Ahh, the analog-phone document facsimile machine. A technology that could and should have gone far, far away a long, long time ago, yet lingers still for businesses who can't seem to let go. There are, of course, some painfully obvious reasons why this is: person A puts a printed document in person B's hand with little or no effort on either person's part, and, well, it just works. Sharp's new UX-B800SE Broadband Fax does the usual boring squelchy phone thing, oh sure, but it also has an Ethernet connection allowing you to send PDF or TIFF scans (two-sided, if you prefer) of your documents via email, as well as receive analog faxes and email them to you if you're like the tethered office drones of yesteryear, waiting around all morning for so-and-so's
fax. So as much as we'd like to take the faxes of the world out back and go all Office Space on 'em, we know it's just not going away any time soon. Thus, for now we'll call a truce between factions; on behalf of email addicts everywhere, we accept Sharp's UX-B800SE Broadband Fax as an adequate compromise; we'll take two and call your fax in the morning.
posted Aug 2nd 2006 10:49PM
I am really trying hard to get this machine's network scanning feature work but having no luck.
I tried with gmail, comcast and godaddy. Every time I am getting Server Error (-14) or SMTP error.
I tried installing the hMailServer and performing the relay. I am not sure I am doing it right though.
Any help is very much appreciated.
In one of the message Siva said he got it working with Comcast but didn't tell how. Siva, please send me the details to basha.itp@gmail.com
BTW cia.com is also not working.
Using hMailServer, I am able to configure the Outlook client, used the same settings with this Sharp machine, still no luck.
I just purchased the UX-B800SE fax machine as well. I have spent alot of hours but can not get it to fax into e-mail. I am using verizon DSL and have not received useful help from verizon or sharp. I was planning to return the machine and decided to look for help online. Please help me in setting up this machine.
If you can return it, then return it now!!! I have this machine and verizon DSL. The two do not work together. I even tried my work e-mail pop/smtp info (totally different server) with no luck. I keep getting server error-14. Unfortunately, it's too late for me to return mine. I bought mine over the summer and forgot about the fax to e-mail feature - never needed to use it. Now I need it can can't use it!
Great Fax. Took all of 5 minutes to setup the Fax to email. I now receive faxes, don't print them, but have them emailed in PDF to three email addresses. All three users receive the same fax in PDF, very useful.
I followed the steps given by Letsry but getting SMTP severr not found
I need your help
Thank you Letstry. It worked. I can scan from the UX-B800SE and convert to email. I just bought a refurbished unit from Microcenter in Denver. With the rebate, It will cost only 25 bucks. So I really got a bargain and thank you profusely for your method.
I have had the machine for over two years and the fax to email function worked for a while and then quit. I found the function worked with Charter.net email service and another eBay bought cheap ISP but ISP disappeared after I used it for a few months. Since I don't have Charter mail service any more, my machine can only be used as regular fax. I tried the cia.com but it didn't work for me. Error -14 is the error message we get the most.
I would suggest users who own this fax machine work together to compile a list of ISPs that would support this FAX machine's fax-to-email/receive-to-email function.
Rob
Oh boy! I am sick and tired of this machine. I have only spent hours and hours on it JUST out of principle...but it is just plain old not meant to be....in the trash with all three that I bought for our businesses. I have one at home that I was able to somehow make work, but the same settings don't even work with the other two...we bought a used $3,000 Kyocera network copier/scanner/printer at the office which works fine. It isn't the e-mail settings, it's the machines that are plain BAD!!!!!!! Into the dumpster they go without wasting another minute....
I HAVE AN EASY FIX!!!
I've had my machine for approximately a year, and the fax to email function worked great until my isp, Comcast, blocked port 25. Then after spending days talking to technicians, at sharp, comcast, mcafee, on the street, etc, I still could not get it to work.
I just stumbled across a website by the name of smtp2go.com. They are an smtp relayer. They are primarily designed to fix the problem of traveling laptops not being able to send email, but they are also a solution to this fax problem. I signed up for the $23 dollar a year plan, and after 2 minutes of setup (put smtp2go.com as the server, use port 2525, and unchecked the "pop before smtp" box) the machine once again works great.
I'm pleased that this is again working, as it is a real time saver for me in my home office. I'm still pissed at Sharp for continuing to market the machine without providing an update to fix the authentication problem.
After trying about 15 different things to fix the problem, I tried Bob's fix re: smtp2go.com. Worked immediately. And yes, costs $23 but seems to have finally solved the problem. Thanks Bob.
I tried the CIA workout. I still get the smtp error message. Do I need to clear the fax memory of something?
I just got Verizon Fios and my fax stopped working to email! I used the smptp2go.com solution above and IT WORKS !!!!!!! disable the pop server and bingo!
