When the phone rings and I pick it up and answer it, but the party on the other end does not hear my voice so it seems like nobody is on the other end and they are they but do not hear my voice.

Press menu, go to settings then scroll down to ring count and set number of rings before it goes to voice mail.

Step by step information at the link below.
Brother Fax T96
The F/T Mode is used to allow the fax machine and the telephones to share the same telephone line. When a call comes in, the fax machine and all extension telephones on that line will ring according to the number of rings you have set for the Ring Delay.
When the Ring Delay is completed, the fax machine will answer the call and determine if it is a fax call or a telephone (voice) call.
The fax machine can determine this by the signal it is receiving on the telephone line. If someone is sending a fax automatically , the sending fax machine will transmit a fax tone (a series of beeps every 3 seconds).
If your fax machine hears these tones, it will receive the fax.

If the fax machine does not hear any fax tones, it assumes it is a telephone (voice) call and will begin ringing the F/T ring tones (double ring) for the length of time you selected for the F/T Ring Time. These tones will only ring on the fax machine's handset (extension or external phones will not ring). At the end of the F/T ring time the fax machine will go into the receive mode in order to receive a manual fax.
(If the call was a voice call and was not answered, the caller will hear the fax receive tones also).

• If you answer the call before the fax machine(during the ring delay period) and determine it is a fax, you can transfer the fax to the fax machine for receiving.
  
  
• If you answer the call on an "extension" phone and hear a beep every 3 seconds (automatic fax) or silence (manual fax), press *51 or *91 for New Zealand (remote activation code) on the telephone keypad, wait to hear the fax machine turn on (chirping sounds) and then hang up.
  
  
• If you answer on the handset of the fax machine and hear a beep every 3 seconds or silence, press the Fax Start or Start/Copy key on the control panel of the fax machine and then hang up the handset.
  
  
• If you answer a call on an "extension" phone during the F/T Ring Time, you will hear the F/T ring tones.
  To release the call from the fax machine, press #51 or #91 for New Zealand (remote deactivation code) on the telephone keypad and you can speak to the calling party.
  
  
• If you pick up the handset of the fax machine during the F/T ring time, you may talk to the calling party immediately.

Well, I called Panasonic, and they performed a few setting changes.

In my VZ wireless I have to change it by calling tech support.
Your carrier may not offer it. Since your phone needs to be found, the number of rings you hear and the intercept time may be different. The stock answer is "if your cell is close to a tower it will work after X rings".

Carl

Upgrade to the new skype version!!

Receive Mode Settings Select from the following receive mode options to suit your needs. Once you've decided on which receive mode to use, follow the below instructions to set the receive mode using the operation panel. Receive Mode Setting

1. Press the <FAX> button to enter Fax mode.
   
2. Press <Menu>.
   
3. Press the right or left arrow button to select [Receive mode settings], then press the <OK> button.
   
4. Press the up or down arrow to select the receive mode that best suits your needs, then press <OK>.
   
   

Types of receive mode
Select the receive mode according to your needs.
Receive mode
Purpose
FAX/TEL AUTO SW When you want to receive faxes automatically as well as voice calls. FAX ONLY MODE When you want to receive only faxes automatically with your machine, or have a dedicated telephone line for FAX use only. DRPD When you have subscribed to a DRPD service with your telephone company. MANUAL MODE When you receive mainly voice calls and sometimes faxes, or want to receive faxes manually. ANS.MACHINE MODE When you want to receive voice messages on your answering machine and receive faxes automatically. FAX/TEL auto switch
FAX :
The machine does not ring but will receive the fax automatically. Voice call :
The phone attached to the machine will ring. Pick up the handset to answer the call. Note:

• Ring start timing and Telephone ring length can be specified in FAX/TEL auto switch in the Receive mode settings.
  
• If you want the telephone to ring when it receives a fax, connect a telephone to your machine and enable the Incoming ring settings in RX settings.
  
• The phone attached to the machine may not ring depending on the telephone type you are using.

FAX only
FAX * :
The telephone does not ring. The machine will receive the fax automatically. Voice call :
You will not be able to answer the call. * If you want the telephone to ring, connect the telephone to your machine and enable the Incoming ring settings in RX settings menu.


DRPD
FAX :
Your telephone line will ring according to the ring pattern you have chosen and receive the fax automatically. Voice call :
Your telephone line will ring according to the ring pattern you have chosen. Pick up the handset to answer the call. Note: Specify the FAX pattern in the DRPD: Set FAX ring pat. in RX settings menu.

Manual RX
FAX :
The telephone attached to the machine will ring. Pick up the handset and if you hear a beep tone, press the <Color> or <Black> button on the machine to receive the fax. Voice call :
The telephone attached to the machine will ring. Pick up the handset to answer the call. Note: If you are far from your machine, you can use the remote receiving function to receive faxes. Pick up the handset of the telephone connected to the machine and press 25 (the remote receiving ID).

Ans. machine connect
FAX :
First the answering machine connected to your machine will respond to an incoming call, and then the machine will receive faxes automatically. Voice call :
The answering machine connected to your machine will respond to an incoming call. Note:

• Set the answering machine to answer on the first or second ring.
  
• The entire message should be no longer than 15
  

From the main menu select the Voice Mail option in Voice mail select Ring Delay in Ring Delay you can choose the delay time before Answering Machine pick up the phone from 0 to 30 secend.Reza from Iran

No response. closing

It sounds like you are using a voicemail service from a provider, meaning you did not buy the voicemail system with the phone system. If you confirm, I can tell you how to fix this.

This is all programmed in the phone system settings. Your phone can be used on different Avaya phone systems (AT&T, Lucent is Avaya now) and you can also have different voice mail systems. They all program differently.

Sounds like your phone port is not programmed to use voice mail. You can have your phone port programmed to do many different things if nobody answers. Mostly you have the call transfered to another station after so many rings. That other station (extension) could be the operator, a calling group, a voice mail box, etc... Some systems allow you to change the number of rings on a per-phone basis, others only have one no-answer timer for all calls.

You can get all the manuals from www.avaya.com for free but you need to know which system and version you have first. Programming can get very complicated and you may find it easier to hire a local phone installation company that is familiar with your system to do the changes for you.