The Magic Jack is a USB device that you can plug a phone line into to make phone calls from your home over the internet.
I have been excited about ordering Magic Jack since I first heard about it on TV.
When I finally went to order Magic Jack online, the website said it would take 15 days or so, but I got my Magic Jack in just a few days.
Magic Jack hooks up to a normal house phone so you can make calls, but since I did not have a home phone, I waited a few days until I bought a phone to plug in the Magic Jack USB device.
Watch The Magic Jack News Report Video
When you first plug in the Magic Jack into your computer, the setup software pops up which takes just a minute to put in your info and then you can pick your own phone number.
After the initial set up, all you have to do is plug in Magic Jack to your computer to start making phone calls over the internet. I though I needed a regular phone to use Magic Jack but this is not true.
You can make calls with Magic Jack using your computer microphone and speakers or headset. I wish I had plugged Magic Jack into my laptop earlier and I would have saved myself $20 by not buying a phone. My computer headset works just fine.
I have been using a VOIP or voice over ip based phone for some time. I originally ordered my own phone number with Skype to replace my home phone. But the problem was when I called people using Skype, my number displayed on their caller ID was an unidentified phone number and not my phone number. This caller ID problem does not exist with Magic Jack.
The great thing is Magic Jack emails me whenever I get a new voice mail message. This is great when you are at work or in the office. You can also call in to check your voice mail in addition to being email a .wav file.
Although I have not had any problems with my Magic Jack, I would not suggest ordering Magic Jack to replace your main phone. However this works great if you already have a cell phone and do not use your expensive home phone a lot.
Magic Jack is only $50 for 1 year and you get all of this:
- Unlimited local and long distance
- Chose your own phone number
- Call waiting
- Voice mail
- Caller ID
This is already an extremely good deal and I don't know how they do it but...
You can even try Magic Jack Free for 30 days!
Click here to visit the Magic Jack website.
180 Customer Reviews of “Magic Jack”
Review by User22 December 29, 2012
Used the Magic Jack Plus. Had it for six months, and the device failed. Customer service wasted two hours of my time trying to recover it to no avail and then told me they would send me a new one — as long as I paid them $10 for shipping first. Their device failed after six months, and they want me to pay again to get one that works. At that rate it would cost an additional $20 per year just to replace them when they stop working for whatever reason. That is assuming they would actually last 6 months each time. In the meantime, while waiting on your replacement that you paid ten dollars to have shipped to you, you have no phone service. Good idea, crap quality.
Review by Jenny November 29, 2012
You are right, I mispoke. I have a contact list which pulled the info when someone called. Sorry for any confusion.
Review by Terri May 4, 2012
NOT GOOD.
My sister just talked to me tonight with her new magic jack and we can NOT hold a conversation… the phone disconnected approximately four times and successfully reconnected with each other. After that we had to keep calling one another back. The last time she tried to call me back ….and could not… so I called her.
Then I tried the last two times to call her back and the answer took over… I don’t know if her phone even rang on her end. What a mess.
She said it cuts out every so often… that was obvious. It is also like a party line… ECHO)))))))ING…))))in a hollow place… sound bouncing back difficult to hear…
She is frustrated with it and I was to.
If you have high blood pressure or get upset easily or you are already overstressed….if your an addict or any sort…. or you must talk to someone everyday for five minutes or longer…
You may want to shy away from this phone service. … she called it happy jack…. sarcastically of course.
TWO THUMBS DOWN AND BEWARE… IT MAY NOT BE GOOD FOR YOUR MENTAL ESTATE OR OVERALL WELLING.
Review by Ben February 19, 2012
I’ve been using Magic Jack Plus for about two month and it’s definitely the best service I’ve ever used.
Review by Rain October 21, 2011
I do not own a magic Jack, but my brother does. I absolutely hate for him to call me with this system. It sounds like he is in a can or tunnel, there is a delay that makes conversation awkward. I had considered looking into this for my home. Now I won’t.
Review by JASON ZIMMERMAN October 11, 2011
I JUST RECEIVED MY MAGIC JACK PLUS, AND AT FIRST I HAD A AUDIO PROBLEM,
I GOT ON LINE FOR TECHNICAL HELP, AND THEY TOLD ME TO PLUG INTO A DIFFERENT
USB PORT. I DID AND NOW IT IS MUCH BETTER THAN MY LAND LINE.
VERY HAPPY.
J Z
Review by Kelly E September 19, 2011
I’m pleased with Magic Jack! It’s a huge savings over my $60 month regular landline. The only issue I’ve had is if I’m on the phone and use the computer it can cause the phone to stutter. Still WELL worth the money!
Review by Steven September 8, 2011
I absolutely love the magic jack! The only times I had problems was when I had a bad internet signal…this was a cable company issue that was fixed right away! Set up is easy and calls are crystal clear. I found none of the negative reviews to be accurate. It is true that they do not have a customer service division and this may be the reason cost is so low. I considered buying the net talk duo for the reason that I would not have to leave a computer on like their ad states. That is until I read that they do not have a real voicemail, they email you the messages and you can not call in to get them like a normal service. I absolutely love this product and would HIGHLY recomend anyone to purchase this!
