magicJack Scoop: New Features, New Device Coming in 2009-2010
April 21st, 2009 by Jeffrey L. Wilson 
Pictured: Current magicJack
You’ve read the news and reviews online. You’ve seen the TV spots. Magicjack has proven to be a surprise hit device since its launch in 2007, and – on this site at least – has proven to be a hot topic that has stirred passionate debate about the low-cost, plug-and-play telephony service ($39.99 with one year of service included in price).
In that time, magicJack has seen over 700 bug fixes and improved customer service, which has seen its Better Buisness Bureau rating jump to an “A-” (previously, it was a “F”). And with sales totalling over 3 million units, it looks like the company is thriving.
Still, magicJack inventor Dan Borislow isn’t resting on his product’s success; big plans are in motion that will expand magicJack’s functionality. After the jump, Mr. Borislow’s big plans for magicJack.
- New magicJack: In Q3 2009 or Q1 2010, there are plans to release a new magicJack model that will utilize femtocell technology to enable users to shuffle their GSM phone calls through a magicJack to save minutes and boost indoor call quality. The connection will be wireless, and ride a portion of cellular spectrum. According to Borislow “it’ll be just a little bigger [than the current magicJack] and the expense will be just a few dollars more.” It’ll also feature a revamped 911 system that uses triangulation to plot your current location.
- Number-porting: One of magicJack’s most requested features, the ability to transfer existing numbers to magicJack, should arrive “within the next 60 days.” This will be available to both current and new magicJacks.
- Linux compatibility: Mac and PC users have been using magicJack for some time now, but Linux has been left out in the cold–but not much longer. According to Borislow, Linux compatibility should be available “3rd quarter of this year.” This addition will be available to both current and new magicJacks.
- A downloadable application for mobile phones: more on this as information becomes available. Could it compete with the recently released Skype for iPhone?
Clearly, magicJack is continuing its assault on the telecommunications space. If the company can maintain its level of customer service (which was one of the biggest complaints that users had when the product initially launched), it just may give gabbers more reasons to ponder ditching their landlines. So tell us what you think: Do the new magicJack features tempt you enough to cut the landline cord?
Our Related Content
- netTALK Issues Terse Response to magicJack Criticism
- magicJack Head: Femtocell Device "Definitely Legal," Standalone Phone and Apps Coming Too
- Can the netTALK Slay the Mighty magicJack?
From Other Sites
- MagcJack hack turns an Eee PC into a mobile telephone jack (Liliputing)
- MagicJack: The Aftermath (Technologizer)
- MagicJack: The No-Brainer Money Saver (Technologizer)
98 Responses to “magicJack Scoop: New Features, New Device Coming in 2009-2010”
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April 21st, 2009 at 1:30 pm
AWESOME! I used magicjack everyday and it rocks. Number portability will drive sales through the roof. The heck with the skype IPO, let’s see magicjack IPO. (still cant believe people really think skype is FREE. Not!)
April 21st, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Number portability (inbound) has been “coming soon” since January 2008…..I guess it depends on your definition of “soon”.
There’s still a problem with OUTBOUND portability – they “don’t plan to offer this feature” – yet since the numbers are owned by YMAX Comm. (another Borislow company) which is a CLEC – they are REQUIRED to provide outbound ports. Sooner or later there’s going to be a rash of FCC complaints and they’ll be forced to do it, and/or fined for not being in compliance.
As a “2nd line” – the MJ can be a terrific addition for any household. Because of the fact that it’s tied to a computer being on all the time – it’s not ready for prime time/use as the only telephony device in a household. The cost of running a PC 24 x 7 could end up costing a whole lot more than a cheap PAYG VoIP service with a dedicated ATA.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Awesome…nearly the same promises made almost a year ago to the day!
April 21st, 2009 at 10:42 pm
From my experience with Magicjack, I would postpone actually using any service that they issue in 2009 till mid 2010. I’m not anxious to beta-test any more of their products and that’s exactly what I feel like I’ve been doing with their product for the last 6 months.
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:49 am
I love my magic jack and if you dont have one yet you should hurry up and get one !
Happy in La Jolla
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:50 am
I love my Magic Jack and if you dont have one yet you should get one !
Happy in La Jolla
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:52 pm
I sceptically bought a MagicJack the other day at Radio Shack and it works no problems. It may be closer to prime-time than some of the posters are talking about. I personally like it, and it helps me keep a cheaper cellular plan.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:43 pm
As a daily/evening user of Magic Jack, I have to tell everyone that it is what they advertised…a great way to save money on your cell phone and excellent phone quality.
I bought Magic Jack at the Best Buy in Palm Desert, California. It cost me $40 for the USB jack that you plug into your computer. I also bought a $10 corded phone by ATT which I have connected to my magic jack. The setup was only under 10 minutes. I signed up with my Email and was able to pick a number that I wanted. Also, it allowed me to set up verified 911, which means Magic Jack routes your 911 call to the correct local Emergency Dispatchers.
The sound quality rivals Cell Phones and other home phone landlines. No question! I am an audiophile and have been for years. I am an expert on sound, trust me, its awesome. It has a nice control panel on the screen that you can dial numbers on the panel or direct from your analog phone. It keeps track of calls you make and has a nice phone contact list so you no longer need a phone book!!!
Magic Jack requires a DSL or Cable internet connection, 748K or higher. If anyone wants the cheapest DSL for under 18$ a month, try DSLExtreme.com. They are awesome. Magic Jack comes with your first USA and Canada unlimited calls for 1 year. As a customer, you can currently buy 5 additional years for $60.
In total, I have unlimited (yes, say it in your mind, slowly) phone calls until March of 2015. That is monthly phone rate of $1.39. Can your phone bill match that!?
I didn’t think so. I no longer use my Cell Phone. Magic Jack is all I need. It gives you Voice Mail and the Jack itself is portable. So for laptop users you can take it around with you. Plug it in, and your set!