I bought a Sharp UX-D1200SE and encountered the same problem. What I did was to install the free hMailServer (http://www.hmailserver.com) and configure it to use my ISP's SMTP as the relay. Make sure you turn off authentication in your hMailServer. Configure the fax machine to use hMailServer to send email. Everything works great!
Would you please show me how to set up with my UX-D1200 fax to work with hotmail. Thank you for your help.
Henry
Earth-shattering!!
If it's too easy to use silicon valley will find a way to kill it.
Making PDFs should continue to be difficult and unfriendly. Otherwise entire IT departments will be cut down in half. NO WAY!
I just wish there were a way to send multiple microsoft office documents through a single (PC-)fax connection without printing them... or maybe there is and someone is about to tell me.
i think the reason many offices still use a regular fax is that there hasn't been a viable alternative. and i'm surprised that, as much as the fax machine is used, it hasn't progressed very much at all...
i curse the forces holding back the advancement of the fax machine every time i have to squint to make out numbers on a faxed spreadsheet. just make it higher resolution! we have the technology! that's all i ask!
Mr. B -- using a fax modem you can "print" those docs to the modem... so they never touch paper except perhaps at the recipient's side of things.
Hope that helps, but I suspect you may have known this much already.
Actually, there is one good reason faxes still exist. A fax of a signed legal document is admissible in a court of law, but a scan isn't. It's stupid, but it's the way it is.
This stuff is old tech. I install and service machines that can do both of these. Toshiba, Konica Minolta and Kyocera photocopiers can all scan to e-mail (as PDF and TIFF) and can fax as well as be your printer and copier. While all of them allow you to use the "internet-fax" option to send docs from copier-to-copier, the newer ones will allow you to recieve the faxes to a network location and will even sort based on the TTI.
We even go as far as setting up 1 touch systems that allow you to scan to an e-mail address as .pdf, .doc, .xls and more that's also been ocr'd on the fly!
The only thing I can see here that Sharp is doing that's different is their marketing approach of putting it in to something the size of a normal fax machine.
Hey, we need faxes to be around at least nine more years, according to Back to the Future II. McFly's Boss Mr. Fujimoto says "read my fax!" and faxes our hero's two-word pinkslip to him, to mini- fax machines in every room of his house by the way...
We get flying cars in nine years, too, apparently... and portable fusion generators...
...now I'm just depressed.
I think the real innovation of this product has been missed. LiveItNerd points out that this is old tech - he's absolutely correct, butit is a very new PRICE POINT. If you get a copier you're spending around $10K and if you're getting a dedicated Fax Server or Fax to File system you're spending around $2K. Now you can get the same function for under $200 - it will open the tech up to a new market.
I bought this machine (newer machine, with DECT phone) recently from Frys.com for $50. I love this machine now. It took more than 8 hrs to troubleshoot e-mail feature as it was failing on most of the SMTP servers. I tried godaddy SMTP servers with/without POP before SMTP and it didn't work. I installed my own SMTP server and didn't work.
Finally when I used the time warners ( I use Roadrunner) SMTP server (without POP authentication) it worked fine. Now I receive all faxes via e-mail and I can send fax as e-mail. GREAT tool to have to save paper and expense ink cartridge.
For Wisconsin based time warner customers the server name: smtp-server.wi.rr.com
UX-D1200SE I flailed, found this site on a google search, flailed some more, read more comments here and remembered to try my ISP so the bottom line for me was: smtp.comcast.net port is 25 and no POP authentication. Thanks.
If you agree that faxes should have gone away a long time ago, then the next time you need to get a document signed, get an e-signature!
EchoSign.com, for example, lets you upload a document and get it signed electronically for free. You then get a PDF of the signed document. Much better than dealing with a fax machine and tracking hardcopies.
The concept is nice but, Sharp dropped the ball with the UX-B800SE email client. I cannot send a fax via email as advertised. Most email providers require SMTP authentication to send mail. This is required to prevent spamming through their email servers. The device uses 'Pop before SMTP' authentication. It is difficult to find an email provider that supports 'Pop before SMTP' authentication. I returned the machine for a refund.
I ended up getting a refund for the same reason. If they can get it to work with att(sbc) dsl I would consider purchasing another one.
EmailThatWorks.net works with the UX-B800SE and maybe the UX-D1200SE, both of which are on sale at Fry's Electronics quite a bit. The company gives a free month of service to try it out and then it costs $30 annually, about $2.50 a month. To me, this small fee is worth it when the end-user (without a landline), is a computer novice and wants to make scans into PDFs. EmailThatWorks.net told me that they plan to continue to support POP before SMTP / LB4S / POP AUTH authentication for a long time to come.
