Solve fax problems for HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One Printer

If the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One Printer is not set up correctly for faxing, you might experience problems when sending faxes, receiving faxes, or both.
If you are having faxing problems, you can print a fax test report to check the status of the HP Officejet Pro 8600 printer. The test fails if the printer is not set up correctly for faxing. Perform this test after you have completed setting up the printer for faxing. For more information, see Test fax setup.
If the test fails, review the report for information on how to fix any problems found. For more information, see The fax test failed.

• The fax test failed
• The display always shows Phone Off Hook
• The printer is having problems sending and receiving faxes
• The printer is having problems sending a manual fax
• The printer cannot receive faxes, but can send faxes
• The printer cannot send faxes, but can receive faxes
• Fax tones are recorded on my answering machine
• The phone cord that came with my printer is not long enough
• Color faxes do not print
• The computer cannot receive faxes (Fax to PC and Fax to Mac)

The HP Officejet Pro 8600  fax test failed
If you ran a fax test and the test failed, review the report for basic information about the error. For more detailed information, check the report to see which part of the test failed, and then review the appropriate topic in this section for solutions to try.
This section contains the following topics:
• The “Fax Hardware Test” failed
• The “Fax Connected to Active Telephone Wall Jack” test failed
• The “Phone Cord Connected to Correct Port on Fax” test failed
• The “Using Correct Type of Phone Cord with Fax” test failed
• The “Dial Tone Detection” test failed
• The “Fax Line Condition” test failed

The “Fax Hardware Test” failed
Solution:

• Turn the HP Officejet Pro 8600 printer off by pressing the (Power button) located on the printer control panel and then unplug the power cord from the back of the printer. After a few seconds, plug the power cord in again, and then turn the (Power button) on. Run the test again. If the test fails again, continue reviewing the troubleshooting information in this section.
• Try to send or receive a test fax. If you can send or receive a fax successfully, there might not be a problem.
• If you are running the test from the Fax Setup Wizard (Windows) or HP Setup Assistant (Mac OS X), make sure the printer is not busy completing another task, such as receiving a fax or making a copy. Check the display for a message indicating that the printer is busy. If it is busy, wait until it is finished and in the idle state before running the test.
• Make sure you use the phone cord that came with the printer. If you do not use the supplied phone cord to connect from the telephone wall jack to the printer, you might not be able to send or receive faxes. After you plug in the phone cord that came with the printer, run the fax test again.
• If you are using a phone splitter, this can cause faxing problems. (A splitter is a two-cord connector that plugs into a telephone wall jack.) Try removing the splitter and connecting the printer directly to the telephone wall jack.

After you resolve any problems found, run the fax test again to make sure it passes and the printer is ready for faxing. If the Fax Hardware Test continues to fail and you experience problems faxing, contact HP support. Go to www.hp.com/go/ customercare. This website provides information and utilities that can help you correct many common printer problems. If prompted, select your country/region, and then click Contact HP for information on calling for technical support.

The “Fax Connected to Active Telephone Wall Jack” test failed
Solution:

• Check the connection between the telephone wall jack and the printer to make sure the phone cord is secure.
• Make sure you use the phone cord that came with the printer. If you do not use the supplied phone cord to connect from the telephone wall jack to the printer, you might not be able to send or receive faxes. After you plug in the phone cord that came with the printer, run the fax test again.
• Make sure you have correctly connected the printer to the telephone wall jack.Using the phone cord supplied in the box with the printer, connect one end to your telephone wall jack, then connect the other end to the port labeled 1-LINE on the back of the printer.
• If you are using a phone splitter, this can cause faxing problems. (A splitter is a two-cord connector that plugs into a telephone wall jack.) Try removing the splitter and connecting the printer directly to the telephone wall jack.
• Try connecting a working phone and phone cord to the telephone wall jack that you are using for the printer and check for a dial tone. If you do not hear a dial tone, contact your telephone company and have them check the line.
• Try to send or receive a test fax. If you can send or receive a fax successfully, there might not be a problem.

After you resolve any problems found, run the fax test again to make sure it passes and the printer is ready for faxing.

