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margioa
Premium
join:2007-04-06
Nicaragua | Your Opinion about MJ Guys, which is your general opinion about MJ. Bad, Good, Excellent. What codec does it uses?
Is it worth it? I have a SIP account with iconnecthere.com. Very good IMO. | |
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margioa
Premium
join:2007-04-06
Nicaragua
 ·deltathree
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ Yeap, thank you much | |
| rattfan69
join:2009-08-19
Freeport, IL
1 edit | Well it would not be bad if I could have gotten it to work. Instead the ports I need are closed. Also tech support should not take 7 hours and still nothing worked after all that. I am going to have to say I don't have a good opinion of this product.
My mom has magic jack and the thing keeps disconnecting. I can't get it to work on my PC. I give this 0 stars. Sorry but when I buy something true it is cheap but it should work, well it doesn't work.
So How do I rate this product, well lets see it never worked for me, so it is hard to say if I like or not. All I got was a dial tone.
I was never able to make calls on my home phone. However my mom's phone is a magic jack and the phone kept disconnecting.
I know it is a cheap phone service but it doesn't do me a bit of good if it doesn't work. They need to make a Mj that works if your computer ports are closed, or blocked. | |
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amigo_boy
join:2005-07-22
Tempe, AZ
 ·Cox HSI
·magicjack.com
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ said by rattfan69  :the ports I need are closed. MJ only requires outbound ports. If you're behind a corporate firewall with an HTTP proxy to access the internet, you can use Skype or vbuzzer.com (which both have options to work over a proxy).
If your own personal firewall blocks access to the internet (perhaps only for less-popular ports and protocols), that's your fault. Not MJ's.
Mark | |
| | | rattfan69
join:2009-08-19
Freeport, IL
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ I did have my firewall turned off and it still did not work. Someone from MJ tech had access to my pc and they could not get it to work. I seen them changing my firewall settings and after it was turned off it still did not work. I should not even have to use ports to get a phone service to work in my opinion, but since I had to my ports are closed. At least with Lingo I don't have to worry about my ports being closed or not. I am saying the person from MJ tech could not even get it to work when I gave them access to my computer screen. They were able to change options in my computer. After 7 hours, nothing, did not work. It's magic crap. | |
| | | | | | | rattfan69
join:2009-08-19
Freeport, IL | Also with Skype others have to use Skype for it to be free. No one I know used Skype, so then I would get charged anyway. I figure at least for 27 a month I can handle that as a phone bill will no charges for long distance. | |
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rsa0
join:2003-01-25
Birmingham, AL
·Charter Pipeline
| My personal experience is that the service is a ripoff but has extraordinary marketing that fools a lot of people. I am one of the ones that fall for it, and I should have known better. Here are the reasons why I think that:
- customer (non)service is totally inept and can't even read properly some scripts. In most of the cases the issue won't be solved even after a few hours.
- whenever they get on line, they are juggling 7-8 customers at one time and you may get some one else answer instead;
- the device is not reliable at all - is still not out of the kitchen; I had now 3 changed, with hardware failure; is more like hit and miss to get a good one. Personally, I don't think they are even made in China...some where in Pakistan at best;
- flimsy and buggy : need to have a certain phone, certain USB port, some ports forwarded, not too long of a cable, etc...
- Needs a computer at all times - yes, I knew that from the beginning, but for the quality you get in long run, is better off to get a sipura and get a Free World Dial up account with IPkal
Bottom line, not worth the money and the time one has to spend with stupid, uneducated customer support. | |
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amigo_boy
join:2005-07-22
Tempe, AZ
·Cox HSI
·magicjack.com
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ said by rsa0 :Bottom line, not worth the money and the time one has to spend with stupid, uneducated customer support. That's not the bottom line for a lot of people. I've saved about $400 over the past year using MJ.
It's taken a lot of work and ingenuity at times. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. And, you're right that the company seems to be run by PT Barnum. But, if someone can get past all that, and has the ability to make it work, and maybe some luck is involved (not to be one of the people with an unexplainable problem), they can save some serious money.
Mark | |
| gonz110
join:2000-12-07
Talbott, TN
| I have had MJ for several months now and it's my only home phone service. It has dropped a few calls but overall I have no complaints. I have recommended it to several of my friends. The only thing I would like to see is a version that plugs into the router so I don't have to leave a computer running. | |
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Gork
Ou812ic
join:2001-10-06
Juneau, AK
·magicjack.com
| I've been using MJ as my main phone line now for about 4 months. It's been bumpy, but not not as bumpy as Vonage was when I joined up with them and VoIP for the masses was a new technology. I leave my computer on all the time anyway, so no big deal there - and I have a cell phone for back up when needed. For $20/yr? The bumps are well worth it to me. For $20/mo? NO WAY I'd do it.
