Review by ChuckIL9 
UPDATED: 43 days ago
member for 4 years, 1100 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Peoria,Peoria,IL
 $3 per month (12 month contract)
 about 5 days
 "Low Cost, Cool Gadget"
 "Software Compatibility, Computer Must Be Running"
 "Seems to be better than it was 2 years ago."
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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4-Oct-09 Update:
My brother in-law was cleaning the house and found the magicJack I gave him almost 2 years ago. I decided to take a look at some of the forums, and noticed things were pretty quiet regarding the device that frustrated me 2 years ago. So for another $19.95 I decided to give it a try again (my primary VOIP service is stable and satisfactory, so it was time to play with something again). I have to say, things seem to have improved. I first had to renew my license, and while at it, noticed that magicJack now had a local number for me. I changed my number to local one, plunked down my $19.95 and plugged the sucker in. The software updated, but I had an error 400, so thought rebooting might fix things...it didn't. I looked on the magicJack forum and saw another person had the same problem and a refresh of his account by magicJack support seemed to fix things. I initiated a chat session and within 10 minutes my account was refreshed and I was in business (support was actually helpful and prompt this go around). So I've been trying things out for the last week, and have to say, the service has been stable and altogether satisfactory (although it's only been a week). I did have a problem plugging it into a computer that I originally tried the magicJack on 2 years ago, in that the message said it would receive an update in 60 seconds, which never happened. I manually updated by going to the magicJack website, and that too worked and I was in business in about 2 minutes. After 40 or so calls over both wired broadband, and a 3G card, the service seems to work well. Pleasantly surprising! I'll update more after 6 months, but so far, so good for basic phone service and voicemail.
Original Review:
I bought a MagicJack because it looked like a cool little device that could save a lot on long distance bills. I already have a VOIP provider that I am happy with, but I thought if this gadget worked out I could dump them and save a lot of dough. The first thing I found is that the install didn't go as smooth as I would have liked. My computer is loaded with video and audio editing applications, and the MagicJack didn't seen to like what was on my system. After playing around a while, I was able to get it to work for a few days in a row, but then the softphone would die, and I would get frustrated. If the computer rebooted, it would hang unless I removed the MagicJack. Even when it did work, I would frequently get the "all circuits busy" message when calling during peak times. After a while I gave up and gave the device to my brother in-law, who didn't have much better luck than me. Right now I think it's sitting in a drawer somewhere. Best of luck to them, and I hope they get things worked out. It just wasn't worth saving $200 a year on VOIP bills at the cost of reliability. It seems that there are customers who have the device working with little issue, so I don't know that my experience is typical. Take it for what it's worth, another anonymous opinion on the internet.
Followup comments:  sabresfan
Sabresfan
join:2009-05-03
Hope Mills, NC
| Good review You give a very fair review of this service in my opinion. It's not for everyone but if you have another line as your primary then MJ is a great second line. The call quality on MJ has improved in the last six months and they finally offer the option to port your number out. No porting in yet but this would not be something I would recommend to people with a number they have had for a long time. | |
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