I’ve long been a proponent of Voice over IP (VoIP), having dumped the phone company over 7 years ago. During this period I’ve used 2 major vendors and only switched to the latest one because my former VOIP supplier was getting greedy. The price performance has been outstanding and the quality has been more than acceptable. I’ve never stood still and have continuously compared other VoIP providers offers, but I have not considered magicJack a serious player. This is because the magicJack required your computer to be running for it to work.. That’s until now! The new magicJack PLUS can be plugged into a router or broadband modem, just like the big boys. Also, I got turned off by the extremely annoying video on their home page.
Before I get into the details, perhaps a little refresher is in order. To use the magic Jack, or any VoIP device for that matter, you’ll need a broadband Internet connection. For magicJack a minimum bandwidth UPLOAD speed of 128 kb/s is required. This would probably be cable or DSL, but not satellite. It doesn’t make sense for someone to subscribe to broadband just for the telephone capability, so Grandma and Grandpa may want to stay with Ma Bell. You should also have a minimum understanding of your home network, because there will be times that you’ll have to reboot your modem and router to clear up problems. You should also be aware that if you lose power or Internet connection, you’ll also lose your phone capability. I’ve addressed the power issue at my house by plugging my cable modem and router into a UPS. This gives me an hour before I lose telephone service and covers most short power interruptions.
Features provided by magicJack:
- Voicemail
- Caller ID
- Call waiting
- Call forwarding
- Your own phone number
- Unlimited free calling within the US and Canada
There’s really not much to the device. You may not even need the smaller of the two cables. It’s a USB extension cable and you may be able plug the magicJack into your computer without it.
I decided to see how idiot proof the installation was, so I plugged the device into my LAN, via a powerline Ethernet adapter, hooked up the phone and within 30 seconds had a dial-tone. There’s no computer involved in the configuration, but to keep the device active, you’ll have to register the magicJack online within 48 hours of installing it. To minimize the number of variables when testing this thing, I used a corded phone, so the sound quality wouldn’t be affected by cordless phone issues.
Here’s a closer look at the setup. The magicJack plugs into the AC adapter, which plugs into the AC outlet. On the left of the unit you have a socket for the phone cable and one for the LAN cable. You could of course run the LAN cable from your router or switch. I like using powerline Ethernet because I can locate the phone anywhere there’s an AC outlet.
Here’s the setup when using the magicJack with a computer. Because of the clearance to my USB ports, I needed the extension cable. If using a laptop, this probably wouldn’t be necessary. This setup is simpler, in that all you have to do is plug a phone into the phone port. Power is supplied by the USB port. However, to run in this configuration, the computer must be on and the softphone magicJack application has to be running.
The first time you plug the magicJack into a computer, it loads the softphone application and has to be registered. This process takes about 14 screens of selections. Here you will get an online account and select a phone number. Unfortunately there wasn’t a number available in my home state of New Hampshire, so I elected to get a California based number. There is the option later of changing the phone number, for a fee, if one you want becomes available.
Be very careful when navigating the registration screens. Most of them have an up-sell button and of course, it is the biggest. If you don’t pay attention you could be signing up for more than you expected. The above screen shot is one of the less egregious examples. At the end of the process you should have a phone number and online account. Also, be sure to use the address where you expect to use the magicJack, when you sign up. This address will be used for the E911 service.
Now that we’re all registered, we can either leave the device plugged into the computer or plug it directly into a LAN port. I’ve opted to use the LAN port option because it doesn’t require the magicJack application to be running. However, when traveling I can take the device with me and use it with my laptop and when configured this way, I can either use a telephone plugged into the device or I can select to use the laptop speakers and microphone to make calls. This is changed in the softphone application.
When plugged into the computer, the above screen will pop up for an incoming call. At this point if you are using a telephone you pick it up and answer as normal. If using the computers audio, you would click on accept and begin speaking. You can also use the pop up window to place calls and listen to voicemail.
click image to enlarge
Regardless of whether you connect via the LAN or PC, you can access your magicJack account via a web browser. Here you have some options that can be changed and you can access your call logs. You may notice the switch for stutter tone at the bottom. At first this didn’t work, but now it does and it triggers the voicemail indicator on my phone.
Now the question is “how’s the voice quality?” I must admit I am pleasantly surprised at the quality of the conversations I’ve had. With all the VoIP devices I’ve owned or reviewed, I’m used to echos and delays, but I’ve experienced none of that with the magicJack. This runs counter to what I’ve read about the device in online forums.
In short, this latest version of the magicJack could make them a serious player in the VoIP space. I now am considering dumping my current provider. If you’re thinking about jettisoning your POTS phone, the magicJack Plus may be the way to go. They do give you 30 days to try it out, so you don’t have much to lose. Now if they’d only do something about their annoying home page and stop the bush league up-selling on all their screens.
Note: The Gadgeteer is not affiliated with the Magic Jack company in any way. We don’t provide customer support for them. However, many of our readers seem to have chosen the comments section for this review as an informal peer support forum. There are hundreds of comments with this review, and it’s likely that your question has already been asked and answered. If not, and if none of the other readers can help you, you’ll need to contact Magic Jack directly.
Product Information
| Price: | $50 for the device and first year service; $19.95 per year thereafter |
| Manufacturer: | MagicJack |
| Requirements: |
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| Pros: |
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| Cons: |
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I am thinking about getting an mj+ and have a couple of questions.
I just changed from cable to satelite, but it is supposed to be high speed, so wondered if it would work ok. Am a little confused, as it seems in the review to say cable is ok, but not satelite, but, in the comments, someone said it is working fine for them with satelite.
Also, I am in Canada, and don’t care if I keep my present #, but think I would need a local #, or people in the same town as I am would be charged long distance to call me…..is that correct?
Appreciate any advice I can get.
I’ve used magicJacks in both variations. The first, which required the computer, for several years. The latest, which requires only internet access, for about a year.
To answer your question, I have used my Clear Wireless, which is a few GB up and about one GB down, and it works (for me) about as well as my cable connection for mJ.
As far as the magicJack–for the money, it’s a good value. Whether it’s a good enough value–there is the question. Call quality is usually good but not always. I am not surprised to have to drop an mJ call and use the cable’s IP phone service or the cell (yes, mJ is normally using the same cable, just doesn’t use it as well). The web site is not easy to navigate (I have used more colorful terms at times) and getting through to the chat–and getting a satisfying answer–can be difficult. If I have a conference call that does not use an 800/866 number, mJ won’t let it through–it appears they have their own conferencing they are trying to sell. When the new mJ came out, they would not, for whatever reason, transfer my dollars on account to the new service–to me it seemed to be a gouge. That said, the new one eliminated the annoying popup while at the same time eliminating some easy access to features.
The bottom line is that it’s cheap and you won’t lose much if you don’t like it. However, not liking it is a real possibility. I used to recommend it. I no longer do, but I will mention it along with other available services.
Hi JR,,, now you dont recommend this product ?,,, im currently living on Montreal,Canada
I purchased (2) M.J.+’s .. My son and his family do not have phone or internet service. Is there a way I can register one of the M.J.+ but he can use it at his house?
Sorry Beth but the very nature of the MJ device requires an internet service. True that the MJ+ can be removed from your computer after registration but it still must be connected to the router for your internet provider.
I have been using majic jack couple years with no problem. Today as I went on line my majic jack phone rang. I answered it and all I heard was a bell ringing. My trend micro informed me at once that my social security number had been prevented from going out. I did not know this was possible.
PIC – What you said sounds very interesting, but I certainly do wish I knew what the heck you were talking about and referring to. Maybe you could be a little more specific and clear; maybe you’ve got some sort of service that the rest of us could benefit from?
PIC,Please give us some more data.I have not heard of Magicjack mining for data so your post has me sitting upright.
I travel to East Asia for the winter months. How will the MJ help me to make free calls home?
I travel to east to Asia in the winter months from Canada. Will the MJ make free call from there to Canada. I travel with that country’s internet stick.
If you decide NOT to keep it, you may get the cost of the product back, but the 30.00 you pay to port your number in, and then they don’t tell you they charge another 30.00 to port it back out…so you end up spending 60.00 that is not refundable. And! it’s taken a month to get it back to my other service, I had to return the product before the 30 days, so I’ve not been able to receive any incoming calls to my home number for almost 2 wks now. This has been the worst experience and I will let everyone that I can know how terrible they are. Besides the fact that you can not reach a live person, but only help online.
Can you hook up multiple phones to one majic kack? like phones in different rooms>
I CAN NO LONGER RECOMMEND MAGICJACK TELEPHONE SERVICE.
