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 Review by David 
member for 10.9 years, 5484 visits, last login: 2 days ago
updated 3 days ago
 Granite City,Madison,IL
 Contract price not specified.  about 7 days "Cheap phone service" "wifi app constantly drops," "getting rid of it entirely."
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original review:
Well I did it, I plunged into the VoIP with a magic jack. I figured it's nice to have a 2nd phone line for say my basement instead of the wife calling my cell phone. Was really easy to set up. All I had to do was plug it in and before I knew it I got to pick my phone number. One thing that wasn't explained well, I felt like I had to catch this one. It was the outbound thing in the setup. If you are not careful and don't put a check in the box you won't have inbound dialing capability. It didn't seem like that was explained quite so well. Like they could have put a "If you want people to be able to call your magicjack click this box" or something like that.
Order process went great, went to magicjack.com and ordered, it was pretty straight forward. It arrived in a first class envelope, only had the magicjack unit and a USB extention that wasn't required to use. On the computer it adds 2 drives one a read only drive and another 16MB USB drive with a note that says to put no files there.
I tried it on a wireless network around the area and the phone call quality was good during my lunch hour. Seems like it could come in handy when I go out to a wireless hotspot for lunch and am able to make free phone calls. Monthly cost for the first year will be about $4 a month, after that each additional year (according to the paperwork) will be $20/yr or a little less than $2/month.
Call quality is very good, my parents couldn't even tell I was using it. I was as clear as if I picked up my phone line and talked them! I probably won't use it for a primary line because I don't have much need for it, plus when I fax magicjack doesn't do quite as well as old reliable. Anyone that lived in the St. Louis, MO area within the last 5 years got an idea what a extended power outage was, so that will be the biggest reason why I probably won't put it on as main. It makes a nice 2nd line anywhere I need one.
8/10/12:
Stopped buying the service as of late, have the free magicjack iphone app which is nice for either 3G or Wi-Fi calling. I have it renewed for free all the way to the end of 2013. I will save the dongle for now as it comes in handy. May buy the google voice jack software for $15 and use it that way.
05/15/13- I haven't renewed the service and don't even have the app on my phone anymore. the Free Wi-Fi calling cuts out quite a bit.
Comments:
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Review by dickybilly
member for 11.6 years, 114 visits, last login: 81 days ago
updated 98 days ago
- Plano,Collin,TX
- $3 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 5 days
- "quick easy setup; good voice quality"
- "nickel and diming over service costs"
- "cheap"
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I'm switching from TMO@home broadband to magicjackplus. I've been testing for the past 2 months and have found no issues with voice quality compared to TMO. The only setup issues I've had is with the priority of the MJPlus h/w on my primary FIOS router. Magicjack support insists that the MJP must be connected to the primary router. I have it connected to the TMO@home linksys router w/o issue. The TMO linksys router is connected to the FIOS router.
I'm not happy with magicjack charging for every change and NOT publicizing their rates. I started with a free MJP phone # which I chose for the 972 area code. No issues. When I decided to port my TMO phone# to MJP they charged me one time $10 line change fee and one time $19.95 port fee. The annual port fee will be $9.95. If I decide to drop MJP and port my # from them to another service they'll charge me $30 to leave them (which I think is illegal).
I'm still in my first year so cost of service is included with the hardware cost. Second and subsequent years w/o contract $29.95. If you take their prepaid $100 5yr voice service contract the price/year reduces to $19.95. Once you take their 5yr plan if you decide to quit magicjack there's NO refund given on the prepaid $100.
As I write this there's NO call fowarding service. At one time it was available and free but I think when it becomes available again they'll charge for it. My work around for it is attaching a home answering machine with message notify..clunky but workable 4me.
As I write this there's no call forward busy service. I'm not sure if they'll ever support that. I have that now with TMO@home.
As I write this they don't have visual voice mail notify. If you pickup the phone you get a stutter tone telling you there's a voicemail message and/or you get an email message that you've a voice message waiting. My work around for it is attaching a home answering machine with message notify..clunky but workable 4me.
