Virtual Fax allows you to send and receive faxes through email instead of traditional fax hardware. Each Virtual Fax uses a dedicated net2phone phone number and one or more associated email addresses to manage fax communications.

Send virtual faxes

If your email address is enabled for outgoing faxing, you can send a fax directly from the email account associated with your Virtual Fax service.

To send a Virtual Fax:

1. Open the email account associated with your Virtual Fax service and create a new email.
2. In the To field, enter the destination fax number using the following format: 
   1 + 10-digit fax number + @fax.net2phone.com 
   For example, to send a fax to (613) 555-1234, enter 16135551234@fax.net2phone.com.
3. Optional: Enter a subject and message in the email body. The subject and email body are used as the fax cover page.
4. Attach the document you want to fax. Supported file types include:
   • PDF (.pdf).
   • Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx).
5. Click Send.

Virtual Fax processes the email and sends the attached document to the destination fax number. You will receive a confirmation email indicating whether the transmission was successful or unsuccessful.

Receive virtual faxes

Incoming faxes sent to your assigned Virtual Fax phone number are automatically converted to a PDF and delivered to the email addresses associated with that number.

Virtual Fax emails are sent from fax@net2phone.com, with the received fax attached as a PDF file.

Multiple email addresses can be associated with the same Virtual Fax number, allowing the appropriate users or teams to receive incoming faxes.

Troubleshoot Virtual Fax

Try the troubleshooting solutions below if you are experiencing issues with virtual faxing. 

Not receiving faxes

If an expected fax does not appear in your inbox:

• Check your Spam or Junk folder for messages from fax@net2phone.com.
• Ask your IT department or email administrator to allowlist the fax.net2phone.com domain.

Fax failed to send

If a fax fails, review the confirmation email for the reason.

• No Answer: The receiving fax device did not answer. Confirm the destination is available and try again.
• Busy: The receiving fax line was in use. Try sending the fax again later.
• Invalid Number: Confirm that the destination fax number is valid and correctly entered.
• File Format Error: Confirm that the attachment is a supported PDF or Microsoft Word file.

Before resending a failed fax, confirm that the recipient address uses the correct 1 + 10-digit fax number + @fax.net2phone.com format and that the attachment is not password-protected or encrypted.

Manage Virtual Fax lines

Administrators can manage Virtual Fax in the Settings Portal. 

Access Virtual Fax configuration 

Navigate to the Company tab and open the Virtual Fax page to review the Virtual Fax lines configured for your organization.

Each Virtual Fax entry displays:

• The assigned phone number.
• Whether encryption is enabled.
• The email addresses associated with the Virtual Fax number.
• Whether each email address is configured to receive faxes, send faxes, or both.

Click the Edit pencil icon to modify an existing Virtual Fax configuration, or click the Delete trash icon to remove it.

Create a Virtual Fax line

Administrators can create a Virtual Fax line by assigning an available net2phone phone number to one or more company email addresses.

1. In the Settings Portal, navigate to the Company tab.
2. Open the Virtual Fax page.
3. Click Add Virtual Fax.
4. From the Phone Number dropdown, select the phone number you want to use for Virtual Fax.
5. (Optional) Click the checkbox next to Encrypt to enable encrypted Virtual Fax.
6. Under Recipient, enter the email address that should receive faxes sent to the selected phone number.
7. To add another recipient, click Add an additional email, then enter the additional email address.
8. For each email address that requires outgoing fax access, select This email will use this phone number for outgoing faxes.
9. Click Save.

The new Virtual Fax line appears on the Virtual Fax page after it is saved.

Use encrypted Virtual Fax

Virtual Fax can optionally encrypt inbound and outbound fax communications between your email client and the net2phone Virtual Fax service. Encryption provides an additional layer of security when sending sensitive or private information.

An administrator can enable encryption by selecting Encrypt during Virtual Fax line configuration.