Customer Reviews

HP 1240 Fax Machine

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I was a loyal HP Fax user. I have had at least six previous HP fax machines. When the last machine died, I purchased this one---there were only two HP choices since I didn't want a multi function machine. To say it is a disappointment is an understatement. It is badly designed. The paper feeds from the same slot that receives the printed fax. Paper jams are a frequent occurance, and the machine continues to tell me to load paper even though a full stack of paper is loaded. I called HP and the rep in Bangalore (very pleasant but impossible to understand) expected me to have a complete tool kit and clean, moistened towels available so I could take apart the machine piece by piece and perform maintenance. The machine was only two weeks old. The rep finally agreed to send a replacement, which turned out to be a refurbished machine. It works no better than the original. Don't waste your money on this machine. Mine is now about two months old and I will be replacing it soon. HP should be ashamed of themselves for having produced this machine.

I purchased a HP 1240 fax from an online store. I received it on April 6 and set it up and sent one test page. On April 9 I came home to find it blinking with a long error message. I tried to look up the error message in the HP guide and it was not listed, so I called HP technical help. After being instructed to push a few buttons and unplugging it a few times, the tech told me it would have to be replaced. He asked for my credit card number to ensure that I was returning the faulty fax. I was pleased that they were making good on a defective peice of equipment. Well, I received a replacement fax from HP today -- the box stated "refurbished/repaired in Mexico". I was stunned -- I purchased a brand new HP fax and it died after 3 days and they send me a used fax machine?!? I called HP and at first the tech told me that it was not "used", it was just "tested". I told her I think I know what the words "refurbished/repaired" mean and they certainly do not mean just "tested". She asked me to open it up to make sure it was not a new machine. A bar-code sticker on the bottom of the fax confirmed that it was a "refurbished" (i.e, USED) machine. I was told that was their policy to send reconditioned replacement faxes. I told her I could have bought a reconditioned fax for half of what I paid for it new, and I was not accepting this used fax to replace the fax I had just purchased at full price! She asked me if the tech who wrote the order told me it was refurbished -- I told her no, why would I agree to accept a used machine when I paid for a new one? I contacted the online store where it was purchased from and they are going to refund my money and not charge me a restocking fee.

Moral of this story is -- believe the reviews you read! They are written by people who have real life experiences with products and they could save you time and aggravation.

This machine is the poorest fax I have ever tried to use. Not well constructed but worst problem is the annoying buzz which the machine places on the phone line, which makes it unusable to share with a telephone. HP admits the problem, but has no fix or return policy on this; they state as long as the unit can send and receive a fax then the product is fine!

H/P once a trusted name in electronics, certainly failed when they released this FAX machine. I purchased the 1200 series a few years ago, paid around $300 for it at the time, and received a defective machine. After sereval attempts to discover the problem, ( I kept losing the phone line) the phone man verified that the machine was shorting out the phone line. Too late to return it, I lost $300 and now use it as a color copier when needed. All these brands are spitting out products at record speed to compete with one another, yet apparently never taking their customer into account, with good quality control. I just ordered the Sharp UX B20 which was recently released, and now unavailable, the Sharp U X B20 E, same thing, and the Sharp 1600 - all unavailble! The Sharp faxes offer 600x600 dpi far superior to the standard 300 dpi with Canon and H/P, but good luck in finding them. I had a lengthly conversation with someone in the electronic repair business, and he recommended to never to buy Brother, they're in for repairs constantly, Panasonic frames fall apart, so that leaves Canon with a lessor dpi than the Sharp. Whatever happened to good reliable equipment?

I've had nothing but problems with this fax machine since day one. It jams constantly, pushes papers onto the floor on the rare occasion when it does work and even jams more than half the time when each piece of paper is hand fed. Don't buy one of these. It's a waste of money.

My work purchased this fax machine for limited use and thank goodness, because if I had to rely on this machine for everything I would be righteously mad!

The Good: design is simple. I haven't had any problems with error messages except to tell me the ink is running low.

The Bad: the fax is loud, and as someone who sits near it, it's annoying!

The Frustrating: faxing one page is fine, which must be about all the makers expected the customer to do. But faxing two or more pages? A serious problem. The second page pushes the first page out of the holding tray and onto the floor. The reason for this is simple, HP neglected to include a little stopper on the end of the tray to prevent the paper from sliding off. In fact, I'm writing this review staring at five pieces of paper scattered on the floor, and one dangling ready to fall if another paper passes through. It's a mess! I wonder how anyone could have designed something so flawed?

I don't know what the other reviewers are talking about. Maybe they have some sort of other agenda? My HP 1240 Fax works perfectly, I think it's fantastic.