Mobile faxing is a convenient way to send and receive documents, photos, and files as faxes from your smartphone or tablet. Instead of relying on a physical fax machine, phone line, and scanner to send your documents, mobile faxing allows you to use an internet connection to easily send faxes. In this blog post, we’ll go over how mobile faxing works, the benefits of using mobile faxing over traditional faxing, key features you should look for when choosing a mobile fax app, and why mobile faxing is the future.
How Does Mobile Faxing Work?
Mobile fax works by allowing you to send and receive documents using a virtual fax service known as a cloud fax service. Here’s generally how mobile faxing works:
- First, download a mobile fax app like eFax. Frequently, these services offer a free trial so that you can test out the product before buying a subscription.
- Once you select the best app for your business needs, create an account and choose the subscription plan that supports the volume of faxes you send and receive.
- Next, you’ll need a mobile fax number. You can either use an existing fax number or obtain a virtual fax number from the faxing app.
Once you’ve signed up for the mobile faxing app and created an account, you can start sending faxes. Typically, mobile fax apps have an interface that allows you to upload a document or image from your phone, or take a picture of your document with your phone to scan it, or even fax from your email inbox. All you have to do is enter the recipient’s information and press send. The app will convert the document into a fax machine-compatible format, and transmit it as a fax over the internet.
Benefits of Using Mobile Faxing Over Traditional Faxing
There are unique benefits when you choose mobile faxing over a traditional fax machine. Below, we’ll cover these benefits, which include accessibility when you’re on the go, environmental benefits, cost-saving boons, security enhancements, clutter reduction, and additional features.
On-the-go accessibility
With a mobile faxing app, you can send and receive faxes from anywhere you have an internet connection. This benefit makes mobile faxing perfect for busy professionals and individuals who are frequently traveling or away from their offices.
Environmentally friendly
Traditional fax machines use materials that can put additional strain on the environment to manufacture, such as toner, ink, paper, and a dedicated phone line. Mobile faxing eliminates the need for all of these resources, using only your cell phone or tablet and an internet connection to send and receive faxes.
Cost savings
The materials above aren’t just bad for the earth; they’re also costly to your business. With mobile faxing, you don’t have to take on the continued expenses of paper, ink, toner, and a dedicated phone line. Forget the ongoing maintenance headache of a traditional fax machine, too.
Enhanced security
Mobile fax applications offer enhanced security features to ensure your faxes reach their intended recipient without interception. Features like encryption of data at rest and in transit, audit trails, logs, and role-based access control keep your sensitive information private.
Reduced clutter
Say goodbye to piles of paper and mountains of fax logs. When you use a mobile faxing app, you can store and manage your faxes electronically. Many mobile fax apps offer free cloud storage of your documents, so you can keep your office or workspace uncluttered while maintaining faxes for your records.
Additional features
Mobile fax apps offer more features to make your life easier: e-signatures, document annotation, secure file-sharing capabilities, easy upload, sending to multiple recipients, and more.
Key Features to Look for in a Mobile Fax App
If you’re looking for a mobile fax app, you might be wondering how to choose the right app for your needs. Consider these key features when you’re deciding on a mobile fax app.
Free trial
A mobile app that offers a free introductory trial or limited plan is a positive marker and something you should look for. This lets you test out the product before committing to make sure it offers the features you need and fits your existing workflow.
Subscription options
Make sure that the mobile app you’re considering offers a variety of subscription options. If you’re a small business with a low fax volume, you don’t want to pay for faxes you won’t send or receive.
Ease of use
The mobile fax app you choose should include a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate. Your entire team should be able to upload documents quickly and send them as faxes.
Security features
Focus your attention on apps that offer robust security features like two-factor authentication, encryption, and role-based access control. These security features provide peace of mind when you’re sending and receiving sensitive documents.
Integrations
Look for a mobile fax app that integrates with other services, such as cloud document storage, for a seamless workflow experience.
Why Mobile Faxing is the Future of Faxing
Mobile faxing makes sending and receiving documents convenient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly. Couple those benefits with the ability to send, sign, and receive faxes anywhere, at any time, and you can see why mobile faxing beats traditional faxing any day. Organizations such as healthcare, finance, legal, real estate, and many others still send documents as faxes daily. Mobile faxing combines the flexibility and security these industries require with the modern solution businesses need into one modern faxing package.
Experience Seamless Faxing with the eFax Mobile App on iOS and Android
eFax, a modern mobile faxing app, offers all of the benefits we’ve covered above. When you’re ready to recycle the old fax machine and embrace the future of faxing, you can download eFax’s free mobile app for Android or iOS. Sending faxes with eFax is simple:
- Sign up for a free eFax trial account, so you can log in to the free mobile app for iOS or Android.
- Download the eFax app.
- Select the pencil icon in the app to start creating a fax.
- Add a recipient from your contacts list, or type it in.
- Attach the documents you wish to fax.
- Click the Send button. Done!
FAQs Related to Mobile Fax
For all your questions related to mobile fax, see these frequently asked questions and their answers.
Is mobile fax the same as fax?
Yes, mobile fax uses the same core functionality as traditional fax to send and receive documents. Mobile fax is a modernized way of sending and receiving faxes, using the internet and a mobile device instead of a traditional fax machine and phone line.
Is mobile fax secure?
Yes, mobile faxing is very secure. Trustworthy mobile fax apps use security measures like encryption, secure servers, two-factor authentication, and role-based access control to ensure your faxes are sent and received securely.
How do you use a mobile fax?
Use a mobile fax app, like eFax, send a fax with an internet-connected device. Here are the steps:
- Sign up for a free eFax trial account, so you can log in to the free mobile app for iOS or Android.
- Download the eFax app.
- Select the pencil icon in the app to start creating a fax.
- Add a recipient from your contacts list, or type it in.
- Attach the documents you wish to fax.
- Click the Send button. Done!
Can mobile faxing be hacked?
Reputable mobile fax services employ security measures to prioritize security and reduce the risk of hacking. That being said, no system that is connected to the internet is entirely immune to bad actors or hacking attempts. To lower the risk of your mobile fax being hacked, you can take the following precautions:
- Choose a mobile fax provider with a proven track record and security measures in place and clearly defined.
- Select a strong passphrase for your mobile fax account when you create it.
- Enable two-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of personal identity protection.
- Regularly update your mobile app to use any recent security patches.
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