Overall the price I'm paying for MJP is less than half per year that I have been paying for TMO@home which meets my objective of lower home phone costs. I have a suspicion that w/o any kind of cost protection they will be raising their rates over time to meet their business model. If that happens I'll probably drop my home phone line (right now I need 2 lines, home and cell) or switch to another service.
One last note.....you can't beat the portability of the MJP hardware. Being able to take it with me on trips out of the US to make FREE local US phone calls anywhere is a BIG plus.
Comments:
 | | poor service I have had MJ for a couple of years and have never been really happy. I could not talk on the phone and be on the computer at the same time because the person I was talking to sounded like they were under water. MJ tried to fix it but couldn't. I am now leaving MJ and I too am being charged $30 to port my number to another service. I would never refer MJ to anyone. I guess you get what you pay for..For them it is only about the money not providing a good service.  | |
| | | | Re: poor service As far as the $30 port out fee, there is no reference of it in their terms of service, and they are not allowed to refuse the port if you do not pay the fee. I don't think I would pay them.
»www.fcc.gov/guides/portability-k···roviders | |
| | | cb14
join:2013-02-04
Miami Beach, FL | Re: poor service I never paid the port out fees to MJ an I ported 2 numbers.
Apparently there are still some people who have consistently good call quality, I never met one in person but anything is possible. | |
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 Review by abitbent
member for 9 years, 198 visits, last login: 18 days ago
updated 105 days ago
- Brantford,ON
- $1 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 7 days
- "Cheap."
- "Call quality and hidden charges for Canadians"
- "Tired of the call quality and hidden fees."
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I was just looking to drop my Bell Canada land line. Everyone in the house has a mobile phone and I was paying an additional $80/month on a Bell land line with a few features.
Considered Vonage however I didn't like the fact that monthly credit card transactions was the only way to pay.
I've had MJ now for about 3 years and admittedly I'm getting tired of it. I mean you still can't beat the price but I've found call quality has dropped off within the last year. It's hit and miss.
I upgraded to the MJ Plus which plugs right into the router so the whole thing with needing a pc on 24 7 is not an issue any longer.
The yearly charge is $29 which is still dirt cheap, but they surprised me with also charging me and additional $10 each year for a "premium" number. All Canadian numbers are considered premium.
I went a couple of years without paying this, then all of a sudden MJ notified me that although I was paid for the service for the year, I'd lose my number if I didn't pay the premium for a Canadian number.
To me, this was a little underhanded and a little snake oil slick.
Still, the price is cheap but if I'm now looking at approaching 50 bucks a year, I may as well pay a few extra bucks for better call quality with another voip based system
I think I'm going to cancel MJ this year, I'm sort of tired of it.
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 Review by ImpldConsent
member for 12.2 years, 1727 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 130 days ago
- Mcdonough,Henry,GA
- $5 per month
- (12 month contract)
- "Works while Deployed. -- Now works at home."
- "Dunno yet."
- "If you're deployed military and have internet, this works!"
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UPDATE 8JAN2013: MJ had a deal that offered the MJ+ for 40.00 online. We did it based on my experience overseas. We transferred our number and eliminated our U-Verse home phone (45./month). The txfr was smooth and we have the MJ+ plugged into a switch. All is working well (sound check/call check/receive check). So: save 45/month, keep our phone number and all is well (so far).
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ORIGINAL REVIEW: Had MJ since March 2012. I'm in the military and deployed. After 4 times deployed, I finally got internet to myself (at a blistering $90.00/month for 128k down). This is a maintained commercial satellite (SniperHill), bunch-o-switches. I tried Skype to home (horrible), MS Messenger (horrible), Google Talk (decent). My wife then sent me a cheap phone and a MJ+.