Review by Karina Salyer August 20, 2011
Couldn’t be happier. have had my MJ now for about 8 month. Make all my calls to Germany on it. Have not had a problem.
Wish I would have switched earlier.
Review by Laura Ward May 21, 2011
If there were a negative rating it would get my vote! After paying for five years of “guarenteed service” I was sent a bogus password. Every time I tried to login with the password I was sent, I was told I couldn’t as it didn’t match my email address…the adress where the password was sent! When I went to magicjack.com for help, I was told I’d have to pay ANOTHER 38 bucks! What a ripoff!! Do NOT buy this product!
Review by vik May 14, 2011
customer service is horrible.
Review by Larry May 6, 2011
I have been using MJ for about six months with less than stellar results. My problem with it is noise – frying sound that makes hearing the caller impossible. I mostlikely would not purchase it again. After hours of troubleshooting with support I am no better off, still noisy.
Review by Jon March 31, 2011
This product is junk! You get what you pay for, and Magic Jack is no exception. Calls are constantly dropped or not received at all. Occasionally, the software will be updated which resets your voice mail message and password. It feels good to know people don’t leave messages for who knows how long because your voice mail was reset to a generic message saying you have reached a Magic Jack customer. Magic Jack will not tell you when this happens; good luck figuring it out on your own. When you do finally realize this happened, be sure to take full advantage of their terrible customer service. At best, they are not helpful; at worst they are rude. I didn’t realize they were doing me a favor by sucking at their job. There is a reason the only way you can contact them is by chat. They do not want to open themselves up to the barrage of phone calls and letters from upset customers. Save yourself a lot of trouble and pay the $20 a month for a basic land line.
Review by Richard Perrine February 8, 2011
I am completely disgusted with this piece of electronic trash. I can hardly hear the other party on my phone. People try to call me and after 1 ring it goes to voicemail, or calling party can’t hear me when they do pick up. Some PC software games cause majic jack not to run. I’ll pay more with Quest for much better service. Richard from Arizona
Review by Judi February 8, 2011
Finaly after a year of thinking about buying MJ I DID IT!! For me it works great, an occassional drop out ( and I have 12 mg)sometimes I have to dial the number a couple of times, but heck for $69 for 5 years I am already saving money after a couple of months.
Have been telling everyone about MJ for a couple of months now. Surprised everyone hasn’t switched over.
Review by Bill January 30, 2011
I’m glad I didn’t let bad reviews stop me from buying magicjack. It has worked great for me and I have been using it for about 4 months. I have always liked Skype In and Skype Out for home use but MJ has worked so well that I didn’t renew either. I highly recommend this product, it does what I bought it to do.
Review by richard baker January 13, 2011
Do not buy this product. Magic Jack does not work well. Your computer must always be on, never in sleep mode and never in windows update. Anytime anything happens to disrupt the data stream to your computer, Magic Jack will shut off,. Also, the constant running of the Magic Jack program itself, interferes with the normal operations of your system. Their customer service is non existent, so if you buy this thing, you’re on your own. Finally, and this is a big one, Magic Jack will NOT, I repeat, WILL NOT honor their so – called money back guarantee. If they can, they will find a way to deny your request for a refund.
Review by Buddy January 8, 2011
I researched many options and was paying $35 plus a month for the same service with AT&T. Because of financial constraints I was ready to do away with my land phone and just use my cell phone. However, I needed to reduce those too so I got the minimum minutes, canceled my land phone and took a chance on Magic Jack. I am so angry at myself for not doing this sooner. As soon as I plugged it in and it loaded the software I was able to send and receive calls without any complications.
Here is the secret to the success. You MUST have a fast download system. I have Clear I-spot 4g (great service by the way) and get excellent reception since I am about 100 yards from the tower. I have a VOIP system throughout the house so I plugged the main line into the computer and all of the other 4 phones work perfectly. I have had this for about 2 weeks and have only had 1 dropped call and that is because I was connected to my neighbors internet by mistake and not getting a fast download.
I HIGHLY recommend this to those who have a high speed internet service and don’t want to pay all those monthly bills. I spent $40 for a year and was spending that much in a month with AT&T. I love this system and recommend it highly to others with a good high speed internet connection. If you only have the minimum 1.5 mbps then you may be unhappy. I have 4g and it works great.
I’m so angry I didn’t get it sooner. I am a college professor and do a good deal or research before buying. Strangely, I ran into one of my students who asked me quite a few questions and then said “go for it”. I will thank him later. I asked 3 different employees at Best Buy and each told me they had heard good things about the product.
I stand by it and say if you have a good high speed internet connection to go for it. You will happy with all the money you will save.
