Magic Jack.

Shermie

Well-known member
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Has anyone ever tried this device or is presently using it?

It hooks up to one of your computer's USB ports and it allows you to make calls as you please, whenever you please. You plug the phone jack into the device.

Then you call the co to get your account set up with the provider. I'm told that THEY will then automatically call your present telephone service provider and cancel your service with that co first and then sign you up for phone service with the Magic Jack.

I'm very seriously considering getting this device and saying goodbye to Comcast for phone service, but before I do, there are a few questions that I think need to be answered;

1. If you have it, how do you like it?

2. Does it deliver the goods?

3. Is it really only $20. a year, or are their also hidden chages that come with it?

4. Are you offered customer or tech support if there's ever a problem?

5. Do you have to be online to be able to use it, since it plugs into you pc's USB cord?

These things i have to know beforehand, as it will help me make a dicision as to whether I still want it or not.

Otherwise I'll go back with Vonage. But in either case, I'm LEAVING Comcast's phone service for a much cheaper alternative one to save money and help make my budget that much more managable!

Here's a pic of what it looks like. :tiphat: :biggrin:
 

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FryBoy

New member
I haven't used it, but I've read good reviews of it in the computer mags/websites.

BTW, I recently read that they have a new version (or soon will) that will allow you to use your cellphone to make calls over the Internet without using your minutes.
 

Wart

Banned
Since it has to be plugged into a computer the comp has to run 24/7. If power goes out so does the phone. Power going out and the phone not working is just how VOIP is. Our voip is through a combination phone and Internet modem (Road Runner). If you want to keep a phone with a power outage you need a UPS, thing is do you want to have to power the computer or just the modem?

Yes, we have cell phones for emergency calls but cell phones don't give a physical address to the call. But they do give GPS, it's a quasi wash.

And I've read/ heard Magic Jack doesn't give the physical address to 911 calls either, however thats one I would have to check out.

There was a pretty good thread in another forum I frequent about the MJ, later I'll see if I can find it. I didn't pay much attention because it was a couple months ago and our land line contract doesn't end till winter/spring of '11.
 
I don't have majic jack, but have wondered about it myself. I've seen the late night ads. Do they have call waiting etc? AT&T is charging me a bundle with their nickle & diming for who knows what.
 

Shermie

Well-known member
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So you DO have to at least have the computer on to make or receive calls with it.

But does that also unclude the pc being in the Sleep mode, which puts the machine into a low-power state?

PC Magazine thinks very highly of it and recommends it for people who are looking for a dirt-cheap alternative to phone service.

I'm all for it as long as there are either no problems or very minimal of them.
 

Shermie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
I don't have majic jack, but have wondered about it myself. I've seen the late night ads. Do they have call waiting etc? AT&T is charging me a bundle with their nickle & diming for who knows what.



Yes it DOES feature call waiting, I think.

Most of the things that you are now paying extra for, magic jack is offering them for nothing, such as call waiting voice mail and other stuff.

I saw the device advertised on TV One early this morning in an infommercial at 0530, and that got me going. But I DID stop at a Radio Shack store last week and inquired about it there.

But there, sort of IS a drawback with it. If by some remote chance that your pc is out of service or not working or is even out for repairs, and you don't have a replacement pc until it gets back, then you can't make or receive calls with it.

I DO have two, but one of them is out for service waiting for recovery software to be received and installed at a friend's house. :bonk:
 
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ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
I have one - had it for the initial year and then signed up for five years service at $14/yr, as I recall.

has caller ID, voice mail also sends a .wav(?) file to your email, all that good stuff included in the basic price. I've not seen any additional "fees" or "hidden charges" of any kind in 3+ years.

yes your computer must be turned on and you must have a constant broadband connection for it to send/receive calls. goes to voice mail if you're not "up" or don't answer.

their standard offerings continue to increase - and all the "new" bennies automatically apply to "old" accounts - you don't even have to "sign up" for anything. started out as free anywhere in USA, then USA+Canada, then USA+Canada+Mexico (parts, I think, as last check)

it's also highly portable. go on vacation - take it with you - laptop & broadband access & hotel phone RJ-11 jack and you can dial till you drop.

calls made from anywhere in the world to the "free" area are free. did a London jaunt a while back and saved enough to pay it's five year bill in two or three phone calls. I bought one and sent it to my cousin in Australia. free calls from there to here . . . they are very popular with their neighbors.

they also have some really low international rates - which you do have to sign up for any pay the extra pennies per minute of use - but no monthly fee, etc. I called Germany on my land line - at $1.75 per minute - I could get a better rate but I'd have to sign up for an "international package" at $15 a month plus "low per minute rates" which are about 20 times higher. try Magic Jack for $0.02 (I think,,,) per minute - and no other charges.

call quality is almost always exceptional - but it is not 110% - and that actually depends on your ISP/bandwidth/broadband connection, not the gadget itself.