Here’s why:
I have just determined the source of most MagicJack telephone service failures that occur REGARDLESS of the MJ device or app used, and as the company REFUSES to to make even *temporary* fixes or work-arounds for its customers, I can no longer recommend MagicJack to ANYBODY other than to children or people who might be willing to periodically change their MagicJack phone number to a non-local one. Here’s why:
As some of you may already know, every MagicJack telephone number (and therefor every device and installed app) is assigned to a particular MagicJack proxy server “covering” that number’s “local exchange” (area code + prefix). Unfortunately, MagicJack’s (“YMAX”) telephone network equipment – proxy servers and/or the telecom switches that they connect to, but especially the servers – are prone to breakdown/failure due to inadequate maintenance. When one’s “local” MagicJack server (or digital switch, if you prefer) starts failing, that’s when calls either don’t connect properly or they actually do connect but you may hear dead silence instead of 2-way audio on a call.
When this happens within most *other* telecom companies’ network equipment, they willingly – and, usually, READILY – will reassign or “reroute” your phone number to a DIFFERENT server (or switch), at least temporarily, in order to maintain your service with your phone number until they can permanently fix your originally-assigned server or switch. Unfortunately for MagicJack customers though, MagicJack *REFUSES* to do this. Instead, MagicJack keeps wasting its customers’ time with circular online “help” chats, wasting time with unnecessary and repeated futzing around with one’s router or computer (or whatever), hoping that the customer will “give up” and put up with lack of usable telephone service until they get around to fixing their equipment – which can often take a month or longer. If a customer REALLY persists with insisting that their now-faulty MJ number be REASSIGNED to a *different* proxy server, MJ “customer service” and “technical support” staff outright REFUSE to do it. Thus for most people in this situation – which almost ALL MJ customers will find themselves in sooner or later – the ONLY solution is to get a DIFFERENT MJ number – from a DIFFERENT local exchange – assigned to their device (this is not even possible for App users).
IF you know the I.P. address of your assigned (and faulty) proxy server – and that’s a BIG “if,” because MJ staff DELIBERATELY REFUSE to tell you it – then you’d be able to block it within your router’s settings, thereby forcing your MJ device or app to connect to a *different* one. Although there are a couple of lists of the MJ proxy servers out on the Internet, NONE of them are anywhere near complete because MJ has set up so many of them throughout the country. But again, MJ REFUSES to tell its customers what even the customer’s own assigned proxy server’s I.P. address is – let alone the I.P. address of any of the OTHER servers.
Consequently I now conclude that MagicJack telephone service is only suitable for children’s or other non-critical use. Not only is their customer service poor, their customer service staff *deliberately* engage in subterfuge with customers when there are MagicJack telephone network equipment failures. The company experiences a LOT of proxy server failures, and when a local server begins to fail they REFUSE to reroute calls to and from one’s MagicJack number (like most all other phone companies do) as a “work-around” until they get around to fixing their own network problems.
So unless you are willing to occasionally change your telephone number to a new one associated with a different local exchange (that uses a DIFFERENT MagicJack proxy server) when you start being unable to complete calls correctly and audibly, or you are willing to put up with unpredictable local MagicJack server outages or problems for a month or longer, I do NOT recommend MagicJack.
I’ve never owned a MJ, and now a friend is going to lend me his older one. One of the older non-Plus models.
But I have questions. Do I have to run software on my PC to use it? If yes, does the software handle the dialing, or what does it do? (be as technical as you want, I’m an IT guy) Will the device work without it? Can I download the software free off their website?
thanks
@SteveHC. A sad tale indeed but not surprising to me. One of my initial reservations about MJ was the knowledge that at some point they have to connect to local POTS exchanges. Where do they locate that equipment and who maintains it? I would suggest it is not so much a matter of MJ “refusing” fixes or work-arounds but simply that they cannot.
It always has been and continues to be common practice for one company to install equipment on a competitor’s premises (economy of scale). A typical purpose would be reciprocal restoration. Whether it is backing up a supergroup or T1 on competitor’s facilities or sharing a cell tower, these arrangements make sense…as long as there is mutual advantage. Unfortunately for MJ, that is not the case, they are between the proverbial rock & hard place. If a ‘critical mass’ abandon land lines, MJ is no longer seen as an annoying fly but rather, a dangerous wasp.
It only makes sense that MJ would co-locate and install a server or other small amount of equipment in the C.O. of local Telcos. They probably just lease space and pay for power but NOT contract the Telco to maintain their equipment. The ‘wasp’ would be a low priority and MJ would have to raise prices to pay for maintenance. There is only so much reconfiguring that can be done remotely (if they had the staff) and if that doesn’t work; I can just visualize a lone, MJ tech continuously on the move from one trouble location to another and sometimes taking a month to get to your problem. I tried not to think about it, but you are probably right in declaring this a fundamental flaw in the system.
@SteveHC. Wow. That was a surprise post. I’ve come to trust your balanced treatment of the good and the not so good regarding MJ and your tech advice for dealing with various installs, etc. Even though in many months the sound quality and reliability of my MJ+ has been excellent I will now have to seriously consider only renewing for one year at little higher cost rather then the 5 yr option I had planned on. I hope you will still be here with your very welcome tech help and advise
Tanstafl _ Actually, if you read my post carefully you will discover that it is INDEED true that MJ/YMAX *does* have the capability of rerouting calls when one’s assigned proxy server goes on the fritz – they just REFUSE to. I nailed them on it, and they didn’t denie it. In fact, if they would simply be willing to notify their customers of their “local” proxy server’s I.P. address, the customer could perform the “rerouting” themselves… but then again, MJ and its staff refuse to do this as well.
EVERYTHING that I stated in my previous post above is 100% factual. Even though I literally PROVED to them that I knew what I was talking about (because my assigned proxy server started failing), they not only refused to reassign my number to a different proxy server or tell me my assigned server but also acknowledged that it’s corporate policy to not do so. This is BAD policy for ANY telecommunications company, because it clearly demonstrates that they have NO concern for consistently maintaining usability of their network by and for their own customers.
Lorenzo – This situation is SO bad that I have decided to DUMP MagicJack as my VOIP provider and just placed an order for an OOMA Telo. While OOMA *unintentionally* ships a certain percentage of defective Telo units, they readily ship 100%-functional REPLACEMENT units to their customers. And although they appear to have a once/year system-wide network outage, each one lasts only a few hours… but at least they maintain their “backbone” network, don’t lie to their subscribers or deliberately engage in subterfuge with them, don’t ignore customer complaints, and don’t have corporate policies that are anti-consumer. Their Telo product costs $175-$200, but it is the highest quality VOIP adapter device on the market. These are the reasons why OOMA is now the highest-rated VOIP service provider in the country.
By the way – OOMA has a full ONE YEAR warranty on their hardware product (which can be extended for an *additional* year for about $35, as I recall), and doesn’t charge *anything* to ship a replacement unit during the warranty period (unlike MagicJack which charges $10).
SteveHC…I have no doubt that what you say is factual. If the failure affects only one customer then a re-route would be in order. I suspect however, that is rarely the case and asking MJ ‘staff’ to reroute all customers on a router is imho unrealistic, not to mention the likelihood of screw-ups. The fundamental thing is that they try to do everything on the cheap. When one of these routers packs up they should either fix it (serviceman is still in the next state) or switch to a redundant router (which they obviously don’t have). Back to square 1, déjà vu all over again. My MJ still works fine, as does my granddaughter’s iPod Touch. If we get hit as described, then Hello OOMA.
SteveHC…. Do you have any caveats about buying a factory refurbished or used OOMA Telo through someone like Amazon
Lorenzo – Anyone who wants to buy a used or refurbished product should always seriously considering buying one directly from the company itself, as 99.99% of the time if you do so you’ll be getting a product that is certified by the company to be fully functional, restored, and guaranteed/warranted. OOMA sells factory refurbished Telo units from its website ooma.com
OK Thanks. Some of the prices were pretty attractive and described as “Factory Refurbished, 180 day Warrantee” Amazon enforces a pretty good return policy even among its associate sellers. I’ve usually felt comfortable buying from most of them
To all and SteveHC, some of you having long term success with MJ (they keep call records, you know) and not trying to ‘push it’ may have received an e-mail from MJ as I did. They freely admitted to “issues” due to their dependency on other devices (computer or router), neither of which are really ready for VOIP. There is no real standard for QoS and as you yourself said Steve, “QoS only works in one direction”. Is it any wonder then that Steve’s new love, OOMA gets first in line, and connects ahead of the computer or router? That guarantees proper VOIP operation, but in order to have some leftover bandwidth for other things they require that your minimum Cable/ADSL/Fiber upload speed be twice that required for MJ! For many, that may involve extra ISP cost.
The same e-mail from MJ outlined their great hopes for a new upcoming model designed to require only Wi-Fi. Just plug it into power and your phone(s). Rather than the OOMA solution, this model appears to be geared to taking the brute force approach and leveraging copious bandwidth where available, such as the business environment or possibly SOHO.
