Magic Jack WARNING DONT BUY Internet

Over the past 2 to 3 years that we've had our magic jack, they've gotten much better, in terms of call quality.  There are still certain problems with them, for example I know of one huge corporation that if I try to call any of their several hundred (regular verizon phone numbers) they will not be able to hear me when I use my magic jack.  If i call this same company using my cell phone there is no problem with the connection.

Overall, I'm pleased with the quality that has gotten better over the past 3 years.  Sure there were times when the service kind of sucked wind, and would be in and out, but overall it's become more stable for us.

As far as leaving the computer on 24/7, well maybe it's time to invest in the new magic jack that doesn't even require being plugged into a computer anymore, and it only needs to be plugged into your home router which for most people i imagine is left on 24/7 anyway.

I know that's the next magic jack that we'll be buying once the really old laptop that we leave on 24/7 to run our magic jack finally dies.  Shouldn't be too long now judging by the noises that the fans make in our laptop.  I'm definitely looking forward to upgrading to the computer less magic jack version and putting a couple more bucks in my own pocket instead of the electric companies coffers every month.

Anyway, just wanted to say... The service has definitely improved for us over the past 2 to 3 years.

We've had a Magic Jack for over 3 years and except for an occasional stoppage from Cox cable, our internet provider, we haven't lost any calls and the service is excellent. We've called customer service a few times and they've responded quickly, efficiently and were very cordial on the phone. Can't tell any difference between our former landline and MagicJack. Matter of fact, my wife is on her way to purchase a 2nd Magic Jack for her computer right now.

If you buy phone service from your cable provider, you get the same small jack that installs in seconds as the Magic Jack. Cox cable, our provider offers phone service for $19.99 a month. We paid $39.95 for the Jack and a years service at the beginning. Now it costs us $19.95 a YEAR for phone service.

If you know how a product works, you can use it to it's full potential.

When my computer ( laptop) is off I still get my Majic Jack phone calls. Majic Jack calls can be forwarded to another phone number. If my computer is off, I forward the calls to my cell phone, so if someone calls my Majic Jack phone number while I'm not at home, it rings my cell, even with my computer shut off. Even if you have your computer off,  and don't have it forwarded, the voicemail goes to a .wav file in an e-mail attachment. So if you logon to any computer and get your mail while not at home you can pick up your messages, and if you have Majic Jack with you, plug it in, it installs automatically in mintes, and you can returns the call right then and there. If you are back at home, you probably have your computer on at this point and can call them back. I have had a Majic Jack for a few years now, and am paid up to 2014. If I ever had to get rid of my cell phone, I would still have a phone number I could be contacted at. Heck, with a laptop that has a wireless card, you could just go to a wireless location, say Panera, Some MacDonald's have free wireless, and with a head set make and recieve phone calls from your laptop should you financials have a down turn and require tightening the budget requiring you to get rid of your cell phone. I still have a good phone number for employers to call should such an event occur. So in this respect, Majic Jack would be a backup plan and number I can depend on if times got tough.

You can also carry it with you and if you have access to any computer, like at my Mom's home in another state, I can just plug it in to her computer, it installs itself in minutes,  and use it right a way. This product is very versatile and portable. I have a Verizon Hotspot ( USB device that allows 5 wireless connections) and use it with my laptop and netbook, etc,  so anywhere I am, with the majic jack plugged in I can make phone calls, even from my sailboat, in the car...anywhere. It works with a wireless hotspot, it has a selection for what type of connection your using.

Also, while traveling for a legal matter, I used my Majic Jack in my Hotel room to make phone calls using the Hotels wireless connection and also used my portable printer fax to fax documents to a local attorney. It worked flawlessly, try that from a cell phone.

So as you can see, Majic Jack is quite versatile. You just have to be a little technically savy to put it to use in so many ways. I give Majic Jack 5 Stars.

I signed up for this junk today after watching a TV ad that offered service for $1.70 a month ($20.40 a year). i went on the website and signed up giving my info (including credit card). I received a confirmation email that told me I was being charged $39.95 for a year (+s/h). I tried to contact them, and of course the only way was through chat. So I chatted with Fiona, whom I could not convince that $39.95 is more than the $20.40 advertised on TV. I cancelled my order, and I will see if they charged my credit card (I was supposed to have a 30 day risk free trial). I started a complaint with the BBB. I hope all the other victoms of this scam do the same.

 

All internet providers today use a service called E911 (E-911) which the phone number itself doesn't matter as long as you keep your location updated.  Every provider has it's own form online to update your current location.

E-911 uses a direct 2xDS-0 (at minimum) to the local 911 center

Every provider means every provider as it is an FCC mandate.

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)-(j), 251(e), 303(r), and 615a-1 unless otherwise noted.

Source: 70 FR 37286,31874 June 29, 2005, unless otherwise noted.

 

Seriously, wake up grow a pair and get a life. You are insane, you except premium service for 19 a year? Are you on welfare and excepting Obama to rub your feet and buy your meals?

First of all, I realize that the proper use of the English language is becoming more and more rare, but if this individual had used correct grammer and spelling, I would have taken the comments more seriously.  It was marginally painful trying to sift through the bad English just to read the darn thing!

Now, I cannot address ALL of the criticisms in this person's ramblings (I don't expect to live that long), but I can solve one thing that seems to keep him/her awake at night.  The issue involves the computer and how magicJack uses it.  Yes, the power to your computer does have to remain constant - big deal.  I have one desktop and two laptops in my house, and all three remain on 24/7.  With the proper virus software, continually updated, one need not worry about infections.

I mentioned that I have two laptops.  One of them is dedicated entirely to magicJack.  I don't surf the Web with it, I don't check email with it, I don't shop online with it, I don't do ANYTHING with it, except run magicJack through it.  And before you comment, no, I am not rich.  I simply visited a local used computer shop and bought a five-year-old Dell Latitude for $125.00.  When I got it home, I completely re-imaged it, loading it with Windows XP, and absolutely nothing else.  I also went to Wal-Mart and bought a $30.00 electric cooling pad on which to place the laptop, knowing that it would be operating 24/7.

Through my research (see that?  r-e-s-e-a-r-c-h... try it sometime), I discovered that magicJack does indeed sell your information to third parties.  I mean, think about it - you didn't really think that they made their money selling that little device, did you?  You know what Brad Pitt said in the movie Inglourious Basterds... "if it sounds to good to be true, it ain't."  But, by dedicating one computer to nothing but magicJack, they collect no information from me.  I don't surf with it, so there's nothing for them to see.  I also set up a new email address through Yahoo!, so any emails I get from them don't clog up my real email account.

I could go on and on, and the purpose of this writing isn't so much to tell everyone the proper way to use magicJack, as much as it is to show you how simple it is to defeat the "evil bastards" at that company.  This is America, folks!  Free market economy!  Don't expect the federal government to clean up your messes.  If you do things logically, there will be no messes to clean up!

No, I do not work for magicJack.  No, I do not know anyone who works for magicJack.  Yes, my work here is done.

My name is Albert, and I am saving a ton of money with magicJack.

God, I do enjoy proper English.

Seems you never read the FAQs and other reports easily available on the web about how this device works. I have used it for long time and found it to be perfectly fine. The minor inconveniences of windows poppilng up etc. are not worth the discussion. Anyway, I use a low-end laptop and multi-task while the phone using majicjack is on - and have never had any computer problems.

This is a great device and so low priced - you can travel with this anywhere in the world and be connected without paying anything extra!

Three cheers for Magic Jack

Its a new product, new technology - of course its not fully developed or have all features yet... those people probably got swung up in the info-mercial excitement instead of looking at the real value and capabilities of it. For what it can do for $40, I'll take it. I accept its capabilities and limitations. Like always, take the time to consider the terms and conditions with everything you buy.  Try to remember - Reality is, not everything happens instantaneously as much as we all, myself included, might like it to.  As with a lot of newer companies and any new invention, they are a new company/mfr that has some growing and improving to do, and slamming them will not help anyone. For some, their reality check bounced.

To the person who does not like Magic Jack in NV.

I am now in my second year of using Magic Jack.   The only problem I experienced is that our USB ports have to go through our power supply.   Our power supply on PC was only designed for keyboard and mouse, 500 m something.   The quick fix was to purchase a direct plug-in for allowing multiple USB devices.   The same quick fix is used for Games, Video, etc.

My personal experience was to use Magic Jack and then also have a back up company (Verizon, Comcast, whatever).   After three months, I decided it was not necessary to pay $29 a month for something I did not need.  

I am a self employed recruiter.   Without a phone, I'm out of business.  HINT, HINT! 

Instead of paying $xx money every month, I am now paying $12 a month for the next five years!   I noticed that Magic Jack has up their charges slightly. 

Yup, it's true, you never ever get to VERBALLY SPEAK to a live person, sigh... perhaps this person just wants to live in the 20th century.  Magic Jack has customer service, via the internet, you can communicate with a live person who is happy to answer all of your questions.

Personally, I am grateful to Magic Jack.   I am a loyal customer.   I have told my family, friends and anyone who is willing to listen this is a terrfic and very cool concept for the 21st century.  

Once Magic Jack is able to 'port' LAN line phone numbers, the big telephone companies better watch out, their going to loss a major portion of their business!

What's really cool about Magic Jack?   Your on the phone, sitting in front of your computer.   Someone else calls, you can click on the ignore button.   The call then goes to your voicemail.  Magic Jack then sends your voicemail in the form of an email for you to listen, without having to enter your phone number on your phone, then your password, then to go through the messages.   As an email voicemail, your able to save these messages in whatever folder you want to create.   Personally, I have saved countless voice messages from my mom and family.   You figure it out.

Have a nice day.  Thank you for the opportunity to post my rebuttal.

A complete waste of money. The call quality is so poor that the mj is unusable. My friends ask me not to call them via mj because it is too difficult to maintain a conversation. I have spent untold hours on livechat tweaking my mj install on 2 different computers but it is no use. Most of the time, my callers say the call is so choppy they can hear maybe every other word. Sometimes there is so much interference they can't hear anything at all. My favorite is when I hear from them every syllable of every word they say repeated 10 times each in a rapid fire stacatto like a World War I machine gun on the Western Front. The word "hello" morphs into hellhellhellhellhellhellhellhellhellhell o o o o o o and then it goes down from there once the jackhammer interference kicks in. I close down all other processes in order to dedicate all the computer resources to mj but it makes no difference. Either these things were not fully tested before going on the market or mine was bad right out of the box. In any case, stay away from this piece of junk. The price is attractive but its not worth the aggravation and embarrasment.

My Magic Jack works better than my old land line service. Also, it does not pull down your PC's resources. I am convinced that most (not all) complaints are coming from illegitimate sources. The service does as much and more than some services. If you are patient and read first then follow instructions it will work for you providing your computer is well maintained ( virus free, defraggmentation  and disk cleaned up regularly .)

I bought the MagicJack about a half a year ago and I absolutely love it. I have never had any of the problems you've listed here. Sorry that you have not had an easy time using this great invention. If you are worried about the 911 thing then just program your local police phone number into your contacts like I did... It's ten times faster to get a patrolman over to your residence that way anyway. And if my 5 year old niece can use a computer like an adult then I'm sure you can teach yours to just click on the contact that says "Police". And WTF!?! Why wouldn't your kids know their vital info like their address??? I did when I was 5. and so do most 5 year olds. Teach it to yours. Kids are smarter than you think. I've never had a problem inputing numbers to any company's automated system like to pay bills or whatever. And you don't need a credit card to buy this item, they sell it at Radio Shack. They also actually have great live instant message customer service via their website who have helped me in the past when I needed to install an update for it. And I got someone on IM in like 5 seconds. I spend most of my day in front of the computer and it's not at all as annoying as you say when the call box popup happens. All in all... maybe this just isn't a product for you... Sorry 

I have used magic jack in many places around the world. From St Maarten to Costa Rica, from a cruise ship to Europe. For the most part I have had no problems. The only problem that I ever encountered was in the jungle of Costa Rica, but then I had no or barely internet service. I use one device permanently in my Florida condo with absolutely no problems.
The only issue that I ever had with them was trying to get a vanity number once you already registered. You have to buy a new device to qualify for a vanity number. 

Ok, Im not certain how anyone could have a problem with this product. After receiving yet another OBSCENE Bell bill, I bought it on a whim. I registered it, paid $10.00 fora Canadian phone number, and off it went. for 3 months I have had uninterrupted, problem free service. Nobody can tell the difference between this, and my bell line. In fact I will be cancelling my Bell service at the end of the month, saving me around $60.00 a month....so it pays for itself in less than 1 month.

In regards to Customer Service, I dont really understand the complaints. I spent a LOT of time with their customer servic ONLINE through their websiteprior to purchasing the unit (www.mymagicjack.com), and I have always spoken to a live person, that ALWAYS answered my questions. Its so simple...how can it be difficult??

THE 3 GLITCHES IN THE SYSTEM FOR CANADIAN SUBSCRIBERS ONLY:

-Canadians cannot choose a specific phone number (although you can choose your area code), or "Port" your old number over to the Magic Jack service...although they say that this will be available soon.

-No matter what the website says CANADIAN CUSTOMERS CAN NOT change CANADIAN NUMBERS ONCE THE NUMBER IS CHOSEN, so be absolutely certain you like the number that you pick (THERE ARE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF NUMBERS TO CHOOSE FROM in your area code... so dont panic). 

-CANADIAN 911 service is NOT available when you use Magic Jack, but the website warns you about this. According to Magic Jack, they are working on this.

I use VISTA, and I didnt have to update any software, it just magically appeared once I plugged it in.I do not notice a perceptable change to my systems resources, or internet resources when I use this service, but you will need High-Speed service to use this item properly (poor audio quality results if you attempt to use it on a slow-speed service).

Software can be purchased (around $6.00) on EBay that gets rid of the pop-up window that appears whenever the phone rings (although the pop up may be annoying, it does not  seem to disrupt any running programs).

 I cannot comment on their money back guarantee, because nobody here is sending this unit back, unless they pry it from my cold dead fingers.

The magic jack patent was fixed in the new york case and now anyone can hook up the VOIP system without even paying a monthly or annual fee.  why waste your money.

  BBB is a legalized Protection scam. It costs companies money to register with them, and in some cases tens of thousands of dollars to maintain a nationwide subscription to them. All for the ability to display a BBB logo.

  There is no requirement to show you are a valid or honest business, just need to pay the fee. Compliants about you can only be cleared if you pay the fee and subscribe to the service.

  I used to work for the BBB, and believe me they really dont care about consumer happiness, unless of course it effects their bottom line. Its like Vinny from the Sopranos showing up at your business and saying, "nice place, it would be a shame if something bad would happen to it where customer opinion is concerned. but hey Fahh get  about it, just pay this fee on a regular basis, and we will let folks know, when they ask, dat we got no problems wit cha, you know dat your aww right, ya one of us.

  Bottom line.. BBB membership does not equal good business, nor does lack of subscription to the BBB indicate an unscrupulous business.

This report is one big excuse from a consumer who did not read the terms of use. Most of what is stated as misleading was available for the consumer to read.

I cannot confirm or deny the 911 service, as I have not tried it. However, I think the purchase of this product needs to be put in proper perspective so that a prospective customer can truly evaluate the product and whether or not it meets their needs.

In order to use the Magic Jack phone, it must be plugged into a USB port on your computer while it is connected to the internet - This means that if you don't pay your internet bill & get shut off or lose connection (for any reason), the phone will not work. And yes, it will use some system memory to run. These aspects must be considered.

So why is Magic Jack getting great reviews from a lot of people? Simple. These days a lot of people don't even have a home phone and operate soley on a cell phone... or have a home phone and rarely ever use it. If they need to call 911 they grab the cell... If you need a hard line to access in power outages, etc... do not get Magic Jack. It will not meet your needs.

Further, consider the price. I paid $106 at the time of purchase and got an additional 5 years of service for a total of 6 years. That works out to $1.47 per month. Another benefit I enjoy is that I CAN unplug it. What number do you think I give out to companies when I need to?

Let's address a few more pros and cons with MJ...

I have never had trouble getting a live agent to chat with me & have not had to wait for one to become available.

When I dial #s to input acct #s, etc, I have never had them multiply themselves.

Yes, I do have to dial the area code for local #s - something my 7 yr old twins easily adapted to. This was a non-issue for me.

The box does pop up when the line is opened and closed. I work F/T from home and had my boys pick up the phone while I was working. I wish MJ could run in the tray without having to be an open program, but I was glad that it alerted me to phone calls my kids were going to make without permission... and it wasn't every 10 seconds. Most of the time my clients were calling when it interrupted me, and that was ok.

I am not a computer guru. I did use the live agent chat to resolve a setting that needed to be adjusted, which made the call quality great.

I can take MJ to my cousin's in the mountains where there is no cell service & they don't have a home phone and we have access to a phone, which is cool.

Similarly, a friend of mine went to Hong Kong, got his laptop online and called me back in the US for free & it worked great.

I think the consumer who posted this report was looking for something different in phone service than what MJ offers and simply didn't consider the wide range of benefits it offers the user it was designed to serve.

The last thing I want to mention for anyone considering this product is about the conference call setup. This is where the service is a bit janky... You can only call a conference line that is hosted by Magic Jack. I believe you can host the calls for free... but if you want to tune into one hosted by Jack Canfield for instance, you can't access it, since he uses a different conference call service than MJ's. If you dial into conference calls, you'll want to make another provision for attending if you decide to use MJ.

That's all folks... Hope this review of the product is useful to you when choosing if MJ is right for you or not.

Personally I think it's worth the price paid for but there are things I would like to add to this report that may be of interest to others that I have experienced:

a)  I didn't like the fact the device software went through my computer and listed the outlook contacts and my bookmarks, this should not be related to the service and it claims to have uploaded them in their server in the event I lose or my MJ is damaged.  I didn't approve of this and it makes it useless to move to other people's computers as it may move their contacts or bookmarks into mine.  I prefer far more privacy.

b)  It needs about 80-100 kbs of both upload/download bandwidth to be usable.

c)  My home computers started to slow down and freeze when this is plugged in and they are left on within 24 hours.  I've used win xp home, vista premium 32/64, and win 7 32/64 and all of these were affected.  I have all the MS patch updates, my security software were up to date, I'm running anywhere from 2-8 gb ram on each machine, and all my machines have registry repair programs ran within 5 minutes of being booted up.

d)  I've had no problems using this with a dec 6.0 phones from vtech and it didn't make a difference if the machine was wired or wireless, only thing that affected the quality was when I fileshared the network's bandwidth limit.  I have Cox's lowest data package, 256 kb up/1 mb down.

e)  I wish they'd give a timeline on number porting, I bought my MJ from Radioshack about 6 months before I ever used it because I was waiting and waiting to see if I could keep my home number.

f)  I wish they would have linux support, my original intentions was to use it on my linux netbook since it's lower power draw, I think I'll go with netTALK TK6000 when my year is up with MJ since their device allows direct connection to the router.

g)  I think this service is better than the tmobile@home service, this is coming from a former Tmobile employee.

I have been a happy MagicJack consumer for two years.  There have been some minor issues (occasional dropped calls or fuzzy quality) but nothing one wouldn't expect for $20/year, clearly the company can't afford top-of-the-line service and equipment for that price.  If you buy anything at less than a tenth the cost of what everyone else is paying for a comparable item, surely you shouldn't expect it to compare favorably on all counts or the other products wouldn't exist.

I haven't tried calling 9-1-1 but everyone has this service regardless of MagicJack or lack of traditional phone service so you can resolve this by buying a jack coupler (Radio Shack or Target carry these for under $2, it allows you to plug two phones into a jack) and plug a phone directly into the jack strictly for calling 9-1-1.

I haven't tried to return a MJ so I can't speak for that but have never experienced the multiply-by-2 error and I've typed numbers into the phone many times.

As to not liking the box popping up when a call comes in, there is a fix for this;  check the forums.

I had no trouble with support that was not customary for support personnel...the wait times were reasonable and the support did the usual, trot you through a bunch of steps you may have gone through already, but they're reading through a guide just like any other phone support.  MJ does not use up all of my system resources.  My previous computer had terrible specs, slow CPU and practically no RAM, and it worked fine on that too.  Any computer product requires some things to be kept somewhat current, this is an unfair criticism.

Again, like anything that's the bottom of the price barrel, there are of course some issues which may be more than anyone wants to hassle with.  If you don't feel you can keep your computer up to date or don't want windows popping up or are unable to apply a fix to resolve this, MJ may be outside of your scope.  It certainly does not qualify as a ripoff and I would hope that people wouldn't try to get it pulled off the market because they didn't find it worth it for themselves, because I appreciate the product and particularly lately, while I've been unemployed, I've been delighted to save the money.

1 only wish i had seen this 45 mins ago.

It is completely understandable that someone that doesn't understand how technology works especially how VOIP works to write such a scathing report on Magic Jack. As it is evident most other rebuttals clearly show that people that understand the technology actually love the gadget.

For those of us that travel, it is a great tool to keep in touch with family. I may not have the laptop on to receive the call but when I do login I can hear any voicemails that may have been left for me. Love that feature. Magic Jack works as advertised and I would recommend it to anyone that needs to call home from foreign travels and not have to worry about International calls.

This gadget by no means should replace your Land line, but can be used to eliminate any long distance and International calling charges. I use it to make out going calls and never to receive calls, except for voice mails.

I have read almost all of these rebuttals and the only thing I did not read, although I may have just overlooked it, was an answer to outgoing call time limits.  I chatted with MagicJack and this was the result. I hope it helps.

Ronnie: Hello, how may I help you?

Mike: Hey Ronnie! Can you please tell me what the guidelines are for "excessive use" in point 6 of the T&C?

Ronnie: Please wait while I check that for you

Mike: Thanks

Ronnie: If magicJack sees excessive use, including but not limited to, a customer whose usage is twenty (20) times more than the average magicJack's customer's usage, or a customer who calls more than 50 different telephone numbers per day, or systematic or intentional misuse, it reserves the right, in our sole discretion, to terminate your use of the magicJack device and/or Software immediately, and you will not be entitled to get a refund of any licensing fee or any other fee you may have paid to us.

Mike: I am an entertainer and would like to use MagicJack for booking myself. Do you think that would exceed your limitations on time?

Ronnie: You can use magicjack without any issue . 50 different numbers per day are more than enough

Mike: Yes sir, that is true but I am also worried about the time per call.

Mike: I shouldn't exceed more than 25 calls per day at 10 mins per call. does that fit the guidelines?

Ronnie: Thank you for your patience. I will transfer you to a higher level of support. Please hold while I transfer you. Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.

You are now chatting with 'Rodney'

Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK419095813892X

Rodney: Hello Mike. My name is Rodney. To better assist you, let me put you on hold while I read your previous chat. Thank you.

Mike: Thank you!

Rodney: You are welcome.

Rodney: One moment please...

Mike: If it helps, it will be an office phone and will recieve many calls as well...

Rodney: Thank you for waiting Mike.

Mike: No problem.

Rodney: Your call should not exceed 200 minutes per day.

Mike: Ok. Great. Thank you so much for your time!

Mike: Rodney, are you by chance still there?

Rodney: WiYes.

Rodney: Yes **

Rodney: Is there anything else I may help you with today?

Mike: Cool. Thanks. Is that all calls or just outgoing?

Rodney: Just for outgoing calls.

Mike: You rock! Thanks again and have a great evening!

Rodney: You are welcome.

Rodney: Have a good one too.

It's $20, not $2000!  Also, try using your cell phone for emergency calls . . . or quit crying and just get your $40 a month landline back.

 I can't believe you took so much time to b***h about such a small deal . . . you must be a critical, habitual complainer.

 Get a life.  THIS PRODUCT IS FANTASTIC FOR WHAT IT'S DESIGNED TO DO.

This guy reminds me of one of my customers. He wants chilled Champaign but is only willing to pay for warm beer. It's $19.00 a YEAR what did you expect? It does exactly what they say it will do. inbound and outbound calls. And just a little FYI everybody leaves their computer on all the time!

Jeff Dallas, Texas

This person is just not a happy person nothing will satisfy him. I have been using Magic Jack for over two years and I am very happy with it. I have even gotten several people to purchase it. I use it while on the road in the US and in several countries around the world, Netherlands, Italy, Thailand and the Philippines. No problems with using it and working on the computer the same time. Maybe he should get dual monitors and place the Magic Jack screen on it's own monitor. Oh the 911 thing that is with all of the VOIP sevices, oh about the computer on all the time I do and have for three years (still running), oh power outage what about cordless phones no power no go. One more thing who doesn't have a cell phone today (I know not everyone) but that is a back up. One more thing, take it for what it's worth $20 a year. Get this too I was in Thailand and Verizon told me my phone would work, you guessed it nope, BUT MY MAGIC JACK DID. Take a chill pill.

UPDATE! As i'm thinking of going with MG as well. It seems like to best deal out if you have Highspeed and newer computer which I do. As I was disconnecting my service from Vonage I let them know that I was moving to Magic Jack! Obviously there losing revenue from this.

They started asking questions??? Since I was with them for 5 years they offered free month and upgraded service for 50% off to stay. See my e-mail response:

Dear xxxxx, We're delighted that you've chosen to stay with Vonage. We're writing to confirm the terms you discussed on 01/11/2010 with our Account Management Representative to continue using the phone number(s) listed above and change to the $12.50 $12.50/12mo Residential Prem. Unlimited Plan with Unlimited Visual Voicemail

There is some things I considered for staying with Vonage. If I leave MG Later I cant take my number. For buisnesses this is a watch out! Other reason is all the other functionality that comes with vonage that MG doesnt have. Also the amount of calls per day after reading some of the earlier statements. Another key is that I have fax connected to my mainline through the computer which works great on vonage after some major testing. Temporarily this works for me

 

I'm still considering purchasing MG, but may be little later now! PS if you think about moving away from vonage and stay, make sure to get the deal and ensure they dont tag on TOS (terms of service..) like I did.

Things are getting compettitive now!

 

Good luck for all!

"I have another perspective on Magic Jack -- the people who say it is less convenient than a regular landline phone are right. The major disadvantages to me are that I have to have my computer on, and the phone has to plug into my computer so I can only have one active phone and it has to be located near my computer."