I use it extensively / near exclusively for outgoing calls. obviously your savings depends on your habits/calling patterns but I probably save it's annual fee every month - vs. $0.07 / min + taxes.

in my area code, even calls within the area code get billed at rates higher than $0.07. I can call Kansas or California for seven cents/ min - but across the river runs about 23 cents/min. go figger. deregulation did not actually live up to the promises.

the one glitch I've encountered - I have to unplug the MajicJack if I want to burn a CD/DVD. there's apparently an interrupt conflict - which might be curable - I've simply not put the effort into doing anything about it.

it is not a "perfect solution" - see: "plugged in and online all the time" - but for the $15<whatever> a year, it's a very difficult trick to beat. and for some folks - like snowbirds - it's an ideal fit. low budget cell phone and MagicJack can be dollar wise quite attractive.
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Check this thread:

http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1923&highlight=magic+jack


It’s 39.95 or more to buy it up front, but that comes with a year of service as well. After that, it really is only 19.95 a year. No hidden fees.

Customer Support is almost non-existent. I never could find a phone number to call them. All they offer is Online Tech Chat via their website.

To get it to work when you plug it into a USB, you must have auto-run enabled on your PC. That is the first thing I always disable on a new PC, so I ran into problems and had to manually start MJ every time I rebooted.

The soft phone (the program that runs magic jack) is always on. You can’t ever turn it or your PC off if you wish to use magic jack. Whenever you get a call, the soft phone software pops up and over any other program you had running. Kind of annoying.

When I used Magic Jack (last year), it was very buggy and prone to failure. Very often you cold hear voice coming in on a call but they couldn’t hear you. Or vice versa. The quality was often poor with lots of static, popping, and dropped voice segments. And sometimes, it wouldn’t work at all and required a reboot.

Depending on your area, you may not be able to get a “local” phone number. This means that if your neighbor wants to call you, it is long distance for them. It’s free for you of course, but it’s something to consider if your friends and family have to pay LD charges.

Personally, I got rid of Magic Jack for Vonage, and I’m very pleased that I did.
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
That page is denying me access into it.

Weird. C-n-P then...........

If you have a broadband internet connection such as cable or DSL, you can take advantage of fairly cheap and sometimes free phone service. All you need do is connect the appropriate hardware to your Broadband Modem or PC, hook up a phone, and you’re ready to go.

I’ve tried 2, but there are more out there, so if you know of others, then please post.

MagicJack

You may be seeing the commercials for this one by now. You pay a set fee, 39.99 to buy the device, then you get phone service free for 1 whole year. Sounds like a great deal. You get free local and long distance to all of the continental US and Canada. International plans cost extra. One neat feature is that you can take MagicJack with you wherever you go meaning free calls via a Laptop when you’re in a net capable Motel room. Kind of neat. The S/W also acts as a “softphone” so that you can use your PC speakers and a microphone to have a conversation over the PC instead of through a regular phone.

But there are some problems.

1. You have to have this device hooked up to a PC/Laptop that is always on and running. The software needed to run this has to be running or your phone doesn’t work.

2. It’s still a fairly new device and full of bugs. Often, you try to call out and you get no voice on your end, yet the far end can hear you. Or, if you do connect, it is “jumpy” and drops every 1/2 second of voice making for a very stuttery call. Worse case, and I’ve seen about all of them, is it flat out will not make an outgoing call nor receive an incoming call.

3. Limited availability of “Local” numbers. Even though all of your calls will be free (local and long distance) you may be assigned a number (like what happened to us) that is out of your area. When we signed up at first, the only area close to us was Tennessee meaning we got a 931 area code number even though we are in Northern Alabama. This means that all local calls coming in to us were long distance for the person calling. Not a problem for you, but a real pain for anyone that wants to call you.

When it does work, it actually does a pretty good job. On a good day, the call quality was acceptable, and it comes with free voicemail. It also supports other popular features, but caller ID never really worked well. You’d get the number but no name, or you’d get “Unknown”.