I have got to say this is the best way to call home that I can think of. The only time it's 'ho-hum' is if our 'wired' network is down and I have to leech off the wireless backup. It's not the MJs fault, it's the provider. They can call me (local phone number), I can call them. They can leave me messages on my vmail and I even get the .wav file sent to my email.
I can't see this working any worse from the states where the connections are better and near zero latency. The thing with internet satellite is the minimum 700ms round trip latency. I don't know how MJ does it, but I get none of the guarenteed latency I expect from the terrestrial-->sat-->terrestrial. I speak, I get an immediate response.
Obviously a no-brainer install. For the MagicJack Plus there are 2 options - usb and direct RJ45. I used the USB to my laptop, the application was automatically installed once plugged in ... a few questions ... done. Once I get home, I think I'll drop my AT&T voice and move over to MJ.
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Review by (hidden by request)
(review was emailed from domain live.ca)
lodged 179 days ago
- N2H5L
- $40 per month
- "Works well most of time."
- "Customer service is worst I have ever had."
- "Don't buy Magic Jack!!!!~!!!"
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If your magic jack registered the first time you try, you're in luck for a while. However it does not, you may as well toss it out. They put you "under review" for any number of stupid reasons and won't allow you or anyone else to use that magic jack. I bought a "magic jack plus unit and was planning to switch to it at my next renewal. My son bought one to use as his main service for his first home. When we tried to register his unit, we used his credit card, which still had his old address on it. Thsi happened on Aug 4th, 2012. After spending hours on a "chat" with their customer service, we determined that the credit card was the problem. We then tried another credit card and still could not get it registered. Magic Jack customer service said they would "put in a ticket" and the responsible department would send us an email. A week went by and nothing, so I contacted them by "chat" again. (there may have been other "chats" but so much time has passed that I don't remember everything) After getting absolutely nowhere again after spending a long time on this chat, they again said they would "put in a ticket" and the responsible department would send us an email. So I used my magic jack that I had bought to use myself. Possibly because we used the same email address or physical address, they put that one "under review" as well. Fast forward to now, 13 weeks later. I have had many, many "chats" with them, spent countless hours trying to get my magic jacks working, and have now come to the conclusion that it will never happen. I live in Canada and have found a Canadian alternative that provides a much better deal, with no hassles and live bodies to talk to. With freephoneline.ca I bought a Grandview HT502 off the internet for $45.00 (included shipping and taxes), then paid $50.00 plus tax for some coding from freephoneline, and now I pay nothing ever again except 2 cents per minute for US long distance and any remote area of Canada not served by the main phone companies. I doubt I'll ever pay more than a few bucks a year for that. In addition, the sound quality is better, you can even use it for fax and modem calls and the company has been around for many years. NO MORE BILLS AT ALL and great customer service. (had to use it during setup)
For the people in the US, the best alternative I have found is netTalk DUO. Basically same as Magic Jack, but they have good reviews and live people to "talk" to. I suspect that Magic Jack will be out of business soon. They are really pushing the 5 year package hard, so I suspect they will get as much money in as possible, then leave their customers high and dry. I recommended them to many people and got them setup, but will now be changing them over to freephoneline.ca. I would not trust magic jack. We tried to return the second unit to Tiger Direct, but they will not accept returns for Magic Jack. Anything else they will, but not Magic Jack. Does that tell you something? 13 weeks now and not one email for either unit!
Comments:
 TSI MartinPremium
join:2006-02-23
Chatham, ON
kudos:23 | Maybe.... ...there was a mistake, maybe a lack of attention, but since you posted this in the TekSavvy review board, I was wondering if there is anything related to TekSavvy we may be of help with.
Thanks,
Martin
--
TSI Martin (Escalations / Social Media) - TekSavvy Solutions Inc.