Review by Ray January 8, 2011
I have used Majig Jack for two years. only because many of my travels take me to locations with poor cellular coverage. The quality has always been mediocre. Since renewing for the second year and receiving an online “update”, quality has slipped from mediocre to horrible! Customer service is even worse! I wasted my money.
Review by Eric M January 3, 2011
I have “tested” this product for 6 months on my DSL line. Knowing that my main computer could not support MJ because of the processing intensive applications I run, I bought a dedicated $50 computer to plug MJ into.
It ocassionally runs into “cell phone” cut out types of issues when my daughter is streaming video. This would be expected of any IP phone, and can be corrected if you wish to prioritize traffic (advanced networking skills required). The “cut out” has never been a issue with normal browsing or email activities. Only streaming activities. Sound quality is very clear, but needs a bit more volume relative to our current PSTN/POTS line.
Ocassionally, I have to reboot the computer that MJ is on (once a month?) I do this when I pick up a dead reciever (no dial tone). I do not know if this affects incoming calls, as my phone is not currently used for incoming calls.
Sometimes, I will get a long delay (several seconds) before getting a dial tone. Sometimes, I have hang-up and pick-up to get a dial tone. I would estimate this happens every 1 out of 15 times.
My biggest complaint is that they have advertised number portability for a very long time now, and give answers like “any day now” and “soon” when I ask of the status. At one time, they had a long past date listed on their web-site. They don’t offer a local number in my area, and I didn’t want to tell 100 people my new number or have them call long distance, so I have waited for about 6 months for them to follow through on their advertised phone number portability. If it wasn’t for this issue, I would give it a 4 star rating
Review by RJ December 28, 2010
I have used Magic Jack for a year now. It works exactly as promised, it was easy to set up, and reduced my phone bill by almost $500 a year. When I first got it my DSL was kind of slow for speed, so if I surfed the net and made a call at the same time, I would get broken audio. Once I switched to cable internet/modem, my speed was greatly improved and my calls go through with no problems even when downloading web pages etc.. I just wish they had more phone numbers to choose from, I do not have a number local to my hometown. I am very pleased with Magic Jack.
Review by Disappointed User December 19, 2010
DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT, it’s worthless. It’s cheap and you get what you paid for. The customer service is via chat and all they do is copy and paste the same stuff, no matter what your issue is. They are like a bunch of robots and don’t pay attention to your problem description. I have spent hours with them chatting to solve a simple problem, they never admit fault when there is a problem with the Magic Jack because they believe their piece of s…is flawless. It’s just very frustrating and I would not recommend. I cant get my money back but i wont get another year ! The worse phone service I have ever had.
Review by Disappointed December 17, 2010
We have had a Magic Jack for a few months. I asked around, read reviews (obviously, the wrong reviews), and decided that for the price it sure beat paying 65 a month for a landline. For the first two days, I was happy with it- clear calls, etc….but after this, it was so sporadic that it was horrible. Now mind you, I realize that the connection speed has a lot to do with the quality of the calls, and after a couple of months of really crappy calls (sounded like the other person was vibrating, words jumbled together, couldn’t understand what they said- one or the other couldn’t hear each other, dropped calls, phone went directly to voicemail when nobody was on it, you name it..), I called my internet company and upgraded to a higher speed, 12.1 which is said to be 93% for using a phone of this nature.
No difference whatsoever, except higher cost for my internet.
But hey, what did I expect for the price, you know? I definitely got what I paid for. And that is why I wouldn’t suggest this phone service to anyone, unless you don’t need to have a phone service that is dependable, or for important calls. In my opiion? Epic Fail.
Review by Kalen December 9, 2010
I am so upset at the moment with their customer service that I refuse to give it a single star. My magicJack quit working. Three different times I tried to let customer service try to help me resolve the issue with no solution. One time I let them have control of my computer. I was told not touch the mouse, the dialogue box was covered when they asked me a question. I did not know they needed my assistance, so they quit. For the time that was wasted and lost,..It would have been cheaper to just send another Jack.
Review by MJcustomer December 9, 2010
This is not worth the money. I have had one problem after another and I have had it for approximately 3 months. I can’t always hear people, people’s voices break up when they are talking, it doesn’t always ring like it supposed to, the voicemail doesn’t always work, and just recently people have gotten a message saying the “number is disconnected” when they call. It is not a problem with the phone I am using either, because the phone worked fine when I was not using it with MJ. Also, don’t let thecute add with the little girl and the puppy dogs lead you to believe that is some family company who cares about customers – the customer service is obviously outsourced, it’s really hard to get a hold of anyone, and they don’t know what the problem once you finally get a hold of someone. Save yourself the hassle and the wasted money and DO NOT BUY a MAJICJACK.