The “Phone Cord Connected to Correct Port on Fax” test failed
Solution: Plug the phone cord into the correct port.
1. Using the phone cord supplied in the box with the printer, connect one end to your telephone wall jack, then connect the other end to the port labeled 1-LINE on the back of the printer.
NOTE: If you use the 2-EXT port to connect to the telephone wall jack, you cannot send or receive faxes. The 2-EXT port should only be used to connect other equipment, such as an answering machine.

1 Telephone wall jack
2 Use the phone cord supplied in the box with the printer to connect to the “1-LINE” port

2. After you have connected the phone cord to the port labeled 1-LINE, run the fax test again to make sure it passes and the printer is ready for faxing.
3. Try to send or receive a test fax.

• Make sure you use the phone cord that came with the printer. If you do not use the supplied phone cord to connect from the telephone wall jack to the printer, you might not be able to send or receive faxes. After you plug in the phone cord that came with the printer, run the fax test again.
• If you are using a phone splitter, this can cause faxing problems. (A splitter is a two-cord connector that plugs into a telephone wall jack.) Try removing the splitter and connecting the printer directly to the telephone wall jack.

The “Using Correct Type of Phone Cord with Fax” test failed
Solution:

• Make sure you used the phone cord supplied in the box with the printer to connect to the telephone wall jack. One end of the phone cord should be connected to the port labeled 1-LINE on the back of the printer, and the other end to your telephone wall jack, as shown in the illustration.
  

  1 Telephone wall jack
  2 Use the phone cord supplied in the box with the printer to connect to the “1-LINE” port

  If the phone cord that came with the printer is not long enough, you can use a coupler to extend the length. You can purchase a coupler at an electronics store that carries phone accessories. You also need another phone cord, which can be a standard phone cord that you might already have in your home or office.

• Check the connection between the telephone wall jack and the printer to make sure the phone cord is secure.
• Make sure you use the phone cord that came with the printer. If you do not use the supplied phone cord to connect from the telephone wall jack to the printer, you might not be able to send or receive faxes. After you plug in the phone cord that came with the printer, run the fax test again.
• If you are using a phone splitter, this can cause faxing problems. (A splitter is a two-cord connector that plugs into a telephone wall jack.) Try removing the splitter and connecting the printer directly to the telephone wall jack.

The “Dial Tone Detection” test failed
Solution:

• Other equipment, which uses the same phone line as the printer, might be causing the test to fail. To find out if other equipment is causing a problem, disconnect everything from the phone line, and then run the test again. If the Dial Tone Detection Test passes without the other equipment, then one or more pieces of the equipment is causing problems; try adding them back one at a time and rerunning the test each time, until you identify which piece of equipment is causing the problem.
• Try connecting a working phone and phone cord to the telephone wall jack that you are using for the printer and check for a dial tone. If you do not hear a dial tone, contact your telephone company and have them check the line.
• Make sure you have correctly connected the printer to the telephone wall jack.
• Using the phone cord supplied in the box with the printer, connect one end to your telephone wall jack, then connect the other end to the port labeled 1-LINE on the back of the printer.
• If you are using a phone splitter, this can cause faxing problems. (A splitter is a two-cord connector that plugs into a telephone wall jack.) Try removing the splitter and connecting the printer directly to the telephone wall jack.
• If your telephone system is not using a standard dial tone, such as some PBX systems, this might cause the test to fail. This does not cause a problem sending or receiving faxes. Try sending or receiving a test fax.
• Check to make sure the country/region setting is set appropriately for your country/region. If the country/region setting is not set or is set incorrectly, the test might fail and you might have problems sending and receiving faxes.
• Make sure you connect the printer to an analog phone line or you cannot send or receive faxes. To check if your phone line is digital, connect a regular analog phone to the line and listen for a dial tone. If you do not hear a normal sounding dial tone, it might be a phone line set up for digital phones. Connect the printer to an analog phone line and try sending or receiving a fax.
• Make sure you use the phone cord that came with the printer. If you do not use the supplied phone cord to connect from the telephone wall jack to the printer, you might not be able to send or receive faxes. After you plug in the phone cord that came with the printer, run the fax test again.

After you resolve any problems found, run the fax test again to make sure it passes and the printer is ready for faxing. If the Dial Tone Detection test continues to fail, contact your telephone company and have them check the phone line.

