T.38 Fax over IP (FoIP)
image/t38
Released 1998
· by ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union)
The image/t38 MIME type represents the T.38 Fax over IP (FoIP) protocol payload. Unlike traditional static image files, image/t38 defines a real-time data stream used to transport Group 3 facsimile communications over IP networks. It is primarily used within Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Session Description Protocol (SDP) messages to negotiate fax transmissions between VoIP gateways and fax servers.
Technical Specifications
.t38
MH (Modified Huffman)MR (Modified Read)MMR (Modified Modified Read)
Magic Bytes & HTTP Headers
None
Browser Support Matrix
| Browser | Status | Min Version |
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Not Supported | — |
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Not Supported | — |
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Not Supported | — |
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Not Supported | — |
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Not Supported | Legacy |
Advantages & Limitations
- Designed specifically to overcome the timing and packet-loss issues that plague traditional fax over standard VoIP audio codecs (like G.711)
- Reduces bandwidth requirements by transmitting fax protocol data rather than uncompressed audio tones
- Universally supported by enterprise SIP trunks and Session Border Controllers (SBCs) for FoIP
- Not an actual image file format, causing confusion due to its 'image/' MIME classification
- Extremely complex to implement correctly over lossy UDP networks (relies on UDPTL redundancy mechanisms)
- Zero support in web browsers or standard image viewing software
Developer Code Snippets
File Detection Steps
How to programmatically detect a image/t38
file by reading its raw bytes:
- 1 T.38 is typically detected via SIP SDP payloads during call negotiation, looking for 'm=image <port> udptl t38'
- 2 Network packet inspection (e.g., via Wireshark) identifies UDPTL framing for T.38 payload types
Software Support
Conversion Tools
Share & Embed
[](https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/t.38)
<iframe src="https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/t.38/embed" width="100%" height="280" style="border:1px solid #cbd5e1;border-radius:8px;" title="T.38 Specs"></iframe>
JSON API
All data on this page is available as a free, open JSON API. Use it in your project, documentation, or tooling.
GET https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/t.38.json
Open JSON
Frequently Asked Questions
Is image/t38 a standard image file like JPEG or PNG?
No. While classified under the 'image' MIME type tree, image/t38 represents a real-time telecommunications stream (Fax over IP protocol) rather than a standalone image file that you can open in a photo viewer.
How do you view or open a T.38 stream?
T.38 data is typically captured in network traces (like PCAP files) rather than saved as standalone image files. You use network analyzers like Wireshark to inspect the T.38 packets, or VoIP fax servers (like HylaFAX or Asterisk) to decode the stream and save the final output as a TIFF or PDF document.
What kind of image compression does T.38 use?
The T.38 protocol transports standard ITU-T Group 3 fax image compressions, which include Modified Huffman (MH), Modified Read (MR), and Modified Modified Read (MMR) for 1-bit monochrome images.