I bought this machine for my office. We are using a network server. I could get the fax to work and the ourgoing fax to email to work, but could not get the incoming faxes to go to email. Finally I called in the IT guy, who in 15 minutes, set my server up to relay just the fax machine to relay the faxes to our email account. I just saved myself $150 in a replacement brother fax machine, plus the paper from printing out the stupid faxes about my "trip" to the .......
Sigh...I bought one of these as the "great compromise" for my home/office. It seems this might be the only small fax in the universe that has no capability of running an extension from the fax to my desk phone. Since my fax is 20 feet away from the desk, it is really not user friendly unless I put in another phone line. Afraid this thing is going back to the store.
Update...fixed my problem with a duplex splitter. works great even thought sharp says it doesn't. As for that Stmp and pop before stmp stuff, just unclick the authentication button in your e mail set-up. so far, haven't found anyone that can't receive my e-mails. i'm a believer again
what email do you use? I've tried quite a few and nothing seems to work. tech support is hopeless. I'm ready to take it back to the store.
This machine is worthless it does not support several ISP's and customer service is no help. Called Sharp several times and the technicians were untrained and unaware of the product. Was told several times that the machine could not perform said function when it was written on the box and all support literature from Sharp. Attempted to escalate call to Sr. or Manager but was told that a manager would could later. Three weeks later and no call. Logged online to get assistance and took several days for response and finally was told to call the toll free number. Bottom line it's a worthless machine as a broadband fax.
Too bad some previous reviewers had trouble directly connecting to an Internet Server Provider's SMTP service. This device is awesome! More expensive electronic fax solutions have been available for a number of years but this is the first paper/electronic hybrid I have seen, it works well, and I picked mine up on sale and with a rebate for just $69.00!
It is unfortunate that the Sharp UX-B800SE BroadbandFax only supports "POP before SMTP" as an optional SMTP server authentication method. Most Internet service providers require a different kind of SMTP authentication to allow the relay of your email. Fortunately for me it isn't a problem since I operate my own SMTP server and can permit relay for internal IP addresses. I would think that Sharp could enhance the SMTP interface with a firmware upgrade provided they planned for making firmware upgrades. I can't see why not as it has Ethernet connectivity and a built in web server to administer settings.
By the way, you can always run your own SMTP relay server on a computer or server in your small office / home office network that can serve as a bridge between the UX-B800SE and an ISP's SMTP service. There are lots of free SMTP relay servers that can handle other SMTP authentication schemes in addition to the "POP before SMTP" one provided by the UX-B800SE.
Anyhow, if you can overcome the SMTP issue this is a great device.
Pros:
* easy to use web interface for email/network configuration and memory location maintenance
* easy to use scan to email interface that supports black and white PDF or TIFF formats
* incoming faxes can be configured to never print on paper but instead route as PDF or TIFF to a specified email address; while it has the ability to configure this behavior differently based on 10 or so different incoming fax numbers, I simply set it up to route all faxes to a single specified email address
* supports letter and legal size documents
* duplex function handles scanning/faxing double sided documents with ease
* supports broadcasting to groups of 20 email addresses or fax numbers at a time
* lots of memory locations for email addresses and fax numbers
* secure receive feature (untested by me) can be used to require a 4 digit code to be entered to release newly received faxes from memory
Cons:
* Not completely paperless as delivery confirmation reports and other reports must be printed. Would have been nice to get these through the web interface and/or PDF/TIFF emails.
* Has a fax block feature to block faxes but only from one phone number. Essentially useless in my opinion if I can only block one number.
* Has no computer to outbound fax interface. I'd like to be able to use a form on the device's web interface, or send an email to a mailbox dedicated to the device, with a PDF attachment and have it routed to a fax number, probably embedded in the subject field or something like that if it's via email. Right now I can use a modem on my home office computer that shares the fax line to meet this need.
* It only supports black and white fax-quality G4 encoding so this is not a substitute for a good quality scanner.
You can always lease the fax to email feature that the Sharp UXB800SE BroadbandFax delivers, but I have used several leased Internet fax to PDF/TIFF services, and here's why I think the UXB800SE is superior.
* This is the most intolerable negative of leased Internet fax to PDF/TIFF solutions -- false positives to senders! Someone sends you a fax. The electronic fax service receives the fax and indicates a successful transmission to the sender. But then there are delivery problems. An early electronic fax service that I tried did not guarantee delivery or store backup images. They would try to email the image to you three times and then quit after the third. Another one at least has a backup store online for 30 days, however on occasion they become back-logged, and one time it took nearly TWO HOURS for a fax that was sent to me to appear. I didn't even know it was a problem for an hour since I had gotten used to the receipt of an email indicating that I had a new fax. It nearly killed a deal for me once and guess what? I cracked out the old PAPER FAX MACHINE to solve the problem!