The first complaint about having to leave the computer on is pretty simple to figure out - the device plugs into your computer so it only makes sense that the computer would have to be on to have the mj work.

The second complaint is also pretty easy to resolve.  Two choices (at least) come to mind and the second works for me:

     1) use a standard modular telephone line cord and plug one end into the mj and the other into the nearest wall jack.  All of the jacks connected on your line will now be connected to the mj.  be sure to disconnect your wiring from the phone company interface (usually done by unplugging the short wire with modular plug in the box outside where your telephone company drop wire ends)

If you need a phone connected at the jack you plugged the cord in, add a "tee" at that point.  Your ringers may drain more current than the mj can handle so check your phones.  There are low power "ringers" available online and at stores like radio shack.

     2) i chose to use a cordless phone with multiple handsets.  if you don't need the multiple handsets just get a basic cordless phone. This will eliminate the need to do the wiring above and the phones will all ring as normal.  At today's prices, you can go cordless for little money.

hope this helps.

 

 

I have another perspective on Magic Jack -- the people who say it is less convenient than a regular landline phone are right. The major disadvantages to me are that I have to have my computer on, and the phone has to plug into my computer so I can only have one active phone and it has to be located near my computer.

But I bought Magic Jack to save money -- I lost my job and, although I found another one, the pay is lower and I have had to aggressively cut expenses. I had this great TV/Internet/phone bundle before I lost my job that cost $155/month. I was able to cut the cost in half and the only thing that is noticeably different is that I use Magic Jack instead of Time-Warner for the phone.

If you are not struggling to pay your bills and can afford regular phone service without a problem, you should probably go that route because it is more convenient. But if you're looking to cut costs, Magic Jack is the way to go. For me it works exactly as advertised -- it was easy to install and the reception is as clear as any phone.

And Magic Jack actually has one advantage: I can access voicemail from anywhere. When I had Time-Warner, I had to push a button on the answering machine so I had to be at home.

I have a few issues with my MagicJack, the main one being no plug and play with windows vista or windows 7. Now before you all try to call me an idiot, I have tried every single upgrade option on their website. I did every method the tech chat people told me to do (at least 3 times in some cases up to 10) I really don't believe I should have to "hack" or use third party software in order to make this device do what it's supposed to out of the box (load when you plug it in) Of course I can launch it by double clicking the desktop icon, but I believe in things working the way they're supposed to (and advertised, heavily!) It works just fine running windows xp and loads each time it's plugged in like it's supposed to. Not with vista or windows 7 though, In my experience it only "kinda" works with those OSes. They should say "with support for vista and windows 7" on their website, instead of "works with..." because for me it doesn't. I'm only expecting it do what it's advertised to do (plug and play/windows 7), nothing special. If anyone has a solution to this I would love to hear it.

Here's a few other issues I've had with it in the past that were noted here as well.

"They dont tell you that you can not make any phone calls that require you to input #s such as if you call your bank and have to input your ss# good luck because every number you press is multiplied by 2"

When I first got the magicjack over a year ago I had the exact same problem. Every time I would reach an automated line where I had to press 1 or 2 or enter account numbers it wouldn't recognize it all. The service was terrible at first. (before you try to blame my connection or machine I have 20meg cable and don't use it for gaming or p2p so my connection stays open and is always fast.) Whenever I would get a call on it the person on the other end would constantly tell me to speak up and I did get comments about breaking up and sounding like a robot as well. I just stopped using it for months since it's really just a backup when I don't want to use my day minutes on my cell phone. So after about a year i decided to try it out again (after an update) and it seemed to sound much better. Also the "multiplied by 2" or in my case not recognizing the digits I entered seemed to go away as well, however sometimes I have to hold down the button for a whole second in order for the tone to be recognized.

"They dont tell you that you have to dial your area code to make phone calls within your own city, so to call your next door neighbor you must first dial your area code."

I found this annoying as well, very annoying. When I first got the magicjack the only phone numbers available with my area code was for cities about a 100 miles away. I figured this was why, even though the area code was the same. When I started using it again recently and updated it I went to see if they had phone numbers available in my town, and they did. So I changed the number to one that's actually in my small town. You still have to enter the area code, now I've already read a lot of you say what's the big deal? Well the big deal is it's a time waster, yes entering an extra three digits (when it shouldn't be necessary) is annoying. That's why I keep frequent numbers in the contacts, however those were erased thanks to the clever folks at magicjack tech chat. Which brings to me my main cause of disappointment with the magicjack...

"they have no live person you can talk to if you need any customer assistance or tech support you have to go online and chat with them. by the way good luck getting somone to log in to the chat area to assit you, lets just say that if its less then 2 minutes your one of the lucky ones."

I'm guessing this is one of their major points of profit, who needs a fully staffed call center when you can outsource your support to "live chat" operators in India? I didn't have to wait to get a person online at all, however once I had them on they were of no help. I also noticed they would take frequent long breaks during the chat without telling me to hold on or anything like that. I contacted them about the Windows 7 issue I stated in the first line. I actually spent 5 straight hours on those chats formatting (which by the way deletes all your contacts) and upgrading my magicjack over and over (this is apparently the full depth of their technical training). About half of them flat out terminated the chat session once they realized they were stumped. Whenever I asked to be transferred to a supervisor they would say "I am the supervisor?" or "there is no higher level of support". So when I asked more direct questions like "can I have an  email address I can send a message to for further support since nothing you're telling me to do is working?" or "let me talk to your boss". Of course they denied my request and basically told me to reformat it and upgrade it again after I had told them that method wasn't working after repeated attempts. Then they offer to do it for you by taking control of your PC remotely. I found this rather insulting, as if I could not follow their simple directions... I let them do it for the sake of process of elimination, and so they could see the problem with their own eyes. After the agent failed to fix the problem, he actually had the nerve to tell me to try it once more and to keep trying it. That's another thing I found annoying about them, apart from their lack of in depth technical knowledge they seem to have problems reading. I must have chatted with about 10 agents, I even got the same one twice. Every single time at the start they tell you to hold while they read the previous chat sessions (so you don't have to repeat yourself), but as soon as you start talking to them they ask all the same questions and give the same copy-pasted proven failure techniques. Personally, I figure something fails after three attempts with the exact same results. So they had me running in circles, every time they were stumped I asked for higher level assistance or for them to relay the message to the appropriate dept. since they wouldn't give me any info about who to contact. It took 5 hours of repeating my story  for an agent to finally agree to forward my issue to someone who might actually be able to do something about it. At least that's what she said, I hope she wasn't just trying to get rid of me. Dealing with those incompetent tech chat people let me understand how some people might feel they are being scammed.

Overall you get what you pay for, don't expect crystal clear calls. I never used it long enough to troubleshoot it properly as it was just awful out of the box, after the update I started using it a little more and I noticed a few dropped calls and sometimes no dial tone at all. It would ring then when I pick up it would just be complete silence. I'd try to call the person back and same thing, complete silence/no dial tone. I had that problem happen intermittently. I use a standard corded/land line phone. So you can't blame the phone (my cordless phone was impossible to use at first as it would add extra static to the already crappy call quality, I haven't tried it again since the update.) Other than that it sounds good when it works.

I use this on many different PCs, so it gets plugged in and unplugged very frequently. I've noticed that the USB connector is starting to loosen. I've had USB sticks that went bad for the same reason. Poor quality construction that can't handle real life situations. I'm not even talking about traveling or anything extreme, I just move it from different PCs within my house. I asked one of the tech chat people about defective units and their warranty policy. He said they would send me another unit for free provided I pay the $9.95 Shipping charges. I'm not even sure I want to give them another $10 but I do have 4 years of service left and that's a long time to tough it out with an already wiggly USB connector. They haven't exactly made me feel confident a new unit would solve the problem.

I know this sounded too good too be true but for 40 bucks I said why not?  I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the unit self installed.  It also started fine and worked well.  There is some slight delay in all VOIP connection but this was normal.  I was able to operate the on screen buttons, my phone and my mic and headsets worked equally well.

While I had several small problems I was able to unplug the unit from my computer and afterwards it reset it worked perfectly.  I have now had magic jack over a year and I think  it is great for my at home business.  $20.00 a year for unlimited phone is cheaper than my regular monthly phone bill from verizon!

I reupped again. 

I bought one of these, sent it to Colombia and told my brother-in-law how to hook it up to the PC. My wife's family now calls us for FREE anytime... they no longer have to purchase phone cards to call us. I think all the complaints that 911 won't work etc are legit but directly relate to the phone solution you are looking for. All I can say is that from Colombia this device saves me about $750-1000 per year in savings on phone cards. If you call internationally using AT&T or one of the Bell's, it will save you $5,000-10,000 per year.... ever try to call long distance internationally with these crooks. Nuff' said.

I've had none of the problems reported by the article's owner.  NONE.  And I am not a computer "garu", nor a guru either!  My computer is not new and is not a dinosaur, but the installation caused me no difficullties and doesn't inferfere with my use of the computer or its resources.  As I am involved in graphic arts, I frequently stretch the limits of my computer's memory and would notice if a program was using more than its share of resources.  Magic Jack is seamless and invisible.

Voice quality is excellent.  The features are amazing.  I dropped my home phone service because I was paying $50/month for a service I rarely used.  But occasionally, I would use Skype.  My husband never understood how to use this and he probably missed the home phone more than I did.  Now we're both happy.  I drug out the old phone, plugged it up to Magic Jack and in about 5 minutes, had a home phone again.

Magic Jack includes not only phone service, but voice mail, 3-way calling, call-forwarding and other features that you pay extra for if you still have a home phone.  The voice mail works even if you turn your computer off.

I don't see how you can go wrong with this service.  BTW, when you go through the registration process, there are several places where you can elect to pay a little extra.  For example, if you want a "vanity" phone number, there's a small fee.  I chose none of these, opting for plain vanilla.  But when you go through the registration, it's probably a good idea to purchase the $1 lifetime insurance on the device.  That isn't offered again and is something I wish I'd purchased.

If this person would have done some research before ordering the Magic Jack, she would have been more informed.

We live in a remote part of Illinois and I bought a Magic Jack at a local drug store. (I didn't have to order one).  I absolutely LOVE it!  Nobody can tell that I am talking from my Magic Jack.

I don't know about her complaint on 911, but I have an old cell phone I don't use, but keep charged.  If I need 911, I will call from my cell phone!!

I have absolutely NO complaints about this product whatsoever.  OPh, neither have I been charged any further fees other than the price I paid to buy it.  I have had it for over 2 months now!

Don't believe all the negativity.  There's enough of that in the world already!

Magic Jack is not meant to be your primary phone.  Anyone that researches the service on the internet will find that the sound is great on some computers and less than stellar on others.  Also, the service depends completely on how good your internet service provider is.  If you pay for minimal broadband service, Magic Jack can't make your connection better, that's up to you.

Anyone who has broadband service surely has a cell phone.  A cell phone or regular LAN line is highly dependable for emergencies.  Something connected to a computer that in turn has to be connected to the internet shouldn't be used for an emergency.  Who needs to be told that?  If you aren't willing to pay for a fast computer, why would you even consider using a device hooked to the computer for emergency use?

LOL, since Magic Jack works through your computer, is it any surprise that it doesn't work when your computer is asleep or turned off?  

As the reviewer stated, don't try to get a bargain if you have children.  Magic Jack works fine for me.  I just don't depend on it for emergency usuage, and I understand that the reception depends on my computer and internet service.  Just like a computer game, don't expect something that uses your computer to be any better than the money you spend on your computer and internet service.

This works just like plugging in any USB device.  If you have an older computer that reacts slowly to a simple device like this, it is probably prudent to buy a laptop for $350 - 500 that is light years beyond your older, outdated computer. 

Lastly, if you use American Express and there is a descrepancy between what is advertised and what is delivered, American Express will credit your account immediately while they investigate the complaint.  It is a very easy process.  Also, the Shack sells them locally in every city.

For $40 up front and $20 a year, this is a bargain, not a miracle.

Let me start off by saying that the thing works great for what it is.
The 30 day trial  is deceiving. You get charged after 15 but have 30 t0 return it.

Never speak to live rep ? Wrong. I called them . Not a problem. Use your MagicJack window to go to your account then use live chat. I do think there is also a phone number there but not sure .

Redistribute your personal info ? Don't know about that. Perhaps you need to read the privacy policy.

No 24/7 phone access? Well yes you do as long as you keep your computer on. The thing is it is running on your USB port. The means you need to be running for it to work.
Other phones like Cox or Vonage run on the cable modem and therefor do not need you to be running your pc as the modem is always on and connected.
You just need to know what you are buying before you buy.

911? well I have not tried it because it is a crime to just call for no reason. But when you have to give them your name , address etc that is because the system that traces your call on 911 works on the phone system and not on the internet. Your computer does not have a street address.

Can not dial #22 ? Yes you can. You need to dial it from your Magic Jack window. I called the unemployment office. That requires a lot of press one for English crap. No, it will not work from your phone but does from the window.

The popup when getting called is a pain if you get a lot of calls. I do not use the MJ for much so I just unplug it until i need it. I use my cell for all other calls.
The Magic Jack is good for them long winded calls that eat up your minutes . Like the unemployment office for 20 or 30 hours just to talk to some one. That call would have cost me 45 cents a minute for most of it on my cell.

Computer guru ? No way. I plugged it in and it installed and that was that. Easier than installing most programs.
If your pc has issues of coarse with software conflicts then yes you will need tech support but their faqs have conflict info in them.
sure it uses up resources . It is on your USB port. What do you expect ? Everything else on your pc is using them also.

I bought another one. This is great for the price and for a line to make long calls on.
The phone is clear and most of the time works great. I have a slow connection , almost the slowest Cox has and I still get good reception. Cuts out once in a while but rare. 

be happy . buy it for what it is and do not expect it to be your cell phone or a land line . It is not.

Hello all

I just wanted to say i got my magic Jack In Feb-2009 i have not had any trouble with mine im running mine on a Acer Note Book 10inc. window i go fishing with it some times i dont get a signal but for $19.95 i got my moneys worth i hope you get your refund back anyways.

I bought majicJack at a local store cause I was curious... I mean, 20.00/yr?  So, I decided to connect my laptop to my step-dad's wireless connection (I have tmobile@home on my DSL line), and I connected majicJack successfully. I have to admit, that I would never use this service for a primary home line, because your computer has to be on to receive or make any calls, and I almost had to choose a long-distance number because here in Miami, almost all local numbers are used up.  The pop-ups are annoying, but 20/yr.. c'mon.  Overall, I would not risk my safety by relying on this service to be up and running if I have to call 911, but I think it makes a great second line.

cloud 9

Ok, quick explanation. Any time there's a "trial period" on any kind of product, you do recieve a charge on your billing method, this guarantees the company the funds are there before shipping out the product. Everyone should know this. As far as 45 days go, do you realize how many transactions this company deals with in a day? Have you ever mailed in a rebate form to get money back on a purchase? It takes months! 45 is a godsend to me. Magicjack is terrific, and I love it. $20 a year is better than $70 a month, which is what I paid with verizon's home phone with long distance. Be thankful for this device and be grateful. Don't complain when its common sense here at work. You also had the option to buy it at a store, mine came from radioshack.

My Responses are in bold

They dont tell you that they are going to redistribute your personal information to other customers in their database like they did mine

They have not redistributed my personal information to any other customers in their database, however I have met up with some shady customers that have attempted to get my personal information including my magic jack telephone number by telling me they wanted to try to solve an issue I had with Magic Jack.  For those interested, the issue I had was that Tech support had me format my MagicJAck virtual drive so that I could apply the latest patch and this removed my contacts information and I wanted it back.

They dont tell you up front that in order to have 24/7 phone access your computer can not go into hibernation or be shut off, imagine if you have an emergency at night time when your computer is usually off and dont have access to a phone,? or if you have a burglar and need to contact the police?

How is this not common sense?  You seriously think that a USB device that you have to plug into your computer can run without the computer being on?  Seriously, this is a no-brainer.  Of course the computer will have to be on for the device plugged into the computer to work.  I leave our primary computer on 24/7 and my increase in electricity usage hasn't even been detectable on our monthly bill.

When you do call 911 they dont tell you that your actually speaking with a internet computer and not that of your local police department which by the way you have to be sure you give them all kinds of information Home address, name, phone #,etc) before they even dispatch anyone out to your home.(I dont know about you guys but I have small children, who are to young to memorize this information, and trust them to know that in a hectic situation/emergency thay are going to be able to assist this internet operator to get some help in time? I mean what if something ever happened to mommy or daddy and they needed the police but didnt know the information because their to young 5,yrs old?

I think you have an issue.  The one time that I pressed the 911 button I was connected up to the local 911 and had the ambulance at my home in a short time.   You may want to find out why it didn't work for you, I'm guessing it has something to do with your connection to the net.  And for those that don't understand it.  If you don't have a permanent connection to the net (i.e. cable, dsl etc) then MagicJack won't work for you either, in essence your not connected to the internet unless you dial in to your AOL or NetZero or whatever other company you use, so don't waste your time.

They dont tell you that you can not make any phone calls that require you to input #s such as if you call your bank and have to input your ss# good luck because every number you press is multiplied by 2 try inputing your account # ssi# or anthing that is requiring verification data of you, sorry you can't so if the company your calling does not have a customer service rep wgile peek hours your out of luck.

Not experienced this problem at all and I have to dial a lot of numbers that require me to input choices on the keypad.  So I'm not sure where you're coming from with this.  With all these complaints, many of which are just wrong, I have to wonder if you have an agenda (fess up, do you work for the competition?)


They dont tell you that you have to dial your area code to make phone calls within your own city, so to call your next door neighbor you must first dial your area code.

In my area, we were just notified by the city that we now need to dial our own area code to make local calls, so how is this different other than MJ required it before the local city did?  It's coming to your city too so better get ready for the end of the world by having to dial that extra 3 digits.

They dont tell you that you can not be on your computer doing work because every time someone in your house picks up the phone or a call comes in a box pops up which you have to minimize, and yes you have to minimize it for every call going out or coming in , trust me its a pain especially when your spouse work is done primarily on the pc, try wrting a word,power point,excel, while every 10 seconds you have a box popping up on your working screen, now you can take care of this problem by simply unplugging your phone, thus eliminating anyone in the home using the phone, or receiving calls, but hey atleast you get your work done without any annoying boxes interupting you.

Get MagicBlocker and the annoying pop ups are gone unless you want them.  When ever I am gaming or in serious work on the computer that runs MJ here, I simply engage the free tool  (magicblocker) and the phone can ring until doomsday, there won't be a pop up from magic jack.  So much simpler to search out a way to change it rather than complaining about it and living with it, don't you agree.

They dont tell you that once you connect the magic jack to your computer, your going to be using up your systems resources, & have to update all your pc's direct x functions, so if your not a computer garu your in trouble, or you can just call their tech support and speak with someone who can walk you through the process.... oh no wait sorry they have no live person you can talk to if you need any customer assistance or tech support you have to go online and chat with them. by the way good luck getting somone to log in to the chat area to assit you, lets just say that if its less then 2 minutes your one of the lucky ones.

Then I've been lucky the 4 times that I've contacted them because the wait has always been less than 40 seconds.  Yeah... Now I know you're simply making this stuff up.

Search Google for magicJack reviews and you'll find there are plenty of good ones. Personally it seems to me, based on my experience of about 18 months, that most of the complaints come from people who are not experienced computer users, or, their system and/or connection quality and speed are inadequate for the product to function properly. It works perfectly for me.

For all of you who use Magic Jack and are happy, then good for you.  I find it to be the biggest rip off online.  I can make unlimited calls from my cell phone to anywhere in USA for free (monthly charge) without any connection problems. I bought this for making calls to other countries which has been the biggest headache I have had in a long time.  Customer care is useless.  I bought one of there own phone cards to make international calls and all i get is no connection or it goes to wrong number.  They say they dont do refunds.  Sound quality is the worst I have ever heard. Customer service are people that dont have a clue as to what they are doing and always say they will transfer me.  That by the way takes around 10 min to be transfered.  It may be cheap service for you cheap people out there, but it still isnt worth the money.  I have yet been able to make an international call that connected to the right number or was able to hear the person on the other end.  Magic Jack is the biggest rip off online right now.  No phone number to call should have told me that from the start.  Dont waste your money on this company.  Oh and they say when u travel you can use it to call home.  Yeah good luck. 

folks, i must confess.  I own magicjack, did before i cared what anyone's complaint could POSSIBLY be until i saw a way to enjoy them for a selfish reason. yes, it's true...i've even killed a few minutes of "spare time" at work here just for a laugh now and then waiting to just leave "at an appropriate time" according to anyone who cared enough to notice and frown (i was a mgr, so could leave anyway if i wanted to, normally had no spare time at all to do this, so indulged when i could, so hate me, i care.)  oh, should make mention i worked on a massive new technology project awhile back that i was kinda in charge of that had to do w/ voip for our business usage on a large scale.  tech stuff like i pre-tested before anyone could buy it to resell as an enhancement to certain future users we already knew would love it.  i do not and have never worked in connection w/ majicjack, as seems be standard disclaimer online. sorry if it really goes somewehre else then where i stuck it, but throw me a bone, i rememberd it should be here and did that much. i know as well as those who need this too, that it obviously proves saying so means it's true! (wasn't lying, just proving another point re people who read this and agree it's true without ever even seeing a magicjack) some people think all things are true if said by somebody they admire, and since nobody here admires me or will have a reason to ever do so, i care anyway, so there's my disclaimer.

should have mention, nobody can digress like i can when i have only 1 point i intended to make...look how long a dyslexic w/ adhd can go when you let one (but i assure you, i type right an' proper when i must because it really matters in the grown up world loose who's got a fixation driven by adhd!

and for those spelling/grammar patrols, i already know my spelling and grammar are what a bear does in the woods if i don't feel like playing the game, even though i most certainly can and usually have to most of the time, better than most who have "pet peeves" over as much.  hate me, because i care, but know and be comforted by knowing my secret - i have silly pet peeves too, and one is when i have to repeat myself and even moreso when i accidently keep repeating myself when i already know how much i hate that! bonus for us all, i have autistic tencdies too - another oops i let another secret out.

however, i believe in giving back, especially within one's own community. as a non-member who's just been lurking in your community, i bothered to join to make one remark, only because if it's already been said, i haven't crossed that post yet to see someone else actually "say" what screams so bleeding obvious and has to me from the minute i heard that a majicjack hate even existed and hated it enough to say so, or just an obssessive/compulsive who's fixation happens to include "complaining" as a priority in this behavior driven by thoughts first, methodically, under all encounters where obsessions/compulsions mean most to them (can't call me a mental illness stigma-arseclown either, cuz i too, am obssessive/compulsive, just not in any area related to complaining or any sort of spellcheck, grammar usage critera at every opportunity esp. cuz you can BS. i do not intend this as blame or insult to your compulsion, as mine include equally BS ones or more BS than this sometimes, like when certain garments arent hung exactly as i need them to be, and on the right colored hanger wasn't used to mis-hang it with, then my behavior is to tear everythingout oft he closet and re-perfect it, even if anyone else already sees only the one i noticed is out of place.  stop me, i'm sharing too much!

here's my contribution to you generous contributors who i've come to think of like family.  guilt like the feeling i've been reading other peopls' mail set in so here ya go.

even for those of you who still have a "omg i cant call e911 maybe a couple times cuz it was my own fault anyway, but it still BOTHERS me like an obsession i must now compulsively behave over - are you telling me that not even an old, not used in ages, haven't subrscribed since '01 cell phone or ANY OLD CELL PHONE isn't lyig around somewhere that you could find in less the time it took you to complain via a fraud report? how is that a fraud to you anyway baffles me. and not knowing any old cell will STILL CALL 911. sure, maybe lotsa you dont have one of these or cant get one from their mom, grandma, sister, or a neighbor for nothing or the goodwill for under $5 if nobody you know (or you have no friends and your fam wont speak to you) who will just flip you a freebie?! even if you bribe them with an old dot matrix you can trade for? i just threw one of those in the trash!  I"M SO SORRY, dont even know ya and i'd mail you an old cell phone or dot matrix to use for barter (that means "trade") for leverage.  yep, i'm old too.

blonde who's tech-challenged, you are my hero of the day!  you figured this bad thing out all by yourself, showing at least you can follow the posted requirements regarding being able to read and follow directions!  you're tops here anyway and at least as smart as a rock!  you 2 - i've quoted both of you to my boyfriend a number of times so we could both giggle over the restating of the obvious going on there.

i just gave back one of my fave amusements now, so i feel (by my standards) i've paid my equivalent in return in what counts as at least 23 blessing to mary and women and 12.82 our fathers, only in a secular way all can use if they want to.

should have also mentioned earlier that i'm sarcastic.  sorry for the irritatingly long worded stuff here.

to anyone who ads any further objections just to bash yourself (for all intents and purposes, that is) based on agreement to the obvous, not knowing it  aint magicjack's fault you cant use it like ma bell or any of the other reasons you shouldn't have this nice little toy that i have used as my exclusive phone of the house for a long tiem now (cuz we have a lot of old cells we don't subscribe to service for lying around).  i usually donate them, but since getting magickjack, i remembered to earmark, charge, and save just 1.

at-fault by virtue of being already described end user who still doesn't get it complainers i have 1 last thing to say to say to you.

SHHH! Grownups are talking.

 

I love the majicjack.  BUT.....
1.  I would NEVER rely on it for emergencies because it it completely reliant on a very unreliable machine >>>DESKTOP PC.  (cell phone is for emergencies or home phone)

2.  It is a supplement to a my cellphone for making long distance calls. I eliminated expensive home phone and lowered anytime minutes on cell phone. Saves a ton of money.

