error. What am I doing wrong?

Faxing to an extension number can be tricky. Every phone line waits a different amount of time before asking the machine for the extension number. What is happening now is that your fax machine is dialing the phone number and then giving the extension number before the receiving line is ready for it.

What you need to do is add a few pauses between the regular number and the extension number, which gives the phone line time to ask your machine for the extension. This varies by fax machine, but the most common method is to have a comma or the pound sign represent a one-second pause. With some machines there might be an actual Pause/Redial button, so you should check your user manual before you try anything out. In the end, if the number you want to dial looks like this: (555) 123-4567 ext. 890, you would enter it into the fax machine as 15551234567,,,890.

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell how long or short the pause should be between the number and the extension, since every number you dial will do it differently. Therefore, you will have to play around how with how many commas you use or how many times you press the Pause button before you plug in the extension number. Your best bet is to experiment until you land on the right number of pauses.