Thanks Steve for your in-depth advice and patience. I still maintain however, as in my first post, that most MJ problems are bandwidth or power related and I would now add computer and router protocols that are simply not ready for the VOIP revolution. As this is probably my final post, I risk the repetition of a few clichés. “You get what you pay for”, the KISS principle, and my moniker… “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”.
Keep it simple and pay little, or if you want more – pay more..it’s that simple. It is just sad that with all that has been said herein, people still ask the same questions, get into the same binds, and those that can afford it least may not know how to , “keep it simple”. Then there are those who whine because they did not return MJ within 30 days, still demanding the moon and stars and a free trip to Mars (or whatever their unfullfilled expectations). EOR, yup it’s the end of rant.
I stand 100% by what I’ve said in my most recent posts. The majority of MJ service failures regarding its customers are due primarily to negligence regarding its own network equipment, its lack of willingness to provide consistent telephone service to its customers, its horrible customer service, and its own corporate policies which perpetuate that negligence, unreliable telephone service, and horrible customer service. These are the biggest reasons why so many MJ customers leave MJ and its “churn” rate is so high.
Tanstafl…… Ditto your appreciation of Steve’s depth of response and patience. I’ve always been patient re the work I do but also never been able to “suffer fools gladly”. My dad used to say that there was no such thing as a fool proof device because fools were very ingenious.
But I’ve also appreciated your posts very much and the counter-point you often offered. I hope to still see your handle at the top of some posts
Those who whine and are (correctly) pissed are led by advertisements which are misleading.( I am being generous)
Home phone? you got to be kidding me. But I knew the flaws and lived with it. After all it is a cheap device which works very well sometimes. For me this is adequate because of my usage of it but for others who are taken in by misleading ads it is unconscionable.
Thanks SteveHC for your comments which I do appreciate.
SteveHC,
I have not visited this site for some time in order to preserve my sanity and keep my blood pressure low.
I find it interesting that MJ has finally gotten to one as knowledgeable as you.
Also, it is really sad to note MJ has done none of the “Worst to First” improvements promised by their CEO oh, so many months ago.
What scares me is when supporters like you turn against these crooks, their days are surely numbered. Already, their servers are failing from lack of maintenance and they refuse their customers even simple fixes. They elect, instead, to infuriate those customers, practically begging them to bail to OOMA.
Given this scenario, it seems inevitable we will all be without the service we paid in advance for, and any day now.
I, for one, will heed your sage advice and port my number to OOMA while there is still a MJ to facilitate it
The stand alone product (Magic Jack +) was a POS. It would drop calls (to ATT customer service and local calls)and would constantly have to be unplugged and plugged back in.. even after 2 tech support sessions changing router setting and all. Worse I feel is that they charged me $20 to port my existing number over (something not in their advertising) and then charged $30 to transfer it back.. ATT and Vonage had no such charges… This company is a ripoff… and my Vongae works perfectly with no changes to my router.
To: Any and All
I can’t understand why I haven’t had any problems with MJ+ other than a dropped call every now and then. I used it on a road trip, motel WiFi hook-up each night, to Oregon from Tx. I’ve called all over the US. Now that I’ve settled in I’m using an AT&T base station that is at least 15 years old with 2 walk around phones, and MJ+ is plugged into router, so I can l power down my computer. ComCast is TV and high speed provider here in Portland area. Had MJ+ since Oct 2011. No porting problem ever. I ported from AT&T phone service. Am I just not requiring/expecting much of it?? Are my problems still in the offing??.
Let me be clear about a couple of things:
1. There is essentially NOTHING wrong with the MJ+ device *itself*. When the proxy server that is associated with the device’s telephone number and home router that it’s connected to is working properly, the MJ+ opens and closes all necessary router ports AUTOMATICALLY and otherwise works almost perfectly. Defective MJ+ devices are VERY rare.
2. The problems with MagicJack – regardless of which type of MJ device or app one might use – are with a) their proxy servers and/or switches (in other words, the “guts” of their telephone network itself), b) the fact that the company and its customer and tech support services have corporate policies that call for routinely *forcing* customers to perpetually “fiddle” with router settings and whatnot when customers try to notify them of problems with audio and connections in general, when in fact 99% of the time there is NOTHING wrong with their router or its settings, c) even once it’s proven or demonstrated to them that there’s nothing wrong with one’s router, router settings, consumer hardware and/or home network they will STILL insist on fiddling with router settings – even going so far as to ask you for permission to remotely control your computer and/or router (in other words, they will do everything OTHER than admit that the problem exists within the company’s own servers or other network equipment), and d) if you PROVE to them the problem exists with the proxy server assigned to one’s MJ telephone number they will – by corporate policy – REFUSE to reassign the customer’s MJ telephone number to a different proxy server and instead, at best “suggest’ that you purchase a DIFFERENT MJ telephone number (in order to receive service through a different proxy server). The unreliability of MagicJack’s telephone network is severe enough that many trade and marketing organizations are now starting to recommend to their small business members that the *not* use MagicJack for business and customer communication purposes.
3. I’m not saying that NO ONE should buy or use MagicJack service. It’s fine for use by kids and for other relatively unimportant purposes that do not require consistently available and otherwise reliable telephone service. But at least at this point in time it cannot be recommended for a household’s or business’s primary source of telephone service. MagicJack Vocaltec would love nothing more than to be viewed as the country’s primary provider of cheap “lifeline” telephone service; however, due to the unreliability of its network of servers and switches, the company’s unwillingness to contract with all other phone companies for call terminations, and its horrible customer service that routinely engages in subterfuge when dealing with customers that experience MJ network difficulties, households that meet income and other eligibility requirements will need to continue to rely on free cellular “lifeline” service or discounted POTS landline lifeline service for such purposes.
4. I do hope that someday MagicJack’s VOIP telephone network improves in its reliability, and that its corporate policies become modified to allow for call rerouting (via proxy server reassignment and whatnot) when the need arises (which as far as I know OOMA, for example, allows for… and as far as I know OOMA sub-contracts for its server operations). MagicJack and other VOIP providers have been and continue to be instrumental in helping to force other telephone service providers from raising their subscription prices, and in some cases the competition has resulted in cable and landline telephone companies actually lowering their prices in order to keep their number of telephone customer “defections” as low as possible.
There is no porting problem other than MJ rips you off and charges you while no other carrier does.
“Dropped call every now and then?” You should NEVER have a dropped call! How many times did you suffer a dropped call over pots?
We had Vonage in Oregon and Nevada for over 5 years and never suffered any outages… our MJ+ device would fail after every few calls and have to be rebooted frequently. I suspect many people never even know the device isn’t working unless the call home frequently (and get voice mail right away.)
Steve may be on to something where numbers are tied to nodes and if you get assigned a busy or otherwise crappy node then your problems never go away… I don’t know or care, I need reliable phone service and MJ is not it.
Oh, and poor Tracy has it right, MJ takes their sweet time porting back while poring in took less than a week porting out was nearly 3 weeks…although when you get notice it will be $30 (and click ‘rip me off again’) it is only a few more days lol.
I have a high regard for the many posts here both pro and con of the MJ and MJ+ services and in all reality SteveHC has pretty much nailed it. I have had the MJ+ for several months and never did port my number over. I played with it for quite some time and kept the landline at the same time to make sure I was going to be totally satisfied………bottom line I was never confident enough with it to trust giving up my landline to MJ and expecting the same type of service. Common sence should tell anyone, it ain’t going to happen, not for 20 bucks a year. I still have tha MJ+ and for 20.00 a year will most likely renew it just as a second line or back-up. I finally decided to order the Ooma when they had a Groupon Special price of $99.00 price. Once again I did not give up my landline for about 2 months but found myself more and more comfortable with their service and support. After about 10 weeks I did port my number away from Charter over to Ooma……extremely simple to do and without a hitch. I then contacted Charter to make sure they were right on billing and equipment was turned in. No problem!! I am now 100% on Ooma VOIP…….but I have a 2 line phone so I decided to put the MJ+ onto the second line, no problems. A couple of days ago Ooma did have a little glitch and were down however their forwarding feature automatically transferred my calls to “guess what” my MJ+. My point to all this is, all services have their problems from time to time, some more than others, you have to sort through them and decide what you are willing to pay and what you are willing to put up with for the cheaper services. Nothing yet beats pots for reliabilty and support but you pay for that. I have already disconnected my landline service in Florida and will take Ooma down there and use the same number and will also hook up the MJ+ as a back-up number. By the way, both my wife and I can now be on the phone at the same time her on Ooma and me on MJ+ and they both work through the same Internet, Ooma pluged into my Internet modem then to my router and the MJ+ pluged into the router port. May not work for everyone but is working for me. Finally this blog is what stopped me from porting my number to MJ+ and gave me the insight to look into other options. Thanks to all of you.
Good Luck to those of you still looking.
