Faxing with Apple USB Modem (external) - Can you do it?

I bought the new iMac G5 with built in iSight BUT no built in Modem. Apple offers a USB Modem and it says you can fax BUT one of the posts said they could NOT fax. Has anyone successfully sent and received faxes using the Apple USB Modem preferably from a new iMac?

The following appeared in yesterday's MacInTouch.com column:
Chuck Counselman sent a follow-up to his Nov. 16 note about faxing with Apple's new USB external modem:
I've since solved the problem. Now my Apple USB Modem not only sends and receives faxes; it also dials into Earthlink and makes a PPP connection to the Internet. For others' possible benefit, here is a description of what I did that worked. I don't know how much of what I did was necessary.
In System Preferences > Network, I defined a new Location (which I named "USB Modem," but the name is not important). In the "Show" pop-up menu, I chose "External Modem." Under the "PPP" tab I entered my Service Provider's name, my Account Name and Password, and primary and alternate telephone numbers for my ISP's modem pools; and I clicked "Apply Now." Under the "TCP/IP" tab, in the "Configure IPv4" menu, I left the default choice "Using PPP" unchanged. Under the "Modem" tab, in the "Modem" menu, I chose "Apple External 56K Modem (v.92)"; I left the other default choices unchanged; and I clicked "Apply Now". Then I closed System Preferences.
Via the data-modem menu in the OS menu bar, I chose "Connect," and was pleased to hear and see the familiar sounds and sights of a dial-up connection. I surfed the web for a couple of minutes just to test the connection; it was fine.
In System Preferences > Print & Fax, under the "Faxing" tab I had already entered my fax number and a "Save to" folder name. Now I clicked the "Set Up Fax Modem" button. A day earlier, clicking this button had gotten me an empty "Fax List" window. Now it got me a "Fax List" window containing one entry with the name "External Modem."
And now the Apple USB Modem answered calls, received faxes, and saved them in the folder I'd designated. Now I could send faxes, too, following the instructions in the OS Help.
I returned to my original Location, where my Network connection was via Airport, not via the USB modem. Now, in the data-modem menu in the OS Menu Bar, the "Connect" command was grayed out (as expected). However, the USB modem continued to function for faxing.

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Problem on sending fax with Apple USB modem

Hello everyone,
I use my macmini to manage faxes to help my father's business, as fax is one of the most important mean of communication to our clients. While I can only receive fax from outside to my mac, but I cannot send fax from my mac through "Send PDF" option, it just stop working, and "Waiting for modem to become available" without using my telephone-line. It is weird when I plug it into my macbook that it works.
Look forward to your advice. Thank you,
Victor Tang
Message was edited by: victan7300

I am having problems sending and receiving faxes, too, and have been working with AppleCare level 2. They are off for a couple of days, and the solution is nowhere in sight. They did capture information from my system as I tried to fax, and sent it to engineering. They have determined that I am not getting a dial tone.
When I connect my phone to the jack, I do get a dial tone and can talk on the phone (which I do frequently). I have been provided with two additional new Apple USB modems to try to see if that would fix the problem. It did not make any difference which of the three modems I use, I cannot send or receive faxes. Yesterday, I booted up my old iMac (OS X 10.4.11 with a collapsing hard drive, but an internal modem). I attached this computer to the same phone jack and was able to freely send faxes - every single try.
I downloaded and set up the application PageSender just to see if it was the fax software (I have been trying to just use what came with my MacBook Pro). Using the Apple USB external modem (as I have had to do with this computer and operating system), I could not send any faxes - could not get a dial tone, according to PageSender.
I, therefore, believe that the problem is with the external modem and/or the extensions that operate the external modem.
I did try what you have suggested above - the substitution of the IOSerialFamily.kext:
I partitioned my harddrive into two partitions HD and HD_2. I loaded OS X 10.5.5 (from my CD) onto the second partition. I then copied the IOSerialFamily.kext on my thumb drive (from OS X 10.5.5 the version was 92). Then I upgraded to 10.5.6, and copied the ioSerialFamily.kext on my thumb drive - this time with 10.5.6 the version was 93. I went back to my first partition where I have 10.5.7 (version 94) and tried to transfer version 93 IOSerialFamily.kext to the extensions. As soon as I tried to mount the Apple USB modem I received the following message:
"System extension cannot be used
The system extension”/system/Library/Estensions/IOSerialFamily.kext/contents/PlugIns/Motor olaSM56KUSB.kext was installed improperly and cannot be used. Please try reinstalling it or contact the product’s vendor for an update."
At that point I tried to exchange the version 93 with the one that I removed - version 94, but I continued to get the same message. I decided to reinstall 10.5.7 again hoping that this would solve the message problem. No such luck! I did now have version 94, but the same error message. At this point, I tried a permissions repair. This solved the error problem... but I was still not able to send or receive faxes, because the fax programs could detect not dial tone.
Because I have never sent or received faxes with this computer - only my iBook (10.4.11), I decided to go back to the second partition on my computer and see if I could send a fax from the macBook Pro with 10.5.6. The results are sporadic. I had to try several times, and occasionally I would get a dial tone and could send the fax, but more often, I could not. There was no difference in any of the 2 modems I tried (by now I had returned 1 to the Apple Store), or whether I used the front USB port or the rear USB port. The sending of a fax with MacBook Pro and 10.5.6 was not consistent or reliable and I could only occasionally get a dial tone... with 10.5.7 I can never get a dial tone.
According to my AppleCare representative the engineers are "on this". But I see that the original post was in November, which was prior to 10.5.7; I purchased my MacBook Pro with 10.5.5 in December, so imagine that this problem has been around through several upgrades of 10.5.
This is unbelievably frustrating! Has anyone been able to easily send and receive faxes with 10.5.5?
Chris (hopefully you are still around), did you get any error messages when you exchanged your 10.5.6 IOSerialFamily.kext for the 10.5.7 IOSerialFamily.kext - especially when you mounted- or tried to attach the external modem? If so, how did you handle that?
Sorry that this has been such a long post. I have tried to provide as much information as I could in the hopes of finding a solution. Any ideas???
THANKS!