3.  I would NEVER give correct personal information to a unknown internet company

4.  I bought majicjack for cash at a reliable retailer (BESTBUY) I could return it with no hassles and no one at MAJICJACK has my personal information and then filled in the personal information with made up stuff when signing up for the service

5. These couple of items cover the complaints of the original post

********** IF YOU USE MAJICJACK WITHIN ITS DESIGN LIMITS YOU WILL SAVE A TON OF MONEY AND WILL BE VERY, VERY, VERY VERY, HAPPY  I LOVE THE MAJICJACK **********

I love the majicjack.  BUT.....
1.  I would NEVER rely on it for emergencies because it it completely reliant on a very unreliable machine >>>DESKTOP PC.  (cell phone is for emergencies or home phone)
2.  It is a supplement to a my cellphone for making long distance calls. I eliminated expensive home phone and lowered anytime minutes on cell phone. Saves a ton of money.
3.  I would NEVER give correct personal information to a unknow internet company
4.  I bought majicjack for cash at a reliable retailer (BESTBUY) and then filled in the personal information with made up stuff

* IF YOU USE MAJICJACK WITHIN ITS DESIGN LIMITS YOU WILL SAVE A TON OF MONEY AND WILL BE VERY, VERY, VERY HAPPY  ILOVETHE MAJICJACK *

Hi, to anyone having problems with this product I would like to express that there are ways to fix the problems without bashing it to the ground. First having problems with the computer Google how to run Magicjack as a service. If you are worrying about no service when your computer hibernates or shuts down, get a unlocked phone adapter and put in the SIP from the Magicjack. This will work just like Vonage or any other VOIP service diretly off your router. I did this so I don't use the usb device anymore. With the phone adapter you can tweak the settings for better quality service. Google Magicjack SIP info and also how to put in SIP Info in a Phone Adapter. As of Unlimited minutes well most VOIP providers do restrict you to a certain amount of minutes on there unlimited plan (Ooma is 3000 Phone Power is 3000 etc..) more then 3000 they think that it is being used for business purposes if you need to talk for more then 3000 minutes a month Use Vonage or keep a land line or get a unlimited cell phone plan. As for the rest of us who don't abuse the phone this is a great product. I have Vonage and I have a second line with Magicjack. As soon as they allow number porting I will be droping Vonage.

I have been using magic jack for several months. I purchases a very small cheap pc which runs 24/7 for under $200 with a small flatscreen.
My bill before I bought the magic jack was about $90 a month. Now its $20 a year or $1.67 a month. Which I believe justified the purchase of a second small computer. As for the electric bill, I rent and have utillities included.
I have had 0 problems calling places with automated phone service, the touch tone works fine for me.
When I first bought magic jack I purchased it from a traditional brick and mortor store so I could take advantage of the return policy. My first year was free with the $40 initial purchase fee.
It works well for me but some of the complaints are valid, but still obvious if you actually do some research or put some thought into it.

Sorry you have trouble. I was like you but I thought if it were to good to be true first then I bought it anyway, I have a company that needs lots of phones and through away phone #s so it was great for my uses and I freqently travel out side the country on vacation and it is great for calling back to the usa with no roaming .hope this helps .

I live in a small rural town in Northeast Texas. Our local phone is expensive and allows few calls as local. I have DSL for my internet provided by that same phone company. That is also expensive. After sending 30 faxes on day, I saw the add for the product. I figured I could not go wrong so I bought it with five years service. I now use it for all my outgoing phone calls and also it is hooked into the fax machine so they go through it. I make about 40 calls per month on it. About 95 % are would result in a toll charge from the local phone company. I had one problem and worked with a Customer Service representative and the problem was resolved. After six months, it has paid for itself. It is a good product and has lived up to all that was represented.

I have owned Magic Jack since May of 2008. I purchased it as a secondary phone for my kids and just to see if it worked. It does work, and it works fairly well. I gave it to my 17 year old son to use with his computer to talk to friends since he is an internet gamer. It works just as well on his computer as it did mine.

Even though Magic Jack doesn't support faxing, and even though technical references say it cannot be a reliable solution, I have used this device to fax from my home fax machine. It can work. I cannot state that it will always work, but it has worked for me.

My son now has the Magic Jack at his new apartment. I gave it to him as a cheap alternative to an expensive land line. He already had internet because he works online from home. He is using Magic Jack as his home phone and in his home office. It even works with recording devices.

Back in May 2008, when I purchased it, I had a few quality issues, but after cleaning my computer, as someone else suggested, and tinkering with my settings, it then worked fine. My son has never had a problem with it.

As far as 911 goes, it is very clear if you read their info, that it is just like Vonage in that you must register the address you want it to report to so that that is the address used in the event you have to use the emergency number. Most everyone has a cell phone now, too, and you would have to give your address if you needed help and used that line. What's the difference?

In response to Patrick from Hapeville, GA- I'd just like to point out when you were responding to Steve from the USMC, you stated that the internet had not been around for 40 years, and if he were really as old as he said, he'd know that- you might have overlooked something important there. The birth of the internet is not precise. However, it is considered by some to have been a logical progression from a network system that was developed for the government during the cold war.

"The ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) created by ARPA of the United States Department of Defense during the Cold War, was the world's first operational packet switching network, and the predecessor of the global Internet."

If you use this as the basis for current day internet, it is over 39 years old. Considering that he claims to be in the USMC, it is very possible that he is considering it in it's infancy, as used by the federal government. Why do I know this? Well, my husband is younger than Steve, but he is a computer security engineer and it is in a number of his old school books how the internet came about. He was also a Navy officer himself, and they have had an internal "internet" of sorts for a very long time. The quote above was taken from Wikipedia.

All in all, I would say that, for it's little imperfections (and there are some- nothing is perfect), I would recommend it to someone as a cheap alternative to expensive phone bills, as long as they understand the limitations it might have. I liked it enough, that I am now going to buy another (since I gave mine to my son) so that I have a spare line again, and can fax while working on the phone.

Simply put, I agree with the majority of the respondents to this post, who say that, if you make this purchase with your eyes open and after researching the option fully, it is a very nice solution to the rising costs of phone service and meets the needs of many people for personal and business use. It also travels pretty nicely if you have a laptop and a computer connection. It is not guaranteed to meet the needs of everyone, but then again, name something that does.

I bought a Magic Jack back in November 2008 and I have not had any problems with it and am very satisfied. The only HUGE problem that I just had was the thing that fit into the usb broke...I had to get pliers to remove it. That was probably from me taking it in and out too much and not knowing how fragile it is.

Over a 6 year period, this landline costs just $1.39 a month !! (Given, that you already have high-speed internet.) Sure, it's not "always-on" unless you get an additional "thin-client" to connect to.
It's portable (the size of a Zippo). You can have the same phone or fax number in Massapequa (?sp) as you do in Miami or Munich or Mumbai and make LOCAL CALLS home.
Kissing your a*s-ets goodbye to AT&T? Buy this device!

My husband and I were skeptical when ordering this product. We received it in the mail, hooked it up and it has worked great ever since.
I don't understand how people can come on here and complain about a product that only cost 40 lousy dollars and not have to pay another dollar for an entire year. After that, all you have to pay is a measley 20 bucks a year!
IF this product didn't work for you, you had 30 days to return it for a refund. IF YOU failed to return it within those 30 days, that is YOUR fault! To come to this site and complain about a product and give false statements should be illegal. You should have a complaint brought up against you for slander!
You state that you can't talk to a LIVE person. THAT is false! My husband and I had a few questions after hooking ours up. Those questions resulted in suggestions to the company. We DID talk to a LIVE agent, through Live Chat at the very bottom of the Magic Jack website. www.magicjack.com It makes me wonder just how much you really looked into your options overall with this product. Or did you receive it, knowing you had a 30 day money back gaurantee but sat on it for those 30 days? It's funny how we had no problem finding that Live Agent. Questions were answered, suggestions were given and we couldn't be happier with this product.

We personally tell eveyone about Magic Jack and the money we save every month with no longer having a monthly phone bill.
We have a DSL internet connection. I have read other posts in here from people who also have DSL and don't have any problems. Maybe a DSL connection is what works best. I don't know because that's all we've ever had.

Before receiving Magic Jack, we were paying 49.95/month for phone service. Oh, but that was just the monthly rate. After adding this tax and that tax, this surcharge and that surcharge, our monthly bill was approx 70.00/month. That's IF we didn't use directory assistance for a phone number. Those uses were $1.50 each. With Magic Jack you pay 40 bucks for the product. You pay 20 bucks a year thereafter. You get FREE local and FREE long distance as well as FREE directory assistance.

It's too bad this didn't work for you. But certainly you have read some good reviews of this product so you knew that there were buyers who were happy with it. Why do you come in here, slam a product and call it a RIP OFF when it was so very inexpensive AND came with a money back guarantee, just because YOU, obviously, didn't take the time to really look into all your options? Afterall, you didn't even explore enough to find the Live Agent on the website. I would be willing to bet that you are also one of those men that would never stop your car and ask for directions!

This isn't a "shame on Magic jack" case, this is a "Shame on You" case.

This person is a hugh cry baby. Most of the complaints are non issues that any one with any brains would have realized in advance. It is what it is. A very, very cheap way to make phone calls. The price for one year is less that a month's bill for a standard land line. I did without a land line for a year and half and got by with just a cell phone. Sometimes I got burned when I went over my minutes. Magic Jack is the perfect solution. So far I have had no problems what so ever. Of course you need a back up, any idiot should have realized that in advance.

Hi, my brother bought me a magicjack last July. I was nearly blind of cataracts and I was going to travel to Venezuela to get the surgery for free. I took an old laptop, erased it and installed a new Windows XP and tested it here in Fort Lauderdale Florida. It worked!. And it cost the same as an half tank of gas from my car!
In the middle of August I went to Venezuela and during my 3 months stance there I plugged my laptop in several different internet connections. Some with more problems than others: There was a home with a cable modem connection where it did not work. I could not test it in other cable modem connections.

It worked very well with DSL connections
During 3 months I placed a hundred calls to the US, Florida and other parts, and never got charged anything extra. And I also received calls. When I was disconnected the received calls where answered somewhere and the recorded sound file was emailed to me.

I came back to Florida in November and I use the magicjack as my main and only phone. My Daughter moved to Alaska and I still call her, no extra charges

Twice I have bought international call minutes, and it works well! Reliable and accountable to the minute! Not like those gas station phone cards
Now for those people unlucky and with problems:
You need a high speed internet connection! If you want it to work with dialup I want to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.

Try it in another computer AND in a friend's internet connection: It works in another computer in your home: your first computer has problems
It does not work at your home but it works at your friend's home: inclusive if it only works better but not perfect: your internet provider could be the culprit!

Try your computer at your friend's home, which will tell you if your computer is ok If it does not work anywhere, may be you received a bad unit, try to get a replacement after you tried in different homes and computers.

For those complaining about computer resources and that they have to have the computer on to use it: Cancel your electricity bill, you really don't need it.

Duh! It connects to your computer of course you need to have it on! If you don't like that they are other VOIP systems that don't connect to the computer Google VOIP and search for them, but you will not find anything at 40 a year And emergency calls: If you are a doctor I think you can afford a cell phone I turn mine off during the night so I don't get wake up calls from wrong numbers
And everyone that can call me also can go to my home.

Local numbers: they don't have every area code; mostly I will think major cities None for Alaska (last time I checked it) so the best thing to do is order it online, where you can select you phone number before buying it, if you don't find a area code you like or can use, don't buy it!
Yes I am a computer guru (not a Garu like someone wrote in one of the complains)

But you don't need to be one to plug it in different computers and internet connections. And simple common sense will tell you what is wrong. And if it does work but not at your house
, give it as a gift, to your daughter, mother, son or father, or girlfriend or boyfriend, or anyone that you want to call you!

I am not paid or related to Magicjack in any way other than the use of their product.Next month I will renew for the 5 years service

The category for this report really needs to be changed... this is not fraud.

I bought one recently, and it has worked flawlessly. It is a breeze to install, it is extrodinarily portable--just plug it into another computer and go--and the quality is surprisingly good. The only time I have experienced any problems is on very slow network connections.

I've run it on an older celeron ($100 used computer store special) and a new quad-core 3Ghz--both as XP, both ran fine without any resource issues. If you want to dedicate a computer for this, go ahead, but IMHO you don't need to. However, I don't have time for gaming and other intensive apps, so my "view" of this is somewhat skewed... But, I do know that it does not interfere with normal word-processing or web-browsing.

Also, the voice-mail delivery over email is near instant and *really* cool. If you un-plug the gadget from the USB port, calls immediately are routed to voice-mail, and you get the message over email. Cool.

So far so good. Some pointers...

Buy the gadget at a local retailer... Ordering on-line is cool, but nothing beats buying a gadget you can take home and play with right away. And the price is the same, so why order and wait for it? Use it for a week--if you don't like it, return it immediately. You get your money back and everything is cool.

One hick-up: Not all area codes are available on install when you pick your own phone number. Mine wasn't, and this threw me a little at first, so I picked a California number. Later on, I called my parents, who were wondering what I was doing in California... :-) Seriously, in this day with unlimited long-distance calling from almost every provider, area codes are really like IP addresses--it doesn't really matter what you got, as long as you're on-line.

Here's the kicker... I later discovered that my area code really *is* available according to their own "available area code" listing on-line. So, I tried to switch to it--but on the switch screen I got the same "no area codes available" message. Soooooo, I tried the on-line chat, and was told that they had run out of #'s and were getting more, and to check back later on-line... but the on-line listing said "available"... So, their tech support apparently doesn't have all the answers. Not exactly surprising, although one would think a "known" issue like this could have been handled better by the company just indicating "temporarily unavailable" on their web-site, or giving their CS a rough timeline when this would be fixed.

The price is certainly right--and they are now even running a promotion that allows you to extend for 5 years at about 30% off their regular price, so you end up paying a total of $100 ($40 when you buy the gadget and $60 for the add'l 5 yrs) FOR SIX YEARS OF UNLIMITED CALLING--that's about $1.25 per month... how can you beat that!!!

The complaints I've read so far are really superficial in many ways, including my area-code problem. I can still use the service just fine. Maybe some have legitimate gripes--that's bound to happen with any larger business. However, that does not make this product a "fraud" or any less viable.

For the lack of coordination from tech-support and their operations departments, I would give this a 4-star rating. If they had their stuff together on the CS side, I would have gladly given this a full 5-star recomendation.

If you use your cell-phone as primary phone, and you do not have a land-line (like me), this makes a great addition. It is cheap, and it allows you to switch to a lower monthly plan on the cell-phone. Also, if you travel a lot--especially if you go overseas--and you need to stay in touch with the US, this device is truely magic!

Oh... almost forgot... Don't buy this if you don't have high speed internet, don't know how to use a computer, have no common sense, or don't know how to spell. You will be disappointed--thoroughly!

Every time someone makes something idiot proof, along comes a better idiot. You people are clueless, my MJ works 100% of the time, doesn't load down my old pc, and you would think they would be smart enough to know if phone service runs on your pc... IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK OF YOU SHUT OFF THE COMPUTER! 2nd, you have a 30 day trial, and they don't charge you for 30 days, so how could that take 45 days to return what they never had?

"I dont know about you folks but I wish someone would of told me all this before I spent my time and money buying this product"

I know it's risky asking them if they can read, because I knew about every last thing they are whining about before I bought mine. You should have spent a little more time looking instead of perfecting your idiot skills. My system resources are fine, my guess is you have everything you own screwed up because you are morons. You only get 30 days to return it, so the joke is on you (or is you). Now run along and quit playing with mommys computer

My MajicJack works 85% of the time. It is not meant to be a primary phone. I live in Alaska and they do not have a 907 local service yet. I use another area code in the Conus. My family can call me using my number as their local number. Yeah, MJ does have problems, but you have to have some technical knowledge of computers and some common sence. Their tech support works ok thru chatting. You also need to update your MJ software from time to time. I call throughout the USA and can talk for as long as I like and pay only $20 per year.

Sorry you have problems and I hope they refund your money.

I have to agree. I purchased my MagicJack with the extra year service included. I started having problems with mine right away. And you are right. There is no phone number to call to speak to an actual person. You have to go to their online Customer No Service. My MagicJack started showing an error message. I contacted MagicJack for a replacement. I was told that they would suspend my service until I sent in the old fob and $39.00 to cover cost. Let me see now...I've already paid "IN FULL" for my service for two years. They are going to suspend my service, in which I can't use because of a defective part and they are going to charge me again to replace it! All I can get out of them is that this is their policy! Don't waste your time or money on this product! Go with someone else and save yourself from the Headache of an inferior product without the backbone to honer their product! The inventor is getting rich over our stupidity! Please, If you make a sensible and educated decision....don't buy this product. If you are thinking about buying and you think I'm just trying to get you to not buy because I'm upset. I ask you to try this. I dare you to do this to satisfy your own curiosity. Go to their web site for your self and see if you can find a phone number for anyone in Customer Service to speak with personally. When you go to one of the major retailers that sell this item, look on the box for a phone number. Sure they give you thirty days for refund. Better hope it fails in that time, if not you're screwed.
Check for yourself www.magicjack.com

I have to agree. I purchased my MagicJack with the extra year service included. I started having problems with mine right away. And you are right. There is no phone number to call to speak to an actual person. You have to go to their online Customer No Service. My MagicJack started showing an error message. I contacted MagicJack for a replacement. I was told that they would suspend my service until I sent in the old fob and $39.00 to cover cost. Let me see now...I've already paid "IN FULL" for my service for two years. They are going to suspend my service, in which I can't use because of a defective part and they are going to charge me again to replace it! All I can get out of them is that this is their policy! Don't waste your time or money on this product! Go with someone else and save yourself from the Headache of an inferior product without the backbone to honer their product! The inventor is getting rich over our stupidity! Please, If you make a sensible and educated decision....don't buy this product. If you are thinking about buying and you think I'm just trying to get you to not buy because I'm upset. I ask you to try this. I dare you to do this to satisfy your own curiosity. Go to their web site for your self and see if you can find a phone number for anyone in Customer Service to speak with personally. When you go to one of the major retailers that sell this item, look on the box for a phone number. Sure they give you thirty days for refund. Better hope it fails in that time, if not you're screwed.
Check for yourself www.magicjack.com

I have to agree. I purchased my MagicJack with the extra year service included. I started having problems with mine right away. And you are right. There is no phone number to call to speak to an actual person. You have to go to their online Customer No Service. My MagicJack started showing an error message. I contacted MagicJack for a replacement. I was told that they would suspend my service until I sent in the old fob and $39.00 to cover cost. Let me see now...I've already paid "IN FULL" for my service for two years. They are going to suspend my service, in which I can't use because of a defective part and they are going to charge me again to replace it! All I can get out of them is that this is their policy! Don't waste your time or money on this product! Go with someone else and save yourself from the Headache of an inferior product without the backbone to honer their product! The inventor is getting rich over our stupidity! Please, If you make a sensible and educated decision....don't buy this product. If you are thinking about buying and you think I'm just trying to get you to not buy because I'm upset. I ask you to try this. I dare you to do this to satisfy your own curiosity. Go to their web site for your self and see if you can find a phone number for anyone in Customer Service to speak with personally. When you go to one of the major retailers that sell this item, look on the box for a phone number. Sure they give you thirty days for refund. Better hope it fails in that time, if not you're screwed.
Check for yourself www.magicjack.com

I have to agree. I purchased my MagicJack with the extra year service included. I started having problems with mine right away. And you are right. There is no phone number to call to speak to an actual person. You have to go to their online Customer No Service. My MagicJack started showing an error message. I contacted MagicJack for a replacement. I was told that they would suspend my service until I sent in the old fob and $39.00 to cover cost. Let me see now...I've already paid "IN FULL" for my service for two years. They are going to suspend my service, in which I can't use because of a defective part and they are going to charge me again to replace it! All I can get out of them is that this is their policy! Don't waste your time or money on this product! Go with someone else and save yourself from the Headache of an inferior product without the backbone to honer their product! The inventor is getting rich over our stupidity! Please, If you make a sensible and educated decision....don't buy this product. If you are thinking about buying and you think I'm just trying to get you to not buy because I'm upset. I ask you to try this. I dare you to do this to satisfy your own curiosity. Go to their web site for your self and see if you can find a phone number for anyone in Customer Service to speak with personally. When you go to one of the major retailers that sell this item, look on the box for a phone number. Sure they give you thirty days for refund. Better hope it fails in that time, if not you're screwed.
Check for yourself www.magicjack.com

Its very clear to me that this company. Has launched a spin campaign to off set all the problems. People are having with this devise. I would hope they have listen to the complaints and address them. Only time will tell.

To Steve USMC the internet has not been around for 40 years. If your the age you claim you would have known that...

Its very clear to me that this company. Has launched a spin campaign to off set all the problems. People are having with this devise. I would hope they have listen to the complaints and address them. Only time will tell.

To Steve USMC the internet has not been around for 40 years. If your the age you claim you would have known that...

Magic Jack is part of a new way of saving money on phone calls. I used to have phone service through a major national provider - I was paying over $200 a month for their service. They made changes to my account without my knowledge or permission which meant that I had no phone service. The cost for long distance was way out of line. With Magic Jack the cost is something that everyone can benefit from. I have been using Magic Jack for over six months - it works flawlessly. My son, a Realtor, uses Magic Jack for his office phone - it works flawlessly. It is evident this device is not for everyone - of course, nothing in this life is for everyone - we all have our own issues - but that does not mean we should be trying to discourage others - who should be able to decide for themselves - from purchasing a product which would, in their opinion, work flawlessly and meet their needs. Shame on you who think the world rotates around you and no one else has any ability to decide for themselves. I did say FLAWLESSLY - please note - maybe you know-it-all folks need to get educated...

I purchased my Magic Jack in February of 2008, when the product was new. There were some problems at first, the most major problem was that call forwarding didn't work very well. That problem was fixed a long time ago.

I didn't have the problem with my credit card being charge too soon.

They, like many other compananies use chat software for technical support and if that doesn't solve the problem they do have an 800 number or they will call you.

However you need another phone to make that call.

It should be fairly obvious that tech support about an Internet based telephone can't be done by telephone if this is the only phone you have.

They tell you up front that for their device to work, it must be attached to a computer and if the computer isn't on, it should not take a Rocket Scientist to figure out that it won't work.

Just like the A/C in your car does not work when the car is off.

When you first get the product and call 911 you'll be speaking to an operator who will route your call to the appropriate 911 call center. However, one of the first things you are supposed to do when you first hook up the Magic Jack is fill out an information screen on your computer, with your address and once that is validated, calls to 911 are answered directly by your local 911 call center just as if you were making that 911 call from your Ma Bell land line phone.

And if you travel like I do or if you have multiple addresses, you can register lots of different addresses so that when you move from place to place you can update in a few seconds and tell Magic Jack which address you are at and that updates were your 911 calls will be routed to.

I'm a semi retired guy who lives in Florida who travels a lot and I will often stay at the homes of a half dozen different people. This includes my children who live up north.

When I get to one of their houses, I plug my magic jack into my laptop, or into their computer, which must be on and it takes usually about a minute to initialize and then its good to go. To make or receive phone calls.

It takes another 15 seconds to change the 911 address if it is somewhere I have been to before and it is already registered.

It ever works via Wi Fi connections if, its a good connection and you have a fast connection to the outside world as well.

I used it at a McDonald's in Nashville one for about an hour, hooked up to my laptop wich was connected to their Wi Fi.

I used it a Clarion Motel in Gainesville, FL and it worked there as well.

The only two things this other guy said which has some validity is this:

When a call comes in or when you pick up the phone to make a call, the phone's window pops up on top of whatever else you are doing.

While 911 works fine, once you have entered in the address as I stated above, I would not want a Magic Jack to be my only phone.

It works great for college students who will have unlimited calling and their parents won't have to worry about the phone bill.

Most college dorms today have wired high speed internet access or at least fast Wi Fi.

I have not had any problems with them redistributing my personal information to other customers as the other claims.

Call quality is excellent, most people who I talk to on it don't know I'm not using a standard phone. However call quality is totally dependant on the speed and quality of your high speed internet connection.

I also own Vonage. I used to have two Vonage lines and I replaced one of the Vonage lines with the Magic Jack.

Voice mail messages can be retrieved from your Magic Jack phone or any other landline or cell phone. And if you set it up, Magic Jack will turn your voice mail messages into computer audio files and E-mail it to you at no extra charge.

I don't think I would want Magic Jack to be my only phone, but after owning my Magic Jack for a year, I renewed it.

So far its been well worth the money.

Pastor Art

Magic Jack really works for me! I am using it for past 1.5 years and I never had any issues with this. Its soo simple. I think the guy who reported , may be the employee of some phone company. He doesnt want you to save money as other phone companies do. I will recommend this to everyone. And screw your old service providers. They all are Mother F******* out there. They F**** your wallet. So dont listen toi any A**H** and enjoy your saved money if you use magic jack ..


John

NC

First of all I would like to say that buying this as a trial, you need to remember you have to specifically cancel it within the period, any trial offer concludes in a charge if not canceled.

They do not tell you that there are no live representatives, but they never claim there are any. No, there are not to my knowledge, but you should never need one.

To the best of my knowledge they do not distribute your information. I did not receive a single telemarketing call for several weeks after purchasing, and between job applications, various website sign-up, et cetera, that is to be expected, and actually, they have ceased in the past two weeks. You will get no more erroneous calls than a normal phone network.

Yes it will probably take over a month for a refund, any mail-return refund takes nearly as long. do not take this as if you have a money-back guarantee to avoid frustration.

You computer may go into to hibernation if it remains connected to the internet, the phone accessing resources will wake it in a call comes in. You computer must remain connected to the internet at all times to have the phone available, and the magicjack application must be active. This is very thoroughly explained on and in the packaging.

When signing up, when opening the box, when verifying your membership, and many other places it is made-abundantly- clear, an internet connected phone -cannot- send residency information to 911, you -must- know your address, it is suggested not to use magicjack to call 911 at all. Understand this. It is an inconvenience, but it is not hidden.

I have used my phone connected to magicjack to call service lines requiring number inputs on several occasions, it works just fine. The listed claim it does not -- it must be a problem with the phone.

In all fairness, it is not listed anywhere that you have to dial the area-code for all phone calls, if you understand how magicjack functions it is easy to see why this is, but let's just be clear that if dialing the area code even in your area code is a deal breaker for you, do not buy it.