The “Fax Line Condition” test failed
Solution:

• Make sure you connect the printer to an analog phone line or you cannot send or receive faxes. To check if your phone line is digital, connect a regular analog phone to the line and listen for a dial tone. If you do not hear a normal sounding dial tone, it might be a phone line set up for digital phones. Connect the printer to an analog phone line and try sending or receiving a fax.
• Check the connection between the telephone wall jack and the printer to make sure the phone cord is secure.
• Make sure you have correctly connected the printer to the telephone wall jack. Using the phone cord supplied in the box with the printer, connect one end to your telephone wall jack, then connect the other end to the port labeled 1-LINE on the back of the printer.
• Other equipment, which uses the same phone line as the printer, might be causing the test to fail. To find out if other equipment is causing a problem, disconnect everything from the phone line, and then run the test again.
  - If the Fax Line Condition Test passes without the other equipment, then one or more pieces of the equipment is causing problems; try adding them back one at a time and rerunning the test each time, until you identify which piece of equipment is causing the problem.
  - If the Fax Line Condition Test fails without the other equipment, connect the printer to a working phone line and continue reviewing the troubleshooting information in this section.
• If you are using a phone splitter, this can cause faxing problems. (A splitter is a two-cord connector that plugs into a telephone wall jack.) Try removing the splitter and connecting the printer directly to the telephone wall jack.
• Make sure you use the phone cord that came with the printer. If you do not use the supplied phone cord to connect from the telephone wall jack to the printer, you might not be able to send or receive faxes. After you plug in the phone cord that came with the printer, run the fax test again.

After you resolve any problems found, run the fax test again to make sure it passes and the printer is ready for faxing. If the Fax Line Condition test continues to fail and you experience problems faxing, contact your telephone company and have them check the phone line.

The display always shows Phone Off Hook
Solution: You are using the wrong type of phone cord. Make sure you are using the phone cord that came with the printer to connect the printer to your phone line.
If the phone cord that came with the printer is not long enough, you can use a coupler to extend the length. You can purchase a coupler at an electronics store that carries phone accessories. You also need another phone cord, which can be a standard phone cord that you might already have in your home or office.
Solution: Other equipment that uses the same phone line as the printer might be in use. Make sure extension phones (phones on the same phone line, but not connected to the printer) or other equipment are not in use or off the hook. For example, you cannot use the printer for faxing if an extension phone is off the hook, or if you are using a computer dial-up modem to send email or access the Internet.

The HP Officejet Pro 8600 printer is having problems sending and receiving faxes
Solution: Make sure the printer is turned on. Look at the display on the printer. If the display is blank and the (Power button) light is not lit, the printer is turned off. Make sure the power cord is firmly connected to the printer and plugged into a power outlet. Press the (Power button) to turn on the printer.
After turning on the printer, HP recommends you wait five minutes before sending or receiving a fax. The printer cannot send or receive faxes while it is initializing after being turned on.
Solution: If Fax to PC or Fax to Mac has been enabled, you may not be able to send or receive faxes if the fax memory is full (limited by printer memory).
Solution:

• Make sure you used the phone cord supplied in the box with the printer to connect to the telephone wall jack. One end of the phone cord should be connected to the port labeled 1-LINE on the back of the printer and the other end to your telephone wall jack, as shown in the illustration.
  