Authorized TSI employee ( »»TekSavvy FAQ »Official support in the forum )
Follow me on Twitter : @TSIMartin | |
| | PX EliezerPremium
join:2008-08-09
Hutt River
kudos:13 | Re: Maybe.... Even more confusing, he gave a very bad review to MagicJack, yet he gave them top scores in each category. | |
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| | Impossible service renovation passing first year As I said, I tried many times to pay the service and the money allways rejected. I soke many times with the online chat service and they allways say that I should wait for a solutionfrom " the head office". I' talking about 4 month with cancelled service(means no phone calls in or out). Seems to me that nobody cares in this company for old custommers, but they still promoting their product to new people. This is an horrible service | |
| | | Local Incoming Calls I bought the Magic Jack & a local Canadian# (Halifax,NS) but was shocked to find out that anyone calling me had to pay long distance even though they had Halifax#s. After contacting customer support I was told that they had to pay long distance because the exchage#s were differant from the one assigned by Magic Jack even though they were all Halifax#s. That is rediculous !!!!! my next door neighbor has to pay long distance to call me !!!! I wouldn't have anyone calling me any more. I RETURNED THE EQUIPMENT back to the store & I would not recommend this to anyone. Sucks because I really wanted to dump the local phone company. | |
| | | RE :MAGIC JACK This company should not be in business. They have no contact #. They compare themselves with companies set up for online business and it has not been done properly. I bought a Magic Jack and on renewal, my # disappeared. They took my money but I have no #.They could not give me any specific answer. I was so mad and a friend bought me another one and upon renewal, they took my payment yet I could not make phone calls. They claimed my payment did not go through and I asked if I should do it again and the chat was disconnected saying " I have given you all the info. you requested and at this point I will end the communication" Even though i asked a question. Their online chat has no knowledge to explain and they play "hide and seek" with questions. I believe they do not know what they are doing as a company
. It is been poorly setup and unprofessional customer service. One by name Hazel disconnected a chat with me without addressing my concerns. Magic Jack has been rated cheap. What is cheap when your money is taken away with no offer, it ain't cheap at all.
If we stop buying, they will stop producing and be out of business and we would not have to deal with their un professionalism | |
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Review by sectvfreak
member for 2.5 years, 271 visits, last login: 95 days ago
lodged 266 days ago
- Kintnersville,Bucks,PA
- $2 per month
- about 3 days
- "cheap"
- "poor quality"
- "for this company you get what you pay for"
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its cheap and there's a reason the prices are so low overall poor quality product..
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Review by warnerma
member for 1 year, 10 visits, last login: 15 days ago
updated 342 days ago
- Toronto,ON
- Contract price not specified.
- "I have saved over $1000.00 in 3 yrs with MJ"
- "50% price increase last year"
- "Great Value"
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I have been running MJ since Aug '09 and cancelled my $25/mo land line shortly after. No set up problem at all. My cell will dial 911 if needed and we pay a fee for that. I have two laptops and use the 4 yr old laptop for a MJ server that is connected to wired DSL internet. Wireless can get choppy and may drop a call but no worse than dropped cell phone calls Wired calls have great sound . Have been able to call any # in North America no problem.. I just bought MJ+ and will run out my minutes on old MJ then transfer # to new one. $19.95 per yr to $29.95 is steep but value is still there, even getting dinged another $10/yr for a Cdn.#. Too bad some here are having problems.
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Review by Gate420
member for 351 days, 0 visits, last login: 351 days ago
lodged 351 days ago
- Midland,ON
 Business customer- $3 per month
- (72 month contract)
- about 30 days
- "Cheap"
- "Dropped calls sound quality sucks really bad"
- "I can't belive everyone says the sound is great."
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I am shocked I did a lot of research online before buying my MagicJack and signing up for 6 years of service that I can't get my money back.Every review I read said the sound quality was great as good as a cell phone or better what BS.I have even upgraded my router and internet plan for faster and better internet service I have tried there so called fixes for better sound quality and it really just sucks its the worst phone service ever it may be cheap and all but all it is good for is a fax machine or an answering machine.What ever you do stay away from this device for your regular home phone service. I had to call 911 once and it took like 4 different operators to get to my local 911 operator it was a very slow process. I am glad that no one was actually dying better off to use a cell phone for 911 then the MagicJack.Constantly dropping calls I have rogers cable internet with brand new lines brand new router I am getting download speed around 37 MBPS which is about 277.5 mb per minute it is pretty fast, upload speed is 1000 kbps which is about 7.5 mb a minute I am not sure if that is very good or not but upload is always way slower then downloading I am sure the problem is not my internet i have tried it plugged directly to the router through an Ethernet cable I have tried it through my computer sound quality doesn't change.