Yes, when a call comes in, magic jack returns to full size. If you are working on the computer and the box arising at all is that troublesome, surely you don't want to answer the phone, you do have a do not disturb mode to set magicjack to with a single easy click. The reason it opens, is to show you who is calling. personally, I prefer to know who is calling.

You will use your computers resources (roughly 10kb of memory, less than 10% of a single window of an internet browser) -- that should be fairly straight forward so no, it was not mentioned on tv, and never explicitly in the material, although system requirements are. Then again, the same can be said of any software. It is an understood universal. Updating your drivers -- Windows can guide you through this. If you need support, they're online chat representatives are available and I have never waited longer than 5 minutes. As the report claimed, less than 2 is lucky? I've never been on a support phone line on hold for less than 30 minutes with any phone company, I am happy to wait 5. Also, if you have magicjack, you have the means in front of you to contact their support.

The product works exactly as described, very little is omitted, and once you actually have the product, nothing is. Support is mildly inefficient, but, what else is new. . . and I have never had a malfunction with the software. Which -- was a simple plug-and-play as it is all housed in the connection device itself. The price is exactly as described, and nothing more than that shall ever be charged. It is a good deal.

You can't beat the low cost of calls using MagicJack ... that is, if you're fortunate enough to have it work for you. All you need do is a little internet searching to realize that it really is NOT working for everyone. And when it's not working, the practically non-existant "customer service" is a serious joke. I am NOT speaking for everyone, but I invested hours and hours of my own time trying to resolve problems with the MagicJack that I purchased. I still have problems and I have expressed my own frustrations on this web page: (((Redacted)))


CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

I purchased the MaginJack, plugged it in and have not had any issues. As far as the pop up arriving on your computer screen, i don't know too many people who pick up and dial their phone every ten seconds so, the pop up is a minor issue. Yes you have to dial an area code even if you're calling the neighbor however, entering an extra three digits shouldn't cause any nail breakage.

If calling 911 is an issue (haven't tried it yet) and you have a cell phone, use it. If you have young children and are using the MagicJack as a primary, calling 911 could be an issue. Older children should be able to handle it.. if instructed properly.

The sound quality has been excellent. If you're using this phone more as a secondary (have a cell phone) as we are, it's a great product. You definitely get what you pay for and for us, free long distance and free local calling for the price is worth it. It certainly beats $35.00 a month for local service and additional $$ for long distance plus, you can save by not using your cell phone as often.

I had to respond to the bashing of the MagicJack product... the bashing may need to address the promotion campaign that may lead you to expect more than you really get for the mere $20 (OK, sometimes even $15, with some coupons).... You are buying a VOIP service and a VOIP software packaged with a minimal USB to phone audio converter... not much more... I bought two of those and have been using them for teh past year, in many parts of the world. I am satisfied as (knowing quite a bit about VOIP and maintaining my own VOIP PBX) my expectations were limited. The following limitations are expected:
Do not expect extensive customer support for $20 a year... search for help like you would for free software (google by your issue's keywords).... works fine!

The device is using your computer's resources! either devote a server setup to run this if you want your device to serve you 24/7.... have a UPS and all the auto startup connected... well.... 24/7 is not exactly what the device is designed to do.... but... I noticed it's being advertized to elude audience to think so.

If the data transfer performance of your ISP is lousy, so would the sound quality through your MagicJack....Scream at the ISP!

So when did MagicJack works fine for me? When I travel I use the device extansively to call in the US.... great solution (but rather similar to SkyPE out, at about a similar price range....) Only advantage of MagicJack over SkyPE, StanaPhone, Yahoo voice and others is that I can connect to it my small cordless phone that I tote around with the MagicJack.
If and when I experience bad sound quality I would first suspect the internet connection quality (I usually run a speed check and that would tell me whom to be angry at... as if that helps.... :-))

MajicJack saves the day when I am overseas and need to make many calls to organizations for which I have only toll free number, or need to go on long conference calls... in those cases it is a life saver... and, no, I do not rely on MagicJack (and for that matter, on any VOIP services) as an incoming phone line, nor for emergencies. For that there are landlines!
I would say that most of the beefs in the original ripoff report may be valid, yet one has to curtail expectations to the real limitations of the resources (as in hardware, software and service)....!

...not perfect, but what product is? At first, I set mine up on my Mac which was connected by Wifi. The wifi connection was not so strong and I thought the lost calls were the MJ's fault. I reinstalled it directly to my Mac and I have had almost perfect service in the months since then.
The one problem is using the keypad for entering info. Sometimes it does not work, and I assume that is due to the nature of the connection.

But is it worth every penny? No question.

Today is my second day as a Magic jack user. I was told from the beginning that my computer had to be on. I can't believe how easy it was to install. I have my portable phone with my own answering machine hooked up to my magic jack. Nothing is perfect. Not even your land line at home. I will say, My phone through magic jack sounds 100 times better if not more than my land line ever did. I do have a cell phone because common sense says you don't use magic jack as your only means of communication considering it won't work if the computer is shut off. And yes, I do turn my computer off at night. My family and close friends have my cell number should there be an emergency. Anyone else can leave a message on my Magic jack, and yes, even though your computer is off and someone calls it will go directly to your magic jack voice mail. I have disconnected my home phone and now use only magic jack and my cell. Again, if the power goes out you should have a back up. If you think things through and are someone who plans ahead like i do. You simply can't go wrong with Magic jack !!!. Not to mention, it's less than 2 dollars a month. I for one would rather spend the extra money I'm saving on not having the standard land line, on things my family wants or needs. Perhaps magic jack is not for everyone. But, it's definitely for me.

It sounds to me like their is a lot of needless complaining going on. I purchased the majic jack a year ago. Yes there are times when i get frustrated with it, but the bottom line is that i pay $20 dollars a year for it. It is well worth it. What a person should do is order basic phone service with no long distance and use the majic jack for long distance. Wow $1 a month for long distance service, not too bad.

When they say "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is", than it probably is. I have a few friends that have been using Magic jack and now I have one as well. While I agree there could be better solutions such as Magic Jack having a better customer support solution for their customers, but than that would cost them more money which in turn would cost us the customers trying to "save" money. Everything i read while being a legitimate greivience is something Magic Jack no doubt left out in order to skim things to provide the consumer with something that costs as little as possible. When I look at my 60.00 a month phone bill and than at the 20.00 a YEAR bill I now have i tell myself I can sacrifice the few pain in the butt things with Magic Jack. I can say that because where i live we have only one internet service which is through our local phone company which in turn requires you to have phone service to have internet. To cut the cost my phone company offers 35.00 a month internet which includes unlimited incoming calls and 10 cents a minute out going. I saw magic Jack as my perfect solution to shaving off 60.oo a month of my 100.00 a month phone/internet bill. I agree the service lacks in areas compared to regular phone service HOWEVER that is because they have to cut out some luxuries in my thinking in order to afford to sell it so cheap to us. So in the end for me it's a great way to cut back in this economy. It would be nice if Magic Jack could provide a way to plug our adaptors into the modem or router so our computers do not have to be on as much. That is not good for any computer.

You get what you pay for and anyone expecting perfection at these prices is just being foolish...Grin and bear it or go back to high priced phone service. Or get a cheap pay 15.00 a month cell phone for emergencies as we do.

Look, let me be the first to say that I rarely come to the defense of any company. This time, though, I feel I should speak up. I've had the MagicJack for about 5 months now and I feel if you know how to use it, it can serve you well.

You cannot expect too much from a company who's only product is a one time sale and a service provider with little involvement in how their service works. (That being said, I will get in to the details in a moment.)

The MagicJack does just what it says. It provides phone service for a low cost, nothing more. The company has significant information on their website to cover issues such as E911 information and the setup of the product. [Just a point of fact, if you don't have 2 minutes to fill out your home address for the E911 system - then maybe your too busy to use this product] There are annoyances with every product. In this case, the MagicJack screen appears everytime the phone is used.

The company cannot control things like the fact your computer is outdated or needs upgrading or that you have 5 million things running in the background eating up every system resource so the product doesn't function right. (Thanks Weather Bug) Maybe, you ISP or connection are not sufficent for you to use this product.

If the consumer goes in to a sale blind, then chances are you will disappointed because you didn't take the time to investigate the product like he or she should have.

I am a technician and a technical manager and from the sound of this story, as with the case of most of the issues I see, the frustration of the consumer spills over in to the logical complaint and the complaint then becomes unreasonable.

It litterally takes a total of 10 -- no more than 15 minutes to setup this device. Plug it in, register your information and let it run. If you cannot get past these two steps, bring in the technical personel you need to do it or take the product off and don't use it. Forgive me for being a bit unreasonable here but... You may want to pack up your computer as well because it may take up too much of your time. And if you don't know how to use that, either learn or get rid of it. When did everyone get so lazy. Aww! I have to press the area code and then the phone number! Oh forget it.... Wait a minute! I have to type in my home address? Oh this is too much work! I shouldn't have to learn!

If you aren't willing to learn or work whether it is this product or any of you future purchases, you going to become a columist on this site. I see too many times where people expect the world to stop for them because they are the most important people (in their minds) and everyone should drop everything and occupy their time with that person's problem.

Everyone I have talked with has said that this product works fine. It does what it's supposed to do. If it didn't, their computer needed a little cleaning up or upgrading and all was well.

I guess my only other question would be, did you really think the MagicJack would work if you computer wasn't on? Wait a minute... I bought this mouse and... and now I have to plug it in?! Oh your saying I need to turn on the computer too!!! That button is just too far away.

Just so we're on the same page... If you rub the instruction manual on your head... there's a excellant chance you'll wind up just as clueless as you are now.

I bet you have not had any trouble blogging, e-mailing or texting. MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are probably your favorite sites for voicing your uninformed thoughts.

In my opinion, you don't have to be tech savy but be atleast willing to try and use the bump that sit on your sholders.

I will conclude with this. I am normally a good guy and never "vent" like this but I see so many people in the service industry that are forced to keep their smile and tell the customer that it is not their fault and that the service oriented person would make everything right. There comes a time when the truth must be heard and "PR" needs to take a back seat.

(I'm sorry, that means Public Realations)

I got my Magic Jack from Radio Shack to avoid all the hassles of ordering via phone or online.

This way if I had a problem with the product I can take it straight back to the store.

My advice to you when you see any product on TV, do your homework and see if it can be bought via a retail and in most cases it can be.

I got my Shark Mop from Kmart rather than the calling the 800 number or ordering online...saves a headache when I can go right back to the store I bought it from.

Let this be a lesson learn for you.

I love the Magic Jack and it works so as long as there is a computer on connected to the internet.

I expected that my Majickjack call would go thru my computer. If computer was off I would have no MJ.

I must dial 10 digits to call my neighbor! Why, phone company changed.

I do not think many of the charges are true. Maybe rewrite the critique.

I think many of the persons did not investigate the product/service prior to buying MJack. I'm retired and was paying almost 100.00/month plus a cell phone for my home phone on a fixed income. I am able to make calls anywhere in the USA & Canada. I felt the deal was so good that when my 1 year contract expired 2 weeks ago I renewed it for 5 years for only 59.99. Five years on ATT service would run thousands of dollars.

1-When my PC hybernates all my calls go to voice mail which I can replay in my Email box without calling VM. I can also forward calls to my cell phone at night.
2-I bought a friend in England one and She can call me and I Her at no charge.
3-I live in florida but my phone number is a 212 NYC number so family only has to make local calls to me. I can call anywhere 24/7 an no LD charges.
4-I had a problem just yesterday, I emailed Customer service through their site and communicated via PC with a LIVE rep. she handled my service issue in 20 minutes. No fuss no muss.
5-I have a cell phone -its for emergency use at home or on the road or during a power outage. A Florida daily occurance.
6-If I have to make a 3am call all I do is pick up the phone and the PC comes out of "HYBERNATION" not death, and I make my call.
7-I made a 911 call 6 months ago after an attempted break in-in less than 2 minutes a car was dispatched to my home-while I held the punk at bay with my pistol-(retired cop)

Most of you will Pi$$ away 19.95 in a movie outing on pop-corn and drinks. Here you get phone service at depression pricing for the same ammount. Whats the Beef?

You cry ripp off when its ATT(et al) is ripping you off and why should I pay out of pocket for a live person on a phone after waiting 20 minutes just to speak to someone, or go through the voice mail labyrinth each year for a $1200.00 out of my pocket. I rather put up with minor inconveneices.

A quick and easy 3 minutes was all it took to get up and running with Magic Jack.
I purchased it at the local Walmart and the only issue I have is that it doesn't connect with my TiVo but that's not Magic Jack's fault... it's TIVO that doesn't like mj and I found that out by reading the FYI's listed on their hompage under HELP...

To anyone that has looked at the report :

I am a retired Vietnam veteran (USMC) and have been using the Internet for about 40 years.

Magic Jack was real easy to install and a couple of minutes after I let it do its
thing , I was talking to my friends in Conn. from Florida .

This has to be the best savings of telephone bills since the light bulb was
invented.

I really feel sorry for the people that want everything for nothing.

I plug in the magic jack and then I plug my phone cord into it and make my calls.

When I am done ,I unplug it and plug it back into my regular line without the Magic Jack and I can call police or whatever.

I only use Magic jack when I want to make a long distance call.

Naturally when I unplug Magic Jack I do not have any popups appearing on my computer.

My regular land line phone is right next to the computer, so it is no problem to unplug it and plug it into the Magic Jack and stick it into the USB slot on the front of the computer.

Some people just want to make it hard.

If they take the time to disclose how to use the product and what possible issues may be encountered they would have more satisfied customers. I saved $30.00 per month not including long distance. I had the same problem with dropped calls at first but now it is better. Drop calls seem to have diminished. My service area was a 10 mile radius and long distance in excess of 10 miles. Regular phone would cost me a bundle in long distance. With MJ it is FREE. I cannot think OF having a regular land line phone. Having the cell to receive late calls is very cost effective. Internationally calls are about 0.10 per min.

Try my suggestions below.

Use Magic Jack while our computer is on. MJ will not work when the computer is off. Have a cell for after hours and have the kids use the cell for emergancy.

1. When the computer is turned off Magic Jack will not receive calls.

2. When your computer is on and a call comes in Magic Jack responds with a pop window. I simply minimize it. My susggestion is if you have an old computer with a USB use it for MJ.

3. I have no answers if you are not satisfied and want a refund. I never had the experience in asking for a refund.

I have it going on one year but I keep a cell phone "pay as you go" and I receive calls on it when the compter is turned off. Very cost effective.

Tino

93550 California

Well I guess people hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see.

I watched those ads over and over and just could not get motivated to try a gadjet. I participated in the SKYPE test project when it was 100% free and was sorely disappointed. I have watched other products used including VONA??? and was not impressed in a positive way.

So after studying carefully what the product is capable of and what its FEATURES AND BENEFITS are and listening very carefully determining that it plugged directly into the computer to obtain internet access. OBVIOUSLY THE COMPUTER HAS TO BE ON FOR THIS TO FUNCTION.

I finally discovered enough technical information to understand that this product utilizes less bandwidth that other VOIP technologies. I also realized that for less than $50.00 for 2 years service and the device, there might be some additional shortcommings.

Since all of the VOIP phones are not location bound like a LANDLINE TELEPHONE, I knew in advance that ALL VOIP PHONES REQUIRE YOU TO REGISTER FOR 911 if you intend to use it so that your location can be stored and associated with your number. It also relies on you letting them know if you move.

Additionally, just like when I call 911 on a landline or a cell phone, I would expect teh 911 operator to ask me what nubmer I am calling from and my location even though I know for a fact that they see it on the computer. It is a way of making sure that the information is accurate and also a way of seeing if a person is making false statements while trying to file a false 911 report. If the info does not match they ask more questions.

I was amazed at how smoothly the installation and setup went. I actually allowed my sister who is all thumbs when it comes to computers set this thing up on the NEW VISTA computer I gave her. IF ANYTHING IS NOT GOING TO WORK I BELIEVE IT IS GOING TO SHOW IMMEDIATELY ON VISTA.

To my surprise she got it up and running and it was great. The sound quality is great. There are no long distance calls. She traded a $25.00 month plus long distance fees phone for this device because all the other uses that require a landline are not that important. She traded phone bills that had buried her in debt when she was forced to make long distance calls to speak with our mother out of state.

The phone uses less bandwidth and produces the cleanest voice reproduction I have ever experienced with a VOIP device.


As for technical support. I am amazed at the quality and availability of support for a service that is so inexpensive.

Anyone who knows anything about computers or basically any product that might require contact with the company should be fully aware that they do not hire one employee for every purchase so a wait might be necessary. HOWEVER, the contacts i have made with this company are nothing less than amazing. OBVIOUSLY THE PRODUCT IS SO WELL THOUGHT OUT THAT THEIR SUPPORT PEOPLE ARE NOT OVERBURDENED WITH CALLS.

So use your head. If you want to save money on long distance and you have a computer and a good internet connection then this device might be just what you are looking for. You can send one to a person in another country after activating it here and make free calls. That is nice.

HOWEVER, if you are so tight for money that you are considering it as your primary phone to keep from going broke and not being able to eat, I would say that you have to really think about what you use and need a telephone for and then ask if this will satisfy the need. Remember keeping a computer on day and night eats electricity so that may eat into your savings if you normally would not have the computer on all day and night but want to have it on so you can have phone access.


You might want to look at lifeline service from you phone company to keep a landline phone in the house for MINIMUM amounts of money and then use the MAGIC JACK to save money where you can.


THIS MIGHT REQUIURE INTELLIGENCE AND APPLICATION OF THAT INTELLIGENCE.

BE CAREFUL. ALTHOUGH MAGIC JACK IS THE EASIEST, SIMPLEST, MOST FUNCTIONAL VOIP PRODUCT I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO USE YOUR HEAD A LITTLE . PAY ATTENTION AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WHAT YOUR NEEDS ARE. FOR 20.00 A YEAR THEY REALLY DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO HOLD YOUR HAND AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT EVERY LITTLE POSSIBILITY. YOU HAVE TO THINK OF THOSE ON YOUR OWN. THEIR WEBSITE ANSWERS ABOUT ANY QUESTION I HAVE EVER HAD. YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO READ. NO ILLITERATES PLEASE.

Being a computer tech, I hear all kinds of "TECH-NO-BABBLE" from people attempting to sound smarter that they really are. "I have 20/20 speed connection with verizon, so connection is not an issue."-KRAMER If I am not mistaken, 20/20 refers to vision, and as far as I can find in my technical data bases, there is not listing there either. Nevertheless, I am to assume that Kramer is looking at the GUI on his desktop for his WIRELESS connection. The fact of the matter is, if one visits the Magic Website and actually reads [RTFM] about the requirements, they PLAINLY state that Magic Jack does not work with wireless internet connections, Satellite, etc.

"But if you want to just pick up a phone, the system is in sleep mode. You have to wait for the system to wake up and then with all the updates."-KRAMER DUH!!! You can't use your printer or any other devices connected to your computer either! HEY Kramer! Take your system out of the hibernation mode, or does that make sense?!?

So just like 99% of all the complaints on the RIPOFF REPORT, at least for the VOIP, the issue is NOT the product, but a USER ERROR. That being said; I myself currently have two Magic Jacks in nearly continous service at my home. Also, each one of my techs are using a Magic Jack without issues. And lastly, I am using two in my store as a demo and allow people to make calls all over the country. For those not keeping score at home, that is 8 Magic Jacks working flawlessly, less any Microsoft OS issues! But that is another story!

And as I read in one rebuttal, it is only $20-$30 dollars. Still less than a carton of cancer sticks!

I have 20/20 speed connection with verizon, so connection is not an issue.
Magic jack sucks
Keep you packaging so you can return it. I bought it for a home office with infrequent calls. 2-6 per day.
But if you want to just pick up a phone, the system is in sleep mode. You have to wait for the system to wake up and then with all the updates. Never heard either thing on the commercial.
ANY one want to buy it. 11 months left on service?????

Not sure why there are so many negative reports on MagicJack. I presume that it's because they have grown rapidly and people aren't having their hands held along the way.

I've been using MagicJack for the past five months without ANY problems. I just plug it in, let Windows do it's driver installation and it's ready to make calls. The commercials are accurate and represent the actual use of the product.

I've made LD calls, local calls and even a 911 test call. Everything operates up to expectations.

I recommend after plugging it in, obtain an update for it just to make sure it operates well.

I have only been billed once, in one installment for one year of service. No billing issues.

I have a Cox cable broadband connection. Perhaps some problems people have are because they are on slower DSL connections.

MagicJack is a great company and sets the bar for other entrepreneurs looking to go big on a good idea.

--Joe

Not sure why there are so many negative reports on MagicJack. I presume that it's because they have grown rapidly and people aren't having their hands held along the way.

I've been using MagicJack for the past five months without ANY problems. I just plug it in, let Windows do it's driver installation and it's ready to make calls. The commercials are accurate and represent the actual use of the product.

I've made LD calls, local calls and even a 911 test call. Everything operates up to expectations.

I recommend after plugging it in, obtain an update for it just to make sure it operates well.

I have only been billed once, in one installment for one year of service. No billing issues.

I have a Cox cable broadband connection. Perhaps some problems people have are because they are on slower DSL connections.

MagicJack is a great company and sets the bar for other entrepreneurs looking to go big on a good idea.

--Joe

Not sure why there are so many negative reports on MagicJack. I presume that it's because they have grown rapidly and people aren't having their hands held along the way.

I've been using MagicJack for the past five months without ANY problems. I just plug it in, let Windows do it's driver installation and it's ready to make calls. The commercials are accurate and represent the actual use of the product.

I've made LD calls, local calls and even a 911 test call. Everything operates up to expectations.

I recommend after plugging it in, obtain an update for it just to make sure it operates well.

I have only been billed once, in one installment for one year of service. No billing issues.

I have a Cox cable broadband connection. Perhaps some problems people have are because they are on slower DSL connections.

MagicJack is a great company and sets the bar for other entrepreneurs looking to go big on a good idea.

--Joe

Not sure why there are so many negative reports on MagicJack. I presume that it's because they have grown rapidly and people aren't having their hands held along the way.

I've been using MagicJack for the past five months without ANY problems. I just plug it in, let Windows do it's driver installation and it's ready to make calls. The commercials are accurate and represent the actual use of the product.

I've made LD calls, local calls and even a 911 test call. Everything operates up to expectations.

I recommend after plugging it in, obtain an update for it just to make sure it operates well.

I have only been billed once, in one installment for one year of service. No billing issues.

I have a Cox cable broadband connection. Perhaps some problems people have are because they are on slower DSL connections.

MagicJack is a great company and sets the bar for other entrepreneurs looking to go big on a good idea.

--Joe

The Magic Jack works PERFECTLY. If you don't want to leave your main computer on all the time or if you just don't want to run this program on your main computer I hve a solution. For the $$ you save, you can buy a cheap little $50 old computer, set it in the corner and let it run Magic Jack. Never turn it off. I thought Vonage was a great deal, but this beats Vonage's prices by a mile!

So what if you have to dial the area code even for a local call. Most larger metro areas make you do that anyway with the phone company or cable company's phone service.

Anyone that does not like this product absolutely must be in the tiny, tiny minority.

This product does EVERYTHING it says it does and a LOT MORE!

Contrary to the many negative posts I see regarding MagicJack, I have found it to be an exceptional product. I installed it on an older Pentium 3 laptop and it installed seemlessly, with no problem whatsoever. The clarity is far better than my landline. I run numerous programs simultaneously and there is no problem with system resources.

I may sound like I work for the company with all my praises of the product, but I can assure you I am a retiree in Pittsburgh. In these days of receiving a lack of value for dollars spent, Magicjack is the exception.

The contact list is easy to use and makes one-click calling possible. Free directory assistance is a valuable tool and is free. Caller ID is also free. Unlike the phone company you even get a choice of exchanges. I'm anxious to try the free conference call feature. They even give you free voicemail, which is sent to you by email, AND is available also by simply calling your assigned phone number.

Incoming phone calls ring even when you have the sound muted on the computer. Additionally a pop-up window appears and shows you the phone number of the incoming call.

I suspect some of the complaints I see on this forum are from people with dial-up connections. Magicjack specifically states that you need a high speed connection. Perhaps some of the computer illiterate complainers don't know the difference between dial-up and high speed!

I've had a couple of questions, and the online chat feature is a plus. The customer service personnel are intelligent, and you can tell they are not reps who have been outsourced to a foreign country. In fact on one of my two calls the agent made a typo, and quickly corrected it, adding the comment "my bad". That's about as American as it can be!

C'mon people, get real! You're paying $20/year or if you accept their special offer, an additional 5 years is less than $12/year. Can't you people see a bargain when it's hittng you between the eyes? No, you're going to b***h about having to dial the area code??? In Pittsburgh, and a lot of other places we have been required to do that for years. And my oh my, it only works when the computer is on. DUH!!!

It really irks me that a product this good and this cheap gets a bad rap for nothing.

Contrary to the many negative posts I see regarding MagicJack, I have found it to be an exceptional product. I installed it on an older Pentium 3 laptop and it installed seemlessly, with no problem whatsoever. The clarity is far better than my landline. I run numerous programs simultaneously and there is no problem with system resources.

I may sound like I work for the company with all my praises of the product, but I can assure you I am a retiree in Pittsburgh. In these days of receiving a lack of value for dollars spent, Magicjack is the exception.

The contact list is easy to use and makes one-click calling possible. Free directory assistance is a valuable tool and is free. Caller ID is also free. Unlike the phone company you even get a choice of exchanges. I'm anxious to try the free conference call feature. They even give you free voicemail, which is sent to you by email, AND is available also by simply calling your assigned phone number.

Incoming phone calls ring even when you have the sound muted on the computer. Additionally a pop-up window appears and shows you the phone number of the incoming call.

I suspect some of the complaints I see on this forum are from people with dial-up connections. Magicjack specifically states that you need a high speed connection. Perhaps some of the computer illiterate complainers don't know the difference between dial-up and high speed!

I've had a couple of questions, and the online chat feature is a plus. The customer service personnel are intelligent, and you can tell they are not reps who have been outsourced to a foreign country. In fact on one of my two calls the agent made a typo, and quickly corrected it, adding the comment "my bad". That's about as American as it can be!

