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lugnut
@look.ca

lugnut to rcky

Anon

to rcky

Re: Help I am confused

I bought and installed a MJ+ last year around xmas.

After using it for 6 months I'd say it's ok as a second line long distance phone but I kept my primary Bell line with minimal service for 911 emergency and local service.

I would definitely NOT consider it to be the only phone in my home with an 88 year old senior living in my house.

I've had to reset it after it locked up perhaps 2 or 3 times in the past 6 months. Also calls are somewhat noisier than Bell but acceptable quality considering the LD savings. Also I've had about 1 in 10 calls terminate on me unexpectedly in the middle requiring calling back.

On the plus side however, North American LD calls are free of charge and we call relatives in Austria and Germany two or three times a month and have half hour conversations. So far that's cost me about $8 in International Credit.

Since I've installed by removing the LD plans from our Bell Phone we've saved about $30 a month.

It's also nice having a second line when the other phone is occupied.

All in all I don't regret getting it. As long as you realize it's not a "real" phone in terms of reliability and quality and that you get what you pay for, it is quite serviceable at what it does accomplish and what it's intended to do.

If you are planning to get one to save on long distance calls, then by all means I say go ahead and buy one. If you intend to replace your home phone entirely however, I'd say look around for a better alternative. Bell's 99.99999% uptime is hard to beat, and if you are dealing with someone stroking out on your kitchen floor, I'd NEVER want to have to deal with MagicJack's 911 service.

MagicalPig
join:2008-07-25

MagicalPig

Member

I second the above post.
vintagewino
join:2003-07-22
Grimsby, ON

vintagewino to lugnut

Member

to lugnut
Pretty well agree with Lugnut. I have the original unit I got in early '09. Use it for all my LD. Call quality cannot be argued about - about as good as the POTS. Certainly better than a cell.

All you get with their Caller ID are the 10 digits. Good enough for me. Doesn't matter, as I use it as outgoing calls only.

I would NOT consider it as my primary phone, NOR would I think of porting my phone # to MJ, NOR would I consider the Canadian # offering. The last 2 items are additional charges/year. Just have my simple US phone #, and that's it.

Had occasion 16 months ago to call 911 due to a cardiac arrest. With POTS, no problem. Help was there in minutes. Last thing you need is a screw-up in a VOIP system when they try to figure out just exactly where you are on the continent. The clock is ticking for the patient at this point....
Nailgunner
join:2010-09-28

Nailgunner

Member

said by vintagewino:

Pretty well agree with Lugnut.

To each his own, but I pretty well couldn't disagree more with both of you. I have used MJ for close to 3 years now (have been using the GVJack App almost exclusively for the last few months however).

The only thing I have regretted in dumping my POTS and using MJ as my primary phone is that I didn't do it sooner.

Not sure how it works in Canada, but their 911 set-up worked perfect when I used it to report a car accident in the neighborhood last year. They told me where I was calling from as opposed to having to figure out where on the continent I was.

The device obviously doesn't work for everyone, for many reasons. But if it does work, I think it's a complete waste of money to keep an active POTS line.

I do agree with the porting advice, especially with them charging an annual fee for the privilege. Tell friends and family that they will get over the pain of a new number in a few weeks.

To Sr Tech. Unless things have changed recently, Caller ID services have always generally been broken down between "Caller ID" and "Caller ID with Name".

bitstopjoe
join:2009-08-02
Pen Argyl, PA

bitstopjoe

Member

Yep in fact some landlines used to, and some still do, charge extra for Caller ID with Name....
vintagewino
join:2003-07-22
Grimsby, ON

vintagewino

Member

Bell charges for 911 service access, as well as "Touchtone Service". When's the last time anyone's used a pulse dial or rotary dial phone??

Naturally, call display, waiting, forwarding, are all extras at a significant additional cost.

lugnut
@look.ca

lugnut to Nailgunner

Anon

to Nailgunner
Like I said, I've had to crawl down to the basement router and reset my MJ+ three times in the six months that I've had it after it locked up for no reason.

For 911 calls if my old man was having a heart attack never mind the quality of MJ+'s 911 service, that is still far from an acceptable failure rate for any sort of primary home phone service.

Lots of people have their own personal grudges against Bell for whatever reason, but for general phone service reliability and 911 response there simply isn't anything better out there.
Nailgunner
join:2010-09-28

Nailgunner

Member

said by lugnut :

Like I said, I've had to crawl down to the basement router and reset my MJ+ three times in the six months that I've had it after it locked up for no reason.

For 911 calls if my old man was having a heart attack never mind the quality of MJ+'s 911 service, that is still far from an acceptable failure rate for any sort of primary home phone service.

Lots of people have their own personal grudges against Bell for whatever reason, but for general phone service reliability and 911 response there simply isn't anything better out there.

And lots of people, like myself, have found MJ to be as reliable as the old Bell companies. Others, like yourself, have not.

As far as 911, if the VOIP system I was using, or my electricity, was out and I could not call 911 with my VOIP, I would pick up my cell phone and call them. Not sure about Canada, but here in the states, 911 response time to cell calls from home are just as reliable and quick as land-line calls. Heck, you don't even need an active cell phone since old cell phones will still call 911. I am way past wasting my money on a POTS service, but again, to each his own.