Fax modem won't work - Apple USB external modem

Question

I am new to Mac, well relatively.... It's been 8 years, and now I am back!!
Anyway, I got an iMac 3 weeks ago, and love it. However, I can't get my external modem/fax modem working. I bought the Apple USB external modem, hooked it up, setup a fax printer, and NOTHING. I try to print to the fax and it won't even dial. I call the fax number, and it won't answer. I know it's a live phone line b/c I can hook it up to my fax machine and it works fine, both for incoming and outgoing messages. Is there a trick? Do I have to set up an actual external modem interface in the networks panel just to use an existing phone line? Thanks for your help....

Answer 1

You actually need to configure your iMac as a fax machine to send and receive faxes through the Apple USB modem.
From Faxing in Mac Help in the Finder Help menu;
*To set up your Mac to receive faxes*:
1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences and click Print & Fax.
2. Select the fax modem in the Printers list.
3. Type your fax number in the Fax Number field. This is used to identify your computer when you send or receive a fax.
4. If you want to control your computer’s fax functions from the menu bar, select “Show fax status in menu bar.” If you don’t want to receive faxes automatically, you must select this option. If you receive faxes automatically, you may want to select this option so you can view status information more easily.
5. Click Receive Options.
6. Select “Receive faxes on this computer,” and choose the number of rings before your computer answers a fax.
a. If you want to receive faxes automatically, make sure your computer answers the phone before any other device that may be connected to it, such as a phone answering machine.
b. If you don’t want to receive faxes automatically, set the number of rings to the highest number possible, and use the Fax status menu to receive faxes manually.
7. Choose what to do with the fax after it arrives; you can save it as an image file, email it, and print it to a printer.
*To send a fax:*
1. Choose File > Print, and then choose Fax PDF from the PDF pop-up menu.
2. Type the fax number in the To field, or click the Address Book button to the right of the To field to select a number. If you want to paste a number into the To field and the Edit > Paste command isn’t available, hold down the Control key as you click the To field and choose Paste from the menu that appears.
3. If your phone system requires you to dial a prefix for an outside line, type it in the Dialing Prefix field.
4. If you want to include a cover page, select “Use Cover page” and enter a subject and message.
5. Make sure the correct fax device is selected from the Printer pop-up menu.
6. To change your options, choose the option category from the print options pop-up menu. For example, to choose your modem’s behavior when faxing, choose Fax Modem. You can choose whether to dial with touch tones or pulse tones, whether to listen to the modem as it dials, and whether to wait for a steady dial tone before dialing.
7. Click Fax.