Anyone Here Have Magic Jack?

[romantico]

So, I am ditching Comcast after 4 years. I had a bundle deal. Cable,Internet,and voice/phone. I'm going with Dish for cable and AT&T for internet. I've heard a lot of people talk about Magic Jack but the guy I spoke with at Dish said it is the best. So, I am seriously looking into and am curious if anyone here has it or knows anyone who does. Not sure how it works exactly so if anyone here does have it and can explain how it works, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

[Lucinda]

1. Love it. It uses a usb port and your broadband connection.

Only downside is that you lose phone service if your power goes out. We've used it for a couple of years now, never a problem with it.

[auntAgonist]

2. Yes, we've had it for a couple of years.

I like that my calls to Canada are free. The only downside is if your computer is busy with downloads etc and the bandwidth is low then the quality of the call is really bad!

It's basically VOIP voice over the internet. It's not a bad option, certainly cheaper than paying a monthly fee.

Check out the MagicJack Plus, I have yet to look into that but apparently it plugs into the wall (?)

aA

on edit:

Check this out.
http://magicjack.com/plus-v05/

No computer Required with magicJack PLUS

You do not need a computer anymore, so now you receive as good or better service than your regular home phone does. No more having to keep your computer turned on all the time. You can use any phone—corded, cordless, portable, DECT and simply plug it into your new phone jack in the magicJack PLUS which can be plugged into the wall now. Of course you still have a choice to plug your phone into the magicJack PLUS when you want to use it with your computer when traveling, at a second house, at your business or even your home. Now you have a choice, and magicJack is the only one who gives you these choices.

[undeterred]

3. Sounds like a vibrator.

[jannyk]

4. We did the same thing 2 yrs ago. No landline/tv etc. Highspeed Internet only...

Magic Jack and prepaid cell for phone. You need a headset/mic (or a regular old phone). Magic Jack was $60 for 6 years when we got it - don't know what it is now. That includes all calls to US/Canada. You pick a telephone number and it travels with you. I was in Paris and my Magic Jack thought I was in the States - so calls 'home' were local. You buy 'international' time at discount rates if you need.

There's a new one called Magic Jack Plus - don't know how much - but apparently you plug it into the internet outlet not the computer.

Forgot to say that it's the size of a box of matches with USB connection and a phone port.

[romantico]

5. WOW

Glad to hear people like it. One thing I don't have is a router,so I will probably have to pick one up before I get the Magic Jack Plus. It doesn't say on the website but does anyone know how much the Magic Jack plus costs? I like the idea of just plugging it in. Thanks again for the replies and advice.

[NJCher]

6. it's good but not perfect

There are certain numbers I can't get through on, like my brother's cell and a client's son's cell. But if you have a cell phone, you can just use that for those once-in-awhile calls.

Occasionally the call quality isn't so good, in which case you just hang up and try again and in most cases that solves the problem.

I don't know why anybody would pay for Comcast or Verizon's triple play. MJ is a way better alternative.

[leftyohiolib]

19. There are certain numbers I can't get through on", like 911?

[Orrex]

7. One (possibly major) and one (minor) thing to consider

First off, we've had Magic Jack for about 16 months and have had close to zero complaints about it, but we would have liked to know a few things about it before we bought it:

1. The volume on your handset will be tied to your computer's volume, so that when you mute the volume it also knocks the handset volume way down, almost to the point of inaudibility. Not a big deal after you're aware of it, but it still takes like five or six steps to correct each time, and according to the good people at Magic Jack's tech support, there's no way (as of today) to avoid this.

2. Calls to 911 will be handled by an intermediary service. When you call, you'll be prompted for your name and address and a brief overview of the situation. The operator will then say something like "I'm going to put you on hold for a moment while I connect to 911." A few seconds later you'll be put in touch with your local 911 service, and they'll again confirm all of your info, etc.

Seems like an unnecessary extra step, and it can add a full minute to putting the call through, which can be insupportable if you're facing a real-time urgent crisis. Also, if you're trying to teach a young child how to use 911, this extra step can be very confusing.


Despite all of that, we've been very happy with Magic Jack, and it's certainly saved us a ton of money.

