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Review by slyphoxj See Profile

  • Location: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, OH, USA
  • Cost: $6 per month (12 month contract)
Very low price, good call quality
Dropped calls, outgoing calls to certain prefixes blocked, cannot receive incoming anonymous calls
Spend another $5-$10 a month and get a decent home phone service
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Value for money:

(This is for the MagicJack Plus, not the original MagicJack)

I got a MagicJack Plus for my sister about a year ago (November 2012). I gave about $70 for it at an area Best Buy after sales tax and a 5% cash back on my credit card.

Website: We never really used it much after I initially setup the MJ+ for her, but it didn't seem too difficult.

Ease of Installation: About the simplest VoIP there is to setup. It was a bit easier that setting up an Ooma and definitely easier than setting up my Obi110 with Callcentric at my house.

Call Quality: Quite good when talking to my sister on her MJ line from my Callcentric line and OK before I ported my AT&T landline to Callcentric. My sister has had some call quality issues when talking to people on cell phones (I forget what exactly the issues were at the moment). When talking to her on her MJ line from my cell phone, the call was sometimes staticy.

Reliability: My sister's MJ+ service was plagued with dropped calls, blocked calls to certain prefixes (including the Cleveland weather number and the Cleveland Louis Stokes VA Medical Center), inability to receive anonymous calls (1), service sometimes going down (2). She also complained of not getting messages on her answering machine. I tried the following to fix the dropped calls: 1) used the short USB cord included in the package to connect her MJ+ to the USB port on the power plug- her MJ+ ran quite hot when plugged directly into the power plug, 2) downgraded her MJ+'s firmware to an older version as suggested in a thread in another forum, 3) replaced AC power strip with a new one.

Tech Support: Never had to use them, or at least I did some online searching and found my answers so I didn't waste time with their useless chat support.

I got my sister an Ooma Telo Air and set it up for her about a week ago (her MJ line has expired). The initial setup was a bit rocky, and she reported the next day that the Ooma flower logo was red (blinking?) and got a busy when she tried to call out, but when she called her Ooma number, it worked OK. She hasn't mentioned any issues since. The Ooma would have been twice as expensive as the MagicJack a year ago, but in the long run, we would have been better off. We did a "redneck" number port- my sister put a message on her MJ number asking callers to call her easy-to-remember Ooma number- saves $40 and the headaches of porting out of MJ!

(1) According to what I read when I did a Google search, MagicJack started blocking incoming anonymous/private calls about 2 years ago, and there's no way to unblock them and allow them to get through! The outgoing caller ID on my work phone is blocked and I can't unblock it by dialing *82, so I had to burn cell minutes to call her MJ+ line.

(2) I used my old Netgear WNR834B router, flashed to DD-WRT and setup in Wireless Bridge mode, to connect my sister's MJ+ to the wifi she uses.



member for 21.7 years, 7223 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 10.2 years ago


vze327veriz
@verizon.net

1 edit

vze327veriz

Anon

Before You Buy Magic Jack Read This

This is the actual transcript from my attempt to have Magic Jack stop the annoying message played every time I make a call. It started 1 month before my number would expire. Nice to get a reminder but every time I make a call for a month. I requested they stop and that's when the run around started. It is nothing other than an attempt to get an early payment. Read it and you be the judge. The message lenght is 19 seconds long.

Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'Jaclyn'
Your Issue ID for this chat is (removed)
Jaclyn: Hello, how may I help you?
James : Hi Jaclyn, Every time I pick up my phone I get this annoying message about a number expiring which I’m aware of. It expires on Jan 19th 2014 so I have plenty of time. I want you to stop harassing me with that annoying message every time I make a call. You are wasting MY VALUBLE TIME.
Jaclyn: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
Jaclyn: Let me assist you with that.
Jaclyn: This is your magicJack phone number (removed) right?
James : Yes!
Jaclyn: Thank you.
Jaclyn: Please wait while I check that for you
James : Please, what is the solution? I need to get back to doing what I do so I don't have time to waste. This is taking too long already. It's a simple thing to fix. Stop the message.
Jaclyn: One moment please...
Jaclyn: I am transferring you to one of our top 10% agents as rated by our customers. Please hold while I transfer you.
Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.
You are now chatting with 'Myrene'
Your Issue ID for this chat is (removed)
Myrene: Hi! Myrene here from the higher level of support.
James: Please stop the run around.
Myrene: Please give me a moment review/rectify the previous chat/s to better assist you. No need to copy and paste any previous conversation. Thank you.
Myrene: I'm not running around, James. I'm here to assist you.
James : you are the second person already and it's a simple solution. Stop the message.
James : I am very busy and time is money.
Myrene: I understand your concern here. However, we are not harassing you here, James. That expiring phone number message is a reminder that your phone number is about to expire on January 19, 2014. That reminder will disappear if you renew your phone number. Of course, after that reminder, the call will still go through.
James : I don't need a reminder every time I make a call and I will pay it before it is due. Now I have warned Magic Jack that I consider this harassment so if it does not stop very quickly I will call the FCC and file a complaint about harassing me. It’s my phone and it’s my time you are wasting. What are you kidding me? Give me a phone number I can call because this is bull. If I had to rate Magic Jack service it would be off the chart because it would be below ZERO.
Myrene: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
Myrene: Okay. I understand and respect your decision. However, we are not kidding here. We are here to help but that expiry message is only a reminder not harassment. The call will go through after the reminder. We use Tech Chat to better assist you. By using Tech Chat, we can send you instant upgrade links and run several diagnostic tests, that cannot be done over the telephone. We are also able to see where you are located, what OS and Internet browser you are using. Lastly we can see that your Internet connection is working too. This will provide the best Customer care experience and keep you most satisfied.
James : Look, my only interest is to stop the message because once again, YOU ARE WASTING MY VALUBLE TIME. I make a $100/hour doing what I do and you are costing me time and time is money. It is my phone and number so stop playing the message. I have a legal right to request that you stop and legally you must. Do you understand what I have requested?
Myrene: I got that, James. However, that expiry reminder will only disappear if the subscription is renewed. Unfortunately, we have no control over that unless the subscription is renewed.
Myrene: I have not heard from you in a while. Do you wish to continue this chat session?
James : Of course you have control. Magic Jack put the message there so they can take it away. This is nothing other than an attempt to get an early payment. It is not due until January 19, 2014. This is the last I'll demand the message stops or it goes to the FCC and I'll be seeking damages for the harassment. Clearly you don't understand the laws in Massachusetts. Now give me a phone number I can call because this has cost me over a half hour already and trust me you can't wear me down which seems to be the attempt.
Myrene: I understand that James but that message is a system generated prompt and will only disappear if the subscription is renewed. Magicjack is not based in Massachusetts. We use Tech Chat.
James : I am, so you fall under the Massachusetts laws if you are doing business with Massachusetts customers. The next time I get good service from Magic Jack will be the first time. Magic Jack hides being Tech chat so they don't have to deal with issues. Have a nice day because I'm done wasting time with Magic jack. My next call is the FCC and Massachusetts Attorney General for the harassment which I have tried to get you to understand so don't say you didn't understand.
Myrene: I will be right with you.
Myrene: I perfectly understand your situation, however I believe that I have already provided you all the information needed. I will close this chat now. if you have any other concerns, please do not hesitate to chat us back. Thank you
Since we haven't heard from you, we must release this chat. Please click here should you need further assistance: www.magic Jack.com/techchat