Review by Doug Harpold December 8, 2010
My experience with Magic Jack is a poor one. I am tollerant if a product fails. These things happen. However, there is no excuse for their customer sevice. I purchased the Magic Jack device and went on line to sign up. I could not get the program to work and spent 3 frustrating hours with the tech agent on chat trying to solve the problem. Finally I gave up. Their claim is fast and easy to install and use. Not so. Now try and get them to refund the amount when they advertise free trial. What part of free trial do I not understand or what part don’t they understand? I have tried 3 times on chat to get a refund and all I get is a run around. I suggested they might want to have a someone from their customer service or credit department call me because there is no way to call them other than chat so we could get this resolved. They appear not to understand customer service or good public relations. Beware once you have given them your credit card number they could care less about you. Now try and get it back. Two thumbs down to Magic Jack
Review by markk December 3, 2010
updating my last review which was bad. I filed a complaint about my renewal problem ( could not renew ) with the BBB and the next day magic jack responded and resolved the problem . Just got to get around them customer service guys I guess. my jack works great . Crystal clear calls all the time never had one problem with calling .
Review by jose severino December 1, 2010
yo sor …jose severino.
Quieros saver como yo se cuando mi magicjack se vence ..
porque quiero que me espriques sies pocibles..
O darmes el telefono para llamales..
Estos son mi tel..786-349-7622..O ..1809-276-4298=1809-459-8480..
gracia por su a tencion…
ATT..jose
Review by Ken Flaa November 17, 2010
CUSTOMER REVIEW OF MAGIC JACK: I have been a happy user of MAGIC JACK for three months. About two days ago all Cell Phones were blocked from calling my MAGIC JACK phone number. Callers hear a recorded message telling them to contact their respective carrier. MAGIC JACK has only “Chat” support. I “Chatted” with four different representatives and informed all of the following:
I cannot receive calls from ALL cell phones.
I am able to receive calls from land lines.
I called another MAGIC JACK customer from my cell phone and the call went through fine.
Several different callers using Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, Nextel, and T-Mobile were all unable to call through. They all received a recorded message from MAGIC JACK instructing them to call (305) 848-8288 (a MAGIC JACK routing number).
Are all Cell Phone Carriers affected?
Here is MAGIC JACK’s Response:
“Please contact your cell phone carrier so that they can do the fixes for your line”.
“You are not the only one having issues like that right now… that is why you need to contact your carrier so that they will be informed that you are affected with the routing issue”.
“Yes, all cell phone carriers”.
“That’s a cell phone issue this time.”
“Yes, you can receive calls with land lines because the problem lies only on the cell phones’ carrier providers.”
As you can see I have gotten nowhere with MAGIC JACK. They absolutely refuse to do anything or take responsibility for the problem. Buyer beware. If it sounds too good to be true…
Review by misteron7 November 14, 2010
I dont have any complaints with my two MagicJacks, When you use it with a highspeed internet and Windows 7. Forget about using these so called lite services and older versions of windows. I dont like using it on Vista because once in a while I get some fading. Also I would recommend doing virus scans on a regular basis. Its not the product that has any problems. MagicJack works much better than my cell phone as well. I hope to see a stand alone version even if I have to pay more for the device its well worth it. Bye verizon and Vonage you just cant compete!
Review by jonnyja November 11, 2010
With Majicjack you definitely get what you pay for…sort of. I am on my second year of using Majicjack. When you are connected, the sound is good. However, it is not uncommon to loose a call midway thru a call…in addition, I get a faulty busy signal on many calls.
If the Majicjack service gets worse, I will not renew, but otherwise I will keep it while being aware of its issues.
Review by Marques November 7, 2010
I was excited about this product when I first read about it and saw it on tv. I am sorry to say I am very disappointed because it’s a worthless piece of trash. Whenever I make a call, the person on the other side of the call could not hear a single audible word. Customer service is horrendous. They asked me to raise the volume of my pc in order for anyone to hear me. I would not recommond this productnto anyone
Review by Mrs. Reyes November 7, 2010
My husband sent me a Magic Jack here in Manila, Philippines and we use it every day to talk to each other. I have 3 kids and we live with his parents and it is great as we don’t pay anything but can talk to him all we want. It’s hard for us as a family to be far from each other but with the Magic Jack magic phone, it’s like he is never too far from home.
Review by Jeff November 3, 2010
Definitely worth the price if you need another phone number or backup phone line, however I wouldn’t get Magic Jack to replace your main phone line or whatever.
Review by Igor November 2, 2010
Very bad customer service. No real people, only bots. No help. Waste lots of time on them and no help.
Review by logan October 28, 2010
I like this
Review by logan October 28, 2010
I think this is a great product
Review by Gregory September 17, 2010
MJ recently did an “upgrade” and now the screensaver feature no longer works with Win 7. The help at MJ basically said to live with it. Until this, it was fine but this is really something they should fix but they say they won’t.
Review by Rich September 9, 2010
I’ve used mj for one year using Windows Vista and it worked just fine. Now I have Windows 7 and I can’t get it to work. If anyone from mj has a solution for this please email me. As of right now I have no phone.
