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Review by kieranmullen See Profile

  • Location: Portland, Washington, OR, USA
  • Cost: $30 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 7 days
Cheap backup. Would not rely on low end voip for business.
No windows 2000 support? Closed forum?
Get what you pay for.
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Get what you pay for so service is up and down. I plan to get my moneys worth. So if they go belly up it will not matter since I will not take chance and transfer my number.

member for 18.3 years, 917 visits, last login: 3.3 years ago
updated 15.1 years ago







Review by AzWiz See Profile

  • Location: Phoenix, Maricopa, AZ, USA
  • Cost: $1 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 5 days
very inexpensive, good features, unlimited long distance (continental us)
support is convoluted, no email address, tech chat available but hard to find
good option for 2nd outbound phone line.
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I first saw this on one of those late night infomercials, and it piqued my curiosity. I thought, $40 for first year with a 30 day trial money back guarantee, how can I lose? I've spent more money than than on junk that didn't work, so why not try it.

Like most people, I was very skeptical about the claims and the service, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only can you get a phone number in your area code, but you get voice mail to boot! Each voice mail message also can be sent to your email address so you don't have to retrieve them by calling in. The $40 covers the device and first year of service. Currently they charge $19.95 for additional years.

As far as installation, it's as simple as they say. Just plug it into any USB port. The device appears as 2 cd/dvd drives. The software is already on it, so it self installs. Using this method, they are able to download new updates directly to the device, not to your computer.

I use it on my laptop with the built in speakers and microphone with no problem whatsoever. Maybe a cell phone is more convenient, but where else can you get a phone line for $20/year ?

I like it and will continue to use it as long as the terms of service remain the same.

member for 21 years, 29 visits, last login: 14.2 years ago
updated 15.1 years ago

Old Minstrel Man

Anon

magic jack assigned number already a working number not good

I purchased two magic jacks in october 2008 I activated one with an air card. It was not adequate but before I had a chance to (try to) return them. A friend saw the icon on my laptop and inquired about it.
We installed it on his dsl network and it worked perfect, so I decided to give him that one and keep the one that I had activated until I could install dsl at my place. Now I have dsl and the magic jack plugged in and it will not work. I entered my previous email address and password and after a lot of going down dead ends that all lead to purchasing and upgrading magic jacks. I am finally able to extract the Magic Jack number assigned to my unit. I am getting dial tone that goes silent and goes nowhere when dialing out begins.I try dialing up the magic jack (assigned number) and it is ringing, but it is not ringing at my phone that's hooked to the magic jack. I am dialing the number assigned to my (MJ) but is connecting to an already working number. Now six hours of frustration later I have finally realized that customer service for the (MJ) is non-existent. They only want to take orders and collect credit card information for upgrades and term extensions, but if their product malfunctions they do not want to hear about it or try to correct it. Unless and until I am contacted by an MJ customer service representative and have this problem resolved, it is now and will continue to be my opinion that Magic Jack is a
FLASH-IN-THE-PAN SCAM that will disappear at some point in time like a theif in the night. If it is working for you now, I say congratulations and use it to the max for as long as you can. Any service provider that will not make any attempt to allow access to correct their malfunctions or refund the returns and overcharging of credit cards cannot be serious about the long term. THINK ABOUT IT and BUYER BEWARE

a
AzWiz
join:2003-03-30
Phoenix, AZ

AzWiz

Member

Re: magic jack assigned number already a working number not good

Have you tried their online tech support chat? It could be that activating with your aircard initially caused your problem. Obviously so many other people (including your friend) are using it successfully, the problem is unique to your situation. Try going to: »www.magicjack.com/techchat/ It will try and get you to check the faq first, but I was able to get a live person to help me when I had a problem. Give it a try.
Haulngas4u
join:2004-03-30
Phoenix, AZ

Haulngas4u to Old Minstrel Man

Member

to Old Minstrel Man
I bought MajicJack a week ago and it works great so far and I love it.

Review by raptor1418 See Profile

  • Location: Denver, Adams, CO, USA
  • Cost: $1 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
easy to setup and install
requires a PC to be running all the time and is limited on OS it can run on
Great value for the money over other VoIP's
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I have got to say I have never really had any issues with my magicjack over the last 2 years. Call quality has always been descent and the price for service can't even be touched by other VoIP services I have looked at.

I wish there was a way to run it as a service instead of needing to be logged on as a user for it to work.

My other problem is that it is pretty limited on OS. It will only run on Windows XP, Vista and MACs using intel based chip sets.

An unleash from needing a PC would be a huge boost for this little device.

