Fax with a Brother Printer: Complete Guide (2026)

By David Thompson · Published March 31, 2026 · Updated June 8, 2026 · 13 min read

Brother's MFC printers are among the most popular fax-capable machines in homes and small offices. But faxing with a Brother printer involves more than plugging it in — you need to connect the right phone line, configure Station ID, choose a receive mode, and know how to use PC-FAX from your computer.

This guide covers everything: initial setup, sending and receiving faxes, PC-FAX from Windows and Mac, internet fax options, and how to fix the most common problems. Whether you have an MFC-L2820DW, MFC-J4535DW, or an older model, the steps are nearly identical.

Which Brother Printers Support Faxing?

Fax is exclusive to Brother's MFC (Multi-Function Center) lineup. The rule is simple: if the model starts with MFC, it faxes. If it starts with DCP or HL, it does not.

Popular Fax-Capable Brother Models

The MFC-L2820DW is Brother's current flagship monochrome laser AIO — 34 ppm, 50-sheet ADF, color touchscreen, and wireless networking. It's the most common recommendation for small business faxing as of 2026.

Step 1 — Initial Setup: Connect the Phone Line

Before you can send or receive a single fax, the phone line must be connected correctly. This is also where most setup failures originate.

VoIP Users: One Critical Setting

If your phone service is from a cable company or fiber provider (e.g., Comcast, Spectrum, AT&T Fiber), you're on VoIP — not a traditional analog line. VoIP can cause fax failures due to packet loss.

Brother's fix: set Telephone Line Compatibility to Basic (for VoIP):

• Navigate to Settings → All Settings → Fax → Miscellaneous → Compatibility
• Select Basic (for VoIP)

This drops the modem speed to 9,600 bps and disables ECM (Error Correction Mode), which reduces sensitivity to packet loss. Brother explicitly warns that fax transmission over VoIP is not guaranteed — even with this setting. If faxes remain unreliable, see the section on faxing without a phone line.

Step 2 — Send a Fax from Your Brother Printer

Once the phone line is set up, sending a fax is straightforward. There are two document-loading methods depending on your machine.

Method A: Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)

The ADF handles multi-page documents automatically — load them all at once and the machine feeds each page through.

1. Place your document face up, top edge first, into the ADF tray.
2. Adjust the paper guides to fit the document width.
3. Press the FAX button (or tap the Fax icon on touchscreen models).
4. Adjust Fax Resolution if needed (see resolution settings below).
5. Dial the recipient's fax number using the numeric keypad.
6. Press Fax Start (Black or Color).

The machine scans each page, dials the number, and transmits. A confirmation message appears on the screen when complete.

Method B: Scanner Glass (Flatbed)

Use the flatbed for bound books, fragile documents, or anything that can't go through the ADF.

1. Lift the scanner lid and place the document face down on the glass, aligned to the document guides in the corner.
2. Press FAX, enter the recipient number, and press Fax Start.
3. For multi-page documents: after each page scans, the machine prompts "Next Page?" — place the next page on the glass, press OK. When done, press Fax Start again to transmit.

Dialing Options and Shortcuts

Fax Resolution Settings

Resolution controls quality vs. transmission speed. Access via the Fax menu before pressing Start.

Note: If you select S. Fine or Photo and press Color Start, the machine downgrades to Fine automatically — those modes are black-and-white only.

To change the permanent default: Settings → All Settings → Fax → Setup Send → Fax Resolution.

Step 3 — Receive Faxes on Your Brother Printer

The Brother printer supports four receive modes depending on how you use your phone line. Choose the one that matches your setup.

Receive Mode Options

Set receive mode: Navigate to Settings → All Settings → Fax → Setup Receive → Receive Mode.

Key Receive Settings

Ring Delay — How many rings before the machine answers (0–10). Fewer rings = faster fax receipt; more rings = more time for you to answer voice calls first. Set at: Fax → Setup Receive → Ring Delay.

Easy Receive — When enabled, you can activate fax receiving from any extension phone by pressing *51 on the handset when you hear fax tones. The machine takes over without you having to touch the printer. Enable at: Fax → Setup Receive → Easy Receive → On.

F/T Ring Time — In Fax/Tel mode, this sets how long the machine rings with the double-ring alert for voice calls. Set at: Fax → Setup Receive → F/T Ring Time.

Fax Memory and Backup Print

The Brother can store received faxes in internal memory before printing — useful if you're out of paper or want a digital backup.