When the computer is off, the calls go right to voice mail. When you log into your mail, it will show you a notice that a voice mail was left buy a caller.
Don’t even think about it, go buy Magic Jack. You will kick yourself for not doing it sooner!
Brian
Palm Desert, CA
April 24th, 2009 at 4:11 am
Very clever stuff, but if this is a real femtocell I will eat my own trousers.
May 1st, 2009 at 4:39 pm
It works well enough. Awesome? No. Rocks? Hardly. But it’s satisfactory for the price. I agree with Watcher, it’s not ready for prime time, but for certain applications it works well.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:03 am
I bought one of these 3 years ago and didnt have any major problems but I’ve gotta tell all you hopeful people out there. That when I purchased this, again 3 years ago, they were promising tons of new features like SMS forwarding, number porting, new devices (like phone to network and multi-line devices). I was told a few would be out by the end of the year (2006) and its almost mid 2009 and not a single thing is out.
I’m convinced its just hype to spread the name. Mine got stolen but I haven’t bought a new one because of the lack of effort by the company to update anything. You can’t beat $20 a year for a phone and the quality is better than most VOIP but I’m just very spiteful toward companies that get complacent and make seem to not care about their products or customers.
May 7th, 2009 at 6:48 am
Simply put, Magic Jack works.
I installed it on two computers in my home. My PC with Windows XP, and my laptop with Vista. It seemed to work slightly better as far as voice quality with Vista, but after running it on the PC for awhile it works fine. It works so good that I ditched my cable company landline and saved myself $500 a year.
I use a two phone wireless system (GE 6.0, with Google 411 built in) which gives me coverage all over my house. I notice essentially no difference in anything. In fact, I think the features of Magic Jack as far as the on screen window with phone list, dialing capability, etc. is awesome. I can check my voicemails online through the e-mail alerts, which than can be played right from the e-mail through my Windows Media Player (or player of your choice). This is great when I’m out of town and using my laptop.
I gave it a good two months of testing before I decided to go with it, and so far I don’t regret it. The only downfall is that when we lose power we lose the phone, but that happens with cable anyway. With cell phone backup who cares. During a power failure Jack still routes calls to voicemail so you never lose the calls.
I highly recommend it. I would suggest buying it from a store like Best Buy or Radio Shack. Why wait for it and pay S&H. It’s the same price with the same offers.
May 13th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Horrible! Jack would not work with headset connected to laptop. Followed their chat support to change audio and sound settings but still would not work: people could not hear me when made calls. Powered laptop down, bought a regular phone to plug in. Powered laptop back on and just got a screech!. Now a have a defective $20 Jack & a inoperable $2000 laptop.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
I bought my magic jack 2 months ago and I have to say that I love it. Only one flaw, there is a 50/50 chance that when I send a fax that it will go thru but I have found some ways to make it more successful. 1) I put a DSL line filter on my magic jack. 2) I lowered my baud rate on my fax machine to 9600 and turned my ECM (Error Correction Mode) to off. 3) I turned my overseas mode to on (I have a Brother 575 Fax machine). 4) I fax either around 7,8,9 pm or early in the am. I am currently awaiting the makers of magic jack to make a Linux compatible version. I want to thank the makers of Magic Jack for saving me A LOT of money, especially during these hard economic times. Please hurry with the next generation of Magic Jack.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
I bought my magic jack 2 months ago and I have to say that I love it. Only one flaw, there is a 50/50 chance that when I send a fax that it will go thru but I have found some ways to make it more successful. 1) I put a DSL line filter on my magic jack. 2) I lowered my baud rate on my fax machine to 9600 and turned my ECM (Error Correction Mode) to off. 3) I turned my overseas mode to on (I have a Brother 575 Fax machine). 4) I fax either around 7,8,9 pm or early in the am. I am currently awaiting the makers of magic jack to make a Linux compatible version. I want to thank the makers of Magic Jack for saving me A LOT of money, especially during these hard economic times. Please hurry with the next generation of Magic Jack.
May 17th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Magicjack Linux would be great ! I have been waiting for it. I’ve tried making Magicjack work with Linux, but could never get it to work.
I’ve had my magicjack 5 months & it works well for me. I get past the spyware & energy use concerns by using a thin client for a dedicated Magicjack computer. My thin client only uses 10.4 watts ( I measured it with my DVOM ), so I leave it on 24/7. That saves a bunch, compared to my desktop’s 110.2 watts. It also freed up my desktop’s system resources. And no more pop ups. I have it running without a monitor, keyboard, or mouse. A bunch of folks sell them on eBay.
HURRY UP WITH THE NEXT GEN MAGICJACK ALREADY ! LOL
May 22nd, 2009 at 4:44 am
it’s a great techie toy. sometimes the phone calls come in, many times they go straight to voice mail. But i guess that’s better than losing them! been using it for two years and it still isn’t ready to replace your phone line, but it’s a great alternative for free long distance to supplement your cell phone. at 19 a year how can you beat it?
May 27th, 2009 at 2:57 am
dont be stupid folks. if majic jack does not work ,its you or your computer to be blamed.
just a little computer knowledge ,common sense. majic jack is a device (a bank) that puts at least $30.00 per month in your pocket. free money. in 9 months i saved $360.00. in livin in toronto canada.
dont support those big billionaires phone company which is ripping (raping) us off.
lets be smart live smart , think smartly before you put shitty comments about mj.
May 27th, 2009 at 5:22 am
if they port this to linux officially ill probably switch from skype but again they made these promises a year or so ago.
June 4th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
If protecting your Family is important to you, then Majic Jack is not for you. YOUR ALARM WILL NOT WORK WITH notsoMAJICJACK and they know it and are doing nothing about it.
June 7th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
I’ve been waiting for about a year now to switch to magicjack…the only reason why i havent switched from vonage is i number portability. as soon as i can port my num..im sold.