The software is buggy and causes problems with other software I run on my machine. Granted, I run a LOT of software on my machine! Again though, for $20/yr I've been dealing with it fine. But between that, the way I don't like the "virtual drive" it creates and because the MJ software likes to take over anything else I'm doing on the computer when a phone call comes in - I've ordered an el cheapo computer off eBay to just run the MJ in the back room.
For a plug-n-play experience with no problems, few dropped calls, little noise when you're trying to talk and the like I'd go with something else. If you don't mind giving up something closer to perfection for a HUGE savings, and you don't mind issues requiring reboots, software updates or restarts from time to time I say go for it. | |
| | keithrunfola
join:2001-12-03
Atlanta, GA
·Comcast
1 edit | Re: Your Opinion about MJ The previous post is pretty much my experience and my feelings also.
I tried MJ on my computer though I pretty much knew it wasn't going to stay there. Good thing too. My computer was not happy at all with MJ. Everything slowed to a crawl. Hooked it up to the wife's computer which is WAY less burdened with soft/hardware. Not bad but not real good either. Choppy audio has been about the only issue, but pretty bad sometimes. I was in the middle of refurbishing an old computer just for kicks and decided to dedicate it to MJ. I implemented just about every suggestion I read about to make MJ happy. Some suggestions are in conflict such as, "plug the MJ directly into the USB port" and "get a USB extension and get the MJ away from the computer". (I chose the latter). I really can't say which, if any suggestion actually helped but I'm about 80% happy. The 80% includes the fact that it usually has good audio quality and that it's only $20 per year. I would say that if you enjoy trouble-shooting, give it a try. | |
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brut7
join:2000-10-06
Babylon, NY
·magicjack.com
2 edits | It works great. Dedicated and old laptop with a fresh install of xp and only anti-virus. P3 based laptop.
USB 2.0 card.
Works like a charm, use the old laptop as a gizmo.
Wife call canada several times a day.
Runs my 3 wireless phone system no problem.
Good ISP is the key and a clean computer to run it on.
YES it works as advertised, I'm VERY happy with MJ.
If anyone tells you it sux, they just don't have the knowledge to use it right (and you don't need much) or have a bad ISP or an agenda.
You really need solid cable or FIOS as with any voip and MJ uses the best codec.
DSL sucks for the most part unless you have a dedicated t1 or better and even then ping times probably suck.
MJ gets two thumbs up from me and their is no question that I will happily renew.
I just hope they stay afloat, I was on on Sunrocket and loved that too.
Best Wishes | |
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Cablespider
join:2001-01-10
Hammond, IN | It's served me well since the first of the year. I have had zero problems. Using an old laptop tucked away in the corner of the office. My only complaint is no local number. | |
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imanogre
join:2005-11-29
Mcdonough, GA
| For those of you complaning about the system taking over, download the free app... magicblock. It keeps magicblock from popping up EVER!!! With this app installed I actually enjoy using magicjack. I have had mine for 3 months and no problems except when i'm doing some hardcore uploading. | |
| | Sarentack
join:2008-02-07
Lumberton, MS
·magicjack.com
 ·EarthLink
·AT&T DSL Service
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ I like it, I replaced my phone service with it and the only real problem I have had is a couple numbers not getting through, not sure if its on their end or mine, after changing the number on my MJ it didnt help none.
What I did was have a good reliable internet, but I have a PC just for the MJ outside of my own, that way its always idling with nothing loading or interrupting it. | |
| 
Bennyguy
join:2001-01-08
Ottawa, ON
| Well, I think it would have been great to use,..... BUT, I live in Canada and because they don't have any CDN area codes it's crap for us up here. Useful for out going calls only.
And of course I fell for the marketing gimmick, "in a short time and we will have Canadian area codes". Well it's been over 2 years now and I still don't see any offered, and probably never will.
Another scam for me is when I bought the device it came with one year of service for $50. But before I finalized my purchase I added the 5 year service add on. Well its only four years in total, not five. I called their tech support requesting info on my account as it wasn't showing up on my log in screen. I spent an hour trying to explain that I paid for an extra four years (which originally I thought was five+plus the year with the purchase of the MJ), on top of the original fee for the first year which would make it five years in total. Nope they say I am just covered for four years.
Not impressed at all...total marketing BS. I now use Freephoneline"DOT"ca and there is just a one time cost of a VOIP modem and a fee of $55.50 CDN for your SIP info. Worth every cent so far I can call any major city in Canada for free and with no monthly bills at all.
