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How to receive faxes on your iPhone

Sending a fax from an iPhone is one thing, but plenty of Canadians also need to receive them: a pharmacy sending back a form, a lawyer returning a signed page, an employer sending a contract. Without a fax machine, you need a fax number that delivers to your phone instead. This faxappsforiphone.ca guide explains how receiving works, how to set it up, and what to do with a fax once it arrives.

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How receiving a fax on a phone works

Your iPhone cannot answer a fax call by itself. Instead, an online fax service gives you a fax number. When someone faxes it from a machine or another service, the service receives the pages and turns them into a digital document you can open on your phone.

With FaxToFax.com, which faxappsforiphone.ca recommends, received faxes go into a private, encrypted inbox that you open in Safari. They are never emailed, which keeps sensitive documents out of your mail app.

Set up your fax number

Before relying on the number for something important, test it. Ask a friend or your own office to send a one-page fax, or send one to yourself from the same account, and make sure it appears in your inbox.

Open Safari and go to FaxToFax.com.
Enter your email address and the one-time code sent to it.
Choose your fax number. You can pick a local number in Canada, for example in your own area code, or a toll-free number.
Activate your account.
Share your new fax number with the people who need to send you documents, and add it to your email signature or letterhead if you use one.

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Get alerts when a fax arrives

FaxToFax shows in-app alerts and browser alerts when a new fax lands. Because there is no app, these alerts come through your browser rather than as App Store app notifications. If you are expecting something important, keep the inbox open or check it at regular times, and ask the sender to call or text when they have sent it. Browser alerts depend on your iOS and Safari settings, so check that notifications are allowed if you do not see them.

Adding the site to your Home Screen (Share, then Add to Home Screen in Safari) makes checking quicker.

Open, save and use a received fax

Tap the fax in your inbox to view it. Pinch to zoom on small text.
If the sender used a cover page, check it for a reference number or instructions on what to do next.
Download it if you need a copy on your phone, then save it to Files.
To pass it on as a fax, download it and attach it to a new fax to another number.
Remember that each view and download is recorded in the account's audit log, which is useful if you share an account with a small team.

Page counts and privacy

Received pages count toward your monthly plan pages once. On FaxToFax's Personal plan, you get 200 pages a month sent and received combined, so a 10-page incoming fax uses 10 of those pages. If you receive a lot, the Business plan includes 500 pages and a shared inbox for up to five users.

Your account signs you out after 30 minutes of inactivity by default, so a fax left open on your screen does not stay visible forever. Use a passcode or Face ID on your iPhone as well, since it holds your sign-in email.

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