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Cannot send faxes w/ Apple USB modem, can you offer some help please?

Hi,
I am using the Apple USB modem connected to my brand new MacBook and so far could not send any faxes. The modem is working because I was able to receive 1 fax (which I sent to myself from my Nokia 9300i).
The monitor tells me that: dialing... ok, connecting...ok, sending... and then it fails.
On the other side (my Nokia 9300i) the fax is starting to come in but shortly thereafter it stops.
I tried Apple Fax (embbedded in the OS) and also PageSender v.4 with the same results.
Anyone of you can offer any suggestion/help as to why this is happening?
Thanks

I have always believed that the answer to this is yes, however, I have never had occasion to test it. In the past when we all used dialup it was either/or, because you couldn't fax with the same modem you were using to connect to an ISP at the same time. But since you are configuring internet through one network and faxing through another, it should work. Maybe someone actually doing it will wade in here.
Of course, there are a lot of efax services out there now that let you send and receive faxes through the internet.

Apple USB Modem + External Subwoofer = Bad Interference?

Does anyone know the inards of an Apple USB modem well? i just installed my 22"LG monitor and now i cant get on the net through the USB Modem cuz it interferes with the subwoofer. it would dial then go crazy and make my computer freeze. then i decided to unplug my subwoofer and everythings worked fine. any ideas?

That is strange, are they very close to each other? The subwoofer may have a strong magnet inside it, keep the modem away from it. I use an external subwoofer on the floor, my MacBook is on a stand on a desk with the modem hanging off the back of the desk. I also use an external monitor. I had used dial-up for a short while before I got cable, and still use the USB modem for occasional faxing, so you should be able to use all those things simultaneously: USB modem, external speakers, external monitor, if you are having problems, you might need to take it to an Apple store and see if you can replicate the problem, if they can fix it (under warranty?). Maybe try using an externally powered USB hub for the modem?

Problem with Apple USB Modem Caller ID functionality

Can't find a more suitable area to post this, so here goes... Caller ID detection using my Apple USB Modem rarely works. I've tried several different pieces of software, including looking directly at the modem's output with ZTerm, and it's apparent that the modem is not picking up the inbound caller ID information properly most times. It occasionally reports the proper data (time,date,number,name) but more often that not, it reports RING, and then ERRM=ICLID_202. My cordless phone reports inbound CID information flawlessly using the same phone jack and cable, so I'm confident the service is working properly on the phone side.
The modem's response to an ID request (ATI1) is *Apple Version 1.5.9*.
Do I have a bad modem, need a firmware upgrade, or what? Does anyone else have similar problems? Far as I can tell, the rest of the modem functionality (outbound faxing, etc.) works fine. Thanks for any help anyone can offer!