June 8th, 2009 at 12:02 am
Currently waiting for my MJ to show up. My expectations of it are; 1) usb powered therefore I do not think it will RING an old style phone nor a non efficient phone as it is USB powered which tops out at .5 amp.
My plan is to use a cheap cordless phone connected to a rarely used (XP) laptop that will remain on and connected to the home network (cable – 7.5mb/1.5mb up – 1gb switch,100mb router) . The laptop is going to be a minimal build of XP sp3
Dual core, 2gb ram
See any problems?
June 8th, 2009 at 12:08 am
Forgot to add I would never consider this as my ONLY phone. The 911 service; I consider a must have and want a fool proof way for it to work, MJ is not fool proof (not sure if it does or does not work)
It is to be used as a supplemental phone and a travel phone.
I am hoping my headset that attaches to the latop works with MJ. It appears all sound goes out the rj11 jack. is that software controlled? can a laptop user, use the built in microphone and make/recv calls?
Thanks
June 10th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
We have used it for nearly a year now without any problems whatsoever. From what we were told, it is not the same as VOiP, they use actual phone lines to transmit. We had tried Vonage in 2 states and 4 cities and it never worked and we got the same information, it was the modem, the weather, the computer, anything but their problem. We could hear if somebody called in, but not if we called out. We have never had this problem with MagicJack. I even bought one for my son as he is disabled and cannot afford regular service. I am very happy with it and do not understand what people expect for 20 a year!
June 10th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
To Brad, we use a regular phone and it rings just fine. After a month of no problems, we did away with the regular phone company.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:53 am
I’m definitely with the majority of the comments here. Magic Jack is no miracle worker, but for the price, it really is quite effective. Looking forward to the new features.
June 13th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Majic Jack works superb. Although not always through a firewall, which I’ve had to disable.
Aside from that, my only other issue is with the softphone interface, which pops up whenever a call come in. Theres ads placed within the graphic ui, that you can’t disable. It may sound nit-picky, but trust me, once the novelty wears off, it gets a bit annoying to see “Call India for 5¢ a Min!” whenever the phone rings.
June 14th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Magic Jack…In my opinion, it’s a scam… a poorly conceived, executed and supported product. I’ve had the product for several months and I am very dissatisfied with it In reading the reviews of the product there are many more people with troubles than those with success. I’ve updated mine once but the link associated with it has gone away and been replaced with a search button (Yahoo), so software updates are out of the question. My issues include having to call in six or more times to get through (“This extension is not available”), a curious ticking during a call when I can use it, constantly dropped calls, and some difficulty calling out. I had high hopes that there was a low cost alternative to the phone company, but those hopes have disappeared as if by “magic”.
June 18th, 2009 at 10:19 am
I have the magicjack on the 30 day trial. It seems to work properly but at this point I cannot get a phone number in my local area code. And, what is more exasperating, I can’t get magicjack customer service to give me an estimate as to when they will be adding phone numbers to the area code I need (area code 360). Anyone else having this problem?
June 18th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
I have MJ. It works 99% of the time. I use it when I don’t want to run up my cell phone minutes and I use it to ring my cell phone when I forget where I left it.
I just learned that a problem I was having with my Dell and the DVD software was caused by the MJ. So now when I want to burn a CD/DVD, I have to reboot with the MJ unplugged.
June 19th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I’ve had no problem with majic jack until now! I switched from a pc to a mac. after connecting mj to my mac all seem to work well but icon would suddenly appear in middle of my screen, I min to icon bar but it would reappear so I quit application and unplugged mj. Now I have plugged in mj but I can not get icon on screen. what can I do? I tried to unplug and went into recent application and clicked on mj but no luck!!!!
Help, I love mj and need it back now!
Jerry in Arizona
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:06 am
It’s been 2 weeks with Magicjack. I have found doing anything on the computer while on a call will make it stutter and I have a fast computer and 7mb/1.5mb internet. I ended up moving the magicjack to an older laptop and have a cheap cordless phone on it. I found setting the magicjack process to “high” and no other software running (no antivirus, antispyware – windows firewall IS running) the service is excellent. I am surprised. One contact I call often is on a cell phone. that had me concerned MJ was not up to the task but after talking to him and others on solid phone lines the service is excellent
fyi – to set priority to high requires going into the task manager. be warned it will slow down other programs considerably. If like me you have an unused computer, this is the way to go
Best of luck,
Brad
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:08 am
Works, pretty well, However the CALL Fowarding Feature was NOT working for 3 WEEKS!, They just fixed that bug. They Need to have a Staff to answer complaints. This business of NOT being able to talk to someone for tech support is usless!
June 26th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Brad, I saw yur post. I am having the same problem. I have a Dell laptop with inbuilt microphone and speakers… I can hear the caller very well, but the caller cannot hear me. Is that the problem you are also experiencing. If yes, did u get that resolved?
Thanks in advance…
Shreya
# Brad Says:
June 8th, 2009 at 12:08 am
Forgot to add I would never consider this as my ONLY phone. The 911 service; I consider a must have and want a fool proof way for it to work, MJ is not fool proof (not sure if it does or does not work)
It is to be used as a supplemental phone and a travel phone.
I am hoping my headset that attaches to the latop works with MJ. It appears all sound goes out the rj11 jack. is that software controlled? can a laptop user, use the built in microphone and make/recv calls?
Thanks
June 28th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
I purchase an MJ a year ago and kept hearing the porting issue would be solved “soon”. Since I couldn’t change my number with all my contacts, I returned the MJ for a no hassle refund. Porting issue promised but, so far, not delivered. When it is settled, I will repurchase with no problem since the trial period did work successfully for me. Hope they hurry!!
June 30th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Hello Curt
VOIP Marketing & Saes are onley resellers of magicJack so if you need
support go to magicjack.com
Best of luck
VOIP Marketing & Sales
> Hi:
>
> I’ve done everything they told me to do, three times, without success.