Review by taps August 29, 2010
Magic Jack conducts fraudulent and deceptive business practices. Their customer service is non-existant, but the rude and ignorant people that call themselve customer service simply blame the customer for the company’s mistakes.
You will be very sorry you gave these people your money. I bought a five year subscription and after twelve months got a message that said “you must renew today or you’ll be disconnected”. I was disconnected within 60 minutes and before I could even find how to contact them. I learned that Magic Jack does not have any customer service. If you spend a lot of time… and keep clicking on the right links they will eventually give you an email chat with a non-English speaking person who insists the problem is your computer! It took my wife and I over 3 1/2 hours in 3 different “customer chat” sessions to resolve that we were disconnected after 12 months when we paid for 60. But I still don’t have a phone. They disabled it and said I’d have to pay $9.95 for the delivery of a new device! They would not admit they made the mistake and kept telling me charging me again was their “protocal”!
Review by Mike Hunt August 8, 2010
Yo, I done bought me some Magic Jack down at the pawn shop you. This shit is tight yo. After I stoles that laptop from the Wal-Mart , and figgered out how to turn it on, I installed the Magic Jack. Now I gots a untraceable number to use whens I am doing “business” on the streets. I want to get another one, so I can give the number to all my baby mommas, that way they stop blowin up my cell lookin for support. Bunch of hoes anyway. And this shit is cheap, I can pay for it with my Access card from the Welfare. This is how dis Nigga rolls.
Review by Michelle July 20, 2010
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with ‘Charlin’
Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK4190120843684X
Charlin: Hello, how may I help you?
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: Good afternoon Charlin, I would like to speak to your manager or supervsor. pls
Charlin: Sure, Michelle. But first let me ask you what is your specific concern please?
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: My name is Michelle, phone # is …….., my outgoing calls has been suspended because I called 50 #s, I’ve been calling the # 214-884-5124, # given by a supervisor to reestablish my outgoing calls but i’ve been trying to call the # for a week now and I keep getting disconnected after 1 ring.
Charlin: okay
Charlin: One moment please…
Charlin: 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 now chatting with ‘Junrex’
Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK4190120843684X
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: hi junrex
Junrex: Hello Michelle . My name is Junrex. To better assist you, let me put you on hold while I read your previous chat/s. Thank you.
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: ok
Junrex: Thank you for patiently waiting.
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: ok
Junrex: Is this your Phone No: (818) ………….?
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: yes
Junrex: This phone number has violated our Terms of Service. Please refer to Section 6, Proper Use at http://www.magicJack.com/TOS
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: But I have just renewed your service for 5 years
Junrex: Unfortunately, the issue is not all about the renewal but you have violated our terms of service section number 6.
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: Does this mean I wont be able to make anymore calls? Why didn’t you give me a warning like, “you’ve been making a lot of outgoing calls your service might get disconnected” Where in you were able to do it when my service was about to expire before. In short: no warning whatsover, I did 5 calls and my service gets discoonnected even if I have 5 years contract with you?
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: I am sorry thats 50 calls
Junrex: Yes, we have given a warning already if you have just read our terms of service during registration period.
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: Also these 50 calls some of them I weren’t even connected
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: What I mean is while doing it
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: while making the calls
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: You should have given me a warnig or a message
Junrex: Our term of service is enough to give an information on how to use the magicJack properly. Unfortunately, as of now, There is nothing you can do to reverse the action
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: I renewed my service for 5 years can refund the fraction that wasnt used?
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: And also why do I see a note on my Magic Jack stating that my service maybe reestablish
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: then when I chat with you guy you told me to call 214-884-5124, but the # is not even working. You coud have told me from the start that there is nothing you can do to reverse the action. If there is no malicious intent there.
Junrex: There is possibility that your magicJack can be used again. Please do wait for more updates about your magicJack.
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: You could have been honest from the start right?
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: Really?
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: Why did the other supervisor told me that my incoming calls will be suspended shortly?
Junrex: Yes, we’re been honest but mostly customers are not really aware of this scenario since they don’t have time to read our terms of service. As of now, the only thing I can say it to wait for the updates. I can’t provide specific time but sooner , there could be an information on how to use the magicJack again.
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: How will I be informed?
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: Do I need to go on chat every now and then
Junrex: Check your softphone/dialpad day by day since we also give an update through the softphone.
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: So this means that youre not going to cancel my incoming calls?
Junrex: You can still receive incoming calls Michelle
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: Ok thanks, I hope you guys can fix this ASAP. I am one of your customers who didnt read the terms and conditions but I don’t think that its fair to terminate my service where in I’ve renewed it for 5 years. Right? I am sure if this also happened to you youll feel disappointed as well.
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: I have been a loyal Magic Jack customer, I have referred you to my relations in US as well as in the Philippines.
