FaxFile - Send Fax from phone

Review by eFreeware

FaxFile, from Actual Software Inc., is a business app that turns an Android phone or tablet into a fax sender. The pitch is deliberately narrow: pick a file, type or choose a fax number, and the app takes care of the rest. For anyone who still has to send the occasional signed form, invoice or medical record to a fax line, that narrowness is the appeal.

It has been on Google Play since April 2013 and now sits at a 4.9 average across 15,903 ratings, with more than 500,000 installs. The download is free, there are no ads, and the money side runs through in-app purchases rather than a subscription.

What sending a fax actually involves

The flow the developer describes is about as short as this kind of task allows. You choose a file that is already on your device, enter a fax number by hand or pick a contact, and confirm. From there the transfer happens in the background: the file goes from your phone or tablet to the company's fax servers, and those servers place the actual call to the destination number. Status updates come back to the app as the job moves along, so you are not left guessing whether anything happened.

The developer notes that network access of some sort is required and that WiFi is usually the better choice, which fits a workflow where you send a fax from wherever you happen to be rather than from a desk.

The app is built around files you already have. If a document exists on your phone or tablet in a supported format, it can be sent as a fax.

File types and the camera shortcut

FaxFile handles PDF and Microsoft Word documents in .doc and .docx form, plus images in PNG and JPG. Because JPG and PNG are supported, photos taken with the phone or tablet camera can be sent as faxes directly, which is a workable route when the original only exists as a physical document.

The catch with that route is speed, and the developer is upfront about it. Image and scan files take considerably longer to move and send than text-based documents. For a scan or a photo, allow three minutes per page for the transfer and two more for the fax, longer on a slow connection.

Sent fax images can now be saved as copies for later review, and there is an optional notification for when a fax has gone out. PDFs of 500 pages or more now trigger an alert, and the app will not accept them.

Contacts, retries and cover pages

Numbers can come from your contacts or be typed in for a one-off send, which covers both the recurring recipient and the single fax you will never send again. If a fax does not go through on the first attempt, the app retries automatically, and the developer says there is no additional charge for those retries and nothing you need to do on your end.

The developer also offers a specific piece of troubleshooting advice: if a fax keeps failing, call the destination number and check that a fax machine is actually answering. That is described as the most common cause of failed faxes, and it is a reminder that the weak link is often the receiving end rather than the app.

Cover pages are handled outside the main app. Cover sheets are a separate step: FaxCover is a related app for anyone who needs one, rather than something built into FaxFile.

Credits, coverage and what it costs to send

FaxFile is free to download, contains no ads, and offers in-app purchases. Sending is paid for with fax credits bought through Google Play, and once a fax has been started, those credits cannot be refunded, whether fully or partly. There is no monthly subscription attached to sending faxes, so the cost tracks how often you actually send rather than running every month whether you use it or not.

Coverage runs to any fax number in the USA and Canada plus many international locations, though international support is not universal. For faxes outside the US and Canada, the advice is to check the international rate table inside the app before buying credits, to confirm the country you care about is covered.

The app includes introductory help and an FAQ for the details, useful for anyone who wants to read up before their first send.

The trade-offs the app accepts

The biggest one is the time image faxes take. Text documents move quickly, but a photographed page is a large file, and the developer's own estimate of three minutes of transfer plus two minutes of faxing per page is not a small number.

The second is that this is a network-dependent service. Some form of network access is required, WiFi is usually the better option, and the actual sending happens on the company's servers rather than on your device.

The third is the credit model itself. Paying per fax with non-refundable credits is simple, but it does mean a failed attempt that has already started still costs you, and international destinations need checking against the rate table before you buy.

Who this fits

FaxFile is built for people who need to send a fax now and then and do not have a fax machine to hand: a contractor sending a signed estimate, a patient forwarding records to a clinic, a small business replying to a supplier that still insists on fax. The app is described as HIPAA compliant, and the combination of PDF and Word support covers the documents those situations usually involve.

It also suits Android tablet owners, since it works across Android devices including tablets, and anyone who wants to fax a photo of a document rather than track down a scanner. The absence of a monthly subscription is a good match for low-volume users who would rather pay per send.

It sends faxes, handles a defined set of file formats, and points elsewhere for cover pages.

A dependable choice for occasional faxing

FaxFile does one job and does it in a way that fits how phones are actually used: pick a file, give it a number, let the server handle the call. The supported formats cover the common cases, background sending with status updates keeps you informed without babysitting the screen, automatic retries remove one more thing to think about, and the credit model avoids a recurring bill for a task most people perform irregularly.

Faxes of 500 pages or more in PDF form are refused outright.

I would point this at anyone who faxes occasionally from an Android phone or tablet and wants to pay per send rather than subscribe. If your faxes are mostly photographs of documents, go in expecting the longer timelines described. For routine document faxing, this looks like a straightforward, well-established option.

What's new

Support saving copies of sent fax images for later review. Added alert that pdf documents with 500+ pages are not accepted. Added optional notification when a fax has been sent. Android 17 support.