Another annoyance is that the S/W has to run on a PC. This means that your PC must always be on to have phone service. Not really a problem, but if you are working on the PC and someone picks up the phone or a call comes in, the MagicJack S/W becomes the active window and can hose you up if you were working on something else. It’s a real pain to be in a Word doc and have that damn box pop up.

Since it must run on a PC, you need to consider your PC specs and all programs you have installed. The older and slower your PC, the more problems you may have.

All in all, I give MagicJack a thumbs down and got rid of it. I used it for 5 months and 90% of the time it was problematic, I’ d often have to reset my cordless phone, the MJ dongle, or even the PC just to get it working. A real pain. And when it did work, it was often unacceptable quality. Mileage may vary based on your PC, how old it is, and what you have installed. For now, I’d say steer clear of it as it is not a mature device yet.

Vonage Phone Service

I dropped MagicJack for Vonage.

It comes with a very nice, slim, and sophisticated stand-alone box. No PC required. It plugs directly into your Broadband Modem or router, and also has an extra router port on it for connecting another net device.

As a stand alone device, you do not have to have a PC running constantly (although I never turn mine off anyway). This means it will not interfere with any PC work you are doing and will not hog PC resources.

However, it does require a monthly bill. Unlike MagicJack, you have to pay each month instead of each year. Vonage starts at 17.99 for 500 “anywhere” minutes. The next and most popular plan (which we use) is 24.99 for unlimited local and long distance to continental US, Canada, Mexico, and 5 select areas in Europe. Additional International rates can be purchased.

We’ve had Vonage for 2 months. The little box is SLICK. It is wall mountable (which I did), has built in caller ID and several other diagnostic and service features. It offers an additional router port which is nice, and it will auto-update itself with new software.

Vonage does suffer from limited numbers though. However, it’s not nearly as bad as the situation with MagicJack. We had to pick a prefix for a town that is 20 miles away, but it is still “local” to everyone that calls us. So no real big deal there.

Call quality is outstanding. It works perfectly, and we’ve not had a single problem with it. We bought it online and got all of the net instant rebates as well as 2 months free, so we only paid 20.01 with Free Shipping to get Vonage. Not bad at all.

Overall, I’m very impressed with Vonage. It works every time as it should, and it works very well.

MagicJack was a sweet sounding deal, but in the end, as they say, you get what you pay for. Maybe in a few years they will work the bugs out, but for now, stay away from MagicJack and go for Vonage instead.

One final note – 911 service works differently with IP based phones. The 911 dispatch can not track you based on an IP call. Instead, the IP phone provider has you enter your address manually into your account. Then when you call, the address you entered is what is transmitted to the dispatcher. You have to be careful to enter your address correctly, and keep it updated if you move. But really, it is a simple matter, and dispatch will often ask and verify your address anyway. But…..it does stand to reason that some unscrupulous users could enter false addresses and perform “drop calls” to 911 to cause someone a problem. Haven’t heard of this really, but it seems a possibility. Shouldn’t be a problem for the average user, but it does seem to be a hole a prankster could exploit. Granted, if it gets bad, an IP trace will find the user and nail them.
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Oh, I was running XP and have no idea how this will work on Vista.

I did discover one thing though, the more stuff you have installed on your computer, the worse that Magic Jack runs. I mean stuff in general (registry entries, installed programs, etc) and not stuff that is running.

I did a clean install of XP on a friends' PC and put almost nothing on it except Avast. A very clean install.

I then gave him my Magic Jack, and it worked great. Better than it ever did for me.

After a month, he had installed new programs for music editing, photo editing, and other simple tools. Nothing major, just the basic stuff that most people use. Then the problems started. He started seeing the same poor performance I had seen.

A month later, the performance was so bad, he just quit using it.

So, be mindful of the PC you use this on. The more you install on it, the more MJ is likely to have problems. Ideally, it would be great to have a small dedicated Laptop sitting in a corner that is used for nothing but MJ.
 

Doc

Administrator
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Interesting. Maybe get an old PC off of ebay and dedicate it to magic jack.

I have Voipo. I dropped Verison last fall. Voipo runs 8.25 per month vs Vonage 24.95 per month. Just like Vonage Voipo gives you caller ID, call waiting, voice mail etc. at no extra charge. You have to pay one year at time to get that price, and with taxes it comes out to 11 bucks per month ($133 per year). Free long distance for most of North America and 6 or so European countries. Works just like Vonage, but less than half the price.
I've never used Magic Jack so I can't compare that to Voipo.
http://www.voipo.com/
Please say I referred you if you sign up with Voipo. I get a free month when I renew next year. :D
 

Shermie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
I had Vonage before, but even THAT was problematic as well.