* Busy signals. Not supposed to happen with an electronic fax service, you say? One of their selling points? Think again! They happen with all of them! They overload their services with customers and do a lousy job load balancing.
* They own the fax number. After you advertise the number, print business cards, etc., what if you want to switch providers? No number portability here! You can get around this with a remote call forwarding number that you own and configure to route to the electronic fax service, but at least from my local phone company that's another $20 per month per call path.
* You're paying what, $5 to $20 per month for electronic fax service? What kind of CUSTOMER SERVICE do you think you will get for that? NONE! When I complained about the delayed delivery issue described above the attitude was "tough luck, buddy, for this kind of money, deal with it!"
If you've got a spare phone line already then why not buy a device that you will own? At $15 per month (what I currently pay) I'll pay for my purchase of this Sharp Broadband fax machine in five months!
Does everything it is should, but it is not a network printer. If you can print, the instructions are obscure in the manual.
I am returning the machine to Office Depot. Once we finally got the email/scanning function to work by assigning a static IP address we could no longer get the fax to work.
I am certainly not a techie but I hired one to work on this machine and he could not get it to work in the end even after attempting to communicate with Sharp to no avail.
Perhaps this specific machine was defective but I have now spent well over $300 to try to get this to work.....
I don't understand why many comments said it has to config email setup to "POP before SMTP". For residential yahoo AT&T customers, simply uncheck that option if not so and enter "smtp.sbcglobal.net". For cox Cable in the west coast, use "smtp.west.cox.net". Below is a web page you can find list of common ISP smtp's:-
http://www.kkpsi.org/forms/SMTPServerSettings.pdf
All other settings are very flexible: e.g. sender's email address can be any valid one and not restricted to the one associated with your ISP. Hope this helps.
I am able setup this fax for receiving email while faxing as well. I am using comcast internet connection which does block the outgoing mails.
I have installed QK SMTP server and set up my comcast SMTP server as the relay server. I have configured QK SMTP server as the server for the fax machine. I can provide more details if you want. You can mail me to get more details.
Thanks. I was about to return my broadband fax unit. I just unchecked "POP before SMTP" and changed by SMTP server to "smtp.sbcglobal.net". Voila, it worked. Somehow, the customer service at ATT/Yahoo was to blame as I was given the wrong SMTP server.
YOU ARE A GENIUS. I have been fighting with this crazy thing for way too long. Duh. Once again, why follow directions from the 'professionals' when the real brains are the everyday users...
thanks
I got a newer unit UX-D1200SE and tried put smtp.sbcglobal.net with the default of 25 and unchecked the POP before. SMTP. But this did not work.Error message: Server error -14. Would you tell me what port did you used?
What port number are you guys using? I still get SMTP error on my machine even after I changed to the updated smtp address??? Please help!!
Hi Siva,
would you please explain it in detail how did you connect/setup fax to work with comcast SMTP server?
Do you have to have one PC always running on your network, in order for Fax to work with SMTP comcast server?
Thank you in advance!
Jasmin
Where does one get cheap replacement inkjet cartridges for this? I can't find the generic ones anywhere.
Where do I find cheap inkjet cartridges for this?
Hi,can you create some how-to guide to set this up
thanks
or email me at vasu_rn@yahoo.com
thanks
Siva Devaki @ Jul 22nd 2007 3:59PM
I am able setup this fax for receiving email while faxing as well. I am using comcast internet connection which does block the outgoing mails.
I have installed QK SMTP server and set up my comcast SMTP server as the relay server. I have configured QK SMTP server as the server for the fax machine. I can provide more details if you want. You can mail me to get more details.
can you please send me information on how to configure QK SMTP server for sharp broadband fax machine as i am having hack of a hard time to use it with att yahoo dsl service. i tried to set it up but some how i am getting smtp server error. I appreciate your help in this matter
thanks
hitesh
Hi,
Finally it works, fax to email feature works fine, thats the only purpose for this unit and its working after playing around with above guidelines, For me, i use my ISP's email id, with their smtp , pop settings, with the default ports 25 and 110 . after entering all this info with another sending email id, msg etc, save it return back , and uncheck the checkbox which says "POP before SMTP" and save again, it works, i testing this in toronto with toronto base isp's setting,
As "lok" mentioned here before, it should work with any other ISP, but looks like thing here is port 25 , 110, to use.
Hope this helps.
wowwwwwwwwwww, gr8 machine for 25$ ( 100$ staple price - 50 rebate - 25 coupon ( 25off 100$ from ebay)