I started receiving faxes and can't figure out how to stop them

[Brenmar]

I do have a hp printer and have to connect it thru wi-fi because of the ink plan I am in. Thought I had solved the problem as I took it to Best Buy to fix a different problem and they had a connection on it for the printer. Deleted it and didn't have any problems for about 24 hours then it started again. The printout copies are as follows:

GET / HTTP/1.1

Host 76.228.122.188:9100 (since I have ATT for my internet it is their address and my local printer port, I called ATT about it)

User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/ 537.36 (

Accept: *.*

Accept-Encoding: gzip.

There is nothing else and the next pages to follow are all some kind of coding at 1 line per page for the next 6 or 8 pages.

I don't have a phone line attached because I use cell phone. Is there any way to stop receiving these because it is using the printer ink and pages to make my charges go up?

Reply Share

[Sneha_01]

Hi @Brenmar 

Welcome to HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

It sounds like your HP printer is receiving unsolicited faxes or junk data over the network, and since you don’t have a phone line attached to the printer, these "faxes" are likely coming through your Wi-Fi connection. This is commonly known as a fax over IP issue, where something (like a junk fax or a misconfigured system) tries to send data to your printer, causing it to print unwanted pages.

Here’s how you can stop the unwanted faxes and prevent this from using up your printer's ink and paper:

1. Disable the Fax Feature on Your Printer:

Since you don’t have a phone line connected, the printer should not be able to send or receive faxes. However, if the fax feature is still enabled on your printer, it could be attempting to receive fax data over the network.

To disable the fax feature:

• For HP printers with a touchscreen:
  1. Go to the Control Panel or Home screen on your printer’s display.
  2. Tap Setup or Settings.
  3. Scroll down to Fax settings.
  4. Find the Fax Receive setting and set it to Off or Disable.
• For HP printers without a touchscreen:
  • If your printer has a control panel with buttons, you might need to consult the printer's manual or navigate through the menu to find fax-related settings and disable them.

2. Change the Printer's Network Settings:

Sometimes, printers can be exposed to unwanted faxes or attacks over the internet if they are not secured. Here are steps to secure your printer's network connection:

• Change the printer’s network port (default port 9100):
  • Open the HP printer web interface (from a browser) by typing the printer’s IP address into the address bar (you can find your printer's IP address by printing a network configuration page from the printer settings).
  • Once you access the printer’s web interface, go to the Network or Advanced settings section and change the printer’s port number from the default 9100 to something else (e.g., 9101). This helps prevent unauthorized access.
• Disable Remote Printing:
  • In the HP printer's web interface, look for options like Remote Printing or Web Services, and disable them if they are enabled.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please mark this post as “Accepted Solution” if the issue is resolved and if you feel this reply was helpful click “Yes”.

Rachel571

HP Support

[Brenmar]

Rachel571 - I don't have a Fax setting on my ‌HP ENVY Inspire 7258e. It does have the printer display but cannot find anything in setting that looks like a fax anything. When I open the network protocol in my browser it will not let me change the port # from 9100. All I can do is disable it. Is there another way to disable the faxes. I can't get to the printer's web interface right now as the robot.txt won't let me, I guess I went there too often today.

[Sneha_01 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Brenmar 

I'm sending out a private message to assist you with the next course of action. In order to access your private messages, click the private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Support Community profile, next to your profile Name.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.

Please mark this post as “Accepted Solution” if the issue is resolved and if you feel this reply was helpful click “Yes”.

Rachel571 

HP Support