C'mon people, get real! You're paying $20/year or if you accept their special offer, an additional 5 years is less than $12/year. Can't you people see a bargain when it's hittng you between the eyes? No, you're going to b***h about having to dial the area code??? In Pittsburgh, and a lot of other places we have been required to do that for years. And my oh my, it only works when the computer is on. DUH!!!

It really irks me that a product this good and this cheap gets a bad rap for nothing.

Contrary to the many negative posts I see regarding MagicJack, I have found it to be an exceptional product. I installed it on an older Pentium 3 laptop and it installed seemlessly, with no problem whatsoever. The clarity is far better than my landline. I run numerous programs simultaneously and there is no problem with system resources.

I may sound like I work for the company with all my praises of the product, but I can assure you I am a retiree in Pittsburgh. In these days of receiving a lack of value for dollars spent, Magicjack is the exception.

The contact list is easy to use and makes one-click calling possible. Free directory assistance is a valuable tool and is free. Caller ID is also free. Unlike the phone company you even get a choice of exchanges. I'm anxious to try the free conference call feature. They even give you free voicemail, which is sent to you by email, AND is available also by simply calling your assigned phone number.

Incoming phone calls ring even when you have the sound muted on the computer. Additionally a pop-up window appears and shows you the phone number of the incoming call.

I suspect some of the complaints I see on this forum are from people with dial-up connections. Magicjack specifically states that you need a high speed connection. Perhaps some of the computer illiterate complainers don't know the difference between dial-up and high speed!

I've had a couple of questions, and the online chat feature is a plus. The customer service personnel are intelligent, and you can tell they are not reps who have been outsourced to a foreign country. In fact on one of my two calls the agent made a typo, and quickly corrected it, adding the comment "my bad". That's about as American as it can be!

C'mon people, get real! You're paying $20/year or if you accept their special offer, an additional 5 years is less than $12/year. Can't you people see a bargain when it's hittng you between the eyes? No, you're going to b***h about having to dial the area code??? In Pittsburgh, and a lot of other places we have been required to do that for years. And my oh my, it only works when the computer is on. DUH!!!

It really irks me that a product this good and this cheap gets a bad rap for nothing.

Contrary to the many negative posts I see regarding MagicJack, I have found it to be an exceptional product. I installed it on an older Pentium 3 laptop and it installed seemlessly, with no problem whatsoever. The clarity is far better than my landline. I run numerous programs simultaneously and there is no problem with system resources.

I may sound like I work for the company with all my praises of the product, but I can assure you I am a retiree in Pittsburgh. In these days of receiving a lack of value for dollars spent, Magicjack is the exception.

The contact list is easy to use and makes one-click calling possible. Free directory assistance is a valuable tool and is free. Caller ID is also free. Unlike the phone company you even get a choice of exchanges. I'm anxious to try the free conference call feature. They even give you free voicemail, which is sent to you by email, AND is available also by simply calling your assigned phone number.

Incoming phone calls ring even when you have the sound muted on the computer. Additionally a pop-up window appears and shows you the phone number of the incoming call.

I suspect some of the complaints I see on this forum are from people with dial-up connections. Magicjack specifically states that you need a high speed connection. Perhaps some of the computer illiterate complainers don't know the difference between dial-up and high speed!

I've had a couple of questions, and the online chat feature is a plus. The customer service personnel are intelligent, and you can tell they are not reps who have been outsourced to a foreign country. In fact on one of my two calls the agent made a typo, and quickly corrected it, adding the comment "my bad". That's about as American as it can be!

C'mon people, get real! You're paying $20/year or if you accept their special offer, an additional 5 years is less than $12/year. Can't you people see a bargain when it's hittng you between the eyes? No, you're going to b***h about having to dial the area code??? In Pittsburgh, and a lot of other places we have been required to do that for years. And my oh my, it only works when the computer is on. DUH!!!

It really irks me that a product this good and this cheap gets a bad rap for nothing.

I am a user of MagicJack and find that this device works fine, but I do have a problem with the way it is advertised.

1. People need to be told the minimum requirements for a computer: This device will not work with non-DSL computers or laptops, or a dial in modem. DSL minimum is needed with a fast connectivity, meaning your computer should be tuned. If you don't know what that means, take it to a computer shop and have the registry cleaned, and the computer cleaned of other memory sapping items no longer used on your computer.

2. You just can't plug in and start talking: It takes about one-minute for the MagicJack to initialize, and then you have to register the magicJack and choose a phone number you want to use with the MagicJack.

If your computer has a lot of garbage in its physical memory, and in its registry your computer will run slow and MagicJack may or may not work. This is true even with other programs that require a lot of attention. If you live in an area with poor Internet service, specifically DSL over phone lines, you can run into a problem where this is overriding noise on the twisted pair your DSL is riding on.

Bottom-line: There are other factors to consider.

Overall the MagicJack is a fine device that works, but MagicJack could do a much better job at describing some basic computer and laptop requirements for this device to be effective. People not too savvy with computers will blame the MagicJack device, while it might be their computer or laptop that needs some cleaning and optimization for the MagicJack to work efficently, or the median the Internet signal is riding on produces too much noise.

Bottom-line: MagicJack should work at doing a better job describing minimum system requirements.

i have been using MagicJack internet telephone now for about 4 months, and so far, no problems.

I have been using Magic Jack for about 6 months. It works perfectly for me as a second line for my buisness. I have had only one issue upon installation and had no problem with an Email response from the company, THey do list an email, and mine was answered within 15 hours of sending. The service is good, no static. Please remember the service for Voip is as good as your internet connection.

Magic Jack Saves me a load of money from what I paid the phone company. I had to wait a few months but now they have my local area code and I can pick a prefix that is local to more counties, in my area, than were previously so even more people I know can call toll free to my home. The change to the new area code was free too.

The phone has no problem ringing when the computer is sleeping and for those who want it off at night, I have a friend who turns everything off at night anyway, especial his phone, so it is great for those types.

I had a technical problem at first but it did not take an online technician more that 5 minutes to discover that a graphics program I had and their hardware were fighting over the same drivers, and he fixed the problem.

Clear conversations, quick dial up, helpful call forwarding to work and voice mail, if I do not forward to work, pops up in my email. What the heck do you want for 19 bucks a year, or a lot less if you buy 5 years in advance? That friend who turns the phone off anyway at night actually decided to just reduce his Bell South line to the bare bone minimum, kept his DSL, and Bell South for his alarm system Added Magic jack with its' bells and whistles, and still saves about 400 bucks a year.

What this complaining person doesn't tell you is that Magic Jack works!

For $20 a year would you expect personalized customer service? Come On!

If you do a lot of long distance calling this is the best bang for your buck. Yes, it has room for improvement, but it is a great value!

Even if it isn't right for you (you do want to save money don't you?), spending $40 won't break the bank. Give it to someone who can use it. Did you know that a homeless person could use this at a library or internet cafe to make calls?

With the money you save with Magic Jack over two or three years you could buy another computer and have multiple Magic Jack phone lines; one for each member of the family.

By using a small UPS battery backup on your Internet modem and computer, if the power goes out, you CAN call 911 or make emergency calls.

No, I don't work for Magic Jack. I own two of them and have used them for about a year now. Other than a few small problems, the service has been reliable. I recommend Magic Jack to my customers (I am a computer consultant-tech) and my friends.

I have a problem with Magic Jack, mainly because it works poorly for me. The TV ad says a lot of things which are untrue or just bad advice....if you need a reliable phone...magic jack is not it so do not get rid of a reliable phone line and expect the magic jack claim of 'its all you need, fire the phone company' or 'unlimited free calls' to be valid...they are lying to sell this thing.

We bought one and set it up, no problems there...of course they say (on the website, not the ad) all the negatives about the product like selling your personal info....I wasnt that terribly worried and I admit I did not read the part where this great deal would start charging you if you stay on the phone too long. Luckily for me, it disconnected me every 15 minutes so I didnt have the patience to stay on very long...maybe thats the business plan...frustrate the person enough that he only stays on for less than 5 minutes.

Other issues I experience rather frequently was the inability to hear the person on the other line...frustrating when calling your wife from work, you are telling her something and then you get a call on the other line...its your wife calling back because she couldn't hear you any more!! At least when it disconnects you you know you are disconnected so you dont keep talking!!

The sound quality is poor (clicks, static on a pretty regular basis)

Those who took the advice of the company and 'fired the phone company' will find problems with calling emergency services of course and in general its just not reliable enough to be a primary phone line....in Houston during a hurricane you cant turn on your computer during a blackout but the land line works fine....even when cell phones were not working...there are myriad reason why it should be your main phone.

All the same, with all the negatives and there are plenty...you get what you pay for and that is a low quality internet phone service that should NOT be your only phone line...the only thing good about it is you can call a relative or friend long distance for free and even with the low quality, drops, and losing sound and all the other negatives...thats worth the 20 bucks.

So my opinion of the company and product? Poor quality product but cheap with at least one single benefit...calling for free...the company is like most others that shill their low quality merchandise on TV....they hope you run to that phone and buy it before getting online and reading the limitations and maybe even reviews from people complaining about the quality.

I still have it and use it here and there for some long distance calling but in town I call the other line to avoid the drops, I dont use it a lot to avoid the threat of having to pay as I go (I can do that with a cell phone and the quality is 10x better)

Before some guy who has no real clue comes in an blames me for the problems I have experienced with the 'Magiccrap'...I can assure you that I am not in any way shape or form, lacking techsavy...I just can recognize poor quality crap and service when I see it...but again...its cheap as dirt so I expected no less...I only got it because my wife wanted it to save on long distance call...and though the quality and service is terrible (for us)...it has served its purpose so I wouldnt call them a rip-off...just another company with a commercial on TV that makes false claims (like 'fire your phone company')

If I had to stress just one thing, dont fire your phone company just yet and if THIS is the future...god help us...

I have a problem with Magic Jack, mainly because it works poorly for me. The TV ad says a lot of things which are untrue or just bad advice....if you need a reliable phone...magic jack is not it so do not get rid of a reliable phone line and expect the magic jack claim of 'its all you need, fire the phone company' or 'unlimited free calls' to be valid...they are lying to sell this thing.

We bought one and set it up, no problems there...of course they say (on the website, not the ad) all the negatives about the product like selling your personal info....I wasnt that terribly worried and I admit I did not read the part where this great deal would start charging you if you stay on the phone too long. Luckily for me, it disconnected me every 15 minutes so I didnt have the patience to stay on very long...maybe thats the business plan...frustrate the person enough that he only stays on for less than 5 minutes.

Other issues I experience rather frequently was the inability to hear the person on the other line...frustrating when calling your wife from work, you are telling her something and then you get a call on the other line...its your wife calling back because she couldn't hear you any more!! At least when it disconnects you you know you are disconnected so you dont keep talking!!

The sound quality is poor (clicks, static on a pretty regular basis)

Those who took the advice of the company and 'fired the phone company' will find problems with calling emergency services of course and in general its just not reliable enough to be a primary phone line....in Houston during a hurricane you cant turn on your computer during a blackout but the land line works fine....even when cell phones were not working...there are myriad reason why it should be your main phone.

All the same, with all the negatives and there are plenty...you get what you pay for and that is a low quality internet phone service that should NOT be your only phone line...the only thing good about it is you can call a relative or friend long distance for free and even with the low quality, drops, and losing sound and all the other negatives...thats worth the 20 bucks.

So my opinion of the company and product? Poor quality product but cheap with at least one single benefit...calling for free...the company is like most others that shill their low quality merchandise on TV....they hope you run to that phone and buy it before getting online and reading the limitations and maybe even reviews from people complaining about the quality.

I still have it and use it here and there for some long distance calling but in town I call the other line to avoid the drops, I dont use it a lot to avoid the threat of having to pay as I go (I can do that with a cell phone and the quality is 10x better)

Before some guy who has no real clue comes in an blames me for the problems I have experienced with the 'Magiccrap'...I can assure you that I am not in any way shape or form, lacking techsavy...I just can recognize poor quality crap and service when I see it...but again...its cheap as dirt so I expected no less...I only got it because my wife wanted it to save on long distance call...and though the quality and service is terrible (for us)...it has served its purpose so I wouldnt call them a rip-off...just another company with a commercial on TV that makes false claims (like 'fire your phone company')

If I had to stress just one thing, dont fire your phone company just yet and if THIS is the future...god help us...

I have a problem with Magic Jack, mainly because it works poorly for me. The TV ad says a lot of things which are untrue or just bad advice....if you need a reliable phone...magic jack is not it so do not get rid of a reliable phone line and expect the magic jack claim of 'its all you need, fire the phone company' or 'unlimited free calls' to be valid...they are lying to sell this thing.

We bought one and set it up, no problems there...of course they say (on the website, not the ad) all the negatives about the product like selling your personal info....I wasnt that terribly worried and I admit I did not read the part where this great deal would start charging you if you stay on the phone too long. Luckily for me, it disconnected me every 15 minutes so I didnt have the patience to stay on very long...maybe thats the business plan...frustrate the person enough that he only stays on for less than 5 minutes.

Other issues I experience rather frequently was the inability to hear the person on the other line...frustrating when calling your wife from work, you are telling her something and then you get a call on the other line...its your wife calling back because she couldn't hear you any more!! At least when it disconnects you you know you are disconnected so you dont keep talking!!

The sound quality is poor (clicks, static on a pretty regular basis)

Those who took the advice of the company and 'fired the phone company' will find problems with calling emergency services of course and in general its just not reliable enough to be a primary phone line....in Houston during a hurricane you cant turn on your computer during a blackout but the land line works fine....even when cell phones were not working...there are myriad reason why it should be your main phone.

All the same, with all the negatives and there are plenty...you get what you pay for and that is a low quality internet phone service that should NOT be your only phone line...the only thing good about it is you can call a relative or friend long distance for free and even with the low quality, drops, and losing sound and all the other negatives...thats worth the 20 bucks.

So my opinion of the company and product? Poor quality product but cheap with at least one single benefit...calling for free...the company is like most others that shill their low quality merchandise on TV....they hope you run to that phone and buy it before getting online and reading the limitations and maybe even reviews from people complaining about the quality.

I still have it and use it here and there for some long distance calling but in town I call the other line to avoid the drops, I dont use it a lot to avoid the threat of having to pay as I go (I can do that with a cell phone and the quality is 10x better)

Before some guy who has no real clue comes in an blames me for the problems I have experienced with the 'Magiccrap'...I can assure you that I am not in any way shape or form, lacking techsavy...I just can recognize poor quality crap and service when I see it...but again...its cheap as dirt so I expected no less...I only got it because my wife wanted it to save on long distance call...and though the quality and service is terrible (for us)...it has served its purpose so I wouldnt call them a rip-off...just another company with a commercial on TV that makes false claims (like 'fire your phone company')

If I had to stress just one thing, dont fire your phone company just yet and if THIS is the future...god help us...

I bought a Magic Jack at a Radio Shack in Chicago, and it has worked for me WELL within expectations.

It was choppy connection at first, and I had to unplug it and plug it back in once in a while or it would stop hearing ME speak into the phone... but that was minor... every morning, unplug it and plug it back in.

SO, I found a real good deal online to multiply my computers memory by 4 to the max, and found that I could put in a also use faster memory. I did so, for as little as $48. that stopped ALL of the choppy sound.

HOWEVER, THEN...

I bought a new cell phone from a company offering PREPAID FLAT RATE service... it could not dial my Magic Jack phone number, though they were in the same area code!

THEN...

I tried to install a Security System for my home... it could not dial OUT through the Magic Jack system used in my home.

SO, end result is that we are getting our old phone service BACK for the home, and using Magic Jack here at the computer for my internet business. STILL a good deal!

Those dialing issues are a product of the chipset used to make the magic jack. The method it uses to send the CALLER ID headers, etc, are slightly off... other mfg's using the same chipset have the same problems. Welcome to the INFANT STAGES of VOIP.

All-in-All, it is a GALLANT effort to introduce a new technology! I have had great customer service from Magic Jack.

Let me start by saying that some of the statements in this report, if true, are unfortunate behavior on the part of magicjack, although in the end, as you point out, they did give you a refund (albeit a delayed one) which means you did not, in fact, get "ripped off." That being said, a company that deals in telephony isn't responsible for making sure you understand basic concepts about your own computer. These are basic pieces of computer knowledge that a telephony company has no responsibility to explain to you, and you hardly need to be a "garu" to know these things. If you don't know the basics of using your computer, you probably shouldn't be experimenting with something like an internet telephone. Because of this they should not be blamed for any of the following:

1. Your lack of 24/7 phone service because you turn your computer off at night or because it is in hibernation mode. First of all, since this is something that is running on your computer it should have been obvious to you before you purchased their service. A good analogy, in my mind, is that it would be like getting a land-line cordless phone and then complaining that it only works when it is plugged in. For one thing you could just leave the computer on all night, and you can change the power settings so that it does not go into hibernation mode.

2. I live in Ohio in the 330 area code and I have a normal, every-day, run-of-the-mill telephone and I have to dial 10 digits as well. It's three extra digits. It is a pedestrian task and certainly does not warrant complaining over. Moreover it should have been expected as this is not a land based line tied directly into the local phone system, a basic concept that should not need to be explained to every customer on their way through the door.

3. I have, as I said, a land based line. If I call them I usually have to fight my way through several minutes of computer how-can-i-direct-your-call menus before I finally get the privilege of sitting on hold for 10 minutes so I can finally get to speak to someone who (no offense) doesn't speak the same language I do very well. It's a very frustrating experience, but definitely is not a unique one to magicjack.

4. As mentioned above, it really is up to the user of the computer to understand how their computer works. Every software writer out there should not be required to hand you a disclaimer stating that their software is going to eat up some kind of system resources. It's the nature of the beast. After all, when you buy a car you don't expect the dealership to explain to you how to drive it, or that it needs gasoline to run, or to give you directions to your next destination do you?

Yeah, their refund policy seems not to be that great, and I'm sure the pop-ups are very annoying, but the rest of your report discredits your legitimate complaints.

Here's my opinion. MagicJack is obviously, as you pointed out, not a good choice for a primary telephone line. I don't know about you, but my long distance rates are WAY more than $20/yr. This technology might be better suited to keeping around the house just in case you need to make a long distance call, then you fire it up and make your call at no extra cost. Or have it in case you need to fax something to California. Or maybe your spouse is on your primary phone and you need to make a phone call as well. This is a cheap service that would be great for filling in all those little gaps and save you some long distance money in the long run.

I was reading the comments left about several issues that fammily xxx from, Las Vegas left concerning magic jack. First of all, if the issue is with leaving your computer on, simply don't turn it off. This isn't harmful to your PC and as long as you have protection, nobody can gain access to it. The upgrades are done automatically, so you don't have to be a computer guru to load them. With mine, it only takes one click of the mouse. As far as getting having the magic jack box pop up when someone makes a call and if you are working out of your house, then why in the world would you hook this up to your computer you are using in the first place. Also, is this the only computer in your house and why in the world is your phone ringing every ten seconds. The fact is that once you start using the phone, you can continue working on your computer and if your kids are not talking for more than 10 seconds, you have a serious issue.

As far as people having to dial 3 extra numbers to call you, it clearly says that you have to dial that way on the website and they also do have someone available 24 hours a day to ask questions about it. I haven't had to use the 911 system, but it's my understanding that this information is added when you register the product and is why you have to type that into the boxes when you do register it. I have had a problem with them by their reps telling me my incoming calls would be free from anyone in my area code, which wasn't true, but your complaint, to be honest, are pretty petty stuff. I mean complaining about someone having to dial 3 extra numbers (and by the way, they do tell you that if you will look) is an issue, I would suggest you go back to your old phone company and pay an extra $2000 a year so people will not have to dial those 3 numbers and you won't be disturbed while working. It seems like with $2000 extra dollars that you could purchase another PC to hook your Magic Jack up to and you won't be bothered, but I guess you don't think that way. I mean for God's sake, you are getting a years phone service for less than $20 and can get 5 years for less than $60. Don't expect a Lambroguini for the cost of a Kia!! You obviously did not do any research before buying something off of an infomercial.

I ordered 2 MJ's the other night and thought it was a great deal! Pay $121 and change today and take the 5 year subscription deal which should have been deferred for 30 days. I entered my CC info and went to bed.

The next morning I found that MJ went back in and charged my card an additional $132 on top of the agreed $121 because they felt like it.

I did the web chat thing with them for an hour explaining to them that they charged me illegally. They tried to tell me I was wrong and that everything was on the up and up.

Here is the kicker the account was registered in my husband's name but the CC used was in mine. A easy way to combat fraud on our card over the internet.

The rep kept saying "but that is the name on the account" and I kept saying but that isn't the name assigned to that card so someone there purposely went in and charged my card again without my consent.

The short of the long story is I reported them to my bank's fraud department and they are removing the charges and doing what ever legal things the fraud department do when fraud happens.

Beware!

PS I got the jacks in the mail today and they connect fine. I am leery about the billing practices....

I purchased the Magic Jack after being asked by a co worker a few years ago about it's validity. I read all the complaints and praises and took a chance. I was so dumbfounded by it's performance I purchased several for family members and an additional year for myself. I have had issues that were taken care of by the online chat service and I am happy to say that I am willing to purchase the additional 5 years at the discount price. That's why this posting is here.I'm searching for facts that tell me this unit is a scam. There are so many confused folks out there that have a problem with simple issues that don't need to even be addressed by the online help. I am one of those fine individuals. None the less All my issues have been settled and I'm only concerned if this company can stand another 5 years on my initial $19 investment. It's really to good to be true. After my learning about If it's to good to be true lessons of life, And I have had a few. Magic Jack seems to be one of those things.

Before you type such ludicrous things you should take time to read. Everything you mentioned here WAS addressed on the MagicJack website by the means of an FAQ and/or Knowledge Base.

MagicJack works fairly well for what it is... A $20/year UNLIMITED LONG DISTANCE PHONE. What more could you possibly ask for? E911 works the same for Magic Jack as it does for any VOIP provider or Cell phone provider for that matter. The only way to get tried and true 911 service is to go out and get yourself a POTS line. This is also addressed by MagicJack on there website.

You don't have to give 911 operator anything unless you have your MagicJack somewhere other than what you have set as your "Home". E911 pulls your data from the LEC (in this case MagicJack [or whatever host ILEC they use]) for your address. The only reason you arent required to give anything for cellphones is that their E911 works differently in that it uses the cellphones GPRS and signal to both pinpoint via GPS and by triangulating the signal. This information then passes coordinates and street information to the E911 dispatcher. Most E911 dispatch calls are handled in much the same way as your over the phone tech support.... A call center (the largest being in Colorado with a few in Canada) that answers the 911 call, then dispatches it out to the proper area based on information passed.

Why don't you bother to read and or learn what you are talking about before you comment on a company with which you obviously know nothing about and are too pissed off at yourself for not even bothering to read the website to realize you f'd up.

Thanks

I am a consumer who bought the Magic Jack, and while not being able to speak with a customer service representative might be inconvenient at some time in the future, every issue listed by the filer of this report as "they don't tell you that..." is clearly stated in the Terms of Use, so they DO "tell you that." That's not to say that the quality of service is satisfactory or anything like that. I just get extremely annoyed when somebody goes off half-cocked in an emotional rush and posts non-factual information upon which others are expected to make a decision. My own experience with Magic Jack has been about what I expected; it's cheap phone service. But unlike the filer of this report, I read the Terms of Use before buying, and made a decision based on facts available, not the glitz of the advertising, and I recommend to everyone that they do the same.

Cliches like "caveat emptor" ("buyer beware") become cliches precisely because they are so universally true that people get tired of hearing them, yet they get angry when they don't follow the axiomatic advice provided by most cliches and have a problem, wanting to blame the product instead of their own ineptitude or laziness. I may yet find myself dissatisfied with our Magic Jack, especially if I ever need tech support or customer service that requires human contact, but at least for now, I'm getting what I expected, and I'm taking responsibility for making the choice.

I have had Magic Jack for over 9 months, I bought this as a test unit. So far it works well with xp home, xp pro, xp media center. as for dsl 128 up 386 down (single computer clean with no virus or spywear, only using magic jack) Test computer was a toshiba notebook, 335cds, 266mhz mx2 intel chip, 96mb ram, 80gb hd, both a cisco wireless and 10/100 lan card. This was a test notebook portable phone system. It worked in public free wifi areas (90%) of the time. I even tried it on Satellite based internet systems (only one would work 70% of the time, and that was Starband with the 484 business package, 256up / 1000dwn, and with the 1500 series nova modem 256 up / 1500 dwn.
But you pay over $100.00 for the monthly service. Direct way, all levels failed as with the ka band "blue" service, tested low end and high end, did not bother with the mid service. The only major problem I am having is tring to call anyone who has Verizon FIOS telephone service! So far Magic Jack can't make that call. But Calls from Fios will connect to magic jack? Go figure!?

I have to tell you, I have been reading all of the negative reviews about the product. I can tell you from my personal experience, I haven't had a single problems with the product at all and it works well for the amount of money I've spent!

I think the problem with computer based products is that there are a lot of people that just aren't computer savvy and blame the problems they're having on some flaw with the product. The truth of the matter is, I've read all these comments / negative reviews and interestingly, almost all of them have pages and pages of happy customers like myself standing up for the company. And no, I don't work for them or have any relationship to them other than, I bought their product and it works well for me.

I used to work for a computer monitoring software company that basically had it's share of stupid customers, well, ok... we were plagued by them. We had people calling in to get refunds because they couldn't find the URL to where they'd have to login, the software not recording because they didn't even install the software, etc. I mean absolutely everything you could think of as to why it wasn't working, was because the customer to put it plainly, was a pc tard. People that don't know the difference between a browser address bar and search engine. Ughhhh...

Unfortunate for the makers of magicJack, most of the people posting negative reviews are the type I just mentioned. I'm not here to bash people that don't know anything about computers, because obviously there will be people that are brilliant as a doctor, lawyer, etc., but won't know jack about computers. I understand that. I'm talking about the people that just don't know how to follow instructions, don't know why a software firewall would block magicJack or how to troubleshoot their own computer issues by using some common sense or reading comprehension.

