IPhone Send a Fax: Complete Guide for 2026
An iPhone can't fax by itself. There's no fax setting in iOS and no modem for one. What you can do is hand the document to an app. The app sends it to a fax service over the internet. The service dials the number on a regular phone line. The office on the other end gets an ordinary fax.
That's how every iPhone fax works, whichever app you use. The differences are in price, in how the pages look when they print, and in what you see after you tap Send.
Get the document ready first
A fax prints exactly what you send. It won't fill in a blank field or add a missing signature. Finish the document on the phone before you open any fax app.
If it's a PDF, open it in Files and tap the Markup button. You can type into the form fields and draw a signature with your finger. Save before you leave.
If it's on paper, sign and date it with a pen first. Then scan it. The scanner built into iOS finds the page edges and straightens the page. It gives a cleaner fax than a quick photo.
Check the page order too. The fax goes out in the order the pages sit in the file.
Know the number
You need the recipient's fax number, not their phone number. Offices often print both on the same letterhead. Ask if you aren't sure. A fax sent to a voice line rings until it fails.
Cheapfax sends to numbers in the United States and Canada. Both use the same +1 country code. A ten-digit number with its area code is all you need.
Sending with Cheapfax
Open the app and tap New fax. Pick where the document comes from: the camera scanner, the Files app, or Photos. You can also share a PDF into Cheapfax from Mail or another app.
Compose opens next. Enter the fax number. A green check mark shows when the number is valid. Tap Preview fax to see each page the way it will print.
Turn on Add cover sheet if the office expects one. It adds a first page with a subject and a short message. It also counts as a page.
The Send button shows the page count and the price. That's the amount you'll pay. If you already have credits on the account, they're used first. If they cover the whole fax, it sends with no charge. Otherwise the App Store asks you to confirm the purchase.
What it costs
Cheapfax is 50¢ per page. There's no monthly fee and nothing renews. Credits you don't use stay on your account for the next fax.
A three-page lease addendum with a cover sheet is four pages. You see that total before you pay anything.
After you tap Send
The status screen follows the fax while it dials and transmits. Most go through in a couple of minutes. A busy line or a machine that doesn't pick up takes longer. The fax service waits and dials again.
When the fax is delivered, the app shows a receipt. It lists the time, the number, and the page count. Keep it. It's your proof if the office later says nothing came through.
If the fax fails, the pages go back to your account as credits. You don't have to ask.
When a fax fails
Most failures come from the number or the line on the other end. The usual causes:
The number is a voice line, not a fax line.
The fax machine is switched off or out of paper.
The line was busy on every try.
Check the number with the office and send again. Your refunded credits cover the retry.
Can you skip the app?
Some websites send a fax from a browser. They work on an iPhone too. Scanning is harder in a browser, though. Most free tiers also put an ad on the cover page. If you fax more than once a year, an app with the scanner built in is less work.
