Article: Recieve Free Incoming Faxes with Google Voice

Published on Monday, 13 August 2012 23:38

Written by Elan Colello

This article is about how to RECEIVE faxes with a LOCAL number absolutely FREE of charge by using Google Voice and VoxOx. This method does require downloading an MP3 file or creating your own, registration with Google and VoxOx, as well as installing VoxOx's free desktop software (iPhone, OSX & Windows compatible). "Receiving" incoming calls to a free Google Voice local number and to VoxOx is completely free; the trick is to get Google Voice to forward calls to VoxOx. Be aware that with this method there is a one penny per minute charge for "sending" faxes to any country in the world. However, the great thing about VoxOx is that in addition to a free $0.25 credit (unlike Skype), VoxOx allows you to "pay as you go". At one to two cents per minute for international calls, if you did have to pay for outgoing faxes, texts or calls you wouldn't have to pay very much. All other "free" faxing services either give you a free LONG DISTANCE (not local) number that expires after 10 to 30 days. This cost your local clients a lot of money when they have to pay long-distance fees to send faxes to your local business.

• 1. DOWNLOAD CALL FORWARDING MP3 VOICEMAIL: Download the fax_voicemail.mp3 file (http://www.mediastreamit.com/downloads/fax_voicemail.mp3). It contains the number "one" and "star" buttons being pushed, which accepts the forwarded call from Google Voice when the VoxOx voicemail picks up to receive the incoming fax/call. Then the there is a five minute, repeating "fax receive" signal which prompts the incoming fax to be sent. The track is five minutes long so that fax-printers can slowly scan the documents to be sent after making a connection, then send the file before the voicemail stops playing and starts recording (implementation instructions below).
  2. REGISTER WITH GOOGLE VOICE: Register a free local phone number with Google Voice (http://google.com/voice), this requires a Gmail account or registration with Google Accounts (https://accounts.google.com/NewAccount).
  3. REGISTER WITH VOXOX: Register for a free, no cards required, "pay as you go" long distance phone number and account with VoxOx (http://signup.voxox.com/signupvoxox?c=vmc_voxoxhomepage_unify). Then, after verifying your email address, download the VoxOx desktop client for either iPhone, OSX or Windows.
  4. VOXOX SETTINGS: Install, then open the VoxOx desktop or iPhone application and change the program's settings by clicking on the "gear" icon at the bottom of the interface panel, then clicking on "Preferences" in the dropdown list.
  5. VOXOX PHONE SETTINGS: Select the "Phone" button in the VoxOx settings menu on the left-side of the control panel.
  6. VOXOX PHONE GENERAL SETTINGS: While in the VoxOx "Phone" settings panel, under the default "General" tab, uncheck all the checkboxes for every option. This means, make sure the following options are unchecked or deactivated; "Personal Assistant", "Call Screening", "Present Incoming Call Options" and "Dead End". Then, make sure the "My Name" option is set to "Use Text to Speech" and leave the text field empty. Then, click "Apply" to save the settings.
  7. VOXOX MY PHONES SETTINGS: While still in the VoxOx "Phone" settings, click the "My Phones" tab and set the "Ring (sec)" option to "1" second. Then, click "Apply" to save the settings.
  8. VOXOX VOICEMAIL SETTINGS: While still in the VoxOx "Phone" settings, click on the "Voicemail" tab and set the "Time Until Voicemail Picks Up" option to "1" second. Next, under "Greetings", select the "Personal Greeting" option and click "Upload." Browse your computer for the file you downloaded in the first step, "fax_voicemail.mp3". Then, click "Apply" to save the settings.
  9. VOXOX NOTIFICATIONS SETTINGS: Next, click the VoxOx "Notifications" button in the left-side menu of the settings panel. Uncheck or deactivate all "Text" notifications (these cost one cent in VoxOx credit each time a notification is sent to your mobile device and can incur additional charges from your mobile service provider). Click "Apply" to save the settings, then press "Ok" to exit the settings panel. Keep the VoxOx desktop application open for the next step; verifying the VoxOx number in Google Voice.
  10. GOOGLE VOICE SETTINGS: While logged into Google Voice, click on the "gear" icon in the upper left-hand corner of the home page and click on the "Settings" option.
  11. 
      GOOGLE VOICE ADD NEW PHONE & VERIFY: While in the Google Voice settings panel, under the default "Phones" tab, click on the link "Add another phone" and enter the information for your VoxOx number, set the "Phone Type" to "Work" and press "Save". Next, in order to verify the forwarding of your free, local Google Voice number to your free, long-distance VoxOx fax number, Google Voice must call the VoxOx number and have someone answer then enter a two-digit verification number. For this step, you will need to use the VoxOx iPhone or desktop application to answer the Google Voice verification call, then click on the "dial pad" button and enter the two-digit verification code that Google provided you.
  12. GOOGLE VOICE CALLS SETTINGS: While still in the Google Voice settings panel, click on the "Calls" tab. Make sure the following settings are made: "Call Screening" is "Off"; "Do Not Disturb" is "unchecked/disabled"; "Missed Call" options are "unchecked/disabled"; "Call Options" is "checked/enabled"; and "Global Spam Filtering" is "unchecked/disabled". Make sure you click "Save Changes" when you are finished.
  13. ENJOY!: That's it... you should now be able to receive faxes with your free, local Google Voice number by forwarding the calls to VoxOx and having your voicemail play a recording of the "1" and "*" buttons being pushed to transfer the call to VoxOx, which is then followed by a five-minute "fax receive" signal all mixed-down into one MP3 or WAV file.