Michelle P. Dela Cruz: relatives***, please fix this ASAP. tnx
Junrex: We will do Michelle. Please do wait for our updates only.
Review by Reney June 24, 2010
I have had my MJ for about 2 months now and i had to stop using it because everytime someone would call me or i would call them the MJ would cut out so it was hard to carry on a conversation,, and i am using Vista and broadband so if anyone has a suggestion please offer it ,,,
Review by Syed Ahmed June 18, 2010
Looks like most negative reviews are written by the competitors, I have magicjack for over a month now, I am very pleased with its performance. Installation was easy. I am running MagicJack on a five year old PC. Call quality is great. For $19/year you get free phone number, free voicemail, free callerID, free callwaiting. Everyone should try it. Just make sure you have a highspeed internet and a stable PC.
Review by JonJon55055 June 18, 2010
Hmmmmm, my negative comments about magikjack don’t seem to be listed anywhere on this site. Sounds like maybe this site is funded by magikjack. Oh well, if for some reason this message gets posted…..save your money. You will encounter problems….trust me. Certified electronic tech. Good luck.
Review by Nell June 5, 2010
I have had the Magic Jack for a year. I love it. I use it in Europe a lot to call USA. Works great.
Review by Julie Johnson June 4, 2010
Purchased MJ about 3 weeks ago. Have had audio problems with fading in&out and echoing. Contacted the IT dept thru the web sitea nd they helped make some computer adjustments to have better clarity. Hope this works. They need to have better instructions on the site as to how to make your computer adjustments if needed. Not all people are computer literate.
Review by fox May 21, 2010
Magic jack issues:
1) Slows even fast PCs (generally and esp. during boot up) – Don’t blame it all on Vista, blame it on applications that screw up PC like magic jack. May decrease PC life and hence hidden cost.
2) after 3/4 rings goes to magic jack voice mail. Can’t adjust the setting to let my telephone’s ansering machine do the job. Very bad when you have a nice answering machine or you want to answer the call.
3) needs usb powered hub for getting caller id on the telephone unit (additional devices and cost)
Ipod and gps unit can be driven by the USB port. But magic jack says, ” give me more power for me to work right”
4) trial usage period starts before product activation or shipment reception. Not a big deal if the product is good. Especailly, with other problems listed here, this is a real concern.
5) when calls are made from magic jack to other phones, receiving phone can’t get caller id (i.e. magic jack number)
6) Ugly GUI on PC, which can’t be even hidden/minimized. Gives even the greatest looking PC desktop a cheap finish/look.
7) magic jack application interferes with other telephone/chat applications like skype. Very bad software, just like the magic jack website.
Try nettalk. At least, it won’t interfere with the PC.
Review by Greenville May 18, 2010
I have had magicjack for 6 months at my business and just got one for my house and saved $100 a month at my house alone! I love it for my business because its cheap and when I turn off the computer at the end of the day all calls go to voice mail and my email goes straight to my cell. I love magicjack and even own there stock (symbol VPLM) A+++++ I will tell anyone to try it just send me a email gvillelube@yahoo.com
Review by Donelle May 15, 2010
It’s pathetic how horrible the magic jack is. Literally every time I call someone it doesn’t connect, then I have to restart the magic jack and hope that it works. Literally every time I am having a phone conversation it drops the call out of nowhere. This is the worst piece of technology Ive ever seen. You would think with the rate of how fast technology is going there would be something better. I DON’T recommend this to ANYONE. You all would be better off just using Skype. That’s what I’m doing
Review by Joe O May 8, 2010
I went to radio shack to get the magicjack, I always thought it was $19.95 a year but I was told I still had to pay for the usb connector and 1 year extended guarantee I walked out with it for $51 which is a lot more than I wanted to spend but I thought it was still a good deal since in my understanding was all national and international calls would be free.
Connecting was easy and when I was registering my device I was sold on 5 years for $70 and if I wanted another usb device it would cost aditionally $39.95 in the next screen I was asked to chose the amount of pre-paid international calling. wwwwwwwwwhattttttttt! I thought it was free but I still check the per minute charge and for the area and country I wanted to make calls the cost was 3 times per miute with Magicjack.
I consider this a ripoff, I went to Radioshack and got my nmoney back but I hope Magicjack does not get the money from my check card for over $100. Good Luck.
Review by Richard Pennington April 27, 2010
I have a magicJack and the only real issues for me was not being able to block certain incoming calls and the fact that the caller name display did not work.
Fortunately, I was able to sort out these issues by downloading and installing the Magicfeatures plugin. It turns on about 20 optional magicJack features including the ability to record phone calls.
Review by Darren Perkins April 18, 2010
I would imagine a lot of the reviews on this site are planted. This one I guarantee you is genuine. I have nothing at stake and you will get the unvarnished truth about Magic Jack.
