MagicJack+ opinions

BingBangBop

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I'm seriously considering getting MagicJack+ with a standard wireless phone to replace my landline as a cheaper alternative to even the standard VOIP options like Vonage or Comcast's VOIP.

My first priority was that I wanted to keep the same phone number of 40 years. Cheaper is a secondary goal. MagicJack+ now seems to satisfy both of those now.

Saving money is all and good, but I'd like to know the gotcha's before I buy into it.

Any experiences?
 

Mercutio

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I have a brother who telecommutes 100% of of the time. He lives in Prague, Czech Republic and has tried every VOIP setup known to man.

I know he tried Vonage and Magicjack and a half dozen other services before eventually settling on an Ooma as his Telco bridge device. I want to say that it's a $200 up front cost for the hardware but then no subscription fees afterward. I believe he maintained his 312 area code number while he was using it.

His company recently transitioned to high end Cisco phones and Exchange 2010 unified messaging. It's a really slick setup but as I understand things he's had to go back to his Ooma a couple times while some part of that system was down.

If you'd really like I can solicit him for specific comments about MagicJack. As I recall he only used it for a few days before he scrapped it.
 

Handruin

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I was just talking with a coworker last night and he was chatting me up about how he loves his Magicjack for his home phone. He has a full family living there with kids and they use that as their primary home number with 911 support. I've not personally used the device so it's just anecdotal feedback. I can also ask him any specific concerns you may have if you think it will help?
 

Mercutio

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OK, my brother's deal was that he felt the recurring subscription fee for MagicJack did not represent as good a value as one time fees on the Ooma, rather than a complaint about the quality of service.
 

Handruin

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Don't you have to have a computer on 24/7 so magicjack can get online?

That used to be the case with Magicjack, but now it can be run with a network connection like Mercutio said.
 

Sol

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If you have a smart phone there should be a way to just use that (over wifi) with a voip client rather than having to have a separate device. Google voice would work except that they can only port mobile numbers but I'm sure there are at least a few similar options.

Unless you want a separate device I guess, in which case you're probably better off going with some sort of separate device...
 

Mercutio

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Not everyone wants a smartphone all the time.

MagicJack in particular looks like it was made to be marketed to the same demographic that's big on Rascal Mobility Scooters, Craftmatic Adjustable beds and any other product with an "As Seen on TV" logo. Yeesh.
 

BingBangBop

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I'm interested in other possible ways of VOIP, but I haven't seen anything else cheaper.

No, I don't have a smart phone. At some level, one needs some form of HW to plug a phone into (not interested in just computer-phone for I still need it to ring throughout my apt.). Then in addition to the HW which will cost some money, one needs a VOIP provider and that typically costs some money too.

MagicJack Plus costs $69.95 for the HW plus $30/year or $100/five years for VOIP provider costs. There is also a one-time cost of $20 to transfer your phone number.

This is a significant cost saving from having to pay $45/month for my current landline. I'm certainly willing to listen to alternatives that are even cheaper and possibly better. It is quite likely that I don't know enough about the alternatives. I just note that Magic Jack+ certainly pays for itself in just a few months and if it is acceptable in quality then I see no reason not to pursue it, regardless of the cheesiness of their advertising.

My first priority is to be able to keep my phone number. Second is that it needs to be cheaper and at least as good in quality and features. I suppose that third is that it needs to be easy enough that I can set it up.
 

Santilli

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I had magic Jack, and it sucked. Support is non-existent. I have a very fast connection, and it still didn't work.

If it won't work on the Beast, and Astound at 120 Mbps bursts, sustained, it's seriously
Fubar.

It sucked on 7, ran sometimes on XP, and wasn't worth the hassle.

Google voice is a cheap alternative, like free, and it works FAR better.
 

BingBangBop

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I don't know that you can use a MagicJack experience to judge MagicJack+. The main reason is basic HW. The original MagicJack connected to your computer using USB then used software to drive the Ethernet port on your computer while the MagicJack+ has the HW built in and directly connects the telephone to an Ethernet port without using a computer at all. So your beast and what OS it used becomes totally irrelevant.

Everything I have read indicates that neither MagicJack or MagicJack+ there is no usable support.

Google+ voice is a nice tech for a computer-only free VOIP phone but that is not what I need. I need VOIP to ring my normal phones.

