HP 7520 Photosmart

[marino5143]

All of a sudden, my fax isn't working, presumnably because an active phone line was not detected.  Can the fax be run off a router or a modem instead of a phone line?

[MKazi]

@marino5143

Welcome to HP Support Forums. 🙂 I came across your post and would like to help.

I understand that you have an HP Photosmart 7520 e-All-in-One Printer and the fax is not working because an active phone line was not detected. I read that you would like to know if the fax can be setup through a router or a modem instead of a phone line. 

I'd like to assist you with this case.

• Do you receive any error code while using the fax on a standard telephone line?
• Do you simply want to switch to a router or modem because the fax won't work using the standard phone line?

Meanwhile, I recommend you to perform the following steps to isolate the issue and arrive at a fix: 

• Please refer to this link to fix issue related to fax error codes: http://hp.care/2lEvoHZ

I did some research about setting up the fax through a router or a modem instead of a phone line. HP fax devices are designed to work with traditional analog phone services. They are not designed to work with digital phone services such as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). While HP fax products are not supported on these types of lines, they might work.

NOTE: This information is provided to help you set up and troubleshoot issues related to connecting an HP fax product to a digital phone line. HP recommends that you discuss telephone line setup options with the telephone service provider or systems administrator. If you have Voicemail, Call waiting, or Billing tone services installed on your telephone system, please disable these features as they could interrupt fax communication.

Telephone calls on VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services use the Internet for data transmission and are usually the telephone lines you have when you subscribe to a bundle of Internet and phone line with your service provider.

VoIP services provide telephone services (usually long distance) through a broadband Internet connection rather than the standard telephone network. These services use packets to break up the voice signal on a phone line and transmit it digitally to the receiver where the packets are reassembled.

I suggest you to refer to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). Not all printers and faxes are compatible with VoIP services. HP does not guarantee that the HP All-in-One or fax device be compatible with all VoIP devices or manufacturers. Contact your VoIP service provider or systems administrator for further information.

Hope this information helps. But I still suggest that the best way to use fax is via the standard telephone line. Please keep me posted for any further help. Cheers! 🙂