Anyhow, enough said, if you know how to read, follow instructions and want to save money on your phone bill.... buy magicJack, it works.

User Opinion: Magic Jack isn't a full-service telephone company. As a supplemental service (latest deal of about $10 per year!) it's very handy. This is a voice-over-internet service. Not all digital keypad strokes are correctly recorded/transferred during a call so some services, like phone-keypad entering an account number, may not work. Faxing is possible with very simple configurations (on the fax machine), but you can mostly forget that. While Magic Jack is connected, some multitasking is shunted. Some programs don't launch and others hangup. Simply unplug the MJ USB and voila, the system is back to life. This is the one to use when the voice-call will be on hold for your complaint, looking up your account, waiting for service or tele-conferencing that extends the length of the call. For the money, Magic Jack is a good deal.

Late last march I ordered a MagicJack... I had done hours of research on the product and read many reviews both positive and negative. After ordering I continued researching, and came across this very post late March of 2008. In the email confirmation of my order it stated I could make changes to my order, but only if I acted immediately. After reading the experience of the family in Vegas I decided to cancel my order.

Flash forward to February of 2009...I decided to purchase the device again after hearing from someone I actually know who had a positive experience with the device.

Wow. I'm so MAD about this misleading report on MagicJack. It works like a DREAM. I canceled my Vonage service because I was so happy with the call quality. I've had ZERO issues with this device. It took all but a literal 3 minutes from the time I opened the package to dialing my phone and using the device.

What I've learned is there are so many factors when you're talking about a technological/electronic device. It matters what YOUR personal set up is. I have Windows Vista and have a PC with a great processor and I have blazing fast WiFi internet access.

I've had two people comment on how much better my phone sounds since switching from Vonage to MagicJack. Now, you will lose some features such as being able to see caller ID on your phone. You can only see it on your PC. There is an omnipresent MagicJack box that you can minimize on your toolbar that pops up every time a call comes in or out. There is no *69 or *67 function available either. BUT...Like Vonage, you get your voicemail in your email as well as off your phone.

All I can say is I'm MAD I didn't go ahead with my order last year. I lost out on over 300 bucks because I gave pause to the device due to this review.

If you have a nice computer set up and good high speed internet access give this thing a try. I'm THRILLED with it.

I spent the last few months reading numerous reviews and user comments on Magic Jack. They were nearly 100% positive. A few weeks ago I noticed Radio Shack was stocking them so today I finally picked one up. I am amazed with the product. The sound quality has been better than expected and pretty much on par with land lines. It certainly seems far more reliable than typical cell connections.

At this point though, I gotta become a little suspicious when I read this guys review. As many have mentioned here, what he attempts to make a big deal about all have a simple solution or work around. Cell phones also have 911 issues. Everything just seems so overblown.

I've noticed a few complaints like this one only recently. One other Magic Jack complainer was all worked up about their TOS (Terms os Service). He also made a big deal about getting an offer for 5 years for a big discount. When I read it I thought I was gonna be bombarded with pressure etc. Turns out it's nothing more than a banner offering it when you sign up. Oh, and the TOS? Pretty much the same as everyone else. Scare tactics?

I guess my point is these attacks are so detailed and seem to follow a talking points script, Over and over. Maybe from 2008 politics, people learned what can be done to an individual that poses a threat. (Sarah Palen?, Joe the Plumber?) Maybe thay have now applied that tactic to a product.

I can't imagine anything being more of a threat to some very powerful economic forces than Magic Jack. It works great and it's almost free. Vonage, Skype, AT&T, Bell, Verizon and many others certainly have a lot at stake and much to lose. Magic Jacks founder, Dan Borislow, has a pretty good track record according to the business networks.

I certainly don't wish to sound like a conspiracy nut but the attacks are just so lame and predictable and just don't ring true. I certainly can understand this product won't be for everyone. I also think it's just the beginning. It will only get better, and a lot of people know that, including the competition listed above.

I say to anyone considering getting this product, just take a little time to read up on it. It works well. It can save you from $300-$1,200 Year. It does some things no other product does at any price. It's limitations are minimal. To make calls it has to be plugged into a computer that is connected to the internet with power on! If power is off or the device is unplugged or unattached, incoming calls simply go to your voice mail. You will also get an email notice you have a message and from who.

-Gary Workman
(((ROR redacted)))
CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

I spent the last few months reading numerous reviews and user comments on Magic Jack. They were nearly 100% positive. A few weeks ago I noticed Radio Shack was stocking them so today I finally picked one up. I am amazed with the product. The sound quality has been better than expected and pretty much on par with land lines. It certainly seems far more reliable than typical cell connections.

At this point though, I gotta become a little suspicious when I read this guys review. As many have mentioned here, what he attempts to make a big deal about all have a simple solution or work around. Cell phones also have 911 issues. Everything just seems so overblown.

I've noticed a few complaints like this one only recently. One other Magic Jack complainer was all worked up about their TOS (Terms os Service). He also made a big deal about getting an offer for 5 years for a big discount. When I read it I thought I was gonna be bombarded with pressure etc. Turns out it's nothing more than a banner offering it when you sign up. Oh, and the TOS? Pretty much the same as everyone else. Scare tactics?

I guess my point is these attacks are so detailed and seem to follow a talking points script, Over and over. Maybe from 2008 politics, people learned what can be done to an individual that poses a threat. (Sarah Palen?, Joe the Plumber?) Maybe thay have now applied that tactic to a product.

I can't imagine anything being more of a threat to some very powerful economic forces than Magic Jack. It works great and it's almost free. Vonage, Skype, AT&T, Bell, Verizon and many others certainly have a lot at stake and much to lose. Magic Jacks founder, Dan Borislow, has a pretty good track record according to the business networks.

I certainly don't wish to sound like a conspiracy nut but the attacks are just so lame and predictable and just don't ring true. I certainly can understand this product won't be for everyone. I also think it's just the beginning. It will only get better, and a lot of people know that, including the competition listed above.

I say to anyone considering getting this product, just take a little time to read up on it. It works well. It can save you from $300-$1,200 Year. It does some things no other product does at any price. It's limitations are minimal. To make calls it has to be plugged into a computer that is connected to the internet with power on! If power is off or the device is unplugged or unattached, incoming calls simply go to your voice mail. You will also get an email notice you have a message and from who.

-Gary Workman
(((ROR redacted)))
CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

I spent the last few months reading numerous reviews and user comments on Magic Jack. They were nearly 100% positive. A few weeks ago I noticed Radio Shack was stocking them so today I finally picked one up. I am amazed with the product. The sound quality has been better than expected and pretty much on par with land lines. It certainly seems far more reliable than typical cell connections.

At this point though, I gotta become a little suspicious when I read this guys review. As many have mentioned here, what he attempts to make a big deal about all have a simple solution or work around. Cell phones also have 911 issues. Everything just seems so overblown.

I've noticed a few complaints like this one only recently. One other Magic Jack complainer was all worked up about their TOS (Terms os Service). He also made a big deal about getting an offer for 5 years for a big discount. When I read it I thought I was gonna be bombarded with pressure etc. Turns out it's nothing more than a banner offering it when you sign up. Oh, and the TOS? Pretty much the same as everyone else. Scare tactics?

I guess my point is these attacks are so detailed and seem to follow a talking points script, Over and over. Maybe from 2008 politics, people learned what can be done to an individual that poses a threat. (Sarah Palen?, Joe the Plumber?) Maybe thay have now applied that tactic to a product.

I can't imagine anything being more of a threat to some very powerful economic forces than Magic Jack. It works great and it's almost free. Vonage, Skype, AT&T, Bell, Verizon and many others certainly have a lot at stake and much to lose. Magic Jacks founder, Dan Borislow, has a pretty good track record according to the business networks.

I certainly don't wish to sound like a conspiracy nut but the attacks are just so lame and predictable and just don't ring true. I certainly can understand this product won't be for everyone. I also think it's just the beginning. It will only get better, and a lot of people know that, including the competition listed above.

I say to anyone considering getting this product, just take a little time to read up on it. It works well. It can save you from $300-$1,200 Year. It does some things no other product does at any price. It's limitations are minimal. To make calls it has to be plugged into a computer that is connected to the internet with power on! If power is off or the device is unplugged or unattached, incoming calls simply go to your voice mail. You will also get an email notice you have a message and from who.

-Gary Workman
(((ROR redacted)))
CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

I was reading through some of the comments and as someone who is kinda "techy", I believe those of you that say it works great for you and I believe the ones that say, it does not work for them. I am one that will tell you, I'm in a hotel right now. I just purchased it. I bought it from Best Buy, My sound quality is terrible and I plan to take it back.

I called my little sister in another state cross country. She told me I sound like I'm either under water or a computer myself. $40.00? Is it a deal if you can't have a conversation? I just wish someone would tell me what DOES work. I would like to not have to use my cell phone or the hotel phones. Anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks

First, this device is bandwidth intensive, so obvious if your bandwidth intensive user and you want this device to work, you need to change your habits when you want to talk on the phone. OR get better service, if you live in a major city, FIOS or FiberOP speed is available, pay for it. You'd have to do it with vonage as well.

Second, the poster of the original thread is a major d****e. They put the 911 disclaimer all over the product documentation in the device. While its implied to replace your primary line in, they tell you 911 is not a great service with this, use your cell phone...

Third, MJ is just like vonyage, your network goes out, it goes out. If their servers are down, your phone is dead. USE YOUR CELL PHONE!!!.

Fourth, Computer issues. Well like most people who are over the age of 25, your bound to have a pc laying around not in use. Well maybe not everyone, but the more computer savy ones may. If you dont, buy a cheap laptop or desktop with a core2 processor and about 2gb of ram. Drop XP on it. Configure it to stay on all the time only turn the monitor off. If its a laptop, disable to sleep/shutdown on montior close.

I used an old HP laptop from 3 years ago and well i have to say i dont have the pop issues because that pc is strictly VoIP management! I have a DECT 6.0 base with 3 expansions. Works great.

Like i said before, the better your ISP is or speed is the less interferance and drops your going to get.

I gave enough cents to this post. Got any questions reply.

Actually if you read their FAQ on their website they explain most of the "problems" you mentioned.

I have only been using my Magic Jack for less than a day, but it is working fine. I figure for $19 a year, it will save me a lot of money on long distance calls ~ which I make a lot every day. Even if all I do is cancel my unlimited long distance plan, that is $20 a month, it will pay for itself in just one month! Can't beat that! I have a friend who has had one for a year and said that it works well overall. I can be happy with that.

Regarding having to dial the area code, I have to do that with my cell phone too, even for local numbers. Not a big deal.

In my initial installation I had some trouble because I have a Mac, so I went to the help chat and a representative helped me right away. They showed me how to fix the problem, which was easy to fix and it has worked fine ever since. All I had to do was download an update.

So, in my opinion, this is NOT a rip off. It may not be a perfect replacement for a home phone, but it certainly delivers $20 a year worth of service! Many people are moving to only owning a cell phone, so this is a nice addition to that without the hassle of a monthly phone bill.

I say get one!

The issues that were described in original post, I would believe, however, I would never use an IP phone for my main phone at home for the simple reason that if the internet goes out your emergency phone is out too. That being said, I use Magic Jack for long distance only. Its not too much trouble to turn on the PC before calling long distance. If used like this, its a great deal!!

i had the same problems with this product it never worked on my computer i tried to use it and it never worked i got charged within 15 days not 30 so they lie and they charged me double i don't believe that some people say that it works and they use it probably they work for the company they are all liars!

I am a customer with NO connection of any sort other than as a customer to Magicjack. I am responding because I recieved a warning from a friend, who incedentally had NEVER tried MagicJack. This response from him was a warning to read this site. Thus, an uninformed person, reading un rebuted anecdotal reports, was further damaging the MagicJack reputation by spreading unconfirmed information. I felt it was my duty as a satisfied user to rebut these reports.

I have read many of these reports and find them to be very repetitive, in that most are of the same problems.

I wont respond to all the complaints as most are complaints from people that don't understand how computers work and want more for their money ($20) than any computer could offer. Most of the complaints are not really directed at MagicJack, but at problems caused by their lack of computer literacy or by the shortcomings of their computer, or the short comings of their Internet service provider.

Here is a synopsis of some of the more common complaints and my response to them:

1) "30 day trials that don't seem to go the way the buyer expected" These are directly attributable to ANY 30 day trial and computer miss management etc. I have rarely found a 30 day trial to be easy to navigate. I just went whole hog and went for the full year as it seemed obvious it was a bargain. 30 day trials are ALWAYS a disaster...no mater who you are dealing with.

2) "Dropped calls." These are attributable to a slow interface, either the computer OR the internet service. Or a bad cable...thats was my first problem...a telephone connection that didnt fit correctly. ...This was NOT MagicJacks fault....

I run mine on a dedicated computer (after all, if you want a program to run well you dont want the computer doing all sorts of other stuff!!!) I picked up an old computer at the thrift store for $4 and put it in the closet to run only the telephone line. This only makes sense that the computer cannot be over taxed....This is NOT MagicJacks fault......

Also, you cannot run this on a land line...but why would you want to? If you are going to MagicJack you are dropping your phone service, right? A DSL or Cable service is fast enough to give great connectivity. A telephone line is NOT fast enough. .... This is NOT MagicJacks fault....

Also, if you are running on a laptop on WiFi at a location other than at home, you are competing with hundreds of other customers for the line time...this is NOT MagicJacks fault....

3) "Must run the computer all the time"....Well, Duhhhh! If that was a surprise then I am surprised the person had the computer savy to install it....which involves just plugging it in and following the prompts.

4) As far as not being able to input # when prompted by a phone robot. I have had no problems at all with that and can only suggest that it may a slow computer....This is not MagicJacks fault.....

5) "You have to dial your area code to make phone calls within your own city, so to call your next door neighbor you must first dial your area code." Wow, what an inconvenience. Three extra digits seems like such an imposition. Also this may ONLY be required if your phone number is NOT a local number, as mine is not, if that is the case then it is what would expect. I have a California phone number and I live in Texas. I did that so my family in California will have a local call to call me. They dont have to use the area code, just the 7 digit number. I think if I had a local number here where I live, the same would be true locally. The complaint that it was needed to dial the area code, I suspect, was from someone, like me, who had an out of town phone number. I don't see how it could be otherwise...But even so, is three key presses too much work???

6) "Every time someone in your house picks up the phone or a call comes in a box pops up which you have to minimize." Again, see the above comments. This is what computers do. Expect it.

7) "You are going to be using up your systems resources" Again, that does not seem unreasonable since the resources have to come from SOMEWHERE. They cannot manufacture resources out of this air, they come from your computer...of course.

I have had my service for several weeks now and it is all I expected. I have made calls all over the country from my home. I have also made calls from my Laptop for a week from a hospital on their WiFi. The WiFi service was heavily loaded by hospital activity but my calls, while sometimes iffy, were always handled. The cause was overload of the hospital WiFi, not MagicJacks product. Calls from the hotel computer all went perfectly.

I was pleasantly surprised that all my information resides in the MagicJack so when I move to another computer in a hotel or on my laptop, the phone book and call records go with the MagicJack in the on-board HD.

First, I want to say that I have been a Vonage user for 7 years and I highly recommend this system if you have Broad Band. You can turn your PC off because Vonage has its own router that you hook up to your Broad Band connection, not your PC. I use to use a free voip in the late 90's before it became marketable. However, I am going to try magicjack to see if I can get more bang for my buck, so to speak.

As far as Magicjack, it does tell you in the infommercials and on its website that you are connecting a device (the magicjack) into your PC and this device is powered by your PC. Common sense should tell you that if your PC is turned off this device or any other device attached to your PC, like your monitor, keyboard or printer for example, will not be active because they depend on your PC for power/electricity to run the program for that device. (All programs use a percentage of system resources in order for them to work - check system requirements before attaching anything to your PC.)

Its very clear from the beginning that magicjack does not offer a phone number on its website, it offers chat; that's the only option they offer. You can always do a "whois" look-up.

Credit/Debit Card: The account number tells what the card is and if its a credit or debit card - all electronically verified through the merchant's account and your bank.

Since these are not land lines, 911 and 411 calls are explained quite clearly how they work, the same as Vonage or any other voip and cell phones. (Voip's have an IP address, not a home address attached to the phone number.) A land line is setup with a home address. This procedure was setup by the phone company. Land lines are static, they are linked to one home address. Voips do it differently because its over the internet, not static and not linked into a switchboard at Ma Bell downtown. Its probably a good thing, too because if you take your magicjack to someone else's house, in town or out of town, and use it to make an emergency call, the ambulance may end up at the wrong place.

Voip is just that. You're connecting/talking over the internet, not static telephone lines. Telephone lines have nothing to do with your computer system, therefore magcjack will not have the same procedures like a land line. Your voip phone number will not appear in any white pages/telephone book because you are not using land line services. And there is no voip 411 (information - operator) for these voip phone numbers either. The only way someone gets your number is by you giving it to them. Again, this is not Ma Bell's phone system.

I think anyone's best bet to buying anything seen on an infomercial and especially buying technology that is new to them or if a child may have to use it, researching the product, understanding what it is, reading every page of the product's website, asking your friends, asking a competitor and analyzing it yourself to see what other questions you might have will increase your knowledge base so you can make an informed decision and know how to use the product rather than assuming all of your questions were answered in 1 infommercial. We've got to learn to think for ourselves instead of expecting other people to think for us and then being disappointed in a product that we did not have enough knowledge about to begin with.

Case in Point: A few years ago I had an earthlink sales person knock on my door wanting me to buy earthlink voip. Of course I was/am a Vonage user. After he explained how great his product was and how much money I would save, I asked him one question, already knowing the answer myself: If the internet goes down, will my internet phone still work? He said, ya know a lot of people have been asking me that and I just don't have the answer, but, I think your phone will still work, I don't think that should be a problem. I looked at him and said if there is no internet and my phone only works through the internet then you must be selling divine connectivity from the Gods above! True story!

Knowledge is Power!!
Get all you can - its free!!!

I bought the MagicJack when I was in CA several months ago. I activated it there and then brought it down to Mexico with me. I am able to call anywhere in the USA or Canada. I have called my family, my credit card company, my bank and a store asking about non-delivery of a package. I let friends use mine and now they are buying their own unit.

A computer or cell phone should never be your only phone line. In case of emergency, you cannot get through quickly. Everyone needs a land line for emergencies.

Yes, you cannot receive calls when you are on the computer. The person will receive a busy signal but they can leave a message and you can call them back. Again, this is not meant to be your only phone.

Yes, you have to leave your computer on but I turn it on in the morning and off at night. I use the MagicJack mostly to make calls rather than to receive them.

I have used MagicJack to call my bank and don't remember any problems with inputting my account number.

One thing that is not clear in the instructions is that you hook it up to your land line to configure it and get your new phone number but then you disconnect it from the land line and have a separate phone hooked up to it. I use a cheap, nonelectronic, push button phone. The MagicJack goes into a USB port on your computer. The separate phone is hooked to that. It is then completely isolated from your land line phone. I can talk on both phones independently.

It isn't perfect but I think it is a wonderful invention. One last time--it is not meant to be your only phone. You still need a land line but I dropped my long distance service on my phone in CA which was costing me >$30/month and now just have the basic service. I travel a lot so I can use this anywhere I can get a high speed access computer connection to call my family in the United States.

I think it is well worth the price and wouldn't give mine up for anything.

We bought MagicJack a month ago and have found it to be consistent and reliable. $40 for the unit and $4 for the faster delivery was an easy gamble for the potential savings.

I have it installed on an older Pentium 4, running at 3.0 Ghz with a wireless connection. The call quality is excellent and I have it connected to my house line so there is no real difference in usage.

My phone bill was $45 every month for basic service and $0.10 per minute long distance.

As for 911 calls. Educate your children on how to react in stressful situations and keep info cards by your phones. If your children can't handle the E911 they probably won't fair much better with 911 calls.

I would have liked to be able to have used my original phone number, but that is supposed to be coming soon.

Thanks MagicJack!

I ordered it on 12/12/2008 and they didn't bill me until 30 days later. Maybe they made an error when they billed you early? Errors do happen sometimes.. Another thing, I don't believe everything I read unless it can be proved somehow. There are a lot of people out there spreading false information or conspiracy theories to achieve some kind of personal or group objective.

I have been thinking of getting a magicJack but read the terms of service first because it sounded too good to be true. What I found was in the terms it does say your computer always needs to be on and connected to the Internet. I was like ok still may get it but then I read on. It had a section that said Advertisments. In that section it talked abot how if you use the software it gave majicJack permission to distribute your information to third parties, and you may get calls, etc and bla bla bla. It says you can not opt out of that. Well then I was like no way.

In my opnion any company that offers your personal information without allowing you to opt out of getting advertisments is not customer friendly. It sounded too shady to me. I would love to sit here and complain that they lied, but I never got the service. The terms of service scared me off and I really wish more of the complaints here would have done the same.

while the add seems to good to be true, back in the 1980's americal on line had a system in which you could talk over the intenet lines.

when i first set my magic jack up for the 911 service only listed one city in the area code which is over 2-1/2 hours drive from where i live. this would inclulde the area from east dallas, texas - to the oklahama state line over to the louisana state line. we are thalking of an area just from dallas to lousiana state line of ver 180 miles on the interstate highway. how is 911 suppose to find me if i call 911.

by contactiong majic jack on line customer service (because i hoped to make sure that the unit worked before canceling my regualer servicer), i ended going through three differnet customer service reps. till i ended up up at a supervisor (this only took a total of 3 hours) and only resolved the first problem of the static which i was getting on my 3rd ahnd 4th calls. i was told that i would have to turn off all firewalls, virus checks, and spy wear software for their system to work. at that point i asked them without these software waht was there to protect my computer for those system as well as their ability to come inot my computer system. ---no answer ---

we never got around to addressin g the fact that the 911 code and the area code i was given was 2-1/2 hours from were i lived; just turnig off my protection systems. all the other questions concerning could their unit be use through a fax machine 9i was told to contact ther fax manufacture0. now i ask you, how in the world is a printer manufacuer going to know if the ??magic jack?? unit is going to work for there system if "magic jack" themselves have not tested thier own unit to worke with the major printer manufactures units themselves?

all other questions which i had printed out to them jsut went to the side.

now!!!!!! i am hearding that the work on the street is that "magic jack" sells off your email address to a large number of sources ----and--- that the "magic jack--- in fact alwos them access into your personal computer's information and files.

is this not an invasition of the personal privacivy act --or -- in america if one writes what they are going to do within a long drawen out diclaim "in modern america" that gives the right of an individual power over the govrnment which the individual people have to watch over their right.

--i see another "bailout by the american government" to the citizens, as we have seen in the year 2008 & 2009 to the loan, bank, auto industries. i ask where is the government officicals which we are paying saleries today, are we just to leave it to the ones to follow if the american governmaent or averange citizens has any money to pay their saleries.

to date i have never seen an elected official fill bankrupty but have seen many of the people who work to pay thier salieries filing. i just see the officicalls making it harder and harder to fill while they let individual companies whom the are to be watching comtinue to create the problems on the avaerage citizen.

while the add seems to good to be true, back in the 1980's americal on line had a system in which you could talk over the intenet lines.

when i first set my magic jack up for the 911 service only listed one city in the area code which is over 2-1/2 hours drive from where i live. this would inclulde the area from east dallas, texas - to the oklahama state line over to the louisana state line. we are thalking of an area just from dallas to lousiana state line of ver 180 miles on the interstate highway. how is 911 suppose to find me if i call 911.

by contactiong majic jack on line customer service (because i hoped to make sure that the unit worked before canceling my regualer servicer), i ended going through three differnet customer service reps. till i ended up up at a supervisor (this only took a total of 3 hours) and only resolved the first problem of the static which i was getting on my 3rd ahnd 4th calls. i was told that i would have to turn off all firewalls, virus checks, and spy wear software for their system to work. at that point i asked them without these software waht was there to protect my computer for those system as well as their ability to come inot my computer system. ---no answer ---

we never got around to addressin g the fact that the 911 code and the area code i was given was 2-1/2 hours from were i lived; just turnig off my protection systems. all the other questions concerning could their unit be use through a fax machine 9i was told to contact ther fax manufacture0. now i ask you, how in the world is a printer manufacuer going to know if the ??magic jack?? unit is going to work for there system if "magic jack" themselves have not tested thier own unit to worke with the major printer manufactures units themselves?

all other questions which i had printed out to them jsut went to the side.

now!!!!!! i am hearding that the work on the street is that "magic jack" sells off your email address to a large number of sources ----and--- that the "magic jack--- in fact alwos them access into your personal computer's information and files.

is this not an invasition of the personal privacivy act --or -- in america if one writes what they are going to do within a long drawen out diclaim "in modern america" that gives the right of an individual power over the govrnment which the individual people have to watch over their right.

--i see another "bailout by the american government" to the citizens, as we have seen in the year 2008 & 2009 to the loan, bank, auto industries. i ask where is the government officicals which we are paying saleries today, are we just to leave it to the ones to follow if the american governmaent or averange citizens has any money to pay their saleries.

to date i have never seen an elected official fill bankrupty but have seen many of the people who work to pay thier salieries filing. i just see the officicalls making it harder and harder to fill while they let individual companies whom the are to be watching comtinue to create the problems on the avaerage citizen.

while the add seems to good to be true, back in the 1980's americal on line had a system in which you could talk over the intenet lines.

when i first set my magic jack up for the 911 service only listed one city in the area code which is over 2-1/2 hours drive from where i live. this would inclulde the area from east dallas, texas - to the oklahama state line over to the louisana state line. we are thalking of an area just from dallas to lousiana state line of ver 180 miles on the interstate highway. how is 911 suppose to find me if i call 911.

by contactiong majic jack on line customer service (because i hoped to make sure that the unit worked before canceling my regualer servicer), i ended going through three differnet customer service reps. till i ended up up at a supervisor (this only took a total of 3 hours) and only resolved the first problem of the static which i was getting on my 3rd ahnd 4th calls. i was told that i would have to turn off all firewalls, virus checks, and spy wear software for their system to work. at that point i asked them without these software waht was there to protect my computer for those system as well as their ability to come inot my computer system. ---no answer ---

we never got around to addressin g the fact that the 911 code and the area code i was given was 2-1/2 hours from were i lived; just turnig off my protection systems. all the other questions concerning could their unit be use through a fax machine 9i was told to contact ther fax manufacture0. now i ask you, how in the world is a printer manufacuer going to know if the ??magic jack?? unit is going to work for there system if "magic jack" themselves have not tested thier own unit to worke with the major printer manufactures units themselves?

all other questions which i had printed out to them jsut went to the side.

now!!!!!! i am hearding that the work on the street is that "magic jack" sells off your email address to a large number of sources ----and--- that the "magic jack--- in fact alwos them access into your personal computer's information and files.

is this not an invasition of the personal privacivy act --or -- in america if one writes what they are going to do within a long drawen out diclaim "in modern america" that gives the right of an individual power over the govrnment which the individual people have to watch over their right.