>
> Guess the Magic Jack just wasn’t meant for my PC..
>
> Thanks,
> Curt
> >
July 1st, 2009 at 5:37 pm
I love my magicJack and it was so easy to buy online at http://www.magicJack.com. I save hundreds of dollars a year. I can’t believe it was that easy. Thanks!
July 2nd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
magic jack is a scam you have been warned
July 5th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Its the third quarter of the year where are my magic jack Linux drivers? Is this a reputable company that keeps their word, or am I supposed to just accept that what they say is bs.
July 11th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Hello one thing ? Can i make Calls to the philippines with the magic jack
Sounds like the best deal out there, thank for any reply
July 12th, 2009 at 2:23 am
MagicJack is trash & likely a scam from Danny Boy… Sorry Dan; But it couldn’t be any more true.
I was running the MagicJack USB device prior to the ATA on somewhat of a beast of a machine; Fully updated bios, latest drivers on an Asus P5W-DH Deluxe motherboard, Core2 Quad @ 2.8GHz with 2 gigs of ram on XP SP3(More than enough for XP), Nothing has ever slowed this thing down & I had trouble utilizing all four cores even with the most intense applications. Even so, Magicjack still sounded like a clicking, echoed , poppy piece of junk. I’ve also manually ran the MagicJack updates with nearly no improvement.
My home network is also on the overkill side running a router that can handle 200 clients without breaking a sweat. My cable internet provider gives me 3 megabits per second (3072 kbps) down & 512 up. More than enough once again. Sorry Dan; You’re a really flaky guy & you’ve lied to us all way to many times to trust you for another year of that horrible service you call WiMAX+Tigerjet USB Device=MagicJack. By the way; Danny Boy own all of it!
I’ve tried to deal with it for almost a year now with very little to no improvement at all. Their live chat support “techs” lie through their teeth like it’s going out of style. I have yet to receive a follow up email for a big complaint I had with the killing of ATA support; With an ATA, It sounded clearer but I still missed a ton of calls from friends that keep telling me to get a working phone(Missed out on a lot of fun). My first included year will be up at the end of July 2009 & I have no intention to renew it. Anyone want to buy a slightly used MagicJack? I think I know the answer to this one; Only someone who doesn’t know what’s going on with MagicJack would go for it like myself a year ago. Never again. Then again; It’s only $20 a year right? Still not worth it. What’s that? you say my MagicJack adapter is defective? I’m not paying another $40 for another shot in the dark & there is no way Danny Boy would give me a free replacement.
I did myself the favor of avoiding the headaches that is MagicJack for another year with a new service that just launched June 2nd; Ironically when my ATA service got killed off. I won’t say much about it because I’m not a salesman or affiliated with the company in any way. I’m just a big networking geek. However I can say that HayTek Gadgets Blog admin turned me to the solution. I really like my new SIP provider service.
SipGate Rules!
Google is your friend
Legend:
ATA = Analog Telephone Adapter
SIP = Simple Internet Protocol
Danny Boy = Dan Borislow
Dan Borislow = Lying Thief!
I’ve had more than enough mercy on you Dan Borislow.
Danny Boy at his $20,000,000 Palm Beach Estate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3×6CBLJOrA
P.S. I am very sorry to all for my venting of anger; Please forgive me.
July 13th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
No one seems to mention the problem with area codes. If your area code is NOT on their list you are FORCRD to use a DIFFERENT area code and number. You MUST change your phone #. And THEN everyone local who calls you has to pay long distance because of your new area code. Sucks
July 13th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I think the reason for that being that most of us ditched landlines years ago. Even cell phone don’t have this problem. I have a 951 area code(My local area code is 909) & everyone I talk to does not have limited or crippled long distance & so the problem never comes up. So really what sucks isn’t the SIP/Cell providers lack of area codes or prefixes, But the crippled landline long distance charges. Try taking it up with Verizon of whoever you got.
I remember when I was little I called a girl I knew from Virginia & ran the phone bill up sky high! I no longer have to worry about that anymore & can call anyone out of state, into Canada, Alaska, or Hawaii for the same minute rate! Local or long distance? No problem…Of course I still have to meet someone from those other places.
Also, One thing I have noticed is that phone number “Porting” isn’t available from most of the smaller SIP providers at this time. Gotta wait on this one; But then again at these new rates it really doesn’t bother me much at all anyway. I didn’t like half the people that had my old number anyway; It gives you a chance to start out fresh
July 16th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Have had a MJ since Jan 09 and have had nothing but problems with dropped calls, scratch calls, clicking sounds, etc. Customer Service is unbelievable. I have sat at the computer for up to 2 + hours and they cannot fix the problem. I have tried more times than I can remember. I am ready to give up.
July 26th, 2009 at 9:04 am
I bought MJ several months ago. At first, the service was pretty good. Now, I hear a constant phone beep as if I was dialing. The people I am talking to hear this beep at alternate times. This creates pauses in the conversation and at times can be very annoying to the point that I have to get off the phone. There are times when the phone goes silent and I cannot hear the other party on the phone and vice versa. There are also times when I call someone and neither one of us can hear each other. You could never use this as a business line for a home business. I have tried to use their online live support and spent literally 2 hours typing back and forth which never resolved the problem. My concern here is that they have grown too big too quickly and do not have the infrastructure to support this rapid growth. Any suggestions?
July 29th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I have had MajicJack Service for over a year now 304 area code, with no problems… Some clicking noises can be heard sometimes, not always. Anytime I get a bit peeved at the quality, I recall the $70.00+ phone bill that was discarded to obtain MJ. At the discounted rate of $60 for 5 years, I will have saved over $4,150 by the year 2015 !!! It can “click” all it wants to!!!
July 29th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
I will agree with an above poster… If you have problems with MajicJack, some thought should be put into the purchase of an instruction manual for computers… Seriously, it is much harder to install a television, than Majic Jack.
