Auto fax receive with FiOS voicmail - is it possible?

[Jaybird180]

I just setup my All-in-One Canon MF8050Cn. I have tested all functions and am satisfied with my purchase however there is one thing that I haven't yet found a solution to. I would probably not use this very much, but I want the capability without any extra expense.

We have FiOS telephone service with voicemail. It is currently set to send the caller to voicemail after 4 rings if no one answers.

According to the Canon manual, the machine should be able to determine if the call is voice or fax and act appropriately. It is disappointing that they only hint that you must use a hardware based voicemail and cannot use a service based voicemail. I would like to avoid purchasing and setting up another box. I also do not wish to purchase another line just for faxing (we'd probably get just a few per year) nor do I wish to pay for Verizon's virtual number feature (othewise I could have purchased any of the low-cost fax services, but again we don't fax often - but want the availability).

Does anyone know of a solution?

To reiterate the parameters:
I do not wish to purchase and setup any new hardware
I do not wish to spend any additional money
If there is a capability that I am already paying for (possibly through Verizon) then that is fair-game
Prefer to use the same telephone number for voice/fax

 

[rpadula]

I highly doubt you can do it.

The way auto fax detection works is that you connect your phone line to the incoming port on the fax machine, and connect your answering machine box to the outgoing (passthrough) port of the fax machine. When the answering machine picks up, the fax machine silently "listens" to the phone line for fax start tones. If it hears some, the fax machine will disconnect the answering machine (since it passes through the fax) and take over the line to receive the fax.

If your line rolls over to VZ's voicemail service, it has no opportunity to do so.

How about a distinctive ring number? Does that cost money? Most fax machines can use the distinctive ring (aka RingMaster) pattern as a trigger to pick up and receive the fax.