Distinctive Ring is a service offered by telephone companies that allows you to have two different telephone numbers on a single telephone line. This service establishes a second telephone number with a unique ring pattern. Typically, the original number rings with the standard ring pattern and is used for receiving voice calls, while the second number rings with a different ring pattern and is used for receiving faxes.

Brother uses the term "Distinctive Ring" to describe this service, but telephone companies market it under a variety of names, such as Smart Ring, Ring Master, and Ident-a-Ring.

Your Brother machine has a Distinctive Ring feature that allows you to take full advantage of your telephone company's Distinctive Ring service. By setting up your Brother machine's Distinctive Ring feature, you can choose to use one of your two telephone numbers specifically for receiving faxes.

Click here to see the details of Distinctive Ring and how to program it.

If you have voice mail service on the same telephone line as your Brother machine, there will be a conflict between your voice mail service and your Brother machine while receiving incoming calls. This conflict is caused by the fact that either your Brother machine or your voice mail service will always answer the incoming call, depending on which one you program to answer first. If your Brother machine answers a voice call, then the caller will not be able to leave a message on your voice mail service. If your voice mail service answers an incoming fax, then you will not receive the fax.

Using External TAD Mode, your Brother machine can share a single line with an external answering machine. Your answering machine automatically answers every incoming call, but your Brother machine "listens" for fax-sending tones while your answering machine's outgoing message is playing. If your Brother machine detects fax-sending tones it will take over the line and receive the incoming fax. If your Brother machine does not detect fax-sending tones it remains silent, allowing the caller to leave a message on your answering machine.

Click here to see how to set up an answering machine (TAD) to work on the same line as the Brother machine.

You should choose Fax Only Mode if you have a dedicated fax line and want your Brother machine to automatically answer all incoming faxes. When using this mode, your Brother machine will automatically answer every incoming call with fax-receiving tones after a certain number of rings. In Fax Only Mode, you can make outgoing voice calls, but you cannot receive incoming voice calls unless you answer the call before your Brother machine does.

The Ring Delay setting determines the number of times your Brother machine rings before answering in Fax Only Mode.

To change your Brother machine's Ring Delay setting, follow these steps:

1. Press (Settings) > All Settings > Fax > Setup Receive > Ring Delay.
    

2. Press a ring number you want the line to ring before the machine answers.

   • The number you can choose varies depending on the model and country you bought the machine in.
   • If you choose 0, the line will not ring at all.
3. Press (Home).

To put your Brother machine in Fax Only Mode, follow these steps:

1. Press (Settings) > All Settings > Fax > Setup Receive > Receive Mode.
    
2. Press Fax Only.
    
3. Press (Home).

WILL YOU BE USING YOUR BROTHER MACHINE ON THE SAME LINE AS YOUR TELEPHONE? (FAX/TEL MODE)

• Click here to see how to set up an answering machine (TAD) to work on the same line as the Brother machine.

You should choose Fax/Tel Mode when your Brother machine shares a telephone line with extension telephones. In Fax/Tel Mode, your Brother machine automatically answers every call upon completion of the Ring Delay unless you answer first. Ring Delay is the number of times your Brother machine and all telephones on the same line will ring before the Brother machine answers the call.

• If the call is a fax, your Brother machine will receive and print it.
• If the call is a voice call, your Brother machine will signal you with a double ring called F/T Ring Time that is different from standard telephone ring. This double-ring is your signal to pick up the voice call.
• If you answer the call on a telephone connected to the Brother machine's EXT jack (socket) and hear a beep every 3 seconds indicating an automatic fax, or silence indicating a manual fax, press Fax Start and choosing Receive to receive the fax.

• If you answer a voice call on an extension telephone during F/T Ring Time, you will hear the F/T ring tones. To release the call from the Brother machine, press #, 5, 1 (#, 9, 1 for New Zealand) on the telephone keypad and you will then be able to speak to the caller.
• If you answer a voice call on an external telephone connected to the Brother machine's EXT jack (socket), you can answer the call by pressing Pickup on the Brother machine.

To change your Brother machine's Ring Delay setting, follow these steps:

1. Press (Settings) > All Settings > Fax > Setup Receive > Ring Delay.
    

2. Press a ring number you want the line to ring before the machine answers.

   • The number you can choose varies depending on the model and country you bought the machine in.
   • If you choose 0, the line will not ring at all.
3. Press (Home).

To change your Brother machine's F/T Ring Time setting, follow these steps:

1. Press (Settings) > All Settings > Fax > Setup Receive > F/T Ring Time.
    
2. Choose the amount of time you want the Brother machine to double ring.
   
   You can choose 20, 30, 40, or 70 seconds. (20, 30, 40 or 55 for New Zealand)
    
3. Press (Home).

To put your Brother machine in Fax/Tel Mode, follow these steps:

1. Press (Settings) > All Settings > Fax > Setup Receive > Receive Mode.
    
2. Press Fax/Tel.
    
3. Press (Home).

DO YOU WANT TO MANUALLY ANSWER EVERY INCOMING FAX? (MANUAL MODE)

In Manual Mode, your Brother machine will not answer the line automatically unless you are using your telephone company's Distinctive Ring service.

Click here to see the details of Distinctive Ring and how to program it.

If you are not using Distinctive Ring, Manual Mode requires you to answer every incoming call by lifting the handset of a telephone that shares the line with your Brother machine.

• If the incoming call is a voice call, then complete the call as you normally would.
• If you answer the call on a telephone connected to the Brother machine's EXT jack (socket) and hear a beep every 3 seconds indicating an automatic fax, or silence indicating a manual fax, press Fax Start, and choose Receive to receive the fax.
• If you answer the call on an extension telephone and hear a beep every 3 seconds indicating an automatic fax, or silence indicating a manual fax, press *, 5, 1 (*, 9, 1 for New Zealand) on the telephone's dial pad; wait until you hear your Brother machine's receiving tones (chirping sounds); and hang up the telephone's handset.
  
  When you hear your Brother machine's receiving tones, replace the handset and your machine will receive and print the fax.

To put your Brother machine in Manual Mode, follow these steps:

1. Press (Settings) > All Settings > Fax > Setup Receive > Receive Mode.
    
2. Press Manual.
    
3. Press (Home).

To turn Easy Receive or Fax Detect on, follow these steps:

1. Press (Settings) > All Settings > Fax > Setup Receive > Easy Receive or Fax Detect.
    
2. Press On.
    
3. Press (Home).