August 1st, 2009 at 7:28 am
I bought my majicjack one year ago and have already saved over $3000.00 Thant’s right! I travel all around the world and call the USA/Canada every day for about an hour. All i have to do is connect to the internet. It has worked fine and has gotten better in the past3 months with clarity and connectibility reliability. I don’t know what I would do without it. Thank you Don and YMAX
August 2nd, 2009 at 12:36 am
sir,
pls let me know yr magic jack will work in united arab emirates to call india pakistan n bangladesh. I am very keen to if it is so.
Thanks
Rizvi
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:52 pm
I let greed get in the way and I bought two MJ’s (one for my home and one for my office) and the worst part I paid for 5 years of sevice. I have been trying to contact Magicjack for months, they do not have a live body for Customer Service, just an endless maze if pre-determined email answers that lead you around in endless circles. I should have stayed with my original Telephone service provider. I’m currently relying on my Cell phone at home and went back to my original service provider at my office. Luckily my Office Phone provider didn’t charge me and new service fees to set up my service because I had been wih them for such a long time. I contast the The FCC and my local Secretary of State and filed a complaint against Magicjack. Magicjack, in my estimation, is a big scam and the FCC should should investigate them and have them shut down until they provide customers with a 24/7 TFN (Toll-Free Number) customer service so Users can contact them if they need assistance. I imagine I will never see any of the $200 plus dollars I charged to my Credit Card. Anyone who uses an innocent child to market a service shoul be ashamed if themself and should be slapped with a hefty fine and jail time be imposed. I recommed that their assects be frozen and the SEC should get involved. BUYER BEWARE” We just may have another “Burne Maddof” on our hands.
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I let greed get in the way and I bought two MJ’s (one for my home and one for my office) and the worst part I paid for 5 years of sevice. I have been trying to contact Magicjack for months, they do not have a live body for Customer Service, just an endless maze if pre-determined email answers that lead you around in endless circles. I should have stayed with my original Telephone service provider. I’m currently relying on my Cell phone at home and went back to my original service provider at my office. Luckily my Office Phone provider didn’t charge me any new service fees to set up my service because I had been wih them for such a long time. I contacted the The FCC and my local Secretary of State and filed a complaint against Magicjack. Magicjack, in my estimation, is a big scam and the FCC should should investigate them and have them shut down until they, at the least, provide customers with a 24/7 TFN (Toll-Free Number) customer service so Users can contact them if they need assistance. I imagine I will never see any of the $200 plus dollars I charged to my Credit Card. Anyone who uses an innocent child to market a service shoul be ashamed if themself and should be slapped with a hefty fine and possible jail time be imposed. I recommed that their assects be frozen and the SEC should get involved. BUYER BEWARE” We just may have another “Burne Maddof” on our hands.
August 4th, 2009 at 5:24 am
I bought my MagicJack at Best Buy last February. Plugged it into my MacBook USB port and followed all the directions to get up and running. I called my daughter, just using my laptop’s mic. It was horrible! Nothing but static, and choppy conversation. (Pretty much the same complaints I’d read about MagicJack online before I bought it.) I figured I had once again succumbed to slick advertising and bought a useless device. But, I did a little googling for online suggestions regarding MagicJack.
The most common suggestions were:
1. Use an AC powered USB hub (instead of the under-powered ports in our computers.
2. Use a real phone! (I bought a $14 vtech at WalMart, don’t use the fancy, more expensive ones!)
I came home, plugged everything in and called my daughter again. This time, she had no clue I was using MagicJack. After talking for about 20 minutes, I asked her how I sounded and she said better than usual. (“Usual” was my Sprint landline.) I used MagicJack for another couple of weeks and had absolutely no complaints so I pulled the plug on Sprint. I have been a very happy MagicJack user from that day forward, plus I’m saving $70 a month in phone bills.
I do have a prepaid cellphone that I keep just in case the power goes out and for times when I’m away from my MacBook. But I had the cellphone even when I had the landline.
I don’t think it’s fair to make accusations against Dan B. or MagicJack. MagicJack DOES work. It’s just that there are so many possible variables when it comes to computer setups that “one size fits all” is impossible. Do a little homework and try some of the suggestions online. Nothing to lose and you could gain what you spend on a monthly landline. It’s sure a good feeling to cut THAT cord!
August 7th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I have had a MJ for about 6 months. I HATE it and my wife refuses to talk on the phone (which could be seen as a positive!). I get beeps on the other side with short silences. The conversations sometimes break up. People phoning often get straight to voicemail. And before people scream n00bie, I have been in IT for 20 years, my 10mbit/375K broadband connection is used for very little else and it has been installed on fresh installs of XP and vista.
When I had it running on a linksys PAP2 ATA device, it was acceptable, but now that that has been stopped, I am back to the crappy MJ device. I don’t believe any of the glaringly positive reviews here… they all plants!
Yes you save money, but is it worth it? I think I am going back to my landline for the 911 service. It also does not cost $70 or so as some people reported, my basic landline service was $18/month.
Use it as a second line only.
August 9th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Will not cut the cord to laneline which is att,I Have power outta very bady…so landline will back-up my home secrity system,911,faxing,and local calls,etc…Mj is a 2nd line for long distance calling budgetuser
August 14th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I bought MagicJack about a year ago, but didn’t use it very much, even though it worked well. Thanks to the suggestioon of a recently visiting brother-in-law, I bought a Panasonic 4 phone wireless setup, and now my MJ is hooked up and is useable throughout the house. It works great. Just waiting for portability of my landline number before I discontinue that service. Incidentally, I also bought a Thin Client computer dedicated to running MJ exclusively, so I don’t have to keep my desktop on 24/7. The Thin Client stays on all the time, and uses very little energy, another saving for the frugle minded. I got mine on eBay. If you don’t know what a Thin Client is, go to the unofficial MagicJack support group for more info: I think that this is their link: http://www.magicjacksupport.com/
August 24th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I’ve used MagicJack for 1 year now and I love it .
