US Robotics 56K USB Soft Modem - Fax/Modem (USR5639)

I bought this at some point after the horror that was Hurricane Sandy but never had a reason to use it until today (bad storm last night knocked out the cable modem). Worked exactly as I wanted it to (slower than cable of course but one must be patient in these types of situations) and bonus was that it didn't make all the horrible noises that the old dial-up modems did. Good product, cheap, grab one to put in your survival kit! :-)Technical information - I'm on Windows 7 and used AOL dial-up, really only used it get on the internet. I simply plugged in my phone line and plugged it into the computer and it sorted itself out.

So I did a lot of research on the best and easiest modem to get for my parents who unfortunately still use dial-up; based on the other reviewers I went ahead and purchased this one and it worked perfect. The plug-and-play was so easy, it installed itself but I did download the drivers off the US robotics website just in case. It's small and takes up no space which is perfect and connected to the internet without any trouble. So for others looking for a dial up modem, this is your best bet! Its affordable and simple to use. For reference, my parents have a HP desktop, with Windows 7 and use Netzero.

Get this one. These have been the most reliable for us both in the office and in the field.

My HP Pavilion Desktop 550-126 (6th Generation Intel Core i5-6400, 12GB DDR 3L System Memory, 1TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive) came pre-installed with Windows 10 Home. I chose to purchase this US Robotics USB Dial-Up Softmodem (USR5639US) based on its brand name (i.e., I’ve used US Robotics products reliably in the past), cheap price, the mostly positive Amazon reviews, and the fact that the US Robotics support web page for this 5039 model currently specifies the following OS compatibility: Win10, 2012R2, 2012, Win8, 2011, Win7, 2008, Vista, Vista 64, 2003, XP 64, XP, and 2000. Unfortunately, after way too much time and frustration spent troubleshooting, this modem totally FAILED to operate at all with Windows 10.Interestingly, another Amazon reviewer has stated that he contacted the US Robotics technical support staff who said that this modem does NOT work with USB 3.0 and they do NOT currently have drivers for Windows 10, the latter of which is obviously contradictory to the information that is currently posted on their website. Other Amazon reviewers seem to mostly indicate that the modem works fine with all of the other aforementioned Windows versions for which it is supposedly compatible. Worth adding here is that the package contents for this modem only include the USB modem itself, a short telephone cord, and VERY brief instructions; no installation CD or other documentation is included.My specific issue with this modem is as follows. Upon connecting the modem to my desktop, it was successfully detected by Windows 10 and automatically configured to use the Agere Systems USB 2.0 Soft Modem #3 driver dated 11/11/2008 version 2.2.89.3. However, while attempting to connect with my ISP, the modem would dial my ISP correctly but could not ultimately complete the handshake with my ISP; another reviewer on here indicated having this exact same problem. On each of my numerous dialing attempts, the modem would simply disconnect after a few short moments followed by an ‘Error Connecting to Dial-up Connection’ dialog box appearing on-screen. That dialog box would specify there being either an ‘Error 678: The remote computer did not respond. To make sure that the server can be reached, ping the remote computer.’ or ‘Error 777: The connection attempt failed because the modem (or other connecting device) on the remote computer is out of order.’ To confirm that I was indeed using the appropriate driver, I then went to the US Robotics support web page for this 5039 model and downloaded the USB_2.2.102.zip file, extracted its contents, and completed the installation. Unfortunately, the exact same connection problem persisted. After multiple telephone calls to my local ISP’s technical support personnel and a significant amount of frustration on my end, neither I nor my ISP could find any solution whatsoever and I, therefore, had no choice but to return this modem to Amazon for a full refund.As a quick side note, it would obviously be very difficult for a user to even access the technical support resources available on the US Robotics website if his/her dial-up modem does not even work to begin with! Fortunately, I was able to use my high-speed internet connection at work to access the US Robotics website while I was troubleshooting.Out of necessity and urgency, I subsequently drove to my local Staples and purchased the only USB modem carried in-store which is the Zoom 3095 USB Mini External Modem - USB - 1 x RJ-11 Phone Line - 56 Kbps. Although this modem is considerably more expensive than similar USB dial-up modems, getting it to work with Windows 10 was relatively effortless and its operation has been flawless, thus far. The Zoom modem also has the added advantage of being USB 3.0 compliant. My full 1/22/2016 review of the Zoom 3095 USB modem can be found on that Amazon product page.My 1-star rating for this modem is based solely on its apparent incompatibility with Windows 10, despite US Robotics specifying such Windows 10 compatibility on its technical support page for this model. I literally wanted to pull my hair out while trying to get this modem to work properly. As such, this is one big Windows 10 dial-up modem fail, in my opinion. Unless you're a glutton for punishment, save yourself the unbelievable grief and aggravation and look elsewhere!!!

Our new house has only INTERNET outlets in all room wall outlets. Only one connected phone outlet for phone with 4 satellite phones!I have two scan & fax printers at home, and cannot fax on them because of the Internet only outlets.I had 2 Internet Xfinity reps come and they both said : sorry, you only sorry can't help, the wall outlets are all for computers only. And they left.So: Needing to fax important business, I had to go to Staples and pay $2+ to fax the important information.Later, via Google: I found out Windows 10 still has in the Menu list of Windows 10, the old FAX SOFTWARE OF DOS days! I had to search Windows 10 menus, but it is there.(By the way the dear, kind folks at Staples had no idea what I was talking about when I inquired abut a PC FAX/Modem for the PC/Windows 10.)I purchase the US Robotics 56K online, installed it, poked around and sent my fax. This from the only phone outlet in our super 2017 new house. The dear little modem and the Windows 10 software (buried in the Windows 10 menu's list) worked. Just like the Fax/Receive PC software of my dear Old MS DOS days.)I now have no extra charge, PC fax ability on my PC and 2017 single phone outlet. I did need a phone 2 outlet splitter to retain our old AT&T phone base & 4 wireless satellite house phones. We have PC fax send/receive ability (no charge!) from our single phone outlet. Nor need a monthly on-line fax service.

I got this because I was tired of faxing documents every year as part of a regular renewal we have to go through. This modem was inexpensive and I thought it might do the trick.We have a voice over IP service for our land line - it claims to have a mode that works well with dial-up modems so I thought I would give it a try.I was regularly able to fax one page. However, it always seemed to error out on the second page. As such, faxing several pages was a very labor-intensive process.If you have an actual copper phone line, this might work OK. If you have voice over IP, even if there is a "modem/fax mode" for it, I can't really recommend this.