'You Are Not Using The Correct Type of Phone Cord' Error

[paintingvt]

Having a issue with my fax on my HP Officejet Pro 8500 wireless.  Tried to send a fax, it  received a send error.  I ran fax test and it came back with "You are not using the correct type of phone cord".  Nothing has changed since I last fax'd but I check the lines and connection, everything appears ok.  Phone jack is connected to 1-line and Officejet '2-ext' is connected to the phone.  I use a dedicated phone # and the Officejet is set to auto answer.   I can call out and receive calls on the phone connect to the Officejet.  My assumption is that since I can use the phone without issue there is nothing wrong with the phone line.  Any ideas?

[DexterM]

The correct type of phone cord that you need to be using is a 2 wire phone cord rather than a 4 wire phone cord.

Unplug the phone cord from the 1-LINE port and ensure it looks like the one on the left.

[jeff_dlugasch]

I have a 'distinctive ring'  for the fax.....(2 phone numbers on the same line on for fax and one 'normal'.)-does this make a difference...  How come I did not have similar problem with previous  ALL in one machine(Brother MFN)

[catherinebussel]

I have the correct cord that you are talking about , still no auto answer

[LoafAlot]

I was having the same problem.  I'm using a the 2 wire phone cord provided with the printer and still getting this error.  Turns out that it related to have a phone extension plugged into the printer.  If I unplug the telephone form the extension jack on the back of the printer, then the fax test passes.   I was even using a 2 wire cord on the phone extension but it seems that simply having a telephone plugged into the extension jack will cause this error. 

Run the test without a telephone plugged into the printer's extension jack and you should be fine.

Worked for me!

[Saruko]

I am unbelievably grateful for this post. 'i was in exactly the same situation, and removing the 2-EXT cord did the trick. The fax passed the test, including the printer cord test, and what's more, the setup worked with an answering machine without the printer fax trying to break the eardrums of human callers.

[purplelily81]

Just wanted to add a note about this-- I bought a 25 ft cord because I re-arranged my office.  It ended up being the wrong cord, and I've been having some trouble finding the correct cord with only 2 copper connection things on it.  Instead of giving up I tried placing a piece of scotch tape on the two outer copper lines on the plug (one on each side).  I hooked it up to the fax, and it worked!  I'll still keep looking for a longer cord, but this will work for now!

[jdvet123]

Thank you for this last post!  The hp cord was way too short for me too, and I also have 2 phones and the fax to go into a splitter and then the jack.  I covered the outer two wires with electrical tape, reran the fax test, and it passed!

[HeidiL]

I have the new Officejet Pro 8600 premium.  I had the phone line error also.  The way I solved it was that I bought a 24 inch cord. The line I bought was a TWO CONDUCTOR LINE. A typical phone line has 4 conductor lines (you can see them through that little clear part that plugs into the phone jack).  Two Conductor lines are VERY hard to find.  I also called HP and they were not of much help at all and they do not stock any line that is longer than the one that comes with the printer. My cost for 24 inches was $20 (that included the shipping).  The line also comes in shorter lengths.  I tried it all out, and the fax works just fine.  I have only tried faxing things out, and not receiving any incoming (have not set up for incoming faxes yet).  The TWO CONDUCTOR lines are red and green.  If you use the 4 conductor lines, you will continue to get the error message. I have the Two Conductor line plugged into the wall jack and into the "1-Line" on the back of the printer. 

[Jalantharius]

Alright, this is RIDICULOUS!!!  I'm not saying that switching to a 2 conductor cord will not work, I'm just saying that there is NO REASON why a 4 conductor cord shouldn't work.  I used to be a phone tech and have been a networking tech for years.  The first two conductors are the same for both cords, with the second pair simply being additional conductors for use with two line phones or some phone systems.

I would like for somebody in HP engineering to explain why the presence of a second, unused cable pair stops the first pair from working.  On my device, it sends fine but cannot receive.