Is it a perfect product? No , but for the price and function there is no better internet phone deal on the planet.
I ditched my landline and never looked back. $20 a year for UNLIMITED CALLING, seriously how can you pass this up? You get email alerts when you have messages too.
CALL QUALITY ? It’s very simple , the faster your speed , the better the call quality.
Every once in awhile I get light static , this same static you may have on a normal wireless phone.
The call quality overall is very good to great.
I don’t know why every person in the world with high speed doesn’t own one, its the best bang for buck phone product on the planet.
It’s not $20 a month , ITS $20 a year for UNLIMITED CALLS
SOLD!
August 30th, 2009 at 12:08 am
I have used MJ for over a year now and have had no problems with it. I do recommend it to friends and family. The savings per year is well worth it. We have no other phone service in our home except our cells. This service works great in unison with cell service. I lowered my cell minutes plan, use MJ during the day, use the cell nights and weekends. Its great!
September 1st, 2009 at 12:22 am
I just got the MJ and tried a few things to test it out on my ISP. These were the things I had read in reviews found across the web.
1-Many of the ISP providers intentionally block or hinder clear voice because they also offer phone services and seek to keep that client base strong. I tried MJ with my Comcast basic ISP and it worked just fine…a little clicking and static, a few stutters, but generally better than my cell phone with Sprint and not much worse than my digital voice from Comcast.
2-I was able to send a fax without any problems. This was a complaint with certain ISP’s and clarity fo the line.
3-I connected it to my entire house phone wiring system and was able to use any phone from any room in the house and could use my cordless phones also. no real problems… a little clicking, scratching or pauses is not enough to waste the $25/month I was paying to ATT or the $33/month I am paying to Comcast. In my case, paying the $40 for the 1st year is worth every cent. My wife really likes our phone number that we’ve had for over 15 years, so I may give them a bit longer before I switch, but if it were just up to me I’d have switched the same day.
Also with respect to all the folks fussing over out porting… I’ve worked for a telco for 22 years… all of these companies drug their feet to get portability going… and they all still regularly screw it up. Yeah the FCC said you have to do it and if they push MJ they’ll still give them years to make it work just like they did with the big telcos. As far as area codes… portability screwed up the whole system… area codes are a thing of the past, because of portability. Pretty soon, your phone number will be like your SSN… it’ll follow you everywhere and you won’t be able to get anything without it.
September 1st, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Hi,
I bought a magicJack and went through several levels of online Chat support with a “Please connect to the Internet [error 3]” and after numerous times of unplugging and replugging, Advanced restarts and downloading the latest FIX for my computer, the error was NEVER resolved and I have NO firewall either.
Hence, the phone I bought after magicJack just sits there useless. So far I have found NO SOLUTIONS for the Level 3 error.
Steve
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Want the truth about Magic Jack: including the many criminal charges on the owner; go to
http://broadband-nation.blogspot.com/2008/10/real-problems-with-magic-jack-is-majic.html
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Also, I would strongly suggest the LP, PC and other reputable companies quit promoting “positive only” feedback. I know I wont go to these sites anymore for accurate evalluations.
September 4th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
If you are having call quality issues just buy a cheap USB PORT with adapter then your calls will sound just fine.Thats what I had to do…Now my calls are fine.
September 6th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
I DID ditch my landline for MagicJack.
It USED to work great.
Now, call quality is so bad, it’s no longer usable.
I have a dedicated laptop for the system, no other apps are running.
I even spent an evening trying to tune task priorities & router settings.
Nothing. (Yes, I know what I’m doing. I’m an MSEE).
MJ also suffers from SERIOUS “ring-trip” issues, probably due to it being powered from USB.
On MANY phones I tried, when a call comes in, MJ picks up the line, then immediately hangs up, without EVER ringing the phone.
No voice-mail, no caller ID on the phone, just a pick-up, hangup.
The only record that a call was ever attempted is the MJ screen on the PC.
The customer service has a canned script they run through, and doesn’t understand English too well.
.
I once told them that the ring circuit was so poorly, the device could be a fire hazard.
The customer service person responded with “That’s great!”.
Sadly, I bought the 5-year plan
I sincerely hope they get this fixed.
I’m burning lots of money in cell phone minutes.
September 7th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
MJ is great. I can’t however use STAR 67 (*67) in my ougoing calls as it seems that you can only dials ten digit phone numbers. I dial *67XXXXXXXXXX in order to block my MJ number from the receiver. I always supply my cell number so that the receiver will return my calls on my cell phone and not on the phone that sits on my desk, connected to my computer.
I always recommend MJ to friends. I ditched my land line.
September 9th, 2009 at 3:48 am
Magic Jack has never been a success on my phone for i cannot get it to come thru or switch from my pc speakers to my phone and the switch will not change from speaker to telephone, also a friend that has MJ calls are often distorted or just simply cut off in the middle of a conversation.
September 9th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I already have dumped the land line for MJ. Works perfect in windows 7
September 9th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I’ve been using the Magicjack for several months without any problems. I bought it to use as a second phone line in my home office. I have had it connected to 3 different computers, running with XP, XP64bit, and is currently connected to a PC running Vista64bit, with no problems.
Keep in mind if you are thinking about buying a MagicJack, you will have to dial your local area code prefix for every local call you make. At least I have to here in Louisville Kentucky. There are no calling features other than caller ID that I know off either. But for $20 a year, I can live without them.
I would say that most of the problems people have here with the MJ are problems totaly unrelated to the MJ itself, and are probably most likely either their computer, router, modem or their Internet service provider. Heres a list of the system I’m using with the MJ right now:
Windows Vista 64bit
MSI mainboard K9A2 Cf-f
AMD Phenom X4 CPU
4 gig ram
LinkSys Cable Modem
LinkSys Wireless-G broadband router
10 Mbps broadband internet connection
Minimum System it has been connected to:
Windows XP
PIII Cpu running at 1.3ghz
512 meg ram
Same router and modem as above
September 20th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
I was wondering when will we be able to get a Canadian phone number as I installed my MJ and had to chose from a US area code and I live in Montreal so atm I cannot give my number to friends here in Canada since they would have to call long distance to reach me?