Regards, | |
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amigo_boy
join:2005-07-22
Tempe, AZ
·Cox HSI
·magicjack.com
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ said by Bennyguy :Another scam for me is when I bought the device it came with one year of service for $50. But before I finalized my purchase I added the 5 year service add on. Well its only four years in total, not five. I fell for that too. I remember it was my first impression that, when dealing with the folks at MJ, I should keep my hand on my wallet.
In fairness, the offer was to buy the "5-year plan" for an additional amount of money. After being taken, I realized I hadn't fully appreciated the subtle language MJ used. They were offering to replace the 1-year plan with a 5-year plan. Not an additional 5 years.
However, this eventually came back and bit MJ. Customers asked for the 5-year deal to be available after purchase. It was added to the account portal. That started to cause problems when people switched from a 1-year plan to 5-year after consuming half their 1-year plan. Their start date (of 4 extra years) was set back to their initial subscription, not the time of purchase.
This exploded Thanksgiving weekend, 2008 when they offered the 5-year plan via a softphone ad. This time the language was even more careless (misleading). MJ suffered a huge backlash (complaints to the BBB, credit card companies, etc.). They had to give everyone who purchased through the ad or the account portal 5 years, not 4.
Mark | |
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Gork
Ou812ic
join:2001-10-06
Juneau, AK
·magicjack.com
| I was afraid about stuff like that happening, and after the Sunrocket fiasco I went through I'm very leary about buying out too much time ahead. I figured taking the chance on losing all or part of the money wasn't worth the savings I'd get over $20/yr. Plus, I wasn't completely convinced I'd be happy with the service.
I posted earlier in this thread that I was ordering a "newold" computer just to run MJ. It arrived and I have it up and running - I've moved the MJ device over to that computer. I rarely receive caller ID information on my phones anymore. I even bought a powered USB hub hoping that might solve the problem, but no go. Ah well. | |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| said by margioa :Guys, which is your general opinion about MJ. Bad, Good, Excellent. What codec does it uses? Is it worth it? I have a SIP account with iconnecthere.com. Very good IMO. Their underhanded coding of the softphone to open the dongle flash for read/write prematurely killing the flash ensuring repeat dongle purchases. I can't in good conscience recommend MJ to anyone anymore.
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When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more new yonooz tonigh molinigh - Ken Lee | |
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Gork
Ou812ic
join:2001-10-06
Juneau, AK
·magicjack.com
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ said by dvd536 :Their underhanded coding of the softphone to open the dongle flash for read/write prematurely killing the flash ensuring repeat dongle purchases. I can't in good conscience recommend MJ to anyone anymore. I'm not convinced this is purposeful yet because I've read several posts indicating they will replace the dongle for free if you have a current account. Stupid? Maybe, but not necessarily purposeful - unless you have different info of course. | |
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amigo_boy
join:2005-07-22
Tempe, AZ
·Cox HSI
·magicjack.com
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ said by Gork :said by dvd536 :Their underhanded coding of the softphone to open the dongle flash for read/write prematurely killing the flash ensuring repeat dongle purchases. I can't in good conscience recommend MJ to anyone anymore. I'm not convinced this is purposeful yet because I've read several posts indicating they will replace the dongle for free if you have a current account. Stupid? Maybe, but not necessarily purposeful - unless you have different info of course. I agree. It's not rational to believe MJ is slowly destroying the purchased USB device to induce the user to buy a new one.
For one thing, if they wanted to make money selling replacement USB devices it would use version numbers to signify improvements in hardware, and sell them standalone to existing customers.
By not selling USB devices, I guess it could be said that MJ makes more money by selling a year's time bundled with the USB device. But, they're incurring support costs dealing with broken USB devices. Plus, the bad word of mouth associated with broken service (and dealing with inept offshore support). After all that, MJ replaces the USB device for free.
I'm pretty critical of MJ's business practices. But, in the case of the softphone opening the flash drive for write every 3 seconds, I think it's just an example of poor programming. Like adding "Normal/Air Card" to the title bar, and then using an advertisement pointing to the options, saying "don't use this."
Mark | |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ said by amigo_boy :said by Gork :said by dvd536 :Their underhanded coding of the softphone to open the dongle flash for read/write prematurely killing the flash ensuring repeat dongle purchases. I can't in good conscience recommend MJ to anyone anymore. I'm not convinced this is purposeful yet because I've read several posts indicating they will replace the dongle for free if you have a current account. Stupid? Maybe, but not necessarily purposeful - unless you have different info of course. I agree. It's not rational to believe MJ is slowly destroying the purchased USB device to induce the user to buy a new one. For one thing, if they wanted to make money selling replacement USB devices it would use version numbers to signify improvements in hardware, and sell them standalone to existing customers. By not selling USB devices, I guess it could be said that MJ makes more money by selling a year's time bundled with the USB device. But, they're incurring support costs dealing with broken USB devices. Plus, the bad word of mouth associated with broken service (and dealing with inept offshore support). After all that, MJ replaces the USB device for free. Maybe if bought directly from them but what about those that bought from 3rd party resellers e.g. walmart, walgreens, CVS, best buy etc will NOT be replaced hence my repeat dongle sales arguement when flash is exhausted.