@Tom…While this may not be the correct forum to inquire about Ooma…What is the annual cost for Ooma service? Is it a monthly bill or do you pay for the service yearly like MJ? I haven’t had any really bad issues with MJ+ (at least for my configuration) but, that doesn’t mean I won’t in future. I’m guessing the equipment is somewhere between $100 -$150 by yours and previous posts?
Billy Jack: The equipment is normally about 199.00 but can probably be bought somewhat cheaper. If I had your e-mail address I could send you a referral which would allow you to get it for 149.00 50.00 off. They have the basic plan which is about 4 or 5 per month and then the premier which is about 9 per month go to Ooma.com and you can see what is best for you. I have the premier right now because for the 99 dollar price on my unit I had to take that for 10 months so I am paying the 199.00 in the long run?? I have not been billed for any service yet??? However a friend of mine said it took them a while to start her billing as well, am sure they will find me someday. Wish I knew more but am sure a lot of your questions could be answered on the site. Good luck
@Tom…Thanks…Looks like my monthly cost would be $4.45 or $53.40 per year (at todays rates). However, according to Ooma’s calculator on their site, it would take me 101 months (8.5 years) to recuperate the cost of the equipment. I used $2.00 per month as the multiplier as this is roughly the cost of MJ’s monthly service (after the first year). For the amount of time I actually use my home phone its probably not a good option (at least) for me to go with Ooma because of the cost of the equipment…Thanks for the info though…
Vonage is $10.00 a month, no start upcost and no number porting charges. We have used them for years with no problem.
The $10/month Vonage “deal” is ONLY for the first 3 months of a 1-year contract; after the the first 3 months it goes up to the full, regular price of $26 per month (plus monthly taxes and fees) – which for most of the country brings it up very close to the cost of regular POTS landline service.
@SteveHC…You’re correct, we were with Vonage for several years before going to MJ and the monthly cost was almost as much as Ma Bell’s monthly service. We were paying about $35.00 a month for Vonage’s basic plan. We never had any problems with Vonage, its a reliable service, it just seems a bit overpriced, especially since the phone co is about the same price.
Just got my first charge from Ooma and it was 13.90 of which 3.91 was taxes for my particular zip code. Seems the tax may vary based upon the local tax issues with Ooma?? Checked my zip in Fl and it will be about .24 cents more. Keep in mind though that I have the premier package for 10 months which was part of my purchase plan on the equipment after that I think it is in the 4 dollar range + tax. Still using my MJ+ as a backup though or a second line when my wife is on the Ooma. As stated befor $20.00 per year for the MJ+ now that I have the equipment is really a no brainer expecially since I have not experienced a lot of the issues some have had. Think about it that is less that a night at the movies for me and my wife.
Tom – In your situation you’re right to keep your MJ service as long as it continues to work. With OOMA Premier service you get an “instant second line,” but only if you use OOMA Telo handsets with the OOMA base unit… and those Telo handsets aren’t cheap to say the least.
Steve: I have no intention of keeping the second line from Ooma and am simply using a Nortel 2 line phone which I had so no outlay on my part. Ooma on Line 1 and MJ+ on Line 2 $20.00 per year for the MJ+ is cheaper than the Ooma Premier and provides me with a backup when Ooma fails, and as we all should know there will be failures. Such is life and we must lear to live with them. Using the 2 as I am really gives me the security I was wanting.
i have the mjplus since last November, generally i will give magic jack about a 60% for customer service and telephone problems. Most of my calls are no brainers, everything works as it should, but for a few and they are counting, i can hear them but they cannot hear me, MJ customer service has yet to find a problem, but this proxy question of course has never been mentioned to me. I also hope that magic jack backs up their claim of being the best in call quality and their customer service online are generally low paid call center dweebs who ask the same questions to you wether you have been telling them for the last 8 months. I wonder if I am the only person who hears their caller and they cannot hear me and hang up on my ear? Thanks
Mark – No, you are not the only person having that problem with their MagicJack telephone service. And the problem has NOTHING to do with your MagicJack device, your router, your modem, your computer, or anything else that MagicJack “customer service” may try to blame it on. The problem is entirely with MagicJack’s telecom servers and their other telephone network equipment.
I just bought the majicJack Plus and, based upon the comments above, will defintiely not utilize it as a main number. I am thinking of using it at a 2nd home and have the following question:
When connected to my internet modem, will the voice mail feature notify me at my email address that I have missed a call?
Thanks in advance.,
@David L…If you have answering machine it won’t but if you don’t it will. I have an answering machine hooked up so I get my messages on there. When I go out of town or just don’t want my answering machine to pick up the call, I just turn my answering machine off and messages come through email.
David L – In addition to what Billy Jack said, once you’ve received and completed the initial registration of your MJ+ (via USB pc internet connection) you’ll need to go online into your new MJ account to set up your voicemail email notifications. In fact, you’ll want to go through each and every setting within your new MJ account to make sure they’re all as you wish and/or need them to be.
well i have to said that i have magic jack for over a year and im very happy with it!! i dont have problems at all!! but one thing i have to said is that i have high speed internet! 75mps. i dont know but it seems to work perfect.
Thank you so much for the good detail that you did describing the Majicjack Plus. I had been wondering how that it worked without a computer. I even went to Radio Shack and asked them and they said I don’t know but you will have to buy it on line from us. I have not had the problems out of it that my land line has had. I have had it almost a year now. i am thinking of getting the Plus soon. My Cell service out in the country has not been that good but the MJ keeps in touch. Thank you for your good explanation. Chris
We were assured that we could keep our old phone number which was very important ant to us . When it arrived it took us hours on the phone and computer to realize they don’t provide that service in Canada . No mention was made of this online and MAGJACK would not even pay for return postage . BEWARE CANUCKS of their false advertising ……………….
HEY,
WHAT I’M CONCERNED ABOUT IS PAYING TAXES, DO YOU PAY ANT LOCAL OR FED. TAXES WITH MAGIC JACK. RHIGHT NOW I PAY MORE TAX THAN THE COST OF THE LAND LINE WHICH IS WHY I WANT TO CHANGE.
Taxes on MJ are dirt cheap – less than $5 per year per number.
Can I connect a MagicJack Plus by doing all the connections as explained on your website, except that the telephone wire would go from the MagicJack Plus directly to a telephone jack in the wall. I want to put my phone base station in a room away from the computer? Then in the telephone base station room I would connect the base station to the telephone outlet in that room. Id like to know before I buy the MagicJack.
Frank, that’s exactly what i did with MJ two years ago and now with MJ+ a few weeks ago – the telephone wire goes from the MJ+ directly to a telephone jack in the wall, and all my house phone jacks are live on the MJ+. Works like a charm.
Frank: The hook-up you are describing for the telephone sets is not a problem but just remember that the MJ+ must also be pluged into the router for the internet connectivity. I am assuming the remote room you are referring to is where the router is located. as well as the wall jack which is common to all other wiring throughout the house. If your existing house wiring is terminated to the telephone company drop, that should also be cleared. Good Luck.
I have been using Magicjack for almost a year. Even with my fibre optic very high speed internet connection the audio quality is often poor with bits of conversations missing.
Now that my service has come up for renewal I get an automated message to that effect starting about a month before the renew date. I got this message every time I made a call. After I renewed the service the message persisted so I contacted the Magicjack help chat line. The Magicjack representative investigated and sad the problem would be fixed in a couple of minutes. That did not happen.
A couple of days later I contacted Magicjack again. This time I was told I would have to pay an additional $10.00 which turned out to be $10.48 for the renewal!
Magicjack did not disclose the true renewal fee when they advised me that my account was due for renewal. This, in my opinion, is an unethical business practice. Although I did pay the additional $10.48 I will be looking for what I believe to be an ethical service provider for the future.
I subscribed for the 5 year service, but there’s an annual $10.48 fee.
Total costs works out to be about $4 a month. Although you may have some hiccups along the way by dropped calls and so forth, the amount you save is worth the few dropped calls.
We have been using MJ+ as our main phone for almost a year now, but we have a cell phone as back up. The cell phone allows us to call some places that MJ doesn’t like the local Gabreil Pizza that doesn’t accept calls from MJ. The cell phone is also a good idea since if there was ever an emergency MJ doesn’t call the normal 911 or city services 311 but the cell does.
With all it’s flaws I’d still recommend it.
There’s other systems out the like ooma, which I haven’t tried but I’d say that system also works good, but it’s not as cheap as MJ per month.
Hi,
I have had my majic jack plus for five weeks now….works great for US calls…. during the five weeks I have been many times online with Majic Jack to try to add credit to my account…. for five weeks now they tell me they are checking my account…..strange five weeks for checking a prepaid account….
I have had MJ+ working since December of 2011. Except for a defective “ethernet” cable and the supplied power adapter making MJ+ overheat has been realtively trouble free until 3 weeks ago.
Just would not get any dial tone or a busy signal. Was able to dial in and out by fiddling with the router, but still have a busy signal.