[romantico]

9. Thanks

I'm glad to know this. If I ever need 911 maybe I will just remember to use my cell phone if that should ever occur. Still, it's good to know and I am so glad you told me. As for the volume control, would that apply with the Magic Jack Plus? Reason I ask is the MJP does not require a computer. All of this is helpful and it still sounds like these minor problems are worth it considering the $$$ I'll be saving. Thanks again for the advice!

[Orrex]

11. I don't think that the volume issue would happen with the MJ Plus

As far as I can tell, it's a quirk that results from running the phone through the computer itself, but if you're plugged right into your internet connection, then the volume control shouldn't be a problem at all.

Of course, one of the benefits of Magic Jack is that it shows the incoming number on the on-screen pop-up, but this feature wouldn't be part of Magic Jack Plus.

Now that I think of it, the pop-up can be a bit annoying, because it jumps into the foreground on your computer no matter what else is going on, and you have to minimize it manually each time that you receive a call.


Still, a great value for the money.

[Gold Metal Flake]

8. So you are going with dry loop DSL?

[romantico]

10. ???

What is dry loop DSL? I am a little nervous because even thought I have had issues with Comcast over the years,it has been rather easy and I am going with a totally new internet and cable (and now phone). Change can be scary at first.I've heard a lot of people talk about how great Dish is (I asked people here on DU and the majority loved it) plus I've asked a couple of friends and family and one neighbor who say it is great.

[Gold Metal Flake]

14. You are dropping your land line phone, right?

But you are gonna use Yahoo DSL, which means using "dry loop" which is DSL over phone line when you don't have phone service. Sometimes that can reduce your speeds.

I dropped my land line and got Time Warner cable internet. Works great and a lot faster than any DSL.

[romantico]

15. Thanks!

You see, there is SO MUCH I don't know about cable/internet/phone. I am slowly picking up this stuff as I go. Now I am interested in learning more about Time Warner cable internet. Thanks again!

[leftyohiolib]

17. "Sometimes that can reduce your speeds." no it doesnt

dsl and dial tone are transmitted in 2 different ways and are completely separate of each other. 6 megs dry will be 6megs wet. it matters not if you have dial tone.

[leftyohiolib]

18. b/c you got a higher speed dsl w/ cable or you had trouble with your phone line

6 megs is 6 megs wether it comes across twisted pair(phone line) or cable coax. the problem with coax is that it is a communal pipe your speed will fluctuate as more people log on also it is not secure.

[Gold Metal Flake]

22. Dude, you have to deal with the conditions you have.

Since I am quite a ways away from the CO, my DSL speed always suffered. But besides that, the deal I had for ATT DSL and the only deal available for dry loop DSL required a drop in speed for the same price. Go bark at ATT if you wanna, I decided to tell them to FO and went with TW cable and now I get 24-30 megs (I check it regularly with speedtest.net). Yes, the TW deal is much, MUCH better. Like 1080P streaming from Netflix better.

It's as simple as that.

[NYC_SKP]

16. That sounds painful...

I'm not gonna "dry loop" anything, thank you very much!

[Gold Metal Flake]

23. You really got to work up to it.

Carefully.

[RebelOne]

12. My sister has it.

And personally, I think it is lousy. The reception cuts on and off.

[yellowcanine]

13. How does Majuc Jack compare with Ooma?

[Saturday]

20. We have Ooma and love it. nt

[deucemagnet]

21. I have it and it meets my needs.

I've had occasional problems with some phone numbers, but they seem to have gone away. At about $2 a month for 5 years unlimited service with voicemail and 411 calls included, I'm not going to bitch. Also, I've temporarily moved back in with the folks, and it seems to be working fine over my Dad's DSL.

[Orrex]

24. Something else that just occurred to me about Magic Jack

If you have a monitored home security system that uses a land line to send its signals (as opposed to a dedicated cellular device, etc.), then there's a very good chance that it won't be reliably compatible with Magic Jack.

Check with your security company to make sure!

[annonymous]

25. I have had Magic Jack for 5 years now.

It is used as a secondary phone line for my daughter. The sound quality is okay but you must keep your computer on a good portion of the day if you want to receive phone calls. My family originally got Magic Jack because my daughter was on the phone a lot and no one else could get through. Magic Jack is much cheaper than getting a second phone line from the phone company.