I would not recommend this product for a main phone I would only recommend for a fax machine if it would actually work for it I cant get mine working on either phone line I think cause I need a special cable or my fax machine on my printer just isn't working.
I think that is all I can say about this product but I don't believe others are being very honest about the sound quality I think because of the cost they are saying the quality is good for the price but if you are hard of hearing you don't want this at all when I call my mom she can't hear me at all even when she turns her hearing aid up so it just plain sucks  ) I really can't believe that people recommend and say that this is a good product it is NOT good stay away!!!!
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Reviews:
 ·magicjack.com
 ·TekSavvy DSL
1 edit | MJ or +? Did you get the MJ or MJ+?
If it is the USB style only, make certain it is plugged directly into the computer, not a hub. This is imperative, as the unit draws the full power from the connection. Even some powered hubs can cause extra grief.
My MJ (not the +) from '09 connects via the USB to the net via DSL (3008/512 IL). The only time it dropped my call was when I exceeded 90 minutes at one go to that number. Otherwise, it works quite well. Voice quality better than my cell; almost as good as POTS.
I would never trust it to replace my home line, or for 911.
For very economical LD calls, I have no qualms about the unit.
Never tried their tech support. My understanding is more people have had problems with the +, and tech support is 'an interesting experience'. In another thread, a query was raised if there was a prioritizing of the data the router was doing. They also like to block exchanges, which I'm not thrilled about.
Where did you get the unit? Would they take it back?
Faxing with this thing is a crap shoot, at best. | |
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 Review by RogersLite
member for 8.4 years, 785 visits, last login: 8 days ago
updated 1.1 years ago
- Canada
- $3 per month
- "Very cheap"
- "Doesn't come in Canadian numbers"
- "Awesome provider for the money"
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I love magicJack i use it for my secondary home phone in my house. It paid the 40 dollars @ the start + tax. Really good service cheap and quite useful. Matches with all the stuff i use it for. Kinda good to keep people for not knowing who you are.
Call quality is good and + works well with my DIR-615 with QOS
resources aren't very much but it runs well i can't complain.
It can get a lil choppy due to my heavy downloading but nothing wrong.
Sometimes hiccups but it's fine.
Update: been using it for a year now. It's been alright. since the computer i use is now in more heavier use it gets more choppier since there are more cpu cycles devoted. Can't complain about that since when on idle it's fine. Note to not use it on a wireless connection otherwise it's fine.
Anyways got billed 20 dollars USD and there goes one year.
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| | Fraud - You pay 2 cents/minute to call a conference line They do not advertise that you have to pay additional to call a conference line even though a call to that conference line is not considered international calling or even long distance calling from a regular home or cellular telephone. Costs 2 cents per minute. | |
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Review by Sarentack
member for 5.2 years, 143 visits, last login: 56 days ago
updated 1.1 years ago
- Lumberton,Lamar,MS
- Contract price not specified.
- (12 month contract)
- about 3 days
- "$20 a year, easy to install, works like a phone service"
- "lack of phone numbers, tech support."
- "Its worth getting only if your internet connection is always stable"
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Its worth the money especially if you call LD. I plan on replacing my landline service with it because my connection is stable all the time, no problems with it so far.
The downside to the magicjack is not the device itself, but actually finding a good standalone internet service, cable may not be ideal but it all depends on where you live to. DSL seems to work best with MJ or a Cable internet service, basically want a stable internet connection and it will serve you well.
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Faxing with MagicJack
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Not Totally Free Calls to USA