I tried posting earlier, sorry if both show up.
I am having the same problem with the Apple USB Modem and Caller-ID functionality. I am using the modem in conjunction with Parliant's Phone Valet Home Edition, and Caller-ID fails about 15-20% of the time. Along with missing Caller-ID information, the system also doesn't pick up the line on the usual 4 rings, it takes 8 rings before it answers on those same calls. I've talked with Parliant's tech support, and in the end they basically said that there is nothing that they can do if the modem doesn't pass the caller-id information to the program. They also suggested that maybe there was a "low-voltage" issue on the line that may be causing the system to miss caller-id and take longer to pick up, even though caller-id works on every other phone and caller-id display in the house, including one hooked up to the same jack as the Apple Modem. I then called AT&T to check the line - they stopped out and ran tests and said everything was fine on the phone line side. So there seems to be a combination issue going on here - the modem doesn't register caller-id, and also doesn't seem to realize that the phone is actually even ringing until several rings in. This could be part of the problem: If the modem doesn't "see" the phone ringing on the first ring it probably just isn't even looking for caller-id info when it is being passed before the second ring.
Just wanted to add my experience, and would appreciate any ideas - I have a rather expensive answering machine that only works about 80% of the time.
Thank you, and take care!
Jeff

Cable Modem Faxing w/Apple USB Modem

After looking at the info in this forum it is my understanding that the Apple USB Modem has the capability to send & receive faxes if I hook it up to the back of my computer (Power Mac G5) to the USB port and connect that to my phone line, even though I am using a cable modem. In essence it's a separate little external modem device. Is that correct? Thanks for any enlightenment on this subject.

Sru,
I don't remember the specific steps I took, but mine is working fine now under 10.4.3. At the very least, I would recommend hooking up the modem directly to your system's USP port, and not through a hub (including the keyboard hub). This seems to be the main problem I was having.
If you're having specific problems, please post your details and perhaps I'll (or someone) be able to help point you in the right direction.
-Mark

Annoyed with Apple usb modem

I am very disappointed in the Apple USB modem and its disconnecting probelms. I called Applecare on this, and the first thing the tech said was I should have gotten the internal modem. Yes. On an iSight iMac. I had to tell him it wasn't an option.
After a few seconds of silence, he went through a litany of things You Must Absolutely Not Do With A USB Modem. Like do not start the computer with the modem plugged in (I have no idea how one does a restart since one is also advised not to unplug it when the computer is running). Do Not unplug the modem when it is in the 'interminable disconnect loop' (I already found that this causes kernal panics which generated the call), Do Not open any applications while the modem is connecting (this causes it to immediately disconnect). Do Not plug in any USB or FW devices while the modem is running. The list went on. He also said that he would email a Kbase article on these modems and how to use them. Well, the article I got was a 2 year-old article on internal modems. No matter, it was in Japanese. No help from Applecare.
What annoys me most is that it constantly disconnects when using any app more processor intensive than Safari. I can't burn CDs or DVDs, or any Photoshop work. When it does this, it takes at least 10 minutes to disconnect if it does it at all. I was compressing some video which still had an hour left to go when the modem disconnected. I had to wait until the compression was done, so I could do a restart and get the modem to stop.
I am getting very upset about this. This modem should perform as well as the internal modem it replaced since the internal isn't an option. When I get back home from Christmas, I'll be calling again, but my first call was very disheartening, since it appears the tech sent me some arbitrary article to get rid of me.

I doubt the tech sent you an arbritary article to get
rid of you.
The fact is that USB Modems are in fact problematic
NO MATTER who the manufacture.
That being said the reason the article that he sent
you was outdated is because the technology is the
same outdated.
You must remember that the technology has progressed
well behond the 56k modems of old, and yes I am aware
that in many instances that is all one has available
for whatever reason.
That is the reason that the DSL was developed to get
away from the inconsistancy of straight dial up.
Bear in mind that the USB has shown to be unreliable
, innconsistant, and fair at best.
So the fact is that when the tech gave you the do's
and the dont's of USB modem use it was so you would
understand the problems you will face if they are not
followed.
Cheers Don
He was able to give me the information regarding all the do's and don'ts over the phone, and I doubt if he pulled the info out of a hat - so why didn't he just send me what he was reading? He gave me a litany, far more than I could remember, hence the request for instructions on (what you yourself mentioned) is a faulty device. Intructions not included in the manual btw. It seems to me that if doing a certain action, like unplugging it during an unstoppable disconnect loop, causes kernal panics, then Apple should mention it. Publish it, actually.
Mac OS X (10.4)
Mac OS X (10.4)

Dropped calls with apple usb modem

The USB modem drops calls frequently. My ISP is earthlink which told me to reX duce the stated modem type to V50 or lower as a fix. But that has no effect.
I have bootcamp and windows Xp Pro Service pack 2 installed along with office.
But use the modem only with Mac OSX10.4.7. it is really frustrating.