Overall I am completely satisfied with my MagicJack and just renewed my service for 5yrs for $60 so I guess that states my confidence in this VoIP setup.

member for 21.3 years, 1041 visits, last login: 3.3 years ago
lodged 15.2 years ago


Review by RockyJim See Profile

  • Location: Fort Collins, Larimer, CO, USA
  • Cost: $1 per month (72 month contract)
  • Install: about 7 days
Inexpensive and great quality for the price
Get used to "chat" support
Great value, competitive with service 15x more expensive
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I've been using magicJack for 4 weeks now. Bought a 1 year+5 year plan; hoping they stick around, service is $1.50/month.

This replaced my second line with another VOIP service. Call quality is actually a little better than my other VOIP. Simple to install, worked in 60 seconds. Not as feature-rich as other VOIPs, but the basics it offers are good enough.

I mention "chat" support as a "Bad" point, but it's really just "different". The service I'ev received over the chat lines has generally been very good -- better than that I've gotten over live phone support with my cable operator.

I'll replace my primary line with an MJ as soon as I can transfer my primary line phone number.

member for 15.4 years, 22 visits, last login: 10.2 years ago
lodged 15.2 years ago


drgolf
@cox.net

drgolf

Anon

Magicjack

I have not had really good success with my magicjack it has to much static It shuts it self down while I am talking with my party...I really have not had good luck with it. I live in Las Vegas I don't know if that has anything to do with the connection being in a bowl but any suggestions....?

sampagita
@rcn.com

sampagita

Anon

pls. answer

Can I send this to the Philippines? If the number given has the area code in US will it charge the user from the Phil. international rate?

BlueMagic
join:2008-03-30
Riverside, IL

BlueMagic

Member

Re: pls. answer

I have a friend who sent a magicJack to the Philippines and it works perfectly. They will have a United States phone number and the cost will be zero to telephone any number land line or mobile in the United States and Canada.

hossridr
@sbcglobal.net

hossridr to sampagita

Anon

to sampagita
You Flips are always looking for a fott in the door to anything that is free or near free. I hope it DOESN'T work in the Philippines.

proud2bflip
@dsl.bell.ca

proud2bflip

Anon

Re: pls. answer

Hey hossridr I don't know what you have against Filipinos but your comment is uncalled for!!! By the way it's foot not fott.

laut
@bellsouth.net

laut to sampagita

Anon

to sampagita
Sampaguita, I just spoke with family members from Manila. They were using MG, very clear indeed..

Review by antoinefinch See Profile

  • Location: Fayetteville, Cumberland, NC, USA
  • Cost: $1 per month (12 month contract)
Cheap easy installation
poor customer service not area codes covered
$19.95 a year its worth every penny you paid
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considered Time Warner VOIP Service 19.95 a month for 12 months and also Vonage but for the price MJ can't be beat. Dont look for a lot help from CS at MJ. Run MJ as a service

check on the MJ forum for information on how to do that. I rum MJ using VTECH 5.8 DIGITAL WIRELESS PHONES,THRU A 7 PORT USB 2.0 POWERED HUB.

member for 18.4 years, 141 visits, last login: 7.2 years ago
updated 15.2 years ago

pbear957
join:2008-10-07
Oconomowoc, WI

pbear957

Member

MagicJAG

Like anything else in this world of scammers and cheap offers, if it looks to good to be true...........

Nothing like a good 'ole land line from the REAL phone C.O. and fast, reliable DSL!

Thank you AT&T! Often immitated, NEVER duplicated!

And no I do NOT work for AT&T!






Review by grape8pe See Profile

  • Location: Conyers, Rockdale, GA, USA
  • Cost: $1 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 5 days
Price and Ease of Setup
Service can be unreliable at times
Great alternative for an extra line at the house
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I first bought my magicjack in July 2008 and have ups and downs with the service. After setup up QoS on my router things improved. Some calls work great and other contain static or other sound problems. For me it's not been a huge problem because I use my cell phone for 95% of me calls anyway. Magicjack for me is more of a 2nd line. Definitely worth the money. Don't expect things to be reliable like a POTS line or Vonage though.

member for 20 years, 161 visits, last login: 14.6 years ago
lodged 15.3 years ago


Review by Authority See Profile

  • Location: Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Amazing cost, reasonable quality.
Requires computer on at all times. :(
Revolutionary game changing product and concept!

I got my MagicJack from CEO Dan Borislow himself at CES 2008 in Las Vegas. I had read about it and was excited to check it out. The MagicJack is a GREAT product with a revolutionary business concept; instead of just routing calls from phone company to phone company over the internet why not BE the phone company at both ends? That's the "magic" of their business model and why they're able to be so inexpensive.

For the geeks out there one challenge in using this product is setting up QoS so that downloads and other web traffic don't kill your call quality. There's too wide a range of ports they use to give them all priority so the best solution is probably to dedicate an old PC to MagicJack and give it high priority via MAC address or IP address.