When I tried to dial any 800-number in the Ynited States, a blasted recording was always cutting in, telling me that INTERNATIONAL calls were blocked, when I wasn't even trying to call internationally at all!

Vonage had NEVER FIXED IT AT ALL.

Even today, Comcast is problematic as well!

I used to be able to call a friend's home number with no problems at all. But since I had my number changed, trying to call him on his old line, which STILL works BTW, a friggen recording cuts in that says; "Your call to this number is not allowed because the user has it block to stop calls from private callers."!

The friend does not even have the number blocked!! Called Comcast about the problem and they blamed it on the friend, saying that something was wrong with HIS line, when there isn't.

Comcast just refuses to be told when it is wrong! They were supposed to be fixing the problem, but they NEVER did!! They offer digital phone service to calble subscribers and then they want to croak them because of their ridiculously high prices. They seem to be treating NEW customers much better than the ones who are loyal to them and have had their services longer!!

I want to cancel their phone service and go with something cheaper. But I might try magic Jack, and if there are any problems or I don't like it, I can always get a refund for the cost of the unit.
 

Shermie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Interesting. Maybe get an old PC off of ebay and dedicate it to magic jack.

I have Voipo. I dropped Verison last fall. Voipo runs 8.25 per month vs Vonage 24.95 per month. Just like Vonage Voipo gives you caller ID, call waiting, voice mail etc. at no extra charge. You have to pay one year at time to get that price, and with taxes it comes out to 11 bucks per month ($133 per year). Free long distance for most of North America and 6 or so European countries. Works just like Vonage, but less than half the price.
I've never used Magic Jack so I can't compare that to Voipo.
http://www.voipo.com/
Please say I referred you if you sign up with Voipo. I get a free month when I renew next year. :D



I had Verizon's phone several years ago, along with their DSL service.

The phone service worked ok, but their DSL service back then, and from what I'm hearing today, is STILL even problematic!

I was on the phone with them for hours and hours on end, day and night, trying to get their Internet service to work properly. They woould come up with more frivelous excuse than Carter has liver pills has to why their crappy service wouldn't work.

It was a lowdown dirty shame! They would promise to send out a modem and it would end up going to my FORMER address! How stupid and sad is that?! Long story short, I just didn't like their DSL service at all, and from what I found out, their FIOS service is no better.

Called to try to get it in February, '08 and they told me that it isn't availible for this area!! I'm done with them. :ohmy:
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Interesting. Maybe get an old PC off of ebay and dedicate it to magic jack.

I have Voipo. I dropped Verison last fall. Voipo runs 8.25 per month vs Vonage 24.95 per month. Just like Vonage Voipo gives you caller ID, call waiting, voice mail etc. at no extra charge. You have to pay one year at time to get that price, and with taxes it comes out to 11 bucks per month ($133 per year). Free long distance for most of North America and 6 or so European countries. Works just like Vonage, but less than half the price.
I've never used Magic Jack so I can't compare that to Voipo.
http://www.voipo.com/
Please say I referred you if you sign up with Voipo. I get a free month when I renew next year. :D

Wow. Never heard of Voipo. I may do that. What is your username on Voipo so I can say you referred me.
 

Shermie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
I think they were the other alternative to Vonage, offering the same type of service.
 

Doc

Administrator
Staff member
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I think they were the other alternative to Vonage, offering the same type of service.
There are quite a few of them now. I think Voipo is the best bang for the buck IMHO.
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Hmph.....looks like I may be in a 1 year contract to Vonage which means I won't be switching to VoipO any time soon. :ohmy::bonk:
 

Doc

Administrator
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Darn contracts.
Vonage tried to tell me I was locked into a contract and I told them I asked that question up front and was told no, I could cancel anytime. If I remember right the fee for canceling was 39 dollars, but I got that waved as I really did ask the question and was told wrong information. I had already been with them for one year, and they claimed I had a two year contract.
Long way of saying it might be worth your while to see how much it costs you to buy your way out of the contract. You still might save a considerable amount in the end.

