Setting up faxing (Poly OBi series ATA)
You can set up fax support for a Poly OBi series analog telephone adapter (OBi30X, OBi508, or ATA40X) connected to a fax machine. This article also has recommended settings to optimize the fax machine transmission rate.
Notes:
- As an alternative fax solution for Zoom Phone, see FaxSIPit.
- Only FXS ports can be used on ATAs.
This article covers:
Prerequisites for setting up faxing on a Poly OBi series ATA (analog telephone device)
- Account owner or admin privileges
- Zoom Phone license
- Provisioned Poly OBi series analog telephone adapter (OBi30X, OBi508, or ATA40X) connected to fax machine
Note: See the Poly assisted provisioning guide for more details. - ATA should be assigned to a phone user or common area phone with a calling package and direct phone number
- A handset/dial pad device (like analog telephone) connected to the ATA
Note: You may have device, like a multi-function copier, that is connected to the ATA but doesn't have a handset/dial pad. These devices can't be used to access the ATA's web interface. - Web Interface enabled in account-level desk phone settings
Limitations of fax over Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
Faxing has known limitations when implemented as a fax over VoIP service. These limitations are technology-based and industry-wide. Zoom and several VoIP companies use the G.711 standard for sending faxes over the Internet. Although that standard is considered reliable, it is still open to interpretation by various providers and cannot be maintained on an end-to-end basis.
Zoom offers a fax over VoIP service that connects a traditional fax machine to the Internet via an analog terminal adapter (ATA). For occasional faxing, many of our business customers find these best-effort fax services to be cost-effective and more than adequate to serve their needs. We encourage you to assess your faxing needs to select the best option for your business.
Zoom cares about providing you with quality services that meet your business needs. If your business is heavily dependent on regularly faxing large, multi-page documents, then we recommend that you maintain an analog line and a traditional fax machine for reliable and consistent performance.
How to confirm ATA settings in the Zoom web portal
Before setting up faxing using the ATA's web interface, you must sign in to the Zoom web portal to confirm a few settings.
Note: If the device has a Common Area Phone license, skip steps 5 to 7. The Common Area Phone license doesn't support voicemail and call queue membership.
- Sign in to Zoom web portal.
- In the navigation menu, click Phone System Management then Users & Rooms.
- If the ATA is assigned to a common area phone, click the Common Area Phones tab.
- Click the phone user or common area phone display name with a Poly OBi ATA assigned.
- Click the Policy tab and make sure Voicemail is turned off.
- Click the User Settings tab.
- Scroll down to the Membership section and make sure the Receive Call Queue Calls option is disabled.
- Scroll down to the Desk Phone section, click View & Edit next to Keys & Positions.
- Make sure there is a dedicated line is assigned for the ATA.
How to set up faxing in the OBi ATA web interface
- Dial *** from the analog phone connected to the ATA, then press 1 to obtain the IP address.
- Open a web browser and enter the IP address of the ATA.
Note: By default, Zoom Phone disables the web interface of provisioned devices. If you can't access the phone's web interface, make sure Web Interface is enabled in the account-level desk phones settings. - Sign in as admin for the username and enter the admin password configured in Zoom web portal.
- Navigate to Codecs then Codec Profile A/B,
- In the Codec Settings section, set the following parameters:
- T38Enable=Disabled
- FaxPassThroughCodec=G711U (default for North America) or G711A
- Navigate to Voice Services then SP1 Service.
- in the Calling Features section, set the following parameter:
- Next, navigate to Physical Interfaces then PHONEx Port,
- In the Calling Features section, set the following parameters:
- CallWaitingEnable: Disabled
- ConferenceCallEnable: Disabled
- UseForFaxOnly: Enabled
- DetectFaxPageBreak: Enabled
Fax machine settings
The following fax machine settings are recommended. These settings vary depending on the fax machine vendor and model. Please refer to your fax machine vendor documentation for more details on these settings.
- Set to use a lower fax transmission speed or Baud rate (lowest speed/rate is 9600bps)
.
- Disable the Error Correction Mode (ECM).
- Disable the Compression mode
.
- Set the Receive/Transmit Buffer to low.