They could have had a better name, they could do a better job in communicating to the market, they could have additional equipment options, but with all that said I'm impressed with Dan and MagicJack.

member for 24 years, 1649 visits, last login: 3.3 years ago
updated 15.3 years ago


Review by eplebnista See Profile

  • Location: Muscle Shoals, Colbert, AL, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified. (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 5 days
Cheap, Easy Install, Works Well on DSL Lite
Requires WinXP or Vista, Softphone Prominence
Perfect for saving on long distance charges
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The price and no monthly cost sold me on the MagicJack Device & Service. Ordered over a weekend, shipped the following Monday and it arrived two days later. Been using it for a week and so far it has worked perfectly for my intended purpose(outgoing long-distance calls). Would not hesitate to recommend to others with at least two computers.

Update:

Still working beautifully for over a month now. I must be lucky, because I have not experienced any of the major problems others have reported.

Update 2:

Had a slight hiccup when MJ "lost" my second year of service after a couple of months past the start of the second year's activation. After several MJ tech support chat sessions spanning a week's time, the problem got fixed and my second year of service was "found" and re-activated. It was a good thing that I had saved all of my previous order details/emails/etc. that I had with them to document that I had already bought/paid for the second year when I made the initial purchase. Without that info I have a feeling that I would never have had my second year of service re-activated and I would have had to buy the second year again in order to continue using the service. I plan on just buying one year at a time from now on, no matter how much of a discount they give on bundling multiple years of service together. Overall the service is still a great deal as a second line for saving on long distance charges.

member for 17.8 years, 550 visits, last login: 7.5 years ago
updated 15.3 years ago


Review by MrMoody See Profile

  • Location: Smithfield, Johnston, NC, USA
  • Cost: $4 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 10 days
Cheap, pretty much plug and play
Choppy sound during prime time,PC has to be running
Don't bother if you are in AL/GA/SC/NC
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I ordered the MagicJack and paid my $46. It was delayed a week due to "unexpected order volume," which they notified me by email. Despite their promise to only bill after 30 days, they processed the full charge immediately (i.e. a week before shipping) and then refunded it. They sent another email apologizing for this.

When the device arrived, it plugged right in, and auto installed a ROM drive, which it then would have autoexecuted if I hadn't had it disabled. I went ahead and ran the autorun to install the software. I wish they made a LAN version that runs through your router instead of a PC.

It seems to work pretty seamlessly, caller ID even works on the phone (number only), but the sound is horrible and chops badly. There is nothing wrong with my system or setup; Skype works perfectly and I have no USB issues. The chopping goes away late at night. My ping is low even during prime time as can be verified by my DSLR monitor.

Some research quickly reveals that the Atlanta server they use is overloaded and causing the problems. There is no way to change servers within the software. Apparently you used to be able to change the Hosts file to force it to another server but they fixed this and it no longer works.

I guess the magical jack is going back before the trial is up. I hope they fix their server problems eventually. It seems like a good idea, but I guess I will keep looking for a good VoIP solution.

member for 21.5 years, 3020 visits, last login: 3.1 years ago
updated 15.3 years ago

rockn7
join:2008-11-09
Las Vegas, NV

rockn7

Member

Magicjack in their policies

I've had two mgicjacks and something has been run with both of them the first one had reeled bad sound and crackled all the time and they told me at mgicjack to go out and buy a new phone set I have a brand new phone set and it's a very good phone set any way they told me that was my problem 3 hours later I finally got two the highest tier of their tech support and got a new one issued.

When I receive my new one I mean I mgicjack I plugged it in software went well and it started out fine the noise was good sound quality was perfect until a week ago all the sudden I lost my caller ID the next thing I know friends are calling me all my cell phone telling me when they call my home phone it go straight to voicemail when I tried to call out I got a dial tone but the phone would not dial so I can call out been here I go again the big nightmare of talking to mgicjack Ste Tech support only this time I was for hours on the phone before they would send me a replacement I have and a mine new replace me yet and I don't know if it'll work but I'm very unhappy with mgicjack

Review by agilityman00 See Profile

  • Location: Carmel, Putnam, NY, USA
  • Cost: $3 per month
  • Install: about 5 days
Cheap. Fax works
Computer needs to be on to work. Area code for my area not available
Did I say cheap.
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Ditched Vonage and switched to MagicJack. Had it for just over a year and no problems. I did have to install another fax program over the one that I had to get the fax to work. I can receive and send faxes now, no problem. To rectify not being able to get a local area code, I signed up to grandcentral.com

member for 19.2 years, 3625 visits, last login: 6.4 years ago
lodged 15.4 years ago