Thx in advance for any answer on this subject
Best regards,
September 21st, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I use linux, and magic jack does not work with linux at this time. However, I hope they have a driver soon.
September 27th, 2009 at 9:41 am
If you like the magicJack (or not), check out this feature enhacnement app now available for the magicJack.
It’s call MagicBeans, and adds a bunch of features for use of the magicJack including
Block Calls via CallerID, Extend the number of Rings before going to voicemail (ie Ring duration),
and a bunch of other features.
The site is magicjackbeans (.com)
October 7th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Been Majic Jack Customer for 2 Years, love the service both reliable and simple to use. Hosting Jack on home server and wired it throughout the house on Brn/Wht pair.. It now provides dialtone to 3 cordless phones and one 2500 DTMF phone.. Will be porting my POTs Number to it once number porting is available. Works good through wifi hotspots already!
October 13th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
there is a problem with using the Magic Jack and USB headsets. an issue with switching between the two. sometimes the microphone does not switch when you select headset. It drops headphone calls randomly
October 23rd, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Still waiting on the number porting. I want to port my home number, since my area code is not available. I’m really wondering if this will ever occur.
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I also am still waiting for local # portability. Ill get two as soon as that happens, I just can’t loose my local number.
November 7th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
I am landlocked or cell jacked at the present, WildBlue is not supported, but good news Wireless is on its way for us mountain folk. And when it is, MJ will be our communications vehicle. I do Linux, and it will hurt my self-respect to have to put Microslop on a box just for phone, but then maybe MJ will make good and release a Linux version. However, triangulation capability is a slap in the face for those of us who think big brother and the NWO can go to H_ll, and we don’t call 9-11. Lets hold on to as many bits of communication privacy as is left to enjoy.
November 11th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
I love MagicJack! I need it specially to fax. I had little problems in the beginning faxing. But now, as I have configured it properly, I can send and receive it with no problems what so ever. I also figured that you dont even need a fax machine to send a fax. all you need is just the magicjack and fax console program (microsoft program). That’s it. Connecting one end of the magicjack to the usb and the other end to the modem through the phone cable to the same computer and configure the modem. That’s it. It does the magic. I also found out that you can still use the phone using your headset.
Thanks again! YAAAY to magicjack!
November 13th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
The only thing keeping me from making the switch is the ability to keep the phone number I’ve had for 30 years.
November 15th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
sent one to my brother over moscow and works as clear as a regular land-line free world calling
November 20th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
No need to send majicjack to other countries. Since they will need a PC to use it, why non use Skype??
November 27th, 2009 at 6:24 am
You said the only thing keeping you from making the switch is the ability to keep the phone #, you have had for 30yrs. I too had that issue. So I decided to get rid of my land line replace it with Magic Jack and I have a net 10 cell phone where I transferred my 25yr old # to. And it cost me only $20 per month, because that’s all the min I need on my cell….$20 for 200min. This works for me because I have the Magic Jack also. I don’t really need the cell, just for emergencies and to keep my old #.
November 27th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
has anyone herd when they are going to gave the cell phone version
November 29th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Yes it work !!! we had it for 2 years now, and it work overseas, my mom who lives in Peru called me from her Magic Jack I sent her, and we both talk as much as we can!
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I called a local radio-shack today to see if they indeed sold majicjack. They did. One problem that they shared with me was that I would have to have a phone number change. Still another problem was that majicjack support for my area code (360) was maxed out and that I would have to have an area code (509) number. Even that didnt bother me, too much, until I realized that those who presently call me locally would be faced with long distance charges unless they were either using their cell or some form of voip.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:57 am
I have had magic jack for almost a month. In my opinion it isn’t worth 2 cents! Callers cannot hear me. SOMETIMES if I call them back they can-but then the call usually gets dropped. Sometimes the phone doesn’t ring AND I have had v.m’s take DAYS to receive!! A family member called me one day and she got someone elses voice mail so she called back twice to hear that my number was no longer in service!! But on a more positive note…..I was able to make THREE successful calls in ONE DAY with NO problems. So, if you want to use a phone-I SUGGEST KEEPING YOUR LANDLINE OR CELL!!
December 4th, 2009 at 11:22 am
We’ve had 2 magicjacks, for about a year now. Canadian numbers just became available, so when we tried to switch our U.S. numbers for Canadian ones, the website wouldn’t allow us to choose anything other than American area codes. Contacted ‘Gabriela’ via text chat, who proceeded to inform me that Canadian numbers were available only to NEW customers. Thanks for screwing-over all your existing Canadian customers, Dan. Needless to say, when the service runs out on these, they’re going into the trash.
January 10th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
I was very skeptical about the magicjack. I took the plunge right before christmas. All I can say is, “why didn’t I do this sooner?” I installed it in less than five minutes, and have never had an issue. Great voice quality. I use it on my laptop and the magicjack is connected to my Uniden 5.8ghz cordless phone system. I think the reason it doesn’t work well for some people is because their hardware is not up to par. My laptop is less than two months old, so it has the top of the line equipment, which makes the magicjack happy. Folks, you simply cannot do better than this product for phone service. From the price to the quality of the calls, to the portability of it…the MagicJack is simply magic. If I could be a company spokesperson I would do it for free! And I will be upgrading to the new one when it comes out — the main reason I bought this was because I have crappy/non-existent service on my iphone and can’t use it at home unless I am standing in the middle of my swimming pool. Now, my wife can get a hold of me at home whenever she needs to. Great product that’s affordable and really makes the phone companies nervous, no doubt…
January 12th, 2010 at 12:30 am
I’ve been using the MagicJack for about a year now. Liked the service well enough to go another year with the company. Customer service has been great with the few questions I had. Looking forward to the cellphone MagicJack device.