• Fax Storage On: Faxes are stored in memory AND printed (if Backup Print is enabled).
• Backup Print On: Prints a paper copy even when Fax Storage is enabled.
• Out of Memory: When memory fills up, the machine cannot receive additional faxes. Fix by printing stored faxes: Menu → Fax → Remote Fax Opt → Print Fax.

Important: Color faxes cannot be stored in memory — they always print immediately regardless of settings.

Step 4 — Send Faxes from Your Computer (PC-FAX)

Brother's PC-FAX feature is built into the printer driver at no additional cost. It lets you fax any document directly from your computer without printing it first — you "print" to the fax machine, which transmits it.

Important limitation: PC-FAX sends black and white only, even if your document is in color.

Send a PC-FAX on Windows

1. Open your document in any application (Word, Adobe Acrobat, your browser, etc.).
2. Go to File → Print.
3. Select Brother PC-FAX as the printer from the dropdown.
4. Click Print — the Brother PC-FAX Send dialog opens.
5. Enter the recipient's fax number using the on-screen keypad, or click Address Book to select a stored contact.
6. Optionally check Add Cover Page and customize the cover sheet.
7. Click Start to send.

The machine dials and transmits — you can watch the status in the taskbar notification area.

Send a PC-FAX on Mac

1. Open your document and go to File → Print.
2. In the Printer dropdown, select Brother [model name] - Fax.
3. Enter the recipient's fax number and name in the fields shown.
4. Click Fax to send.

PC-FAX Receive (Windows Only)

PC-FAX Receive routes incoming faxes to your computer's hard drive instead of printing them. This is Windows only — Mac users cannot receive faxes to their computer using Brother's built-in tools.

Setup:

1. On your Windows PC: Start → Brother → PC-FAX Receiving. A Brother icon appears in the system tray.
2. On the Brother machine: Settings → All Settings → Fax → Setup Receive → Memory Receive → PC Fax Receive.
3. Select the connected computer (by name if networked, or USB if connected directly).
4. Right-click the tray icon → PC-Fax RX Setup to configure:
   • Save location for received fax files
   • File format: .tif (standard, opens in any image viewer) or .max (Brother viewer)
   • Check Add To Startup so it launches automatically

Received faxes arrive as TIFF files in your chosen folder. Check Add To Startup — if the PC-FAX Receive software isn't running when a fax arrives, the machine falls back to printing it on paper.

Step 5 — Internet Fax Options (No Phone Line Required)

If you want to receive faxes via email or cloud storage — or eliminate the phone line entirely — Brother offers two built-in options on newer MFC models.

FaxForward to Cloud/E-mail (Brother Apps)

Available on MFC models with the Brother Apps platform (most current touchscreen models including MFC-L2820DW, MFC-L2885DW, MFC-L3780CDW, MFC-J4535DW).

This feature automatically forwards incoming faxes to an email address or cloud storage (Dropbox, etc.) as TIFF attachments.

Setup:

1. On the machine's home screen, swipe to find and tap Apps.
2. Select FaxForward to Cloud/E-mail.
3. Tap Register Account and note the Temporary ID shown on screen.
4. Visit brothercloud.com on your computer, enter the Temporary ID, and link your email or cloud account.
5. Once registered, the feature activates automatically.

Limitations: Black and white only. Cannot be used simultaneously with PC-FAX Receive, Fax Storage, or Fax Forward (to a fax number).

Brother I-Fax (Internet Fax Standard)

Available on select higher-end MFC laser models (MFC-L series with full network connectivity). I-Fax transmits documents over the internet as email messages with attached TIFF-F files — no traditional phone line needed for transmission.

Configuration is done through the machine's Web Based Management interface (type the machine's IP address into your browser). You'll need:

• Your SMTP server address and credentials
• An email address assigned to the machine
• Recipients must also support the I-Fax standard

I-Fax is most commonly used in enterprise settings where multiple machines need to exchange faxes over internal networks.

Troubleshooting Brother Printer Fax Problems

Most fax problems fall into a handful of categories. Work through these before calling support.

No Dial Tone

This is the #1 fax setup problem.

Quick test: Press the Hook key on the machine. You should hear a clear dial tone. If there's static or no tone, the problem is the phone line, not the machine.

Fax Not Sending

• Verify the recipient's fax number is correct (right area code, no extra digits).
• Press Hook and manually dial the recipient number — you should hear fax tones confirming it's a fax machine on the other end.
• If certain area codes fail, check that you have long-distance service on your line.
• VoIP users: Set Compatibility → Basic (for VoIP) in fax settings.
• Try sending to a different fax machine to isolate whether it's your machine or the recipient.

