Ok, this is the last post for a while on Magic Jack. I have been using it for several days now and here is what I learned and why I will not be replacing my home phone system with it.
- I can’t port my number. That’s right, I have found several places on the Internet that will let me port my number to them and for a small per-minute or a per month charge forward all my calls from my old number to my new number. My outgoing calls will still show as originating from Magic Jack, not my original number. This in and of itself is a dealbreaker for me. Sorry, but my phone number is plastered everywhere and it would take too long to change it, and yes people do need to get in touch with me.
- Incoming caller-ID does not work for me. I guess this is supposed to work, but if it shows anything it is just the phone number, not a name. Call me spoiled, but I prefer to see the name and the number.
- Voice quality is actually pretty good. I have noticed a little clicking on the line sometimes, however otherwise the sound quality is crystal clear in and out. The only issues I have had can be attributed to my cell phone when I’m calling home to talk to my wife.
- Computer has to be on all the time. Not a problem for me. I have a few computers I leave on all the time, but in additional to being on it has to run an application that lets me interface with the Magic Jack. That program popped up in the middle of doing something a few times. In order to make it as nice as my Packet 8 system I would have to purchase and dedicate a computer to it. I could do that with an Atom PC and parts I have around for probably $100, and it would still be worth the cost considering how much money Magic Jack saves me.
- It passes the WAF, but barely. She is willing to put up with it only because it is so inexpensive.
Magic Jack will not be staying on as our primary phone. It does a good job as a backup phone or portable one, but I can’t see a reason to replace my regualr phone service with this.
December 2008 UPDATE: If television commercials are any indication, MagicJack has officially launched into the real commercial realm. For their sake they should have gotten number porting working before launching. I think they also should have found a partner of cheap Atom PCs to bundle this with as an option.
Entries (RSS)
Yay!! I miss not having caller id.
Signes last blog post..Hair Cut! Yay!
If you are getting your caller id feature,you should use a hub to boost it..I been using it for quite awhile with no problem at all.. You don’t have to have your computer running at the time either,because you have voice mail that will answer.
you can also forward your calls to your cell phone.
Computer is ON for all the time!!! Thats big problem …
I am genuinely pleased to have read this post. I have been considering Magic Jack but I haven’t seen much commentary from anyone who is actually using it. Being an extremely busy person, I must have functioning caller id. I guess Magic Jack is not for me!
I guess the main thing is that it works. I recall our phone line was down yet the internet connection was fine. There was a fault in the line but somehow the net connection jumped the line. So, without a phone, I decided to try out my ISP’s “node phone”, which costed $10 a month. It was useful for making outgoing calls, but friends , family and businesses couldn’t get in contact (new number). I was glad when the land line got back up and working
.
John Ds last blog post..Guitar Hero: World Tour Less Than Perfect?
Yes, a Magic Jack needs to use its own number. Those with Google’s Grand Central were able to port old over for free. But no more GC invites are being given out now.
As far as Caller ID not working properly, sounds like you might have a USB electrical power problem. No clue on how many USB devices you use, but without enough juice (500 mA), the MJ display may not work 100%. You did see the warning about that on packing right?
Others with various issues had them disappear with a powered hub. The below page possibly explains the issue you are having.
http://www.magic-jack.info/magic-jack-power.htm
As far as the program popping up, you don’t need to buy another computer! There a couple of options… You can set up a user account on any pc just for the Magic Jack. And, since you will be logged into a different account, you’d never have to see those. There’s also a free program someone made called MagicBlock to adjust how it works.
http://www.download.com/MagicBlock/3000-2349_4-10838528.html
Good Luck!
MagicJackFans last blog post..Magic Jack USB VoIP Phone Info – Free Long Distance
@MagicJackFan
I understand some people are pretty passionate about this topic. I don’t understand that, but there it is.
Your name lets us know where you stand on this issue.
Thanks for the links though. My MagicJack is plugged in on its own USB header where nothing else is plugged in. I tried it in my laptop as well, and my laptop is able to self-power a USB hard drive that I have. Still, I do have a powered hub here somewhere and will give it a try and report back.
My whole problem with leaving a computer on all the time was due to the Vista computer that I had available to run this on has a high end graphics card which sucks power. The laptop goes with me to work every day, and the other machines are Linux, etc. The MagicBlock program would work great, but only while the computer was turned on. My best solution for that was to spend the extra $100 or so on an Atom and more than save that much on electricity and phone bill savings over the course of a year. Then I could continue to shut off that electricity hogging computer and video card when it is not in use.
I definitely agree with what I’ve read from your site, which was one of many sites I visited before buying it. Magic Jack is not a scam as I originally feared. It has some limitations, but those are clearly disclosed. My Magic Jack is perfect for plugging into my laptop and using my bluetooth headset with, so I do intend to keep it.
I’m very happy that you are writing about Magic Jack because I recently heard about it and am interested in user reviews. I used to market voIP in the year 2000 before Skype was even created. I use both a mac and windows on 2 separate pc’s. I plan to use Magic Jack after reading your review because it sounds like out needs are different.
@kaycee
VoIP wasn’t very popular back then except in large businesses, and even then was pretty progressive. Glad you find MagicJack to your liking! I haven’t had a use for it since I ended this review, but it does travel with my laptop just in case.
“Most users that are having “trouble” with their magicJack® dongle are usually having connection problems with their computer’s USB ports and its power supply to those ports!”