  1 Telephone wall jack
  2 Use the phone cord supplied in the box with the printer to connect to the “1-LINE” port
  If the phone cord that came with the printer is not long enough, you can use
  a coupler to extend the length. You can purchase a coupler at an electronics
  store that carries phone accessories. You also need another phone cord, which can be a standard phone cord that you might already have in your home or office.
• Try connecting a working phone and phone cord to the telephone wall jack that you are using for the printer and check for a dial tone. If you do not hear a dial tone, call your local telephone company for service.
• Other equipment, which uses the same phone line as the printer, might be in use. For example, you cannot use the printer for faxing if an extension phone is off the hook, or if you are using a computer dial-up modem to send an email or access the Internet.
• Check to see if another process has caused an error. Check the display or your computer for an error message providing information about the problem and how to solve it. If there is an error, the printer cannot send or receive a fax until the error condition is resolved.
• The phone line connection might be noisy. Phone lines with poor sound quality (noise) can cause faxing problems. Check the sound quality of the phone line by plugging a phone into the telephone wall jack and listening for static or other noise. If you hear noise, turn Error Correction Mode (ECM) off and try faxing again. For information about changing ECM, see Send a fax in Error Correction Mode. If the problem persists, contact your telephone company.
• If you are using a digital subscriber line (DSL) service, make sure that you have a DSL filter connected or you cannot fax successfully.
• Make sure the printer is not connected to a telephone wall jack that is set up for digital phones. To check if your phone line is digital, connect a regular analog phone to the line and listen for a dial tone. If you do not hear a normal sounding dial tone, it might be a phone line set up for digital phones.
• If you are using either a private branch exchange (PBX) or an integrated services digital network (ISDN) converter/terminal adapter, make sure the printer is connected to the correct port and the terminal adapter is set to the correct switch type for your country/region.
• If the printer shares the same phone line with a DSL service, the DSL modem might not be grounded correctly. If the DSL modem is not grounded correctly, it can create noise on the phone line. Phone lines with poor sound quality (noise) can cause faxing problems. You can check the sound quality of the phone line by plugging a phone into the telephone wall jack and listening for static or other noise. If you hear noise, turn off your DSL modem and completely remove power for at least 15 minutes. Turn the DSL modem back on and listen to the dial tone again.
  NOTE: You might notice static on the phone line again in the future. If the printer stops sending and receiving faxes, repeat this process.
  If the phone line is still noisy, contact your telephone company. For information on turning your DSL modem off, contact your DSL provider for support.
• If you are using a phone splitter, this can cause faxing problems. (A splitter is a two-cord connector that plugs into a telephone wall jack.) Try removing the splitter and connecting the printer directly to the telephone wall jack.

The HP Officejet Pro 8600 printer is having problems sending a manual fax
Solution:
NOTE: This possible solution applies only in the countries/regions that receive a 2-wire phone cord in the box with the printer, including: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Latin America, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

• Make sure the telephone you use to initiate the fax call is connected directly to the printer. To send a fax manually, the telephone must be connected directly to the port labeled 2-EXT on the printer, as shown in the illustration.
  1 Telephone wall jack
  2 Use the phone cord supplied in the box with the printer to connect to the “1-LINE” port
  3 Telephone
• If you are sending a fax manually from your phone that is connected directly to the printer, you must use the keypad on the telephone to send the fax. You cannot use the keypad on the printer control panel.

NOTE: If using a serial-type phone system, please connect your phone directly on top of the printer cable which has a wall plug attached to it.

The printer cannot receive faxes, but can send faxes
Solution:

• If you are not using a distinctive ring service, check to make sure that the Distinctive Ring feature on the printer is set to All Rings.
• If Auto Answer is set to Off, you need to receive faxes manually; otherwise, the printer cannot receive the fax.
• If you have a voice mail service at the same phone number you use for fax calls, you must receive faxes manually, not automatically. This means that you must be available to respond in person to incoming fax calls.
• If you have a computer dial-up modem on the same phone line with the printer, check to make sure that the software that came with your modem is not set to receive faxes automatically. Modems that are set up to receive faxes automatically take over the phone line to receive all incoming faxes, which prevents the printer from receiving fax calls.
• If you have an answering machine on the same phone line with the printer, you might have one of the following problems:
  - Your answering machine might not be set up correctly with the printer.
  - Your outgoing message might be too long or too loud to allow the printer to detect fax tones, and the sending fax machine might disconnect.
  - Your answering machine might not have enough quiet time after your outgoing message to allow the printer to detect fax tones. This problem is most common with digital answering machines.