First Magic Jack does work. It’s really not a great service but it’s a great service for the price. If you have a lot of truly mission critical phone conversations then this product may not be for you except as a backup as it can be a little spotty at times. Either you can’t hear people or they can’t hear you (either entirely or they are just breaking up really badly) or calls dialed have no result other than silence. Sometimes I have to reload it. Not sure why. The problems though are intermittent and not overly egregious in my opinion and may be more a result of the computer itself or the internet connection. Regardless there are some issues with it’s usefulness but I’ve been using it for about 2 years now and I don’t have a land line or a cell phone. I use it as my only phone. I don’t have a lot of mission critical calls. If someone does have trouble reaching me because my computer shut down for a windows update or the computer just crashed or the magic jack decided to magically unload itself then all I have to do is see if there are any messages by checking my email. It works well enough for me and the cost approaches $0. If you break it down you are paying $20/365= 5.47 cents per day to have a telephone that works about 95% of the time just great. Blow that up to 10.94 cents per day for the first year and the unit itself and it’s certainly not a budget breaker and for a lot of people like me it is a real budget maker as now I have digital cable-w/dvr\internet\phone for around $100/month + the extra $1.50 or so for the magic jack service if you want to apportion each month a cost. There are some other negatives that others have mentioned. I started out with an Indianapolis area code (GO COLTS!!!) before I got my local area code but even this was not much of a problem. I picked a city that I had friends in and for a while they could call me without having to call long distance. A few of them even have Magic Jacks now because of me. Now they can call long distance all over the USA and talk for as long as they want for free.
When I first signed up I was afraid that there might be a lot of ad serving going on that would be very irritating but that hasn’t been the case at all. No advertising at all. I hope that doesn’t change.
Bottom line.. for the price it is definitely worth it. Let’s face it. If you buy it and decide you don’t like it you can get your money back. Probably best to buy it at a place like Wal-Mart or other retail outlet to facilitate the return process by avoiding having to ship the thing back.
Review by Bob April 8, 2010
I was very skeptical after reading all the reviews and held off quite a while before buying MJ. What a dummy I have been! As said in earlier posts, the secret, if there is any, is a good internet connection and a decent computer. I have had ZERO problems with the device. I have been skeptical of this product even after I bought it and used it for 6 months now, but all of that has changed. Simply, I had the need for another phone service at another location and had to ask myself if I wanted to pay the price for a landline or go with VOIP…MJ has given me absolutely no problems so why not. I go to the local Walgreens and pick one up and install it at the other location and guess what? It installed and works as flawlessly as the one I already have.
All I can say is that with 2 devices working and not having any problems, I would now recommend this product. It takes a lot to make me sit down and write a review about something I bought but that’s just how I am. All of the negative reviews I read cost me a bundle by not purchasing one earlier.
Review by Kimberly April 7, 2010
I love the MJ works awesome better than my cell phone and the $ people are omplaining but it works if you have a good compuer and high speed internet awesome product! AAAA++++
Review by Nick N April 1, 2010
This is the greatest invention ever. My daughter is studying in Sydney Australia and I bought one for her so we can keep in contact not knowing if it was going to work but I thought I’d take a chance. I went along with her to help her find a place to live get her all set up. I tried it for the first time and the quality was so good that family and friends were amazed of the quality. One relative thought I was calling from home and when I told her that I was in Australia she didn’t believe me. The time I was there I spent hours talking on the phone without any delay which I experience between 2land line phones. I can now tell everyone that this device works flawlessly and I highly recommend it. I got a local number to where I live and now anyone close to her can pick up the phone and call her in Australia. Unbelievable!!!!!
Review by G Hoke, March 28, 2010 March 28, 2010
I bought my magic jack about 3 weeks ago.I took it out of the box plugged it in to the usb port and was making calls in about 3 minutes !The mj worked pretty much as advertised the calls were clear and we had no problem connecting. There was however a couple of times during a marathon call from my wife to one of her long winded friends (calls were about 2 hrs duration)the phone cut off.We have never had this happen again.I have cancelled my landline service but I keep a cell phone handy for use as a backup.In fact what I do is before I go to bed at night I will forward calls to the cell.That enables me to shut the computer down and let the cell take the calls.This great device saves me about $400.00 per year and I think that’s fantastic!I would recommend MJ to anyone who wants to save alot of money per year.Way to go Magic jack 6 thumbs up!!!!!
Review by Mouna March 27, 2010
Hello,
Can anyone help? I just installed magic jack and lost my computer speakers. I am able to hear anything played online, however, I am not able to play any music from my PC. Has anyone been experiencing the same problem?
Review by jerrycs March 20, 2010
Magic Jack works ok with a decent computer and a good Internet connection. It will not wake up after the computer has returned from sleep mode. You must unplug the unit USB connection, wait a few seconds and then plug it back in. It will then reinitialize itself and start working again. This little bug needs a software upgrade. I question if they know how to fix it.
For $20 a year there is not much room for many complaints.