--i see another "bailout by the american government" to the citizens, as we have seen in the year 2008 & 2009 to the loan, bank, auto industries. i ask where is the government officicals which we are paying saleries today, are we just to leave it to the ones to follow if the american governmaent or averange citizens has any money to pay their saleries.

to date i have never seen an elected official fill bankrupty but have seen many of the people who work to pay thier salieries filing. i just see the officicalls making it harder and harder to fill while they let individual companies whom the are to be watching comtinue to create the problems on the avaerage citizen.

while the add seems to good to be true, back in the 1980's americal on line had a system in which you could talk over the intenet lines.

when i first set my magic jack up for the 911 service only listed one city in the area code which is over 2-1/2 hours drive from where i live. this would inclulde the area from east dallas, texas - to the oklahama state line over to the louisana state line. we are thalking of an area just from dallas to lousiana state line of ver 180 miles on the interstate highway. how is 911 suppose to find me if i call 911.

by contactiong majic jack on line customer service (because i hoped to make sure that the unit worked before canceling my regualer servicer), i ended going through three differnet customer service reps. till i ended up up at a supervisor (this only took a total of 3 hours) and only resolved the first problem of the static which i was getting on my 3rd ahnd 4th calls. i was told that i would have to turn off all firewalls, virus checks, and spy wear software for their system to work. at that point i asked them without these software waht was there to protect my computer for those system as well as their ability to come inot my computer system. ---no answer ---

we never got around to addressin g the fact that the 911 code and the area code i was given was 2-1/2 hours from were i lived; just turnig off my protection systems. all the other questions concerning could their unit be use through a fax machine 9i was told to contact ther fax manufacture0. now i ask you, how in the world is a printer manufacuer going to know if the ??magic jack?? unit is going to work for there system if "magic jack" themselves have not tested thier own unit to worke with the major printer manufactures units themselves?

all other questions which i had printed out to them jsut went to the side.

now!!!!!! i am hearding that the work on the street is that "magic jack" sells off your email address to a large number of sources ----and--- that the "magic jack--- in fact alwos them access into your personal computer's information and files.

is this not an invasition of the personal privacivy act --or -- in america if one writes what they are going to do within a long drawen out diclaim "in modern america" that gives the right of an individual power over the govrnment which the individual people have to watch over their right.

--i see another "bailout by the american government" to the citizens, as we have seen in the year 2008 & 2009 to the loan, bank, auto industries. i ask where is the government officicals which we are paying saleries today, are we just to leave it to the ones to follow if the american governmaent or averange citizens has any money to pay their saleries.

to date i have never seen an elected official fill bankrupty but have seen many of the people who work to pay thier salieries filing. i just see the officicalls making it harder and harder to fill while they let individual companies whom the are to be watching comtinue to create the problems on the avaerage citizen.

Just to let you guys know, you could avoid all of this by just buying the magic jack at Radio Shack. It's 39.99 there, no worrying about charging your credit card, or anything else. Radio Shack has a great return policy so if you are unsatisfied you could always take it back.

I bought my Magic Jack from Radio Shack for a number of reasons:

1. I'd have a place to take it back if it didn't work.

2. I paid cash so no one has a credit card number on me. (No one asked me if I wanted a second year, etc., etc.)

3. I've dealt with Radio Shack for years and have never know them to be anything but reputable.

Now, as far as having to dial the area code for all calls...get used to it. In the area of Ohio where I live we have had to that for some time now and it's only a matter of time until everyone does. It was a little annoying at first but you get used to it. Besides...if you use the contact list you don't dial the numbers yourself anyway.

BUT, as far as the product itself goes...which is what it's about...it has worked flawlessly. I plugged it into my laptop and was asked for two things...my address (to configure 911) and a confirmable email addresses for communication. As soon as I had confirmed the email it was only a matter of a couple minutes and I had a phone number and was in business (I had my choice of any area code in Ohio, but took my own). The whole thing didn't take more than 5 minutes. I plugged the phone in (a $10.99 Radio Shack special) and had a dial tone. Called a friend on a her cell phone and made a long distance call to St Louis. Both went through with out a flaw and the communication was loud and clear.

This is one of the neatest gadgets I've ever seen, and I'd recommend it to anyone...even the cheapest digital phone from Time Warner is $25 a month (with very little or no long distance)...so if you can save that kind of money and the biggest b***h you've got is that you have to dial the are code for every call, you need to build a bridge and get over it. This thing is a deal.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thanks!

I am totally happy with Magicjack. It was one of the easier installs I have ever had. It did not work properly the first time; but I tried again in a different USB port on my computer and it worked fine.

This is the best invention in the last 5 years. It is going to put and end to the huge ripeoffs that we get from the communication companies.

I bought a few hours ago a Magic Jack at my local Radio Schack for $40. After taking the dongle from the plastic case, I plugged it in my USB port, nad it started to install itself and to update its software. I hooked the telephone to the dongle through its phone jack, and next thing you know, my wife was receiving my call on her cellular telephone. Then I proceeded to call myself from her cell phone, also very successfully. I set the Call Forwarding feature from the magicjack.com website, and after calling my NEW home number from my wife cell, the call was forwarded to my [own] cellular telephone. Call Forward was also a success!

Then I proceeded to see if this little artifact could handle FAXES! I tried it first by receiving and transmitting just running widows faxing, hoping to get and transmit just using the Magicjack. It did not work. HOWEVER!, all I had to do was to was to hook the telephone cable from the magicjack dongle to my fax port. Genius, genius (like in "Mr. Deeds"). I was able to send and receive faxes, although receiving was a little bit "tricky", it took about for attempts. Neverthless, it was a success!!

I used my HP DV1000 2004 model laptop, wich is bloated with software. Even with a computer so full of add-ons, the program has perform virtually flawless. I have cable Internet and 1GB memory, running windows XP.

One thing I notice of those speaking against this fine products is the falacious nature of their attacks. They feel more like little kids who just got tired of their toy and now want their money back, without considering not only how beneficial it could be but also that this is a $20-$40 product! To them I say: Go back to your local telephone company, and give them hundreds of dollars for a service that you probably did not even use! I know that with MagicJack and my cell number and good to go for a good while.

LT Nieves
Oviedo, Florida

PS. My child would have feel insulted if I would have given this task. He ussually does harder sutff than this in his computer.

I purchased Magic Jack and hopefully I have seen all of it's downside. My complaint is, I can't put my computer on "Stand by". For the savings I get from Magic Jack, I can live with a minor irritation. I have used voip and it was horrible. I went back to my land line and swore I would never stray again. When I heard about Magic jack I brushed it off as another scam. I researched Magic Jack & then purchased it. Magic Jack is everything it's advertisers say it is. I am pleased & totally satisfied with the quality of this product. I experienced a problem in extending my service for 5 years, so I contacted Magic Jack's customer service live chat. I followed thier instructions & I still encountered problems. They asked my permission to fix the problem for me & I said "go ahead". Problem solved.

My intentions are not to be rude, but have you ever heard of the saying "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is?" I find the whole idea of buying something promptly and with little research on your part a little bewildering. Sure, the infomercial did not go into details about the quirks of their product. Not saying that they were right but honestly, what infomercial does??? There is ALWAYS fine print somewhere! The fact that did not ring alarms in your head and get you to look further into their claims says to me that your gullibility is the main problem here. It is your job as a consumer to research a product before investing into it. Buyer beware, sort of speak. That's like going to a used car lot and taking the sales person word that the car is running good. What does common sense tell you to do? You take the car to a mechanic and get it checked out before buying it. Had you actually looked at the website they provided on the infomercial, it clearly states that you have to leave the computer on to send or receive calls, as well as information on the 911 services.

I have Magic Jack and have not experienced a major problem thus far. I ran into some minor issues and their website has excellent technical support which helped me resolve the issue.

My intentions are not to be rude, but have you ever heard of the saying "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is?" I find the whole idea of buying something promptly and with little research on your part a little bewildering. Sure, the infomercial did not go into details about the quirks of their product. Not saying that they were right but honestly, what infomercial does??? There is ALWAYS fine print somewhere! The fact that did not ring alarms in your head and get you to look further into their claims says to me that your gullibility is the main problem here. It is your job as a consumer to research a product before investing into it. Buyer beware, sort of speak. That's like going to a used car lot and taking the sales person word that the car is running good. What does common sense tell you to do? You take the car to a mechanic and get it checked out before buying it. Had you actually looked at the website they provided on the infomercial, it clearly states that you have to leave the computer on to send or receive calls, as well as information on the 911 services.

I have Magic Jack and have not experienced a major problem thus far. I ran into some minor issues and their website has excellent technical support which helped me resolve the issue.

My intentions are not to be rude, but have you ever heard of the saying "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is?" I find the whole idea of buying something promptly and with little research on your part a little bewildering. Sure, the infomercial did not go into details about the quirks of their product. Not saying that they were right but honestly, what infomercial does??? There is ALWAYS fine print somewhere! The fact that did not ring alarms in your head and get you to look further into their claims says to me that your gullibility is the main problem here. It is your job as a consumer to research a product before investing into it. Buyer beware, sort of speak. That's like going to a used car lot and taking the sales person word that the car is running good. What does common sense tell you to do? You take the car to a mechanic and get it checked out before buying it. Had you actually looked at the website they provided on the infomercial, it clearly states that you have to leave the computer on to send or receive calls, as well as information on the 911 services.

I have Magic Jack and have not experienced a major problem thus far. I ran into some minor issues and their website has excellent technical support which helped me resolve the issue.

I think this product is Great. I don't know what people want for $40.00. Some people would cry if you gave them a free car. "I have to pay for the Lic. Plates ?" " I have to buy gas?"
Whining seem to be a pastim for those who can't creat.

I use the Magic Jack and I find overall it was not a bad investment. I took the 30 day trial on my credit card. I also talked a friend in Toronto, Canada into buying one also. No charges appeared on our credit cards until the 30 day trial was over.

When you go to the Magic Jack web site, before you sign up, there is all kinds of information there, and if you read it you will know what you are signing up for. True the page never says right out that if your computer is off you won't have any phone service, but any normal, rational person will figure out for themselves, that if it's an internet phone, in order to use the phone, the internet has to be on.

Now I used Vonage before I bought the Magic Jack. In the beginning with Vonage I had some quality issues, and I dealt with them. Over time they got better. I quit Vonage cause every month my bill kept going up due to new taxes, and I got tired of it.
Magic Jack is not Verizon in quality, but for $20. year, I can live with it. Most times the quality is real good, the only problem is every couple of minutes you get a buzzing in your ear as you're speaking, or the phone chops your words. Again for $20. year I deal with it, and over time, whatever the problem is, I'm sure they will fix it. Just like Vonage did.

Yes there are some annoying features with this service, like the soft phone (the pop up black box) mentioned in the report. As far as advertising is concerned, the only ads I've seen has to do with the Magic Jack.

Bottom line here. Yes I agree this service is not for everyone. Only you can decide if it's right for you. As with everything we do today, you have to read the fine print. I have found these people to be very up front about what they offer. and I find the product to be as advertised. Today when cable, and phone, and cell phone, and food and everything you need and use, the prices are rising faster than ever, here is a no brainer. Internet phone service for $20. a year. How can you beat that?

I use the Magic Jack and I find overall it was not a bad investment. I took the 30 day trial on my credit card. I also talked a friend in Toronto, Canada into buying one also. No charges appeared on our credit cards until the 30 day trial was over.

When you go to the Magic Jack web site, before you sign up, there is all kinds of information there, and if you read it you will know what you are signing up for. True the page never says right out that if your computer is off you won't have any phone service, but any normal, rational person will figure out for themselves, that if it's an internet phone, in order to use the phone, the internet has to be on.

Now I used Vonage before I bought the Magic Jack. In the beginning with Vonage I had some quality issues, and I dealt with them. Over time they got better. I quit Vonage cause every month my bill kept going up due to new taxes, and I got tired of it.
Magic Jack is not Verizon in quality, but for $20. year, I can live with it. Most times the quality is real good, the only problem is every couple of minutes you get a buzzing in your ear as you're speaking, or the phone chops your words. Again for $20. year I deal with it, and over time, whatever the problem is, I'm sure they will fix it. Just like Vonage did.

Yes there are some annoying features with this service, like the soft phone (the pop up black box) mentioned in the report. As far as advertising is concerned, the only ads I've seen has to do with the Magic Jack.

Bottom line here. Yes I agree this service is not for everyone. Only you can decide if it's right for you. As with everything we do today, you have to read the fine print. I have found these people to be very up front about what they offer. and I find the product to be as advertised. Today when cable, and phone, and cell phone, and food and everything you need and use, the prices are rising faster than ever, here is a no brainer. Internet phone service for $20. a year. How can you beat that?

I use the Magic Jack and I find overall it was not a bad investment. I took the 30 day trial on my credit card. I also talked a friend in Toronto, Canada into buying one also. No charges appeared on our credit cards until the 30 day trial was over.

When you go to the Magic Jack web site, before you sign up, there is all kinds of information there, and if you read it you will know what you are signing up for. True the page never says right out that if your computer is off you won't have any phone service, but any normal, rational person will figure out for themselves, that if it's an internet phone, in order to use the phone, the internet has to be on.

Now I used Vonage before I bought the Magic Jack. In the beginning with Vonage I had some quality issues, and I dealt with them. Over time they got better. I quit Vonage cause every month my bill kept going up due to new taxes, and I got tired of it.
Magic Jack is not Verizon in quality, but for $20. year, I can live with it. Most times the quality is real good, the only problem is every couple of minutes you get a buzzing in your ear as you're speaking, or the phone chops your words. Again for $20. year I deal with it, and over time, whatever the problem is, I'm sure they will fix it. Just like Vonage did.

Yes there are some annoying features with this service, like the soft phone (the pop up black box) mentioned in the report. As far as advertising is concerned, the only ads I've seen has to do with the Magic Jack.

Bottom line here. Yes I agree this service is not for everyone. Only you can decide if it's right for you. As with everything we do today, you have to read the fine print. I have found these people to be very up front about what they offer. and I find the product to be as advertised. Today when cable, and phone, and cell phone, and food and everything you need and use, the prices are rising faster than ever, here is a no brainer. Internet phone service for $20. a year. How can you beat that?

This rip off complaint says the obvious to anyone who really thinks, and there are ways around everything he said.

First, one of his largest complaints is that you have to leave the computer on all of the time, and that you will probably be interrupted when you are using the computer.

This is a given. You should not use communications, games, or a host of other applications on that computer. Perhaps they did not explain, up front, that there are problems when you do that. The simple fix is to but an el-cheapo motherboard and a power supply with nominal memory and an old small hard drive or an adapter that will allow some kind of flash drive on it. El Cheapo computer mother boards run about $99 and you can throw Linux on it for free. That is what I am using.

Unfortunately, I suppose it is a rip-off when a computer illiterate buys it, and that seems to be who the commercials are pointed toward.

I would NEVER use it as my only telephone, either. You probably should have a cell phone for emergency calls. I bought it because I do not carry my cell phone everywhere in the house, so if it is on my dresser, and I am in another part of the house, I never hear the phone ring. With the Magic Jack, I bought a 4 hand set cordless phone, and hooked the receiver into it. Now I can hear when the phone rings.

What the Magic Jack is, is a way to slap your phone company. It gives you an alternative to their phone bills with dozens of little add ons.

The Magic Jack is IDEAL and especially useful for one thing. People who routinely speak to people overseas will love the magic jack. I am in business with a guy in Thailand, and we cannot afford the money that a long distance international call costs. Our first thing was to get Skype. but there is the drawback with SKYPE in that you need to be sitting at your computer to receive the calls. There is an easy and cheap way around this:

Buy a Magic Jack and have it sent to your own address. Mail the Magic Jack to the person (friend, relatiive, business partner, etc) and he will then have a US Phone Number, where he can call any telephone number in the US or Canada, including your lines hooked to Magic Jack, your office phone, your cell phone, or any business or vendor in the USA and Canada. As long as he is on the internet he can call you, and you can call his Magic Jack phone number in the foreign company. You cannot save any more than that. And before I am flamed for this, they tell you how to do it on their FAQ. It is perfectly legal, according to them. It is an ideal "chat" phone.

Keep a cell phone for emergencies. After all, you cannot use the magic jack when you have a heart attack in a resteraunt, so you need a mobile phone anyway.

AND, you can keep your normal phone, but use the magic jack only for long distance calls in the USA and Canada, if that is your wish. Send a magic jack to your aunt and uncle or grand parents in the old country, and let them also be able to have a US phone number, from over there.

That is my take on it. They do seem to be targeting the wrong people, so it could look like a ripoff, but it is a very valuable thing for what I have said.

We bought it with our credit card and they did what they said, did not charge it for 32 days. Clear as a bell, has the same problem as say any VO IP you get an audio pop or two, otherwise as good as say vonage and they get 31.20 every month! But I agree if you are going to need tech support be ready to type.
Other wise I give it 92 out of a hundred %. Great deal! I have not had any problems yet.

I was an early adopter of the magicJack. I bought one over a year ago. At first it worked great. I wrote to the customer support engineers a few times, and each time they resolved the problem quickly. Back then, the product was in Beta, so I did not mind having problems. Then, my magicJack quit working. I wrote a few emails and got no response. I stopped using it for a few months. Recently, I tried it again, and contacted the 24/7 customer support chat interaface. I have to say, they responded quickly, fied the problem, and now my magicJack is working exactly as I had always expected it should work. The complaints of the person to which this is a response are no longer accurate. That person should try their magicJack again, and if there is still a problem, use the chat feature on the magic Jack web page.

Just for the record, I have absolutely no connection with magicJack, except as a consumer/purchaser of their product.

I have nothing to add as a rebuttal that has not been expressed already... But if you've read this far... you'll be interested in knowing how good this product works in other Countries, NOT just in the USA.

I travel frequently to Latin America... whenver I travel, I try to stay in hotels that offer BroadBand service in my room... I take my Magic Jack everywhere I go, and plug it in to my Laptop. If my room has a 2nd Phone, I plug that in to my Magic Jack, otherwise I use a USB headset in one of my other USB ports.

I've been to Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, and Uruguay. My call qauality is dependant on the quality of the local broadband... but in almost all cases, the quality of the calls in Latin America were as good as I get in any hotel in the US, which is usualy quite good. Its important to note, that most hotels that offer Broadband, still have 100base T Ethernet in the rooms... which affects the through put and by default, the quality of a VOIP call. Someday soon, hotels will move to Gigabit networks... or N WIFI... Even still, I seldom have had an issue calling from any Country in Latin America using my Magic Jack... When I have had quality issues, it has always been due to the loca LAN quality and the hotel's Broad Band limitations. My calls go through just as if I were calling within the USA... Now that I find COOL! the only exception was my hotel in Mexico, that appeared to be blocking the port that Magic Jack uses. It would be a cool feature, if Magic jack would allow users to select differtn PC Ports for occasions like this.


NET NET: I reccomend this product to anyone who travels abroad... just keep in mind that your calls will only be as good as the Broad Band connection you are using... no matter where you are calling from.

Happy Trails !!

The MajicJack is not compatible with all high-speed internet users. When I was told my provider was not compatible because I did not have high-speed, I informed them that my provider was advertised as high-speed and that I didn't have much choice living in a rural area. They knew by my email and registration who my provider was yet never bothered to inform me that it would not work. They also told me that any satellite internet provider is not high-speed, especially Direct TV. I informed them that they should definitely include this info in their ads and info-mercials as it would certainly reduce the number of people waiting on refunds. Their replay (in the on-line chat) was "Oh I see"
So like my dad always said..."Live and learn". However, I had to learn twice because I went through the same thing with Vonage at a much higher price and a much longer wait for refund. So how dumb am I??

If you know what you are getting before the purchase,how it works,knowing that computer must be on,for me its a back up phone ,or fax line ,not worried about a 5 yr. old having to call 911,I know if computer is not on or it may need a reboot,the money you save is worth any ,MINOR problems you may have,people should ask upfront if there is a live service help desk and if not ,dont order if you have to speak to someone.For those of you who need a second line for fax,or a line for long distance its perfect ,20 bucks ayr ,com-on people!!

OK, I will admit that I am a 29 year veteran of computers but...

NONE of the tedhnical complaints you have are that big of a deal. Honestly, for a whopping $19 a year, it is worth getting a basic, cheapo used or even new pc to just sit there and act as your phone system. Turn off the screen saver,and power saver functions, and don't use this PC for anything else. Turn off or remove the monitor completely to save electricity.

As far as updating to the new Active X...so? How many games also require this? How many other programs require you to upgrade software? It is a free upgrade.

One thing I WOULD highly suggest is to buy a battery backup system ($39 at Walmart). In this way, unless you generate your own electricity like I do, you will be covered in the event of a power outage.

And... to put in a plug for computer professionals everywhere: for the amount of money it will save you in the short and long run, call a local IT guy (not a national chain with cute autos, and professionals only please). Any good IT guy worth his solder could have this up and dialing for you in no time :)

Andy Duplay
Chief Nerd - Duplay IT, LLC
Monclova, OH

Seriously, it's 19 bucks a year...what did you expect??? This is officially the coolest gadget I have ever purchased. We use it for our home business, which before, we were spending $50.00 a month for our business line. Now we spend $19 a year. Yes, we shut down our PC's at night, I definitly dont want customer phone calls at 2am.

As for using it for a home phone, Not just yet. I will be getting my kids these when they go off to college.

Besides that, great peice of equipment. Voip is the future...get used to it. The technology will only get better from here.

You can get this product at Radio Shack..pay in cash..........

I have had the MagicJack for almost a year now, how many ways can I say: LOVE IT???
It's handy, let's me call day & night with no monthly bill, I am not Computer savvy & Blonde and made it work!!
All the little nuisances mentioned in the complaint are just a little Whiner whining, go ahead and pay the big Phone Companies and forget about the MagicJack, guess Vonage would like to hear from you, as for me, did I mention: I LOVE my MagicJack!!

I am not really sure about your situation i card did not get charged until after the full 30 days. I believe in the product whole heartedly and it has alread paid for itself more that double. Now that been said The better internet connection you have the better the Magic Jack works. I give it 2 thumbs up!

A week ago I would have agreed to what this person said about the Magic Jack. I went through a lot trying to get my Magic Jack to work. I spent hours on the computer chatting with reps from MJ to fix my terrible audio problems. Nothing worked for more than a day. I was all set to purchase more memory for my computer, thinking that could be my problem. I was in Wal-Mart, and browsing the computer section when I saw the USB hubs. The one I purchased was 40 times faster than USB 1.1. It's called Cyber Power USB2.0 with a power adapter. It said it offered a significant increase in data transfer rate. Since the MJ reps kept asking me to try different USB's on my computer, I figured this could be my problem. I'm telling you the brand because I want you to know what worked for me. Any USB hub could work, but I'm certain about this one. The cost was $22 or $23. I can't remember. As soon as it was plug in and installed....about 1 minute to accomplish, I went to the phone and tried it out. It was an absolute joy! The phone worked perfectly! I didn't get too excited, as I had had a good result that lasted less than a day on previous occasions.

It's now been a little over a week, and my Magic Jack is still going strong. It seems the problems with MJ can be traced back to the computers that we are using. I hate to see MJ get a bum rap for problems that are actually a result of our older computers or bad USB ports. Believe me, I told the reps at MJ that I either had a lemon or the entire thing was a joke. I was so angry with these people, I told them I was just going to trash my Magic Jack and chalk it up to a terrible experience! I'm glad I didn't give up. I love my Magic Jack! If anything should change....I'll get back to ya!

Hello,

I would like to start with this; how many of you bought the $40.00 device that turns your house wiring into a TV antenna? If you are one of these people, turn off your computer and step away, never to turn it on again. Why? You are technically challenged!

(ANTENNA 101) Rule 1, an antenna must be cut to a HARMONIC of the wave length. Now the people smarter than a rock, just figured out why this device will never work, for the rest, let me break out the crayons.

(ANTENNA 101A) Let's say for the sake of argument that the BASIC WIRING in your house somehow matches that of TV broadcast wave lengths. Plug in a lamp, toaster, hair dryer, extension cord, turn on a light or turn off a light. YOU HAVE JUST CHANGED THE LENGTH OF YOUR ANTENNA, that is why it does not work. If that makes even a little sense to you, you are allowed back on your computer. If not, place your computer at the curb because the trash man is likely smarter than you.

What does the $40.00 bogus TV antenna have to do with $40.00 Magic Jack? Use your brain! First, did you return the TV antenna for a refund or just toss it in the trash?

IF basic requirements are met; (A BROADBAND INTERNET CONNECTION AND A COMPUTER BUILT IN THE LAST THREE YEARS-NOT RUNNING VISTA) this device works as promised and works quite well. Magic Jack, like Vontage, Skype and any other VOIP services are limited by, #1 you the end user, #2 the available bandwidth of your Internet connection and #3 the available system resources of your computer, HD space, RAM, Virus Protection, TCPIP Protocol, Gateway Settings, Firewalls, etc.

As a manager of a mid-level Networking and Computer Repair company, I have read through nearly all of the issues with Magic Jack, Skype and Vontage on this website. END USER MALFUNCTION!

Having nearly a hundred users of this product as clients, I have found that the bulk of any Internet or Networking issues, are user based. To translate that for people not as smart as a rock, you are the problem! Using the words of those complaining as a guide, it is my opinion, the bulk of those having problems, are, technically challenged and should just pay Ma-Bell for a phone.