NOTE: If you want to keep your current number be sure you have signed up with your new carrier before you cancel your current one. I canceled Vonage and then signed up for Voipo and tried to keep my number. No way hose. I had to open a new contract with Vonage which I had 30 days to cancel with no fees. Establish the old number I had with them, then initiate the transfer. It was a pain, but it was worth it. Learn from my mistake.
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Darn contracts.
Vonage tried to tell me I was locked into a contract and I told them I asked that question up front and was told no, I could cancel anytime. If I remember right the fee for canceling was 39 dollars, but I got that waved as I really did ask the question and was told wrong information. I had already been with them for one year, and they claimed I had a two year contract.
Long way of saying it might be worth your while to see how much it costs you to buy your way out of the contract. You still might save a considerable amount in the end.

NOTE: If you want to keep your current number be sure you have signed up with your new carrier before you cancel your current one. I canceled Vonage and then signed up for Voipo and tried to keep my number. No way hose. I had to open a new contract with Vonage which I had 30 days to cancel with no fees. Establish the old number I had with them, then initiate the transfer. It was a pain, but it was worth it. Learn from my mistake.

Thanks! That's great info!

I've been trying to find a picture of the VOIPO adapter box, but can't. Have you got a picture of what it looks like? How big is it?
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Just heard today at the coffee machine that Magic Jack is about to start offering a femtocell device. That is a device that acts as a base station for your cell phone. What happens is, your GSM Cell phone locks onto the femtocell MJ device (which has a range of 3,000 square feet. Once it connects, it leaves the regular pay GSM network and you make your calls over the internet basically turning your cell phone into a VOIP phone while you are inside your house.

Since you won't be using the pay GSM network of AT&T or T-Mobile, then your calls are free (no usage of your minutes). Well, except for the $20 per year fee that you pay to magic jack. There is even a plan to put an onboard CPU in the femtocell device so that you don't need a PC to make it work. Should be interesting if they pull this off.

http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/converg/2010/011110convergence2.html?t51hb
 

Doc

Administrator
Staff member
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Thanks! That's great info!

I've been trying to find a picture of the VOIPO adapter box, but can't. Have you got a picture of what it looks like? How big is it?

The one I got last Sept is small. About half the size of my linksys router. Then I got my mom Voipo for Christmas and the adapter they sent to her was a linksys router without the wireless antennas. Otherwise exactly the same.

Plus, I had to configure and get help from support to make my Voipo device work. The one I got for my mom said to plug in the phone line and wait 1 to 3 minutes and you should have a dial tone. Sure nuff it worked. :eek: I was shocked. So easy. :thumb:

Now here comes magic jack. All the info you just added sounds awesome. This means folks with questionable cell phone coverage in their house could use magic jack to make their cell phone work there ....and best of all no minutes.
 

Shermie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Darn contracts.
Vonage tried to tell me I was locked into a contract and I told them I asked that question up front and was told no, I could cancel anytime. If I remember right the fee for canceling was 39 dollars, but I got that waved as I really did ask the question and was told wrong information. I had already been with them for one year, and they claimed I had a two year contract.
Long way of saying it might be worth your while to see how much it costs you to buy your way out of the contract. You still might save a considerable amount in the end.

NOTE: If you want to keep your current number be sure you have signed up with your new carrier before you cancel your current one. I canceled Vonage and then signed up for Voipo and tried to keep my number. No way hose. I had to open a new contract with Vonage which I had 30 days to cancel with no fees. Establish the old number I had with them, then initiate the transfer. It was a pain, but it was worth it. Learn from my mistake.



That's what I plan to do when I'm about to switch carriers.

That way, I won't have to go throughthe aggravating task of having to tell everyone that the number has changed and have to give everyone the new number! :wink:
 

Shermie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Ok guys, I bought and installed Magic Jack.

Couldn't keep the old number though. Was forced to be given a new one.

Testing it for a while to see if it is worth it, to which others say it works well for them.

Canceled the phone service with Comcast.
 

Adillo303

*****
Gold Site Supporter
Jelyin - I was talking to a friend (Network Engineer) he claims the femtocell issue is FCC approval since the cell phone is still using the carrier's license to transmit. I cannot imagine the carriers wanting to give up all that revenue.
 

buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
I've decided to wait on femtocell, but if it doesn't happen:

1) I'll get magicjack
2) I'll reduce my iPhone minutes contract and save about $360 a year
3) Route all my calls through Google voice so I never have to mess with sending out info messages to everyone on my list concerning my phone number again.
 
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