Have been working on this for over 3 hours and waiting for a “high level” customer service person. I have been disconnected/dropped once by MJ. I called ISP and router manufacturer tech support. Finally back to MJ and waiting.
Has anyone else had issues with busy signal when MJ+ is connected to internet?
Here is one of the nightmares you will get with magic jack…here is my chat as a exemple. They promise to many futures avaliable online, but in the reality is a lie.
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with ‘Jerry’
Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK554081054114X
Jerry: Hello, how may I help you?
ana: I need check my call log, but the information avaliable is only of the month of May……..Can you please tell me how can I have acces to all the calls of the current month?
Jerry: One moment please…
Jerry: unfortunately as this call logs was past removed on your device already for having this information you will need to contact your lawyer for providing us a subpoena for retrieving this information for the calls made using magicjack
ana: my lawyer????, jut to get access to my call history of this month???? come on!!, this is a service is included in the phone!, it doesn’t make sense!
ana: I’m not asking for information of 1 year ago
Jerry: yes Ana but this information is already removed on any of your device or your account and this needed to be legally process by providing subpoena which will only be provided by any local authorities
ana: lol!!!
Jerry: I believe that I have already provided you all the information needed; I would like to end this conversation with you. Thank you.\
Since we haven’t heard from you, we must release this chat. Please click here should you need further assistance: http://www.magicJack.com/techchat
The aswer took forever. Well this happend because I got a cheap service, just don’t expect to much, is my advice.
This would be better, more believable and less hysterically funny if the English wasn’t so bad on both sides of the alleged “conversation”.
Steve, Vonage is always only $10.00 a month plus around $5 in taxes… I go with the 400 minute outbound plan (unlimited inbound) since we don’t spend much time on the phone..
I had vonage from 2000-2006 so I know the company pretty well… only switched because the local telco only had wet dsl at the time we moved.
Vonage has been working well for local and 800 services.
and Earney welcome to my MJ nightmare.
I didn’t think I’d post again because just about everything had been said…then something weird happened. After no problems for about a year using MJ+ on USB, suddenly we were hit with dropped calls, the distant land line party not hearing us, calls failing to connect – the whole 9 yards. Sound familiar? I tried a few things (including unplugging it from USB and going direct to the modem, then back, to no avail). Following three days of constant problems; I had a ‘chat’. After explaining my configuration and the sudden appearance of the symptoms on just about every alternate call, the rep asked me to download the latest version of Divx. I didn’t understand the relevance but figured wth, and did it. After unplugging and replacing MJ, I tried a few calls and it worked! Several days later…holy crap…it still works; but why?
After a bit of ‘Googling’ I discovered that MJ uses the Divx audio codec (from about 2008) but it still made little sense. Following more research and painful thinking, I can come up with only two possible explanations:
1. Somewhere, anywhere, over the Internet a piece of equipment was upgraded and it no longer ‘likes’ something in the old MJ codec data. The codec in the MJ device is probably firmware and cannot be fully upgraded. If however, your MJ ‘sees’ a later version codec on your computer, it uses part or all of it.
2. The MJ servers ‘failing’ all over the map as reported by SteveHC, are not real failures but the angry Telcos messing with your data. All it takes is a Protocol Analyzer or more advanced test gear to spot the signature of the old MJ codec in data. By changing codecs, you become ‘invisible’, or it becomes more work to distinguish your call from other Divx uses.
The common element here is interaction between your MJ and the Internet, all the way to servers at the other end.
Unfortunately none of this is any help if you are using MJ+ with its built-in codec on a router. Apparent inability to upgrade the built-in codec is probably another reason they are developing a new model with Wi-Fi capability. Hopefully, the new model will be as immune (and totally upgradeable) as the very successful app for iOS devices. My granddaughter would disown me if she couldn’t use her iPod touch (phone).
Warning
MJ was a good cheap alternative to the old MA Bell phone rates, we had few problems on DSL service appart from the odd poor connection or sometimes a bit of choppiness in communication.
Recently we upgraded our internet service to a high speed 3/4G wireless-N router (this connects wireless & works just like smart/cellphones) with this service they use some kind of stepped? internet and this was the end of my majijack, now it just dosnt work on that kind of service.
Anyone have experience using this for calling from an international location back to the USA? This could be a way to provide the international relatives and ourselves a cheap way to call each other.
Thanks
It is now over a week and my MJ is still working better than ever. Was my previous post too techincal, too late? I know that there are a number of other possible causes, but mine was WORKING for a long time so “wha hoppen”? Both hypotheses
focused on MJ’s use of the Divx Codec.
Legacy, what’s that? It may still work for old movies but apparently not for the MJ implementation that they cast in silicon. After further research, it is more likely, while on USB, that MJ ALWAYS uses the audio codec in Windows Media Player. It is up to you to keep it up to date with the latest DivX Codecs!!
The second hypothesis should read “The MJ servers reportedly failing all over the map, may not be real failures but the results of ‘upgrades’ as in hypothesis 1 or just possibly…..angry Telcos messing with your data”.
Cuttently imho, unnamed Telcos have found a “weak spot” in MJ+ ; the word has spread and they are busy upgrading codecs at their end at a ‘great rate of knots’. ||:-(
@Tanstafl…It would appear that MJ needs to update the firmware in the device itself much like my BlueRay player does periodically. Since the MJ+ is connected to the internet this should be possible. My BlueRay player although not directly hardwired to an ethernet jack for connection to the internet, is connected to the internet through a wireless network. I see no reason why the codecs for the MJ+ can’t be updated in this manner, instead of manually. Every device I have (router, NAS, BlueRay players and computer firmware etc) that is connected to internet updates the firmware the same way. Most people may not be able to figure out how to update the codecs manually.
Magic Jack is a money grabbing device. They will cancel your account without warnings or notification due to excessive use….I use my magic jack 3 times a week and few minutes evey call…..and they call that excessive use….
see my conversation with live agent below:
Maxwell: Thank you for waiting.
As I can check it here, it appears that this phone number (626) 888-5665 has violated our Terms of Service. Please refer to Section 6, Proper Use at http://www.magicJack.com/TOS.
Ma. Theresa: what is section 6
Maxwell: Under 6. Proper Use it says “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. We reserve the right to reclaim any telephone number that does not make a call for a consecutive 90 days. In the event we reclaim a phone number and your software license is still active, you may choose another phone number.”
Jimbo…I have taken my mj and laptop on vacation with me 3x to Jamaica and as long as there was wifi, had no problems sending or receiving calls from home. I did however need an ethernet cable for a hard wire at one resort. All you have to do is unplug their phone and plug it into the mj.
I don’t know if it makes a difference, but I had hooked up the mj to my laptop while still at home just in case it didn’t load correctly or didn’t see my #.
Good Luck
robtere2011 I have the feeling you are leaving something significant out of your “story”.
@Billy Jack…What you say is exactly what one would expect. Color me dumb but with the sketchy information available I still don’t get it. MJ downloaded their ‘update’ which I assumed was all-inclusive but it did nothing. It took a download of Divx codecs to the computer to instantly clear all symptoms. I am led to the conclusion that in USB mode, MJ may have only an old Divx codec but why ‘re-invent the wheel’, or be a ‘post office’? Let Divx worry about updates for the codec and simply provide a means for MJ to automatically find them on the computer.
Sorry to have to burst anyone’s “bubble,” BUT…
MagicJack has used and continues to use one of the standard *VOIP* codecs with a slight proprietary modification. Many of the company’s network servers became corrupted in this regard, causing a “one-way” audio problem that was (indirectly) MJ phone-number based regardless of whether the affected numbers were assigned to a “standard” MagicJack device, a MJ+ or an installed MJ iOS app. Broadband Internet service providers were *not* interfering with MagicJack phone service.
The problem has since been largely corrected. Downloading and installing divx software served as a partial temporary fix only for *some* specific MJ customers who use their MJ devices via a PC USB connection. For everyone else (i.e. people who use a MJ+ as a stand-alone device, or those who use a MJ app), the problem – when and where it occurs – can only be fixed by MagicJack VocalTec and downloading divx software to a computer will serve no useful purpose.
EdNv – Vonage is less than $27/month (or so) *ONLY* if you want/need a VERY limited plan (such as your $10 400 minutes/month plan)… thus it is NOT comparable to MJ’s plan AT ALL.
THE MAGICJACK ANDROID APP IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD FROM GOOGLE PLAY (the Google Android “App Store”) and runs on Android version 2.3 or higher.
Very interesting SteveHC, and thanks very much for some clarifications. With real facts so hard to come by, we have little choice but to hypothesize until helpful people like you volunteer more information. I presume your reference to bubble(s) applies to both of us. Your conviction that the Telcos are not messing around is a relief. On the other hand, your earlier post suggesting that a sudden scourge of MJ server ‘failures’ was sweeping the continent would have been too much of a coincidence. Somebody was doing something!