This is the least expensive and probably the best telephone service that I have EVER used!
This service ONLY costs $19.95/year and with a 5 year license extension it costs only $12.00/year! $1.67/month 1st year then $1.00/month each year thereafter.
Don’t believe any of the BAD PRESS you may hear about the service. I discovered what the “technical” problem was, because it actually happened to me. I was having audio and connection problems until I solved the technical problem of my computer’s USB bus drawing over 500 mA, actually 580 mA, with everything plugged into the bus.
My eMachine computer, Model T2882, only has a 250 Watt power supply and that was working at its limits with all the computer cards and USB devices that I had plugged into the machine were demanding current.
The attached article is how I solved the problem for less than $20.00!
http://drbray.blogspot.com/2008/12/magicjack-reality.html
Yes, there are problems with the new Magic Jack. But, you all have to understand that every new equipment has some bugs that have to be worked out as it is been used. If you are having problems, it’s best to call the support team that they may document it for their records and help you fix any problem. You have to give them a chance. This is a great thing for me. It maybe soon that the Magic Jack wil allow us to operate the phone, even when the computer is turned off. I believe that they will find a way for every problem that we encounter. This is a blessing and I am enjoying it. Just as new phone companies, new DSL companies, or anything else, there will be problems.
Be blessed!
A friend of a friend is offering me this Magic Jack, said it was good and all that. Now that I’ve seen your reviews maybe it won’t be worth it. Thanks for the review of this product guys!
If you are getting it for free there’s no reason to turn it down. It makes an excellent alternative communications device. I expect to renew it next year. Look at it this way – it comes with a phone number and voicemail that can be delivered to your email. If you look around for paid voicemail services those typically cost more than what Magic Jack does for a year, and Magic Jack has many more possibilities for utility.
I have contacted Magicjack 6 times,each tech agent tells me something different. I have spent hours them walking me though different solutions.
I am so confused,I do not know what to do.
I paid extra for the 4 year plan.
In the beginning it worked great,but a few months later it’s terrible. This program does not allow you to reinstall the Magic Jack.
I would not suggest this product to anyone.
I LIKE MY MAGIC JACK , BUT STILL HAVE A LOT TO LEARN. HOW DO I GET A EXTENION NUMBER TO GET MY VOICE MAIL.
THANK YOU ANNA
You can call your own Magic Jack number. Better yet, set the thing up to email your voicemail to you. Then you can listen to it on your computer. I get the voicemails on my blackberry and can listen to them there just like visual voicemail.
Most of the comments here are made by folks who just want to say something
Plug into a Hub if your not getting your caller id’s . Don’t buy it if you have an Old Computer,more than likely you will have problems.
oskas last blog post..Our Toolbar
I love my MJ and if you don’t want to use a powered USB, which fried one of my MJs (they refunded me) you can attach a phone line extender with some resistance to fix the caller ID issue. There are companies that make the device very cheaply, I am waiting for mine from magicmojita.com
I have had Magic Jack running for about 2 months as a replacement for my regular AT&T phone service. I can probably live with having to dial the area code for local numbers, echo on some calls, not being able to FAX reliably (maybe 5% go through first time if 1 page), not being able to turn off voice mail, but I’d like to resolve these problems or I’ll be looking for another VOIP provider:
1. About 40% of local calls don’t go through. The call says “ACTIVE” but after a few rings there is nothing but silence. You can call back over and over and it is the same each time. Yet if you call that number using your cell phone it goes right through.
2. Randomly dropped calls while speaking (although I upgraded my router firmware and this seems to be happening less often).
3. When calling out, the other party sometimes cannot hear anything yet you hear them just fine. Calling back again and everything is normal.
If anyone has solutions to these problems I’d love to hear from you. I have 6mb DSL service and a relatively new XP Home computer that is dedicated to nothing but the Magic Jack…
When trying to use magic-jack, it ask for E-Mail and PassWord. No matter what I use it will not accept. My magic- jack is totally useless. Whe uusing “Forgot your Password and E-Mail they say they have sent me one. NOT!!!!!!!!!!
Here is your caller ID fix:
http://my.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MyEbayBeta&CurrentPage=MyeBayNextSelling&ssPageName=STRK:ME:LNLK:MESEX
MagicJack Issues (I) & Comments (C)
I1) Computer must be on all the time.
C1) Frequent System Shutdowns and Restarts (once a day or more) are more likely to foreshorten system MTBFs than just keeping it turned on 24/7. When going out of town for a few days, of course, then shut it down.
I2) Less than POTS service offered.
C2) Use it as a second line to place most of your outbound calls, as those are the ones subject to toll charges via POTS. You will still be saving money and also gaining some degree of diversity in your access to the PSTN.
Yes, exactly. I can’t remember if I mentioned it, but if you are considering between this and traditional VoIP such as Vonage, you can afford to buy a little low power netbook to stash in the basement to run it.
Hi great article thanks for sharing. Does anyone have the Magic Jack? Does it work? How do you contact the company to return it if desired?
Frank
Frank, fail to see why you’d want to return it. If it doesn’t work it is cheaper to throw it in the trash than to mail it back. The vast majority of problems people have with MagicJack have nothing to do with the device itself, but instead center around the business model being either a) unsustainable, in their opinion, and thus not something worth investing even a little in, or b) cheaper than their own solution. I’ve never actually met a person who tried it and didn’t see some usefulness for it, but there are sure a lot of spambots who think there are.