Calls "answered" before user picks up - Fax Detect likely culprit

FreePBX Configuration
1

I may be using incorrect terminology, and that might be why I’m having a hard time searching for solutions.

We’re having an issue that really only affects automated calls where when someone answers, most or all of the message has already been played. This is on our main inbound route that just rings all the extensions in the office at once.

Searched around and only found two threads, one was about the fax detect, and after some testing I have confirmed that’s the case. We weren’t hearing the first 1-2 rings, and that correlated with the 4 second fax detect time.

I’m hoping to find a middle ground where I can have fax detect turned on, but still avoid this issue.
I used the 4 seconds detect time presumably because that’s what freepbx picks as standard. Would a shorter time work?

Or is there another configuration or something I need to set up that will allow fax detect to be turned on, but for automated calls that are not faxes not to think that the call has already been picked up?

Edit: I can only mark one solution, but all the comments are possible solutions or pieces of understanding the overall problem. Thank you all.

2

If you are doing fax detection, the call has been answered, as the search for fax calling tone is done on an answered connection.

This needs fixing at the calling end; they need to make some attempt at detecting a human answer.

3

I was afraid this was the likely solution.

Do you have any idea of what the minimum fax detection time would be for that to function properly? The default 4 has worked for us, but others seem to need longer.

Ideally if 1-2 worked then that would at least mitigate the worst of these issues.

4

It takes about 4 seconds for a fax to repeat the tone. Less than that and you will miss a fax. It might be a better idea to have a separate fax-only number and remove fax detect from your other inbound routes.

5

There is no good solution here. Presumably you have a line sharing fax and voice calls because of low fax volume. If so, one possible solution is to train whomever is answering to do the fax detect themselves and then manually transfer the call to the fax extension.

6

That’s what I’ve gone with for now. In reality we don’t really get that many faxes, which is one of the reasons I liked the idea of avoiding a second line.

The other reality is that these automated calls that actually matter are probably better off not going to a general line, but rather a direct (or cell) line which wouldn’t have the fax issue.

The worst of these was the Microsoft verification, which has a message along the lines of “press pound to verify” and the fastest possibly answering time we could hear “…erify.” Which had some users very stumped.

There are definitely several best practices we’re not observing that would render this a non-issue if we were, so that’s overall the best solution at any rate.

I appreciate the help with this! I think the real solution is probably to officially no longer accept faxes!

7

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