Is not your statement that, “many of the company’s network servers *became* corrupted”, equally implausible? These things just don’t happen autonomously, with that rapidity and geographic spread. At least now we know the nature of the ‘corruption’. I now strongly suspect that MagicJack VocalTec did it themselves by going around installing ‘updates’ that themselves had a codec legacy/compatibility problem. Then they had to go around again and fix the fix. It is also comforting to hear that, “the problem has since been largely corrected”.
As to whether MJ codecs can be updated or not, has become a moot point. It seems logical that since the incompatibility was introduced in the servers – that’s where the fix is being applied.
It seems that I am in a minority on USB enjoying the Divx fix but by “temporary”, are you saying that when they finish fixing the fix on servers that mine will fail again? I still wish I knew just how and under what conditions MJ uses the *external* Divx codec.
Tanstafl – I assume you use your MJ device via a PC USB connection and that that is why the “divx fix” worked for you. Beyond that…
Just about EVERYTHING that MJ “engineers” “touch” in almost ANY way seems to result in at least SOMETHING winding up getting screwed up for its customers. When they “update” their voicemail system, many customers’ MJ voicemail accounts wind up getting screwed up. When they “update” their web-interface customer accounts, account settings wind up getting screwed up. When they fail to maintain their hardware, their servers and switches start failing to relay audio correctly in one or both directions and/or fail to route or connect calls correctly. They’re even screwing up customers’ call logs BIG TIME, resulting in some customer accounts being inappropriately CANCELLED due to “excessive use” when in fact there was NO excessive use just screwed up logs. As far as their voip codec goes, as far as *I* know they haven’t altered it from what it had been but who the heck knows WHAT they did to cause the latest screw ups… it could have been a virus, programming errors, attempts to try out adding video transmission capability, whatever… but it clearly *was* proxy server-related in some way. No matter what the cause or how you look at it, though, they’re just plain incompetent and routinely refuse to acknowledge their own network failures. For $20 or $30 per year I can accept network failures, but what I CAN’T accept is their deliberate refusal to acknowledge their own system failures, their practice of forcing customers to go through all kinds of totally useless and time-wasting procedures with home network equipment that they KNOW will fix NOTHING just so they can stall and avoid admitting that it’s their network (and/or other internal) operations that are the source of the problem(s), and their REFUSAL to implement “work-arounds” at *their* end that will at least *temporarily* get customers’ telephone service working while they work on fixing their own internal problems in a more permanent way.
So as far as your most recent “fix” for your particular installation – if it works don’t mess with it. But you should expect problems in the future that will have little or nothing to do with anything at *your* end and EVERYTHING to do with problems at MagicJack Vocaltec’s end.
There’s simply no substitute for lack of network/system redundancy and adequate maintenance. But if their customer “churn” rate continues to be too high – due primarily to such poor customer support driven by terrible corporate policies – I don’t see how they’ll be able to amass the kind of money that will be needed to fund such network and system improvements.
I found with the MagicJack plus if I set my firewall an my wireless modem to high it blocks the device. To me that sucks because I have been pinged by China many times over! I have a old basic MagicJack that I purchased one year before they made the Plus. I’m keeping the basic active were I don’t have to change my phone number and just forward it to the Plus. In a way that was a scam on there part. I used my area code yet the number is from Canada. This causes a problem when someone here wants to call me. For the dollor amount it’s OK. Best keep a cell phone on hand for when the power or internet goes down or you will have no phone.
@SteveHC….Wow, I guess that sums it up and yes I use my MJ+ via a PC USB connection. You paint a bleak picture that unfortunately is all too true. What could they possibly mess-up if we went back to the original/simplest form of digital and send it over Internet? MOIP…now where did I put that Morse key?
)
Michael Kruszewski – Just go into your router’s settings and set it to not respond to any pings. Simple.
I have MagicJack in Canada and I am very dissatisfied with the service. I chat with few agents but I got no help from them and got very frustrated. If you want a reliable phone then DON’T buy MagicJack. It is not worth it for the headaches you’ll have after. Can’t wait for my 1st yr to be up and to move to another provider. Here is a copy of my last chat I had with them and they just got the chat disconnected when I asked to speak with a manager. It is the worst custmer experience I even had.
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with ‘Elisa’
Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK554081724850X
Elisa: Hello, how may I help you?
Marius: Hi, I am getting a message telling me that MagicJack is connecting the call even if Verizon haven’t paid their bill
Marius: why do I get this message>?
Marius: only for outgoing calls
Marius: hey Elisa, are you still there?
Elisa: The message some may hear is simply a ring tone alert that we are completing their call as a courtesy, even though Verizon has not paid their bill to us.
Marius: yes, that is the message
Marius: why do I get it?
Elisa: No need to worry on that, it is just a ringtone and will not affect your service.
Marius: ok
Marius: but we don’t have Verizon in Canada
Marius: anyway
Elisa: I see…
Marius: 2 days ago, my service was not working at all
Elisa: No need to worry on that, there will be no complications to your service.
Marius: I was getting a message error 23
Elisa: I see…
Marius: I wasn’t able to fix it nor to contact you guys in any way
Elisa: Is the magicjack plugged in to the computer now?
Marius: I was trying to chat but I was getting an error saying that your server is down
Marius: it works now
Elisa: I see…
Marius: but it wasn’t working 2 days ago
Elisa: No need to worry, it should work fine now.
Marius: did you guys had any problems with your service?
Marius: but what if this happens again?
Elisa: There was none, no need to worry on that, it should work fine now.
Marius: what error 23 means?
Elisa: Can you please try to make a test call to see if it works now?
Marius: if this happens again I want to know what to do
Marius: it works now
Marius: but in the case this will happen again
Marius: I want to know what should I do
Elisa: I see… that is good for you to know.
Marius: course
Marius:
Marius: hey Elisa, where are you located?
Elisa: Error 23 may happen if their is a problem with Internet connection.
Elisa: We are at Florida.
Marius: aha
Elisa: Is there anything else I may help you with today?
Marius: well my brother-in-low is a network specialist and checked all internet connections and there was no problem on my end
Elisa: I see…
Marius: do you know?
Marius: the answer or your just guesing?
Elisa: No need to worry, if the error occurs again, you may contact us so that we can fix it.
Marius: the problem was that your chat system was down and I wasn’t able to contact you guys at all
Marius: it was a huge inconvenience for me
Elisa: I see…
Elisa: Can we please do these steps so that the error may be prevented?
Marius: ok
Elisa: You are using magicjack plus, right?
Marius: yes
Marius: I don’t think that the problem is on my side
Elisa: May I know where was the device plugged in when the error occured?
Marius: I think that you guys had an equipment failure
Elisa: May I know where was the device plugged in when the error occured?\
Marius: the device was plugged the same way as before
Marius: never do anything about it and worked fine for almost 2 months
Elisa: I see…
Marius: then suddenly stopped working
Elisa: okay
Elisa: No need to worry now, everything should work fine now.
Marius: again, can you acknowleage that you guys had a system failure?
Elisa: I can not give you the exact details of that, Marius.
Marius: there is a work “should” which shoudl be “will” instead. But because you are not sure you are telling me that it should work. So, there is no guarantee
Marius: I talked with another representative before you and she closed the chat on me
Marius: why is this happening
Marius: ?
Elisa: One moment please…
Marius: Am I saying something you guys don’t like
Marius: ?
Marius: are you still there?
Marius: what is the reason I should wait?
Elisa: Yes I am.
Marius: what is the reason for the wait time?
Elisa: Let me explain this for you…
Marius: Are you taking a brake?
Marius: ok, explain it to me
Elisa: Please be patient Marius, I am also attending other chats.
Marius: I am listening
Marius: aha
Marius: thanks for telling me that, I don’t think is fair for a customer to be treated like this
Elisa: Error 23 may occur when the magicjack is blocked by your router or having problem with getting a connection.
Marius: it is not your fault, is your company fault
Marius: I had checked that and I can assure you that none was the case
Elisa: I see…
Marius: I had a Internet guru doing my connection and checking everything
Marius: the problem was on your end
Marius: can you pass me over to your manager. please?
Elisa: If there is, your device will not be affected since it is connected to your own Internet.
Elisa: Error 23 happens when there is a problem with your end.
Marius: can you pass me over to your maanger, please?
Marius: please
Elisa: No need for that, since what I have told you will be the same with what our manager will tell you.
Marius: I want to speak with your manager, please
Elisa: I can not do that since what I am telling is the same with what he/she will say.
Marius: It is my right to be able to talk with a manager if I want to
Marius: check Consumer Protection Act
Marius: please pass me over to your manager
Elisa: I am trying my best to answer your question, Marius.
Marius: I am done with you Elisa, I want to speak with your manager now
Marius: please and thank you
Elisa: I am transferring you to one of our top 10% agents as rated by our customers. Please hold while I transfer you.
Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.