Not Receiving Faxes

• Confirm Receive Mode is set correctly (Fax Only for a dedicated line).
• Check Ring Delay — if set too high, calls may be forwarded to voicemail before the machine picks up.
• Enable Easy Receive if using extension phones.
• Verify the LINE cord is firmly connected.
• VoIP users: Set Compatibility to Basic (for VoIP).

Out of Memory Error

The machine's fax memory is full — usually because Fax Storage is enabled and faxes have accumulated.

Immediate fix: Print all stored faxes:

• Navigate to Menu → Fax → Remote Fax Opt → Print Fax
• All stored faxes print and are cleared from memory

Long-term fix: Disable Fax Storage if you don't need it (Menu → Fax → Remote Fax Opt → Fwd/Page/Store → Off), or enable PC-FAX Receive to route faxes to your computer's hard drive instead.

Fax Received but Blurry or Cut Off

• Ask the sender to resend at Fine or S. Fine resolution.
• Check that the receive paper size matches what the sender is transmitting (Letter vs. A4 mismatch can cut off edges).
• Clean the scanner glass and ADF rollers — dirt causes horizontal streaks in received faxes.

Transmission Verification Reports

By default, the Brother only prints a report if a fax fails. To get confirmation for every successful send:

• Navigate to Menu → Fax → Report Setting → Transmission
• Options: On (always print), On+Image (print with thumbnail of first page), Off (only on failure — default), Off+Image

The On+Image setting is the most useful — you get a confirmation plus a small image of what was actually transmitted.

The Fax Journal (Activity Report) stores the last 200 fax transactions (sent and received). Print it via Menu → Print Reports → Fax Journal.

Faxing Without a Phone Line

If you don't have a traditional phone line — or your VoIP faxes are unreliable — there's a better option.

mFax.to lets you send and receive faxes entirely over the internet, from any phone, tablet, or computer. No phone line. No fax machine. No hardware setup.

• Upload a PDF or snap a photo of your document
• Enter the recipient's fax number
• Send in under 2 minutes — with delivery confirmation

Over 5 million users use mFax as an alternative to managing printer fax lines. It's especially useful when:

• Your VoIP line causes persistent fax failures
• You need to fax while away from the office
• You want to receive faxes as PDFs in your email inbox
• You need to fax occasionally and don't want to maintain a dedicated phone line

For business teams needing HIPAA compliance, virtual fax numbers, and team accounts, mFax Business starts at about $9/mo (billed annually).

See our complete guide to faxing without a phone line for a full comparison of options.

Brother Printer Fax Setup Checklist

Before your first fax, verify each item:

• ✓Phone cord in LINE jack — not the EXT jack, directly to wall
• ✓No splitters or CommShare devices between machine and wall
• ✓Dial tone confirmed — press Hook key and listen
• ✓Date and Time set — required for fax header stamps
• ✓Station ID programmed — your name and fax number
• ✓Receive Mode selected — Fax Only, Fax/Tel, External TAD, or Manual
• ✓Ring Delay configured — appropriate for your line usage
• ✓VoIP setting applied — if on cable/fiber: Compatibility → Basic (for VoIP)
• ✓PC-FAX driver installed — if sending from computer (included with printer driver)
• ✓Test fax sent and received — confirm end-to-end before relying on it

Brother Fax Features at a Glance

Related Guides

• How to Fax Without a Phone Line — internet fax options compared
• How to Fax from Your Computer — PC-FAX and web-based alternatives
• Fax Machine Setup: Step-by-Step — general fax hardware setup guide
• Fax Machine Not Working? How to Fix It — full troubleshooting guide
• Fax Cover Sheet Templates — free templates for professional faxes
• Does Fax Need a Phone Line? — modern alternatives explained

Send Your First Fax Now

Setting up fax on a Brother MFC printer takes about 15 minutes when you know what to configure. The biggest pitfalls — wrong phone port, VoIP compatibility, and memory overflow — are all preventable with the checklist above.

If you'd rather skip the hardware setup entirely, mFax.to lets you send a fax from your phone in under 2 minutes. No phone line, no configuration, no waiting. Over 5 million users have made the switch.

For business teams needing HIPAA compliance, dedicated fax numbers, and a shared dashboard, mFax Business starts at about $9/mo — and instead of locking you into fixed tiers, it lets you build your own plan with a live calculator, choosing the exact seats and pages you need and paying only for what you use. That can come to less than the cost of maintaining a dedicated fax phone line.