NetTalk Duo is a nice mixture of MagicJack+ with Google voice but I can't port my phone number with NetTalk. Which means I can't get rid of my land-line and thereby I don't save any money.
 

BingBangBop

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I put in an ebay bid using a sniping service for a used Ooma Telos. There are lots of them offered so I suspect that if not this auction, another will appear. I read reviews and it seems to be a very good option though it costs more than MagicJack+. At least they support their product.

One does wonder if they are telling the truth that they are paying the standard telephone taxes they are collecting. As far as I can tell, no one else in VOIP world collects those taxes.
 

Sol

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I'm pretty sure Google Voice uses SIP so any SIP ATA should let you hook it up to a POTS telephone and any SIP desk phone should work (It's worth specifically checking before buying a device though since SIP support is often pretty spotty). You still can't port a land-line number to them though.
 

BingBangBop

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I just found out that there is an $79.99 reactivation fee for Ooma telos for used or refurbished units. I find that to be unacceptably high. At that point, I'd be better off buying new...
 

Howell

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Onceupon a time mine coworker set up his google voice to ring through to both his cell and his wife's cell. Do they no longer do this?
 

Bozo

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One does wonder if they are telling the truth that they are paying the standard telephone taxes they are collecting. As far as I can tell, no one else in VOIP world collects those taxes.

I believe my Comcast bill has those taxes on it.
 

Santilli

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"Use magicJack PLUS with or without computer! Try it for free for 30 days! 48 hour sale price of $34.95, Suggested Retail Price is $69.96. Click here for free trial. Dear GREGORY SANTILLI

I am offering my newest invention, the magicJack PLUS, to our existing customers first. I wanted to make sure my loyal customers could be rewarded and be first in line. No doubt, most of you will want the option to continue using the magicJack as you have (with a computer), or now just plug into the wall and internet (without the computer) - it's your choice and so easy to use as always. The new magicJack PLUS is the same size as the old one, and it is basically a computer/system on a chip. Our chip developer Dr. YW Sing really outdid himself this time.

The magicJack PLUS will be in Radio Shack first followed by Walmart for $69.95. It will contain everything you need and the first year of service will be free. You will be able to use the same number you had before or you can even port a number to the new magicJack PLUS. You will not be able to transfer your old plan to the new magicJack PLUS. That is just one reason why we are offering a 48 hour special to buy the magicJack PLUS at half price. The price right now is $34.95. This price will not last and I wanted to make sure you knew that. This price is less than what we sell it to retailers for. This is not a gimmick, it is truly my way of saying Thank You for being a loyal customer. To make sure you continue to Love my company and always be totally satisfied with us, you will have a FREE 30 day trial period. The offer is on a first come first served basis. We have sold over 7 million magicJacks and we only have 200,000 new magicJack PLUS to offer. After ! that, you will have to wait about 60 days more to get yours.

The reviews for the magicJack PLUS by bloggers and reporters have been so positive. It makes me very proud for them to rave about the call quality and ease of use.

Thanks for being a great customer.

Dan Borislow
CEO magicJack, Inventor and Founder"

Fool me once, your bad. Fool me twice I'm a f..... idiot.
 

BingBangBop

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Santilli, I really thought that you were a big believer in the try-it and return-it philosophy considering all the TV's and monitors that have been returned to Costco. Under your current rules you would have tried it, returned it and said I'll never buy anything from Costco again.

Costco, fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. So Costco gets one shame, but how many shames do you get at Costco's expense?
 

Santilli

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BBB:

You are comparing a company with near ultimate customer service, and a money back promise, with MagicJack: a company with no customer service, and no money back, despite what they say.

Try it.

If it works, I'll buy one, and thank you for being the Guinea Pig. I was the first pig.
 

Santilli

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Cat woke me up. It's 32 degrees outside, and it's a day off. Only have to drive to Sac tonight for a meeting. Heating system is working. Beast makes an excellent secondary heater, while running F@H. 98 degree air, coming out the top...
 

blakerwry

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I just plugged in a magicjack+ on thurs? Fri? First call had one-way audio, but every call thereafter worked just fine (in or out). It's driving a phone about 100ft of copper away, I was kind of impressed it worked.