The following actions might help solve these problems:

• When you have an answering machine on the same phone line you use for fax calls, try connecting the answering machine directly to the printer.
• Make sure the printer is set to receive faxes automatically. Make sure the Rings to Answer setting is set to a greater number of rings than the answering machine.
• Disconnect the answering machine and then try receiving a fax. If faxing is successful without the answering machine, the answering machine might be causing the problem.
• Reconnect the answering machine and record your outgoing message again. Record a message that is approximately 10 seconds in duration.
  Speak slowly and at a low volume when recording your message. Leave at least 5 seconds of silence at the end of the voice message. There should be no background noise when recording this silent time. Try to receive a fax again.
  NOTE: Some digital answering machines might not retain the recorded silence at the end of your outgoing message. Play back your outgoing message to check.
• If the printer shares the same phone line with other types of phone equipment, such as an answering machine, a computer dial-up modem, or a multi-port switch box, the fax signal level might be reduced. The signal level can also be reduced if you use a splitter or connect extra cables to extend the length of your phone. A reduced fax signal can cause problems during fax reception.
  To find out if other equipment is causing a problem, disconnect everything except the printer from the phone line, and then try to receive a fax. If you can receive faxes successfully without the other equipment, one or more pieces of the other equipment is causing problems; try adding them back one at a time and receiving a fax each time, until you identify which equipment is causing the problem.
• If you have a special ring pattern for your fax phone number (using a distinctive ring service through your telephone company), make sure that the Distinctive Ring feature on the printer is set to match.

The printer cannot send faxes, but can receive faxes
Solution:

• The printer might be dialing too fast or too soon. You might need to insert some pauses in the number sequence. For example, if you need to access an outside line before dialing the phone number, insert a pause following the access number. If your number is 95555555, and 9 accesses an outside line, you might insert pauses as follows: 9-555-5555. To enter a pause in the fax number you are typing, touch the Space (#) button repeatedly, until a dash (-) appears on the display. You can also send the fax using monitor dialing. This enables you to listen to the phone line as you dial. You can set the pace of your dialing and respond to prompts as you dial. For more information, see Send a fax using monitor dialing.
• The number you entered when sending the fax is not in the proper format or the receiving fax machine is having problems. To check this, try calling the fax number from a telephone and listen for fax tones. If you cannot hear fax tones, the receiving fax machine might not be turned on or connected, or a voice mail service could be interfering with the recipient’s phone line. You can also ask the recipient to check the receiving fax machine for any problems.

Fax tones are recorded on my answering machine
Solution:

• When you have an answering machine on the same phone line you use for fax calls, try connecting the answering machine directly to the printer. If you do not connect the answering machine as recommended, fax tones might be recorded on your answering machine.
• Make sure the printer is set to receive faxes automatically and that the Rings to Answer setting is correct. The number of rings to answer for the printer should be greater than the number of rings to answer for the answering machine. If the answering machine and the printer are set to the same number of rings to answer, both devices answer the call and fax tones are recorded on the answering machine.
• Set your answering machine to a low number of rings and the printer to answer in the maximum number of rings supported. (The maximum number of rings varies by country/region.) In this setup, the answering machine answers the call and the printer monitors the line. If the printer detects fax tones, the printer receives the fax. If the call is a voice call, the answering machine records the incoming message.

The phone cord that came with my printer is not long enough
Solution: If the phone cord that came with the printer is not long enough, you can use a coupler to extend the length. You can purchase a coupler at an electronics store that carries phone accessories. You also need another phone cord, which can be a standard phone cord that you might already have in your home or office.

TIP: If the printer came with a 2-wire phone cord adaptor, you can use it with a 4-wire phone cord to extend the length. For information on using the 2-wire phone cord adaptor, see the documentation that came with it.

To extend your phone cord
1. Using the phone cord supplied in the box with the printer, connect one end to the coupler, then connect the other end to the port labeled 1-LINE on the back of the printer.
2. Connect another phone cord to the open port on the coupler and to the telephone wall jack.

Color faxes do not print
Cause: The Incoming Fax Printing option is turned off.
Solution: To print color faxes, make sure that the Incoming Fax Printing option in the printer control panel is turned on.

The computer cannot receive faxes (Fax to PC and Fax to Mac)
Cause: The computer selected to receive faxes is turned off.
Solution: Make sure the computer selected to receive faxes is switched on at all times.
Cause: Different computers are configured for setup and receiving faxes and one of them may be switched off.
Solution: If the computer receiving faxes is different from the one used for setup, both computers should be switched on at all times.
Cause: Fax to PC or Fax to Mac is not activated or the computer is not configured to receive faxes.
Solution: Activate Fax to PC or Fax to Mac and make sure the computer is configured to receive faxes.