trying to set up fax on my epson wf-2860 and it won't receive automatically. i have an answering machine hooked up.

Yeah, this one's common. The 'Rings to Answer' setting is probably too low. Your answering machine is picking up before the printer can detect the fax tone.

1. Press the Home button.
2. Go to Settings > General Settings > Fax Settings > Basic Settings > Rings to Answer.
3. Select a number higher than the number of rings your answering machine is set to answer on.
4. Select OK.

Also, during the initial fax setup wizard, if you connected an external phone/answering machine, you must have selected 'Yes' and then chosen to receive faxes automatically. Run the Fax Setting Wizard again from the same menu to verify all settings. Finally, run the 'Check Fax Connection' test from the wizard to print a diagnostic report.