Have you ever thought “man, I’d sure love to send a fax today?” Okay, maybe not. However, there is a slim chance that you may encounter a situation similar to what I recently experienced and you may be left pondering the same query. Here’s my situation. I had some important documents that needed to be sent off but unfortunately, email wasn’t an option. My choices were snail mail (Which I seriously never use. Seriously. Where do you even buy stamps?) and the tried and true but archaic fax. Yes, this company still utilizes a facsimile machine. I know, right?
Now, I absolutely could have mailed my documents but I’m all about that cloud life. So, I decided to poke around the web and see what the state of internet faxes looked like. If you own a Windows or macOS device, this likely wouldn’t be an issue for you as there are plenty of programs out there that will do the job. Last I checked, you can even send an internet fax directly from Microsoft Outlook if you know your way around. Me? I’m a Chromebook guy and I’m always looking for new and inventive ways to overcome the decreasing number of hurdles that come with being a cloud-based nomad.
There are some Linux packages out there that offer some faxing capabilities but that’s a bit clunky for the average user and I’m not sure if they would even work. So, I started digging to see what I could find. I knew that there were some premium online services out there but I just needed a simple, one-time solution for when I need to send a fax every decade or so. I’m happy to report that I found just what I was looking for in FaxZero.
FaxZero
FaxZero is a freemium online service that allows you to send a fax directly from your web browser. Freemium because there is a paid version that offers more pages, priority delivery, no watermark and other features. The free plan, however, is exactly what I need. With it, you get up to five faxes per day with up to three pages and a cover. You will have a watermark on the page but that didn’t matter to me. I needed to send a single page and that’s exactly what FaxZero let me do. I fired up our HP printer, tossed my document on the flatbed, scanned it to my Chromebook and got started.
The FaxZero website is very simple and somewhat dated but the process is user-friendly and quick. All you have to do is put in your name, phone number, email and upload your documents. Then, fill in the recipient’s name, number, and any text you’d like on the cover page. Lastly, click the “Send free fax now” and you’ll receive an email to confirm your fax. Click the link in the email and your fax will be placed in the queue.
The fax isn’t instant but after five to ten minutes, you’ll get another email confirming that your fax was successfully sent. It couldn’t be easier. There are some other services out there. Some are paid and others that offer free trials but FaxZero has presented itself as the perfect no-fuss solution to send the occasional free fax from your Chromebook or any other device with a browser and an internet connections. You can check it out for yourself here.