You are not currently in a chat session.
You are now chatting with ‘Maya’
Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK554081724850X
Marius: no, I asked to speak with a manager not anothr agent
Maya: Hello. My name is Maya. To better assist you, let me put you on hold while I read your previous chat/s. Thank you.
Marius: ok
Marius: but I asked to speak with a manager not another agent
Marius: why did the agent transfered me to you when I have specifically asked for a manager?
Maya: Thank you for waiting.
Marius: I spoked to 2 agent already and there were no able to help me at all
Maya: I am sorry but our manager does not take chat.
Marius: why not?
Maya: You are now talking to one of the available supervisor on the floor.
Marius: but the agent told me that you are an agent
Marius: from the top 10%
Marius: who is lying here?
Maya: Top 10% agents are the supervisor for magicJack.
Marius: aha
Marius: I am from Canada
Marius: here the Consumer Portection Act of Canada gives me the right to escalate an issue to the highest level within a company
Marius: how can i talk with the person aboove you, Maya?
Maya: I understand your side on the matter, Marius. Regarding the message that you are getting when you try making calls with your magicJack cannot be removed. It is how our Engineers set-up the system.
Maya: I am the last person you can talk with.
Marius: how can I take my complain to a higher level?
Marius: what is the process?
Maya: You may post it here on the chat window.
Maya: Our chat session is recorded and our higher management can review our chat.
Marius: your company is braking the Canadian law
Marius: I have the right to take this issue up to the highest level
Marius: I have the right to speak with a manager
Marius: by the way, I will be sharing this info with a national TV station from Canada so that everybody can see how you guys deal with your customers
Maya: I believe I have provided all the necessary information that you need. I will end this chat now. If you have any other concern, please don’t hesitate to chat us back. Thank you.
Since we haven’t heard from you, we must release this chat. Please click here should you need further assistance: http://www.magicJack.com/techchat
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OK, just for the record:
1) MJ Customer Service reps are CORRECT when they say that Error 23 (or any other “Check your Internet Connection” message) indicates *some* sort of problem AT THE CONSUMER’S END. Often times something as simple as one’s router suddenly having a problem identifying and locking onto the MJ+’s Ethernet connection speed can generate it. The best solution is to check all of your relevant connections and settings, and if that doesn’t work then power down ALL connected equipment, wait 5 mins or so, then power up the modem, connect the router to the modem then power up the router, then connect the MJ+ to the router and THEN power up the MJ+.
2) The new “Verizon’s not paying their bills but we’re connecting your call anyway” is simply MJ’s way of telling its customers that Verizon hasn’t (apparently) been paying its call termination fees to MJ/YMAX. Those fees are incurred when a Verizon customer calls a MJ/YMAX number. (When a MJ/YMAX customer calls a Verizon number, MJ/YMAX incurs the fee).
3) EVERY – and I do mean *EVERY* – VOIP service provider in existence, including the one rated highest in consumer satisfaction (OOMA) – has times when its network (including the servers handling live help chats and even live phone help chats) goes down. To me, it’s how the company handles its customer communications regarding such moments that makes a difference.
4) Posting entire, lengthy live help chats here is really a waste of time and space. I seriously doubt that anybody’s really *that* interested in all of the detailed minutia.
>Posting entire, lengthy live help chats here is really a waste of time and space. I seriously doubt that anybody’s really *that* interested in all of the detailed minutia.
You are incorrect. I am very interested in this.
I do not authorize you to speak on my behalf.
What a waste of screen real estate that chat post was. The poster went so far past making his point he lost the attention and sympathy of some (many) of us for sure. I wanted to hang up too.
Very interesting last few posts (except most lengthy chats). As SteveHC said “Verizon hasn’t (apparently) been paying its call termination fees to MJ/YMAX. Those fees are incurred when a Verizon customer calls a MJ/YMAX number.” In an earlier post I said that the Telcos were ‘angry’ with MJ/YMAX and that is *half* of the reason why. They don’t regard MJ as an ‘equal’ and resent having to give them a piece of the pie because MJ does not bring an ‘equal’ investment in plant to the table. This is but one possible way of ‘getting back’ – - don’t pay MJ. The other reason for resentment of course is MJ users giving up their land lines.
How this will all play out is anybody’s guess but I note a local push to bring fiber, at least to the neighbourhood. Telcos can then offer blazing fast and less asymmetrical DSL, and encourage the retention of subscriber land lines (local loops). The “dry loop” fee reduces the savings in dropping land line phones. “Th-th-th-that’s all folks!”
Tanstafl – Good post. But some some most recent news on the optical fiber front: AT&T has decided to halt the build-out of its U-Verse operations, and Verizon has decided to halt the build-out of its FiOS service. And as far as *I* know, no major telco or cable tv provider has announced plans to actually bring fiber-optic cable all the way to consumer’s homes. So I guess we’ll continue to be limited at residences by coax and regular copper telco lines’ capacities for quite some time.
MJ standard, not +. My problem was my typical 2-3 second dropouts … and noise [scratchiness] in the audio. Sometimes MJ calls are so garbled from the onset, that hanging up is the only option. I can’t even get the other person to understand that I’ll call them back.
This MJ chat excerpt is added simply as further info about the Divx mention. I’m taking NO issue that it may indeed sometimes fix an issue … just ADDING INFO about the Divx file MJ Nigel says is required … with a ‘smidgen’ about the non-resolution of the problem and abrupt chat session end.
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Hal: I REPEAT my question — 3rd time: now … how is divx for video going to affect MJ audio?
Nigel: magicJack requires a system file known as “msg711.dll” to properly work.
Nigel: Try to place a test call and see if it works.
Hal: couldn’t we have just searched for that file?
[I never got answer about just searching for the file.]
Nigel: Okay.
Hal: I tested … she says it sounds about the same … still some scratchy-ness and some breaking up.
Hal: what next, please.
Nigel: Can you try to use different phone?
Hal: We’ve already done that … same results …
[We had already futz'd with firewall and background task priority and being told that I had to accept ALL COOKIES for it to work! I don't know whether the necessary Divx file was previously there, was at a different level, etc. ... but it didn't seem to affect the issue at all after Divx reinstall.]
Very soon … and still not having affected any ‘fix’, the chat abruptly ended with …
————-
Nigel: Chat us back again and ask for my name if the problem still persist. All chat sessions are saved so there’s no need to explain all over again. We’re available 24/7 to assist you.
Nigel: Thank you for your cooperation and patience. It is much appreciated.
Since we haven’t heard from you, we must release this chat. Please click here should you need further assistance: http://www.magicJack.com/techchat
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Minitorch – Just as an FYI, the dropouts and garbled audio are *usually* an indication that you’ve got too much other “stuff” going on – either by your MJ-connected PC, or by other devices connected to your LAN – while you’re trying to engaging in a MJ call.
1) Make SURE that your PC is not set to allow ANY system of hard drive sleeping or hibernation AT ALL.
2) Assuming your PC is connected to a router (either wirelessly or otherwise), go into your router’s settings and set its QoS settings such that the MJ-connected PC is set to “highest” priority and all other LAN-connected devices are set to no more than medium/moderate.
3) When you’re on a call, make sure that your PC is not engaging in any other tasks or processes that are not ABSOLUTELY necessary – no downloading, no uploading, no frequent automatic checking of email, no video or audio streaming, etc. And no other bandwidth-hogging devices should be actively engaged in Internet-connected activity or even acivity involving a connection to another LAN-connected device (like Apple’s Time Machine, for instance). Some devices that are connected to your LAN and/or Internet tend to be worse bandwidth hogs than others – certain Internet-connected tablets and iOS devices “grab” SO much bandwidth SO fast and SO frequently and CONSTANTLY – even when you’re NOT actively downloading or streaming anything – that in order to ewngaging in smooth VOIP calls you need to literally disable their connection while on a call.
3) Your router’s NAT and voip Sig Alg features and configuration may also be interfering with your MJ’s VOIP service, so if the suggestions above don’t solve the problem you may need to fiddle around with these router settings too.
4) Your router may have come shipped with some pre-configured Port Forwarding and/or Port Triggering settings that may be interfering with the proper operation of your MJ’s operation. Provided you’re PC’s and/or router’s firewall settings aren’t interfering with MJ’s port opening and closing commands to your router, the MJ device and your pc should be opining and closing all necessary ports automatically.
Lastly, it’s always possible (at least theoretically) that the *quality* of your broadband Internet service (e.g. jitter and/or lag) may be causing some of your problems… quality does not necessarily equate with *speed* (although it’s *generally* but not *always* true that the higher the speed the less bandwidth availability should be an issue). And try to make sure that if you’re using a wirelessly-connected pc and a cordless phone, that the frequency/frequencies being used by your cordless phone are not interfering with those being used to connect the pc to your router.
- Just a few suggestions, FWIW.