I am sure by now you think I am jerk, over critical, or worse. Well, we receive calls to fix the cup holder on the computer, quite often. Truth be told, many people are stupid and usually by their own choice! My grandfather used to tell me; If common sense was so common, everyone would have it.

Bottom line, this product works as promised (within the limitations of your computer and Internet access). You might spend time reading the TERMS AND CONDITIONS and the INSTRUCTIONS! Usually this will clear up the COMMON SENSE issues. I have four of these connected to my four line phone, no issues, but I am smarter than a rock! And finally, not only can I speak to a live person, I have spoken to several of them face to face. NOT-A-PROBLEM!

I've been a customer of MagicJack for just a bit over a year - which has effectively ended today (read on). Here are my notes (thoughts and experience as objectively possible) on MagicJack and their service so far.

NOTE 1. Re: the early charges: Supporting information regarding the early charges to some customers' accounts is a fact. Look up MagicJack on the BBB (Southeastern Florida and the Caribbean region) website. There are 688 complaints with almost half of these related to misleading/deceptive statements (e.g., "Free for 30 days...."). So the OP's complaints are justified. This never happened to me since I signed on with the intent of using it after I lost VoIP in the great Sunrocket collapse of 2007.

NOTE 2. Re: Deceptive practices. I have recently been "shutdown" as an outgoing caller due to "excessive calls" which is apparently a breach of their Terms of Service (ToS), Section 6. I had been using MagicJack since August 2007 to make unlimited calls to my girlfriend 3000 miles away (now wife). As of October 23, 2008, I received my recorded Dear John msg from MagicJack. Calling out gave me the following msg: Thank you for calling. Due to unusual call volume on your phone, please call xxx-xxx-xxxx to receive an important update. Calling the number led me to an *actual* customer representative. The gist being that I had breached their ToS. Talking to the representative, I could not get him to define excessive use. Apparently, talking 3-5 hours/day to your wife is considered "excessive". Now I have a limited service where I can continue receiving free calls, however I can only make outgoing calls by purchasing minutes through them. Since I had renewed my service over 30 days ago, I was NOT eligible for a full refund according to the customer service guy. I was and am still a bit incredulous over this. The money is not the issue - it's the principal that matters since a certain level of service was promised by my renewal purchase, but now that service is essentially made useless with the current service "castration". Just something to keep in mind for all you current MagicJack users....

NOTE 3. Re: Quality issues. I have Cable modem service (646.00kbpsupload/9.67 Mbpsdownload - just verified with speedtest). So my internet connection is not an issue. I found the phone service to be just okay. Sound was generally clear BUT most phone conversations were intermittent with beeps, clicks and static throughout my use. As an "excessive" user, I found that dropped calls were frequent in our 3-5 hour conversations - as much as every 15-30 minutes on some days. It was a cheap service.but if you make frequent calls to, say, your significant other, expect a Dear John msg from MagicJack and a useless castrated service afterwards. (see NOTE 2) I would say with my limited experience of VoIP, that real VoIP providers (Sunrocket, Vonage, Avaya, etc) offer better quality than MagicJack. Honestly, I would rate phone quality as: landline > VoIP ~ Cellphone >> MagicJack > Webchats (MSN, etc.)

NOTE 4: Re: Online chat reps. These were fine on my end. They seemed to resolve most of my situations (see NOTE 5 & 6) and seem to respond in a timely fashion....although I've heard of reports where some customers have been "banned" due to (again) "excessive" use of their customer support line. This might just be hearsay, however. Someone please do a search and prove me wrong, if so.

NOTE 5: Re: Hardware reliability/quality. Since using the service for more than a year, I was able to notice a couple glaring issues on the hardware. Every 2-3 months, I would encounter either a) frequent loss of the blue light and/or b) inability to make outgoing calls (pre-breach of ToS). It is quite possible that I had a dud and that QA/QC is an issue for them (I'm speculating). I've heard of others having similar issues. Needless to say, this was usually solved by wiping the software and restoring it with one of their downloads. Since I'm somewhat technically savvy, this was not a major issue for me just more of an annoyance.

NOTE 6: Re: Service outages. In the beginning, it was not unusual to have service outages every month. I remember a month going by in the 702 area code where I was unable to connect to one of their servers. This was a major issue from the early beta' testers and can be found in many of the older MagicJack blogs. As my year of service progressed, the frequency gradually lessened. I think the last outage was around summer 2008 when they were switching over to a new system.

BOTTOM LINE: This service is adequate UNLESS:
1) you talk more than 3-5 hours/day since they WILL limit your service per some undisclosed "excessive use" call volume, (CHECK THE ToS)
2) you are annoyed by frequent beeps, clicks and static in phone conversations,
3) you can't have the possibility of dropped calls,
4) you can't deal with the possibility of software/hardware issues,
5) you need a reliable phone service and can't have possible service outages, and
6) you can't stand interacting (possibly frequently due to NOTES 5 & 6) with online chat reps.

BUT it is an unbeatable cheap, solution for those on a strict budget just don't use it excessively (however that term is defined by MagicJack). When it works, it's just good enough.

As the Romans say, caveat emptor.

I have read your statement on Magic Jack and yes it is true, to an extent. But there are a few fallacies in your report. Magic Jack does tell you on its website that 911 works differently than a normal landline phone. When I received mine it asked me if I wanted to input my address as the location for 911 which I did because I do not travel with my MagicJack, therefore if there is an emergency it is easier for them to send the info to the local 911 office. All internet based phone services do not have conventional 911. If i ever have an emergency I will probably grab my cell phone first anyway, so this does not bother me.

Also, yes you have to put your area code, but is that really a huge deal?, remember you can use the jack to call anywhere in the US and canada and it is not a normal phone line! When I am out of state using my cell phone I have to dial the area code to call back to my home state, it is just the way it works. Ifit is really a big deal, get a $25 cordless phone from wal-mart or something and preprogram phone numbers with the area code so al you have to do is scroll down and hit call, this way you don't have to put anything into your phone.

As far as inputting numbers during a call, I have had no problems with this I have dialed and pressed numbers during an automated call and it went through just fine.I call my bank to check on balance etc and I put in a ton of numbers, always goes through.

You can be on your computer and do work since the Jack box that pops up does not interfere with computer function. All you have to do is minimize it back to the system tray or click on the open application behind the box and continue working.

It is only common sense that the MAgic Jack can only work on a computer that is on, it is after all, connected to the internet and the computer, no power to the computer no power to the phone. It is just like your cordless landline phone, no power, no phone!!!

So far I did not have to update anything on my computer and I have had the jack for over 2 months. Also, when I signed up I had them take the money out of my account immediately to avoid forgetting when they were going to take it out, also not a big deal. It states on the website that they will charge you on the 30th day of the trial, for your experience I don't have an answer because, like I said before I had them immediately remove the funds from my account to avoid forgetting.

Really for $20 a year I cannot complain, I don't drop calls, I can call whoever whenever, I dont have to worry about telemarketers calling me, like I did with my Verizon line, I dont have to worry about people calling me asking for "juan" or a garage that he apparently owned. I don't have to deal with paying for caller id, call waiting, etc. in two months of verizon service I paid over 60 dollars and all I had was a basic, local phone line with no caller id or call waiting or anything! This is well worth the money if you don't set your expectations bar too high.

Also there is an 800 numbers that I used to call and ask questions before purchasing and I spoke to someone live. They also have people that you can chat with over their website who can help, as well as an FAQ section and instructions, etc. In most cases, you won't have to talk to anyone if you have any questions on how to use your jack.

I am giving this jack a full one year trial to see if it continues to meet my expectations, if it does I will keep it, if not then oh well I got a phone line for only 50 bucks (you have to purchase the jack $30(one time only) and then pay 20 for the year of service) for a whole year, so either way I got use out of the deal.

Dear
Iaz family Las Vegas,

I've had my Magic Jack for about a year now and am very pleased with it. It cost me $100 dollars and, for that amount, I get 6 years of uninterrupted service. I've had no problems with the service. It works great. I do not use it as a primary line - I still have a land line. As a second phone, it is a real bonus. If you're short on cash, this product is definitely the way to go for a primary phone line.

They dont tell you that if you ever have a problem you WILL NEVER speak to a live representative, cause the company does not have a telephone.

They do have a live chat. I have had no reason to contact them. The product works great. I don't know what added purpose a live rep would service.


They dont tell you that they are going to redistribute your personal information to other customers in their database like they did mine

I wish you would be more specific here. I've never had a phone call, a mailer, or an e-mail from (that I know of) from MagicJack, soliciting me or spamming me.


They dont tell you up front that in order to have 24/7 phone access your computer can not go into hibernation or be shut off

Most people should be able to figure this out. However, if you do not want your computer to go off, simply adjust the setting My computer goes into screen saver mode, but not hibernation/standby mode. I usually turn my computer off at around 10 pm and turn it back on when I get up as a matter of routine.


"They dont tell you that you can not make any phone calls that require you to input #s such as if you call your bank and have to input your ss# good luck because every number you press is multiplied by 2 try inputing your account # ssi# or anthing that is requiring verification data of you"


This has not been my experience. I input numbers by way of my phone (or the phone MagicJack phone pad that pops up on the screen) all the time. No problem.


"They dont tell you that you have to dial your area code to make phone calls within your own city, so to call your next door neighbor you must first dial your area code."

I live in LA, so I have to do this anyways - over the last 10 years now. But the any number I call frequently, I simply use speed-dialing. MagicJack also comes with its own speed calling software. You simply double click the number in your contact list, and violaIt's that simple.

They dont tell you that you can not be on your computer doing work because every time someone in your house picks up the phone or a call comes in a box pops up which you have to minimize, and yes you have to minimize it for every call going out or coming in , trust me its a pain especially when your spouse work is done primarily on the pc

This is problem easily solved. Simply create another user profile on your computer. When you turn your computer on engage the profile where MagicJack will be launched. Them switch to your other user profile. The phone will work and you will not be bothered with the MagicJack popup.


They dont tell you that once you connect the magic jack to your computer, your going to be using up your systems resources, & have to update all your pc's direct x functions, so if your not a computer garu your in trouble, or you can just call their tech support and speak with someone who can walk you through the process.

Again, this is not my experience. MagicJack uses very little pc resources. I have my MagicJack connected to an 8 year-old pc using a Pentium 3. The processor speed it 500 Mhz and 500 RAM. I have no problem running the MagicJack and using a word processor at the same time. I would suggest you consider increasing your RAM. Or, you might want to get another old/used computer and use it exclusively for MagicJack.


I dont know about you folks but I wish someone would of told me all this before I spent my time and money buying this product cause now the end result is that I have no product as i sent them back and I have no money cause they have yet to date to issue a refund

Should have just kept the product. The product does work. It is only $20 a year (as opposed to $40-$50 a month for a land-line service). Again, I use it for a second line. It is not equal in quality to the land-line. But if you can live with about 95% of the quality you get from a land-line, and you are short on cash, MagicJack will more than meet your needs. And the price is right.


Dave
LA,CA

I have Magic Jack for almost a year now and had no problems. My recommendation: if you want to order it go to the website directly and see if it is for you.
I enjoy all the benefits of Magic Jack, dropped Vonage. When you are honest you can't beat that deal.

You can use it on any computer anywhere, with every phone, on top of it the international call rates are fantastic as well. Your first year is included. So I don't know what the big deal is.

I work for a large cable company who offers phone services, digital, VOIP. A lot of the customers are having trouble with their phones/services.
Here I am paying $20 a year, instead of $24.95 Vonage (without the fees), or $39.95 other Companies.

Magic Jack is a great alternative if you want to save on your monthly phone bill.

I have had Magic Jack for 6 months now. I can agree with some of what I have seen here such as dropped calls, poor quality. But I don't see where paying $19.99 a year that anyone can complain. Magic Jack does have it's growing pains. Most problems with Magic Jack can be traced back to your broadband connection, USB port or firewalls. I am computer savvy so much of what I say here may help other users. If you run other computers on the same broadband connection, you will have poor quality and dropped calls if other computers are downloading files, using voice over internet such as Yahoo or using web cams.

Some problems with resources can be fixed by just purchasing a USB hub that is externally powered. This will limit some of the resource problems. If a user knows how to get into the bios, look for a setting for the USB speed. Set it on the highest speed such as high speed or full speed, depending on the instructions in your bios. If a user doesn't know how to do this, ask the neighborhood computer wiz for help. If you use DSL, you may need to upgrade to the next highest speed.

Another way to be sure you are getting the most speed for your Magic Jack computer is to chain other computers to the Magic Jack computer. This requires 2 network cards in the Magic Jack computer. Plug the modem directly into the Magic Jack computer then plug the network control switch into the other network card. Then plug other computers into the network switch. This works best with a controlled network switch that most cannot afford but you can cut off other computers off easliy with just 2 clicks to avoid any other computer activity while in call.
For the price, it works better than a cell phone and beats even the best cell phone plan and any phone plan including Vonage who has most of the same problems such as dropped calls and poor quality but for a monthly price.

Magic Jack beats them all hands down! I just can't complain. As for leaving your computer on for it to work? I don't have a problem with that. I let my computer turn off the monitor and disks. I don't use standby or hibernate. For me Magic Jack makes sense since my computer does all it's maintainence while not in use. Beats having to waste time doing it yourself. I'm sure most people who know even a little bit about computer maint programs know that doing it yourself takes alot of your time better spent doing other things. Just my $.02

mine works fine. If you want a good range of issues folks have had with the Magic Jack, check out the PC Mag site.

Some folks do not like live chat. Live chat is a phone call.

The main issue with reception is the USB port on your computer. I just used another USB port, and it worked fine.

Some have had problems with charges, I did not.

again, my magic jack works fine. I use my magic jack for long distance calls for the most part.

You guys don't seem to realize that he didn't order this from the internet, he ordered it by phone from the infomercial.. Most of you probably haven't seen it, but based on the infomercial( yes he probably should have researched by going to the website, but all of the downsides SHOULD be mentioned in the infomercial,as they are now open to a false advertisement lawsuit)

here are some things mentioned in the infomercial that back up some of his complaints.


Number 1: This is a direct quote from the infomercial "Fire your phone company, magicjack is all you'll ever need" I mention this just because of the people that said it shouldn't be used as your primary phone. It's advertised to in fact be used as your primary(and if they had their way,only) home phone line.

Number 2: It is advertised that (direct quote) "You can't pay today. You won't be charged ANYTHING until after 30 days" A lot of people are having problems with this, and this may be the basis for a false advertising lawsuit. The emphasize heavily that NOTHING will be charged for at least 30 days. Not a cent, nadda. He probably has the money, but is upset because he was lied to/didn't receive a service as advertised.

and Number 3: NONE of the downsides are so much as even mentioned, and given the way the guy advertises it, he basically says the magicjacks are "VERY limited" and that if you "Don't call immediately and sign up, you might miss your chance to." Most of us know that this is a BS sales tactic, and they aren't "very limited", However not everyone realizes this, and they might believe that they have to act fast,else be out this wonderful service.

If they just mentioned some of the things he's complaining about in the infomercial, or if they at least told you to go check out the T&A or F.A.Q. at the website, he would have nothing to complain about. However the infomercial does everything in their power for you to NOT be informed, by trying to rush you into ordering it over the phone immediately. It is based on the infomercial that I feel he is in the right in this situation.

Yes you should always research what your buying, but he was lead to believe that if he didn't act now, he would miss his chance, and that he would have 30 days to use the product before a single cent was charged. He shouldn't have to wait 45 days for his return, because nothing should have been charged in the first place.

I am a brand new owner of a Magic Jack. I researched the VOIP business for two years before I decided to go with this. I had my misgivings, and read the TERMS OF SERVICE/AGREEMENT etc. twice, well published on their website. So I am aware of potential issues. I read almost every FAQ, incl. all about things that could go wrong. So was ready.

Unless the device I got was damaged or defective (happens to the best companies I am sure) I was sure I would have no problems. And I did not. Why?

I hooked it up as instructed to a computer system which was READY for it, meaning, though it was a 4 year old CPU, the computer was well managed (no spyware, viruses, cleaned registries, "non-hostile" Antivirus and anti-this and that software, had enough disk space for the planned VOIP use), had an operational A/C powered USB port, used an approved OS, a network that conformed to their requirements... and had no competing VOIP software installed - or messily uninstalled. Etc. etc. etc. Get the drift.

It worked as described. I was very satisfied. Yes, I could have gotten a bad one, and I would have followed their instructions on if that happened.

Now I did not like a particular ploy used when signing up for it, e.g., it might take 10 business days to get to you through regular mail (hey, we all know that's the post office's truth also) and I figured I had better opt to splurge for the 3-5 day arrrival - and it did.

I did know ahead of time they would take your private information and do what they wanted to with it. I figured I'd let them see what they would do with it, and if I traced it to them, I knew how to deal with that.

I did know well ahead of time about the EMERGENCY call restrictions - because I read - they are upfront about the restrictions, and want you to know about it.

The phone number works, the Vmail works, the whole idea works as described, has no problem with my home network, or wireless service when I travel, all I can say GET A GRIP DEALING WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY BECAUSE THIS IS THE WAY THEY ARE ALL GOING TO GO IN THE FUTURE. It isn't a conspiracy or fraud if yours don't work, it's just the dawning of a new kind of phone company. It isn't to like or not, it just business as usual. The first year of this will be the easiest and cheapest. MAKE IT WORK!

I knew about almost everything people complain about here and still think it's a good deal. About time, I might add.

I have my concerns - frying the USB port etc. but I've fried those using early USB printers. ... shrug.

I did try using the Majic Jack and for what ever reason it did not get great sound quality. I sent it back.

I then learned on another group that the Magic Jack is like spyware. In the terms of service they tell you that they are going to use your information, like what which web site you go to, who you email and who you call.

I then found that like spyware that my system was being slowed down even though I was no longer a customer. Worse there is no un install program for Magic Jack.

I found this link www.uninstallmagicjack.com I had the software off my system in 3 minutes.

Hope this is of help to some of you.

i looked up magic jack on BBB and they aren't accredited, but there is a phone number on there, maybe it could help you.

http://cencal.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=25&bbb=1066&firm=89035030

You mentioned many things about the Magic Jack, but you overlooked the most important. Does the Phone work well? I think these type of complaints should be thought about before actually submitting them. Much time was spent on the report, yet I found no value in it. The price is so cheap that I would be happy just having the service work for 3 months for our calls to the Philippines. I would not care about any of the issues you raised. If I were paying for support, service, or anything else, I would. But lets be honest. Did you really thing this would-be the best of all worlds in every area? A little unreasonable, don't you think. Give us at least 1 small paragraph on how the the Magic Jack worked. Where the lines clear? Was there a delay in the lines, making it hard to communicate? Or was the sound rough or was there an echo, etc. Then add the con side of it, in a couple of short paragraphs. Obviously you did not get value from the Magic Jack, but do you think someone who is paying $100, or $200 for long distant phone calls might find value? Or what about someone paying $300 a month for calls to a foreign country? Give both sides honestly and you will be of great value to others. Slam dunk one side and you not only waste the time of others, but you also waste your own time.

I currently own a magic jack myself, and noticed quite a few discrepencies in what you said......First if you had read the terms & conditions, you would know that they DO tell you it can take up to 45 days to issue a refund, & that calling 911 can be an issue, and that it is very important to register your address!!, and that it is based on the location you saved not on your phone #... its an internet phone for God's sakes..... thats why its only $20 a year.... and yes it can be hard to get a hold of someone, but this isn't for your basic user... this product is for someone that understands VOIP, the limitations & restrictions involved with that type of service.... & that OF COURSE you need a constant internet connection to make phone calls (again not reding the terms & conditions!!)
Almost ALL phone companies, (credit card companies too) sell your information.... hello.... used to work for Qwest, so I know this... you have to opt out to not have your info sold... thats life in the age of marketing..... & again YES it is hard to talk to someone live... but so is it with MSN, Amazon, & quite a few other companies... it costs $$ to employ people to be there for your issues (that could have been avoided had you read the fine print) making a product cost more!!! thats why its only $20 a year... hello, don't expect Gold for pennies people.... All the bad stuff I have read about this product has been from people that don't read the terms & conditions (ALWAYS READ>>> DONT JUST CLICK AGREE) understand what your getting before you buy something, and can actually read & follow intructions... be a smart consumer... or ya you'll end up in this same boat time & time again....

MagicJack is a great product for someone that doesn't always use a home phone, (someone who normally uses a cell maybe, but wants to lower thier plan, or use home phone for long calls, or calling customer service instead of using up cell phone minutes) uses there internet consistently, understands the restrictions AND benifits of VOIP, and understand you pay for what you get!!!! this product has saved me money, but only because I knew what I was getting out of it, & didn't have too high of expectations.....

I've had the service and helped several who had various technical problems in a forum dedicated to MagicJack. My experience is that if you go to the company or ask a fellow user in earnest for help, most of these problems will be avoided. On the other hand, if you simply rant and rave, of course nobody will listen. The bottom line is the service may not be perfect, especially on an older machine, but there are people available to help.

I looked at the FAQ's for this product on the Homepage and All the negative about "What they don't tell you" is actually addressed in b;ack and white. I would highly recomend End Users to fully research, and "read" the FAQ/Knowledge base and disclaimer on any product. I, myself, am plannibg on purchasing this to save money... NOT to replace the Telephone service.

Their ads don't tell you to get rid of all your other means of communication. They simply tell you it is a very economical way to make local, long distance or international calls - which it IS.

They clearly indicate all the 'down sides' to their product on their web page under FAQs. Why would you not take the time to familiarize yourself with this information if all these things you're complaining about were detrimental to you?

The Magic Jack web site also shares information about the advantages and features of the service.

Cell service has it's own shortcomings as well as VOIP and this is no different.

I've had Magic Jack about 4 months now for my home office & it has been excellent. It just doesn't have fax capabilities but I KNEW that when I purchased it because I READ the information freely provided on their web site beforehand. I cancelled my VOIP lines except for one which I downgraded & earmarked for faxing.
They were great when I first signed up several years ago but they've gotten almost as bad as the Bell System.

There was some minor technical difficulty with my Magic Jack on install which was quickly handled via their on-line support. A couple of times I had problems with the audio which, after following the instructions provided on Magic Fix, were resolved within a couple of minutes.

I heard about Magic Jack via Clark Howard's talk show & praise him for sharing his knowledge about yet another valuable money-saving tool. My 2nd Magic Jack is currently in transit to my home and, judging from my own personal experience with my first Magic Jack phone service, I know it is going to be worth EVERY penny.

Don't have to believe me. I'm sorry you had so many issues however...

Credit card charge:
Any product you buy has by law 30 days money back/refund. The time it takes for any company to refund you depends on their internal structure policies etc... There are variables there too... for instance: It takes longer if you used a debit card versus a credit card. - If you dont have the money to spend, dont buy it.

Customer service:
This is an internet generation product. I wouldn't expect much of old fashioned customer service. And yes, 20 bucks a year? You are not in for a red carpet customer service. Basically, you get what you paid for.

Personal information:
Local companies have been selling your information for ages, hence the creation of the National Do Not Call List. MajicJack is no exception to the rule.

24x7 phone access:
Don't tell me you didn't know this product totally depends on your computer? If is attached to your computer, YES, the computer has to be ON so it can work.
It is a matter of "reading between the lines". Any device attached to your computer will work as long as the computer is on. OH wait, maybe you wrote a bad review on printers too? My printer wont work if my computer is off? Please!

911 access:
NEVER use an Internet based product to call 911. Its my suggestion.

Calling your bank:
Its probably an 800 number I would be calling from my regular land line. Use your bandwidth for those regular long distance calls instead.

Dialing are code for local:
In most cities now you MUST dial the area code for local calls due to changing dialing plans. That's an old story already with local regular old fashioned phone service. Its 3 digits more that won't break your delicate fingers.

Pop up caller ID box:
If that's something you cannot configure in their software, perhaps you could use multiple desktops in your system. Microsoft offers "Toys" that can help you with that. Look for Power Toys from microsoft. There is a desktop manager that allows you have up to 4 work areas (desktops) in your own computer. Another idea is, use a second computer for you MagicJack. Might not be the best idea however most people now own more than one computer. I have 5 at home not including the laptops.

System resources / updates:
ANY piece of software in your computer uses resources and might require updates depending how well maintained your environment is. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to click NEXT NEXT FINISH when running updates. I'm glad you're not using Linux.

Bottom line:
You are not getting what should be your PRIMARY telephone service but rather a way to SAVE money. You should never drop your current service until you are 100% used to this product.

For those who read this review, its up to you but in my opinion, this is a fairly decent product.

I have had magic jack for 2 months now. So far it seems to work fine. As far as the Company selling or giving my Information away to others it has not happened yet. I have made several Long Distance calls and have not been charged a cent for them. I did receive tech support from the magic jack once because I didn't know how to do a 3 way call and I was shown how to do it step by step. I have already saved more than $19.95 just by using the 411 that comes with magic jack. I really find

I am Cobb from the Spurs website and cobb3 from the pc one. I cant believe you guys are having so much problems. The only problem I had was it took 2 weeks to recieve. As far as them charging your card, its never a good idea to buy something you cant pay for and many places that offer "free" trials or samples charge at the placement of the order, then will refund if you do not want it.

As mentioned on the spurs thread, I am using comcast cable internet on an asus laptop with xp. s5200n model. Direct connect to cable modem.

For fear of people not hearing me, I increased the volume for bothsending and recieving. No other problems, the laptop sits with the box plugged in to dial out for my alarm system and when I need to make calls, recieved calls work fine and voice mails are emailed to me to hear.

Thats ok if this company goes under, which I hope it doesnt. I already got my funds worth even thought I signed for several years in relation to the price of pther phone service.

Yeah, But its $19 a year for all you can eat phone service a value of $1200 (AT&T)

What's not to Love.

What do you want for $19 bucks.

Welcome to VOIP. Which by the way AT&T, Comcast, and all other telephone providers are switching to, and they have e911 problems too. As do Cellphones, Worlds changing, better get on board.