How to Fax a PDF Document from Your iPhone
A PDF is the easiest thing to fax from an iPhone. There's no paper to scan and nothing to straighten. The file goes out as it is.
Most PDFs that need faxing arrive by email or come from a website. A patient portal form. A lease addendum. A benefits claim. They usually need a signature before they go back.
Fill it in and sign it
Open the PDF in the Files app. Tap the Markup button, the pen tip in a circle.
If the PDF has form fields, tap a field and type. If it doesn't, tap the plus button and add a text box. Drag it into place.
To sign, tap the plus button and choose Signature. Draw it once with your finger. iOS keeps it for next time. Drag it onto the line and resize it.
Tap Done to save. Cheapfax sends the saved version.
Get the PDF into Files
A PDF attached to an email isn't in Files yet. Open the attachment in Mail, tap Share, and choose Save to Files.
You can skip Files entirely. In that same Share menu, tap Cheapfax. The PDF opens in a new fax. Do this after you've signed it.
Combine several PDFs
One fax holds one file. To send a form plus a copy of your ID, merge them first.
In Files, tap Select. Tap the files in the order they should print. Tap the More button and choose Create PDF. Files saves the merged PDF next to the originals.
Send it
Open Cheapfax and tap New fax. Tap Choose from Files and pick the PDF.
Compose shows the file name and page count. Enter the fax number. A green check mark means the number is valid.
Tap Preview fax. The pages show in black and white, the way they'll print. Colored backgrounds and light text are the most likely to fade.
Turn on Add cover sheet if the office wants one. It adds a page.
Tap Send. The button shows the page count and the price. Credits on your account are used first. The App Store asks you to confirm any purchase.
What it costs
50¢ per page, with no subscription. A 12-page records request is 12 pages. Leftover credits stay on your account.
Check the page count before you send. Some PDFs carry pages you don't need, like an instruction page or a blank back. Delete those in Files first. Open the PDF and show the page thumbnails. Touch and hold a page, then choose Delete.
Limits
A fax can be up to 50 pages, including the cover sheet. The file can be up to 25 MB. Cheapfax sends to numbers in the United States and Canada.
After it sends
You get a receipt when the fax is delivered. It shows the time, the number, and the pages. If delivery fails, the pages return to your account as credits on their own.
The PDF and the receipt stay in the app for 30 days. After that they're deleted. Save the receipt somewhere else if you'll need it later.