The device is standalone, though a PC was needed to register it and setup. The device works over DHCP and seems to expect you're behind a NAT router. It has settings for a static IP, however they don't work... and as previously stated there is no support. The device does not seem to have any internal web server or other means of diagnostic/setup other than connecting it to your PC and running some program. I'm glad it worked, because if it didn't, I don't think there's anyway to troubleshoot the darn thing.
 

blakerwry

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btw, call quality was indistinguishable from the vonage phone it replaced. However, since we were testing using a cell phone in the next room, I could discern a noticeable delay. Not sure if this was due to the cell phone or the magicjack+. However, when both phones were not within earshot of eachother I didn't notice the delay at all.
 

BingBangBop

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I got one at Radio Shack today specifically because I can return it to a local store rather than to the MagicJack people. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll give a report when I do.
 

BingBangBop

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Well, I've had my phone line running on MJ+ for a couple of days.

The voice quality is not delectably different either sending or receiving calls. When I called myself on my original line there is a time delay but I don't think it would be noticeable when there is no reference.

Hardware is what looks to be a USB thumb drive with two ports in the back (a telephone jack and an Ethernet jack). Also supplied is a power plug that the USB plug plugs into and a small Ethernet cable. I plugged My wireless phone into the phone jack, I plugged an Ethernet cable into the Ethernet jack and into an Ethernet switch that was connected to my internet router.

The online setup process is relatively painless, however you do need a computer with a USB port and internet access to set it up. You will plug in the MJ+ into your computer's USB port and it is is recognized as an extra HD (I didn't have auto-run configured otherwise it would just run the software directly). I looked at the drive and ran the software contained which then downloaded, off the internet, the most current version and started it. I clicked register, answered some questions (mostly asking to sell more services) and was given a phone number.

I unplugged the MJ+ from the computer, plugged it into the power plug which was plugged into a wall socket. The Ethernet cable and phone was still plugged in, so the little blue light comes on and it gets a DHCP IP address from the router and you are done. Picked up the phone and there is a dial tone. Called my old number and talked to myself. Using my old phone and dialed the MJ+ number and talked to myself. Called my MJ+ number from the MJ+ connected phone and you'll get lots voice-mail options to configure. Called others from the MJ+ line and had others call me, no one noticed a quality problem.

One thing to note is that the MJ+ transfers to its voice mail after four rings and does not seem to be configurable. I find that to be quite annoying for I don't want to use its voice mail but rather the answering machine built into my phone because it beeps. So I have to configure the answering machine to go off at 3 rings except it won't work on odd numbers so it has to be setup at two which is too quick. I'm not sure what I'll do about this issue.

Next is that because there is an ethernet port on the MJ+, there is no room for a telephone line splitter to be plugged in directly. I wanted to plug my fax machine in so it was necessary to use a small piece of telephone cord and a gender changer to plug the splitter into. I haven't yet tested my fax machine in that the faxback service I used to use for testing was discontinued and I've not needed to fax anyone yet. So that is yet to be tested. I know that connecting faxes to VOIP is generally problematic and if it doesn't work, I'll understand and deal.

Now that I have it working, I went to my.magicJack.com and transfered my landline phone number. It costs $20 and requires you to pick your telephone provider from a drop down list. Even limiting myself to CenturyTel (Quest), there are lots of choices. I have no idea which one so I pick the one in my state. 3 days later, I get an Email telling me the number has successfully transferred, so I guess I picked right. I have no idea what happens if I pick wrong (do I get my money back and pick again?) or if my old telephone provider isn't on the list. I assume that those issues are for tech support.

I didn't have to use tech support but from what I can tell from internet postings it's really bad so it is good that I didn't have to use it.

My conclusion: So far, so good I don't have any show stoppers. I've only tested this a few days, and I still have questions. Am I going to be listed in the local phone book and if not, can I manually insert my number by calling them? Faxing? Answering machines/voice mail? I'm willing to deal with the issues I've had for the money savings. Going from $45/month plus long distance fees to $30/year ($2.50/month) with no long distance fees for US & Canada is definitely worth the limitations.
 

BingBangBop

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I've had MagicJack+ for a while now, seems to work quite well. I have even had success faxing on a dedicated fax machine. For the money, it seems to be a great deal.

My only real annoyance is its voice mail -- I really wish it didn't even exist because It doesn't beep or otherwise attract my attention when there is something there. Email alerts, is not sufficient and neither is changing the dial tone. I can't disable it and I can't change the number of rings (stuck at 4) so that my previous answering machine can take over.
 
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