Comments on: MagicJack

By: Emily N.

Emily N. — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 07:00:15 +0000

Hi, I’m very interested in Linux but Im a Super Newbie and I’m having trouble deciding on the right distribution for me (Havent you heard this a million times?) anyway here is my problem, I need a distribution that can switch between reading and writing in English and Japanese (Japanese Language Support) with out restarting the operating system.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Sat, 22 May 2010 03:45:09 +0000

I can’t complain too much based on what this thing actually cost me. It’s relatively simple to install and get going. They didn’t have any local phone numbers for my area code so I had to choose one out side my area. That’s not a big deal, except that my friends who also live local, had to call my long distance. MagicJack also doesn’t has any phone features as some of the bigger VoIP providers. Sure, the price is almost too good to be true. From time to time, I don’t get a dial tone and have to try a few times to get one. However, it has been working about 96% of the time so that’s good news. At less than $2 per day, it’s just about cheaper that any other VoIP plan.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Fri, 21 May 2010 03:00:04 +0000

I got sucked in by the massive marketing campaign put out by magic jack. I purchased this device from my local drug store for about $40. Due to the low price of this service, I wasn’t expecting a whole heck of a lot from it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t too far off.

Installation and setup was pretty simple. I don’t think the average internet user would have a problem with this part. The first thing you notice is that the number of phone features is limited compared to other voip plans. It does have the basic stuff like caller ID and call waiting so that’s ok.

The major issue I had was with reliability and sound quality. About half the time or more I wasn’t able to make calls. I would dial a number and nothing would happen. Other times I would pick up the phone and not even get a dial tone. Rebooting my PC would sometimes fix the problem.

The other issue was sound quality. Numerous times I had a problem hearing the caller and vice versa. Or, I would get a call, pick up the phone, start talking, and the caller kept saying hello and finally hung up.

So, I wasn’t expecting much from MagicJack for something that costs $20 per year. Yes, it’s a great price. And yes it’s cheap alternative for those who want to makes calls on a leisurely basis. If you have a requirement to make calls on a regular basis, I would probably go with a more reliable voip service like Vonage, Phone Power, or ViaTalk.

By: Horrace

Horrace — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 20:01:12 +0000

When it’s working, it’s great. When it’s not, it’s the worst POS I ever bought. I realize now that MagicJack, along with any other VoIP service, is only as good as your internet connection. The price can’t be touched by anybody at $20 per year. That has to be the top selling point. I am sure other voip providers are more reliable, but then I would be paying $20 per month, which is not something I care to do. Yes, MJ works. Does it work 100% of the time as I want it to? Not really, but I can live with it.

By: Marty

Marty — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:12:51 +0000

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:09:50 +0000

By: Ron

Ron — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:57:50 +0000

I had seen MagicJack on TV commercials for quite some time now. Even my wife suggested I should at least try it out. I remember exactly what I told her then, “it looks really hokey”. So I was at WalMart checkout counter buying groceries recently and there was a MagicJack sitting there with all the “As Seen On TV” products. For whatever reason, I decided that the $39 was a small enough amount to waste to try this thing out. I think I bought it just to prove to my wife that it was junk.

The next day, I plugged the MagicJack adapter it into a USB port on my laptop and it started to automatically download the software. I also plugged my phone into the MagicJack adapter. That took maybe 2 minutes or less. I then had to register the product online and select a phone number. That took maybe 4 minutes.

The install/setup was complete and it took about 8 minutes in total. The MagicJack was ready to go, in theory. I was still convinced this MagicJack thing wouldn’t live up to its commercial hype. However, I picked up the phone and made my first phone call on MagicJack.

Ok, so I was dead wrong about MagicJack. The call I made to a friend worked great. The sound quality was excellent as if I was using my regular landline phone. I then had someone call me on my MagicJack line. The phone rang, I had a normal conversation and again was shocked by how well this thing worked.

After letting my wife know she was right and I was wrong, I started looking at all the features. Free local and long distance calling, Free phone number, Free Call Waiting, Voicemail, and Caller ID. In fact, MagicJack comes with more features that my landline phone.

The other positive is that if you travel just take your MagicJack with you. As long as you have a broadband internet connection, like in a hotel, you can use your MagicJack to make free calls while away from home.

So there is a few negatives. Your PC that has the MagicJack adapter connected has to be on for you to make or receive phone calls. Also, when you make and receive calls, a MagicJack GUI pops up on your screen, which can be minimized. I did have to re-call a friend last week because I could hear them but they couldn’t hear me. So far, that has only happened 1 time out of 100 calls I have made or received.

After 1 year, I will no doubt order another year of service for the $19.95 or so. In fact, the MagicJack GUI on your PC often shows promotional offers where you can prepay for 5 years of service for something like $55.