Hello,
I have had this problem. My 1st MacBook, wk 30, could not maintain an internet connection via external modem. A primary function. I was a novice with OS X. I rewired my household phone lines, verified my external phone line, dogged my ISP and spent hours with Apple Tech Support applying numerous, ineffectual, suggestions.
That machine was classified as DOA, eventually, after a number of panics, corruptions, and other bad behaviors related to power management. I lost the indexing for hundreds of emails saved on a crucial flash drive - a USB function.
My current machine, wk 33, demonstrated the same frustrating behaviors upon receipt. !!!
I am methodical. I calibrated the battery and performed system updates 1st thing with both machines. Then I became proficient with clean system 10.4.6 reinstall and worked my way backwards.
In my case, the 10.4.7. system upgrade caused the USB modem malfunction to recur. Subsequently, plugging the modem into the right had port enables it to function.
I am now unwilling to plug any other device into the left hand USB port and am limping along.
The last word I had from Tier 2 Tech Support was that there are no known issues.
Cordially,
RLC
The USB modem drops calls frequently. My ISP is
earthlink which told me to reX duce the stated modem
type to V50 or lower as a fix. But that has no
effect.
I have bootcamp and windows Xp Pro Service pack 2
installed along with office.
But use the modem only with Mac OSX10.4.7. it is
really frustrating.

Kernel Panik with Apple USB Modem

Whenever I activate receive faxes in system preferences I get a kernel panic and the system wil not respond any more. Anybody else had this problem? Any solutions?
rgds
Jan

I'm sure you've already tried, but just in case:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304123
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238

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Apple USB Modem - Slow fax speed

Any ideas on why small documents take a very long time to send via fax using Apple USB Modem. I've tried sending a 35 kb pdf document using the built in fax (Print, PDF, Fax PDF) and using Pagesender fax software. Each method takes 2:30 to 3 minutes to send one single page.
I also have a Brother Printer/Fax machine (MFC-5840) and can send the document to the printer's fax and have the document faxed in 20 to 30 seconds.
Any ideas on why it takes so long using the Apple USB Modem?
(Printing to the Brother printer/fax is fine for single documents but I would like to be able to take advantage of sending multiple documents that pagesender/USB Modem would allow)

Vic,
I'm not sure if this is part of your problem, but there have been some less than laudatory user experiences with the Apple USB modem. Apparently, USB modem connections are less than optimal for Macs, whether the connection is high speed internet or dial-up (for fax). You can do a search around here for particular problems with the USB modems.
By the way, do you use the USB modem and dial-up for your other web activities or do you otherwise use broadband?
Regards,
Steve M.
Here's one thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1811003&#1811003
Message was edited by: Steve M.

Ext Apple USB Modem - can't send out a fax!?!?

Hello all,
I'm having trouble sending a fax using the Apple USB modem. FYI, I did create an IP printer with the address of 127.0.0.1 and chose Generic PostScript Printer as the "print using" setting.
Specifically, I'm trying to fax a document I scanned into IPhoto. I was figuring I could click to print the doc and then switch to the IP Printer (FAX) and was then expecting a prompt for an outgoing fax number - never got the prompt.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Welcome to the discussions.
Mail 1.3.11 is the correct version for system 10.3.
I think the port in your error message refers to the SMTP server port. This setting is in the preferences for Mail. Choose Accounts, Select the account having trouble, and choose Account Information and then Server Settings. Write down the server port, so you can reset it in case changing it doesn't help. If it is not 465, try that. If 465 doesn't work, contact your mail service provider as to the correct setting -- my understanding is that they could choose something different, although most will use 465. Make sure the rest of the information in the SMTP server settings is correct.
You can upgrade to 10.4 if you wish -- there are pros and cons in doing so.
Frank

I get the following error message when I connect a usb ethernet adapter to my new MacBook Pro: Unsupported - You cannot use an Apple USB Modem with this computer. I live were we only have dial-up and the Apple Store said this is what I need.

I get the following error message when I connect a usb ethernet adapter to my new MacBook Pro: Unsupported - You cannot use an Apple USB Modem with this computer. I live where we only have dial-up and the Apple Store said this is what I need. In addition, when I connect the phone to the connecter it falls out, it will not click in.

Why are you using a usb ethernet adaptor? Just plug the modem into the usb port.

Can you prove Apple USB Modem supports Voice calls?

I'm developing an app using the Apple USB Modem and I haven't been able to find a single application that supports its claimed voice capabilities. Doesn any have a voice file known to be compatible with this modem? All my attempts have resulted in very distorted screeching playback. I came across one other similar experience/opinion on this modem.

"I am confused, QuickDraw. If the poster cannot get online via Windows XP, how does he or she get the drivers?"
I was speaking of the Boot Camp drivers that comes on the Leopard Disc. This could possibly be the answer to your troubles as well if you haven't already installed them yourself. After you've successfully installed Windows via Boot Camp, you need to boot up into Windows, then stick in your Leopard Disc and the drivers are supposed to install automatically. If after you've installed the BC drivers you still cannot get online via your router, then post back.
Hope this helps.
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Faxing with Apple USB Modem (external) - Can you do it?

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