I have switched to Vonage and we have no problem with audio quality even while watching ROKU on an ATT 6M/720K DSL along with the kids doing their games and FB.
No ports had to be opened on my Linksys FW either.
MJ+ is plain and simple an inferior product. The 15.00 a month
(400 outbound minutes) for Vonage is a ‘you get what you pay for’ price you have to pay to get reliable service, me thinks.
Thank you VM for your suggestions. Let me answer them 1 by 1
1) No hibernation .. HD set for sleep after 30 min. Thanks to your suggestion, I tested, making sure I did ‘some’ HD access just prior to making a call … same results.
2) 1 PC WiFi to router … 1 HP laser printer hard-wired to router
QoS not enabled … IF QoS is actually NEEDED, then I will be awhile studying, before I understand the parameters to set up!! I’ll start studying.
3) I’ve disabled Win auto-update and I stay off kb/mouse during call. No other DL/UL happening, as far as I can tell. MJ is only ‘app’ running when making/receiving call.
4) I had already taken my web server offline … took router back to basics … no port forwarding, no triggering, no virtual servers, DHCP enabled
[and your] Lastly) DSL @ 6Mb … don’t know about jitter … don’t know how to test it. Corded phone is used for my testing, but seems no different using 5.8G cordless and w/wo bluetooth. [Yes, my cordless home phone also connects to BT.]
Your further comments/suggestions and/or a ‘lesson’ on QoS setup is welcomed!
EdNV – Plenty of people complain about Vonage too. I tested out OOMA – the hands-down highest rated (by consumers) residential VOIP service – and wasn’t thrilled with it either. Each service has its own “pluses” and “minuses,” and for the typical home user who wants something more than “400 minutes per mpnth” ouyt of their residential phone Vonage offers nothing to equal or best POTS landline service.
Minitorch – I *believe* Speakeasy.net and/or Speedtest.net can test for jitter and lag. You’ll probably need to dig into your router’s web interface-based settings to properly set up QoS. And don’t forget what I mentioned about NAT filtering, SIG Alg, and firewall (especially PC/Windows firewall) issues. Lastly, if you normally have virus-checking processes running constantly, try turning it/them off at least temporarily – you might want to try turning off your OS’s firewall temporarily, also (assuming your OS has such a setting) – just to test to see if it makes a difference. As a last resort, try temporarily placing your pc in a router-defined dmz to see if THAT makes a difference. Don’t forget – when it comes to the original MJ device there is always your pc, your OS (and its settings), and your router (and its settings) always sitting “between” the MJ device and your modem and thus having to contend with.
HC. I am simply stating facts.
My MJ+ CONTINOUSLY failed with “MJ customer unavailable” messages to people trying to call — to calls being dropped mid conversation — to cut-outs — all with the MJ+ having to be rebooted (unplugged from AC and plugged back in) every time — even after making all the firewall port exceptions via techline chats.
I have no firewall exceptions and I have not rebooted a single thing in my house since I installed VONAGE.
local, longdistance, and 1-800 calls all work flawlessly.
POTS is 25 a month + taxes ($30.35), so there is a clear advantage to VOIP with VONAGE.
I filed an FCC complaint (that will likely go nowhere) for the ripoff Phone Number portability charges by Magic Jack.. No one, not ATT, not Vonage have a ‘portability’ charge although I have been told that other ripoff companies have the Portability charge.
My MJ+ experiment cost me over 50 fricken dollars in portability charges.
EdNV – Honestly, I’ve never heard of anyone else having a “the MJ customer you’re trying to reach is unavailable” problem like you say you did after they’ve checked and fixed their MJ account settings online, and set their router to always assign the same IP address to each LAN-connected device (of course, it’s always possible that someone might receive a defective MJ device that would need replacement). Re: Vonage, all I’m saying is that you can’t really compare a $15 400 min/month Vonage plan to other companies’ unlimited residential plans, and if you compare Vonage’s $26/month (plus taxes and fees) unlimited plan to traditional POTS landline or cable tv’s voip unlimited service, the latter usually win out *especially* when bundled with double or triple play discounts. But if a $15 400 min./month voip plan works for you, all the power to ya.
I really wasn’t going to do this, but here goes. I tried Vonage, back in June thru Oct, 2007, when it was $149 to get one. I had 30 days to decide whether to keep it … and I called tech support at least twice a week to fix issues. When I got close to my 30 days, they said, “hang in there with us … go ahead and port your # over [that cost me $10 since I didn't port it over in the beginning!]. They said, “We assure you we’ll get it working … and if you are not satisfied, we’ll still refund your money.” Ever call to tech support I CONFIRMED that same thing — refund WILL be given if not satisfied!! Well, I did — hang in there … and they did NOT fix it — after 5+ months I was fed up. Then I wanted my money back … NOPE … you only had 30 days. VISA complaint went nowhere. I submitted all my chats and calls records and their promises. VISA contacted Vonage and Vonage told VISA it was a valid charge … they would NOT refund my $149 — I was stuck with it. Furthermore, Vonage charged me another $10 to transfer my number back to ATT! I certainly have not tried Vonage again … and I finally just threw the Vonage VoIP modem away.
Just FYI … in case you’re wondering … that was 5 yrs ago … different house, different phone line, different ph #, different DSL modem, etc … so those circumstances don’t now apply to my MJ issues/posts above.
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I did turn off firewall and also put this PC on DMZ as a test .. no change.
I’ll ck out speakeasy … thanks.
@minitorch..I sympathise with your predicament but you seem persistent and capable of seeing it through. First off, Divx, or any other *video* format is video + audio (unless you have a Charlie Chaplin thing). If I had a dollar for every time people doing a remote broadcast paid most attention to the video and were not equally dilligent about audio, I’d be rich.
As you saw in SteveHC’s posts, the number of things that “can” go wrong is daunting and if you read back in this forum it becomes downright scary. Plug & play? Oy vey! That expression comes to mind as most appropriate, and I’m not even of that persuasion!
As SteveHC said, with entry level bandwidth, don’t do anything else on the computer during a MJ conversation. I not only do that, but have disabled *automatic* checking of e-mail and and *automatic* ‘updates’ including:
1. First & formost, M$ with their endless updates
2. Antivirus/security updates
3. Flash and Java updates
4. HP updates
And anything else you may have that tries to update automatically. In all cases, I have opted for *notification only*, then I decide what/when to download and install.
Finally, regarding the Divx codec, it appears that you had the misfortune of contacting a less than ideal chat rep. I did *not* perform most of the steps you were asked to. You appear to be trying to get a new installation working and you should try SteveHC’s suggestions first. If all else fails, then at that point; and I hesitate to suggest, you uninstall all traces of Divx. Next, download the whole freakin’ Divx suite (I doubt very much that a single *.dll is involved). In fact I do not have msg711.dll but instead, msg711.acm which is a M$ driver for many audio codecs. This Divx codec fix *may* only work if you are on USB and dates back a few years so most MJ talk reps. are probably not aware of all the implications. Welcome to the evolution of VOIP.
Ran a check on my system too and did not find msg711.dll but the one mentioned in the above post. MJ worked well for me over the past years but the problems began this March and has not been resolved “top 10% tech” and more of them notwithstanding. SteveHC gave the possible reasons and these I can readily accept. So the dilemna is should I get a replacement MJ with my old number or with the old number the problems will be the same. I am due for a year’s extension.
All OS’s and most programs (certainly Virus software) require endless updates, and it is people who do not apply them regularly that infect, and cause problems for, the rest of the herd.
We had Vonage from 2001-2006 across two states with no problems — ATT initially only offered wet DSL so it made no sense to keep them.
Having worked in IT since 1980, it is astounding to me that MJ requires so much tweaking just to do VOIP…. it is further astounding that consumers tolerate it. So little bandwidth is required to do voice please quit with the excuses, crimeny you can do VOIP over a 56k dialup!
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk652/tk698/technologies_tech_note09186a0080094ae2.shtml
@EdNv, you’re right, updates should be applied. I did not mean to imply not updating but I simply do not allow them when I am making or expecting a phone call. I was quite happy on dialup but finally went to high speed a few years back mainly because of those $%&# huge M$ updates that took forever.
HMMM … I had installed the entire Divx suite [per the MJ rep] and I still don’t have msg711.DLL … I do have msg711.ACM mentioned above. I’ve just uninstalled Divx as suggested above. Nothing [yet] seems to be suffering by its removal.
I’ve also turned off Win auto-updates — check & notify only now.
Right or wrong, I just turned QoS off
voip Sig Alg – no clue … unless by some other name, my router doesn’t have those settings.
Thanks for all the suggestions – everyone!
We have magic jack plus at our office. Now we can’t call the towns 15 miles away, because magic jack is not accepted by the phone company that services that area. Of course I have been calling the businesses in that area for 4 years before this with our problems. I would not recommend a company that does NOT deliver what they promise. This is another example of fraud by a business.
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