January 13th, 2010 at 2:30 am
I read all the posts, and I agree with all the positive ones. I have had my mj for over 2 years now without any problems except for 1, which I was able to resolve myself. I just removed mj from my computer completely, plugged in the dong again, and presto, it all started up again, and works fine now.
For those having problems, you might want to try my solution, as soon as mj comes out with all the new things the promised at the latest tech show, I will be getting rid of my land line.
Happy Computing, Magic Jacking Everyone! I too have the 5 year plan, and I think having long distance and local calling for $1.00 per month is the best buy in the land……….
David
January 14th, 2010 at 6:50 am
I have actually a problem with my MJ, the first day I installed it it worked fine. the next day i could hear the caller but he/she can not hear me. I tried everything, changinging phone, reset the MJ, Checked sound on both the MJ and my laptop and adjusted my computer firewal to no avail. I chatted with MJ folks and they are still could not figure out what is wrong yet. I changed the computer and it worked on this new laptop. Has anybody outthere face such a problem and what do they recommend?
Al
January 14th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
MJ needs FAXING SUPPORT & CAPABILITY BADLY. This is a very POOR System until they do something about their POOR FAXING Capabilities. I did everything they said to do. Used 2 different machines including WINFAX. But MJ failed terribly in this department. I don’t care what other features they include. They don’t have my approval until this BIG MAJOR PROBLEM is fixed.
If you do research on the net you will understand what I mean. You will find allot of ANGRY people who tried using MJ to fax but got poor results. This system is not predictable to do faxing. SO it will not get my vote until they fix this major problem.
Thanks
January 17th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
I’ve had magic jack for over a year and would be using the device more if it didn’t gobble up so much bandwidth. With each one of these eating up about 100-200kbps when I get two or three of these on a mid speed dsl line it just doesn’t work too good. There tends to be alot of garbled/missing words in a conversation. Maybe if better compression was used this problem could be avoided making magic jack a much more desirable method of communication.
January 19th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I would like to know when will MajicJack work with non Intel Macs ?
January 21st, 2010 at 10:49 am
I think people should keep land lines because they are most likely to still work when cell phones won’t…9/11…Haiti…terrorism…
My concern is…is MagicJack just some clever way to for some somebody somewhere to access info on our computer???
January 24th, 2010 at 7:49 am
I jusr rcvd mine canadian numbers are sold out had to chose US number for now, besides that this thing is great plug n play and the sound quality is really good!
January 24th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
Love my Magic Jack had it for 1 1/2 years going strong. I dumped my landline & I hooked up my jack to the main jack from the landline & pumped it to all phones in my house. Love it can’t wait for the new stuff to hit the market. Went from $80.00+ a month to $1.67 a month
January 28th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
I’ve had 3 Magic Jacks since 2007. I’ve cancelled my land lines. Retired my cell phone to only basic road calls and use the Magic Jack in Canada, States, Europe, Caribbean, Mexico and S. America. This TOOL is exactly that. A reliable surprising quality product. I’ve been in telecommunications for 20 years. this is the best product I’ve ever seen. There are only 2 problems. It’s TOO CHEAP, so people think it is cheap quality. WRONG! It’s worth ten times what it costs. $59 for five years. Amazing. It works well on XP, great on Win7, but the best on Mac/Snow Leopard. The 2nd problem are people’s own computers / internet service. MagicJack will work great if your computer and internet is working GOOD. I’ve run MagicJack in places your email would hardly work. Surprisingly I was able to make calls when the bandwidth was terrible, but the calls went through. The product is rock solid. It’s your computer and internet that must be solid as well!
3rd point… MAKE SURE TO USE MAGIC JACK CONFERENCE service. IT”S FREE AND WORKS GREAT.
Most people never knew about this hidden gem! 305-848-8888
IF anything MagicJack needs to hire a professional Web designer (Adobe) to do their site. It’s so hard to find information and would increase the customer up take if they had a real website.
This has been my favorite Christmas gift for friends because it’s such a great phone.
3 years ago my telco friends would scoff at me when I called them on my MagicJack.
They laugh and say get a REAL PHONE. They aren’t laughing anymore. In fact then are very quiet about the whole MJ revolution. Yes REVOLUTION. The femtocell has AT&T hopping mad, but the FCC will not stop MJ.
MJ has the right idea, retail stores will HOTSPOT this along side their WiFi service. It’s another great solution.
Will MJ allow existing customers to upgrade to Femtocell. Most likely not. So if you have a 5 year plan like I have and you want to jump to MJ’s femtocell, you’ll most likely have to get a new phone number. The whole porting and transferring of DID’s should be click and go.
Keep up the great work MagicaJack!
January 28th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
Important note: If you ever run the Upgrade.exe / Fixit and discover the MagicJack voice quality goes bad, even though the installation said successful, this is most likely a corrupted install file was copied over. No end of reinstalling, rebooting or unplugging and re-plugging will most likely not fix the problem.
To fix the noisy/scratchy line quality, simply connect the MagicJack and notice two virtual usb disks.
ERASE the second disk contents (disk utility), unplug and re-plug the MagicJack back in. MagicJack will launch as per normal and request re-registration. Once this is done MJ will perform like new with the noise problem fixed.
I discovered this problem after doing an update via a wireless network which was weak to begin with. Once you flush out the corrupt file and relaunch MagicJack it recovers and is good as new. Thanks MJ!
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:17 pm
I have one of the orig magicjacks–I’m talking over 3 years now, and I have been watching for area code 239 (SW florida) it has been listed as available soon for all these years!!!! even now, it says almost available soon!…what the heck, pay the guy, (Embarq) what he wants so many of us can get the 239 area code. Enough already, promises, promises………….