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When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more new yonooz tonigh molinigh - Ken Lee | |
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amigo_boy
join:2005-07-22
Tempe, AZ
·Cox HSI
·magicjack.com
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ said by dvd536 :what about those that bought from 3rd party resellers e.g. walmart, walgreens, CVS, best buy etc will NOT be replaced hence my repeat dongle sales arguement when flash is exhausted. I don't know how many that is, or how many of those retailers won't replace. Ex., Best Buy's website says MJ comes with a 1-year parts and labor warranty.
And, MJ has said they warrant the product regardless of where it's purchased. That policy doesn't seem to be fully understood by chat support. People have to work hard to get it.
But, I don't think that poor policy communication supports a view that the 3-second write thing is proof of a concerted effort to sell more MJ units. I think it's just part of MJ's demonstrated ineptness. Which was once represented by an F rating at the BBB (before Dan joined and paid the protection money).
The 3-second write thing as a surreptitious way to force more sales doesn't add up to me. MJ isn't consistently pursuing that goal. It's so inconsistent that it's hard to believe.
Mark | |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ Correct me if i'm wrong but i do remember reading a post here about MJ not honoring warranties if the unit was purchased through a third party entity such as a big box store.
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When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more new yonooz tonigh molinigh - Ken Lee | |
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amigo_boy
join:2005-07-22
Tempe, AZ
·Cox HSI
·magicjack.com
| Re: Your Opinion about MJ said by dvd536 :Correct me if i'm wrong but i do remember reading a post here about MJ not honoring warranties if the unit was purchased through a third party entity such as a big box store. I've seen others (on magicjacksupport.com) saying that after escalating the issue they got it replaced.
That's a lot like the warranty itself. Originally the warranty came only when you bought the "gold" plan at time of purchase. It was a selling point for the "gold" plan. Later, after MJ began selling additional years through the account portal and softphone ad, there was confusion over who's devices were warranted. Chat support said nobody was. But, after a few people escalated to Dan (or Ricard the support manager), MJ's official line was that all devices were warranted. But, it still took awhile for that policy to reach chat support.
I think what's happening is that chat support has a procedure for replacing the device. It probably includes proof of ownership. That procedure was implemented before MJ began selling through retail stores.
I'm not sure what happens today if someone buys at Radio Shack and has a problem a year later with the device. And, if chat support is a problem, what escalating the problem will lead to.
But, it's hard to believe the ambiguity of 3rd-party retailers is part of MJ's "deliberate ploy" to exhaust the USB's flash drive to force customers to buy a new device. If that were true we'd expect MJ to not warrant the devices they sell directly. And, then they incur all the negative word of mouth from dead devices and the 12 hours people spend with chat support following a brain-dead script.
It seems self-destructive. And, it's inconsistent (3rd party retailers only).
To me, the 3-second write looks like the kind of crummy programming you get from offshore developers. And, the inability to fix it (along with inconsistencies in how the warranty is handled) is the kind of poor management we've seen from MJ since Day 1.
Mark | |
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dbarber
join:2000-07-25
West Chester, PA
| said by dvd536 :Their underhanded coding of the softphone to open the dongle flash for read/write prematurely killing the flash ensuring repeat dongle purchases. I can't in good conscience recommend MJ to anyone anymore. Last winter, my MJ died just after I had renewed for another year. When I explained that the blue LED wouldn't light up, they replaced the device with NO problems.
Did it die because of the constant read/write cycles? Damned if I know. If this one dies, I expect them to replace it too!
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These opinions are strictly my own. However, if you really want them, we can negotiate. | |
| 
MOBOOG
@charter.com
| For the first couple weeks I was impressed with MJ although my wife said she had problems right away. Didn't see the problems myself until another couple weeks went by. Now I've had problems with the other party not be able to hear me (voice drop outs) for three days in a row. Simply couldn't complete the conversations. From my experience MJ is just not reliable enough so I would not recommend it. I plan to try a cheap VOIP provider like PhonePower or? | |
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Gork
Ou812ic
join:2001-10-06
Juneau, AK | Heck, as long as the silly things last a year I ALMOST wouldn't mind just getting a new one for $40 every year instead of just renewing my existing account for $20... | |
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