Review by Mike Oliver March 6, 2010
I had read some bad reviews about the Magic Jack, but decided to try one anyway. I have used it for amonth for just making long distance calls as that’s all I wanted it for. My network service is DSL Lite and I haven’t encountered any problems yet. I can surf the web while the phone is in use and the sound is clear. My office had a very expensive VOIP system installed a couple of years ago, and it doesn’t have nearly the quality sound that the Magic Jack has. There is nothing that’s perfect, and sometimes you might get a lemon, but for me the Magic Jack is well worth the $40 I spent for it.
Review by kenpmason February 21, 2010
Magic Jack is Adware
Magic Jack contains adware. It installs itself in AppData–a hidden folder–NOT in Program Files. It has no uninstall, nor any Exit function, and it autostarts with Windows without telling you. As a result, most users will never be able to get rid of it. And the only way to stop an online order in mid-stream is to kill it’s process (you can’t go back)–THEN you’ll find that the order completed without your authorization. Their EULA is almost as long and complicated as that of Windows, it allows adware, and there’s no contact number to call.
When I complained to their online chat tech support about these issues, I was told that no one else had complained of these “features”!
Review by Jarome Sweeney February 20, 2010
My wife and I signed up for a magic jack trial about a year ago now, and have absolutely fallen in love with this device! It’s come in handy in so many situations, it’s awesome! I’m really looking forward to the updates as well, can’t wait for our cell phones to hook into it as well!
Review by Kenney February 19, 2010
I bought Magic Jack over a year ago & aside from every once in awhile some little glitches it is fantastic…I liked it so much I bought the 5 year deal…$59 for 5 years of phone service…Local…Long distance…call waiting…It’s so cool…Get one…Kenney
Review by david Kohn February 18, 2010
When I first got the MJ I signed up for an
additional 5 years. After a year, my service was
cut off. I chatted with a rep for an hour, on
line. She guided me through the process, She
assured me I would NOT be charged again. I
thought I was getting my five years back. What
ended happening is that she got me to pay for the
next five years again.
After I saw the charge on my card I chatted with
another rep for another hour. She said she was
filing a report, that should have solved the
problem. I have still not seen a credit yet. Now
I want that initial charge for the 5 year
extention returned as I can not see ever using MJ
ever again.
David Kohn
Review by CraigB February 15, 2010
I just picked up a Magic Jack and set it up on both my Desk top computer and my Laptop .. this has got to be the most amzing product ever.. i love it! on my Desk top it did not run as well as on my laptop .. on my Desktop it has some cutting out and was not working too well .. but on my Laptop it runs very nice and smooth . voice quality is excellent and very little cut out . its like using a land line honestly. amazing. and so easy.
I feel this has to do with the Desktop machine specs . as i’m running the same operatiing system on both machines Windows XP Pro. you need at least Windows service pack 3 installed to run Magic Jack. there are alot of variables that determine call quality. Machine speed , USB port speed , Ram , internet connection quality .. so i was using the same internet connect .. local high speed wireless service. my Laptop has a 2 gig (2000 mghz) processor speed , 500 meg ram. .. my Desktop isnt as fast as my laptop and was the cause of the cutting out and poor voice quality.
Desktop specs – 1 gig processor , 300 meg ram . maybe a lower speed usb port on that machine too. so that combination did not work good for the Magic Jack .. with the Laptop tho its excellent. and i would highly recommend it.
Review by shama February 10, 2010
I have been using the magic jack for a year now. So far I have loved it, Easy installation, No Configuration . Plug and Play at it’s BEST!No Software to install, all you need is a extra USB port. This is a truly genius device!
Review by David February 5, 2010
Just got the MJ and hooked up fine. However, if you turn off your computer, or it goes into “sleep” mode, the phone does not work. I cannot keep my laptop on at all times, nor do I want it to be on 24 hours a day, so this does not work for me. Custome service said that they are trying to correct this problem. Returned the thing anyway.
Review by Joya February 2, 2010
I bought the majic jack and so far so good, it installed perfectly on my laptop and I love it.. Everybody needs to get one..
Review by TR January 29, 2010
Magic Jack is by far the best invention to telephony applications that will save you tremendous amount of money. I have been having this now for 18 months and extremely happy with the device.
After 3 months of usage I decided to buy an additional unit for my family living in Asia. Since then we get to talk to the family abroad for FREE. Not a penny. MJ gets you free voice mail to your designated e-mail address whether your PC is on or off. It gives you free caller ID, calls made or received log the time stamp and duration etc. etc. How much would this cost through your local phone company. A LOT.
About 6 months back, I fired my phone company for the land line for which I was paying $39 for just a local line plus call waiting. I cancelled a $480/year service, and paying only $19.99/year with additional features like call waiting, voice mail, caller ID etc. This is a very good deal without a doubt.
When I go any where on vacation, I carry this with me and hook it up to my lap top…. and bingo, I have my phone with me. Even when I went abroad, I was able to make and receive calls like I was in the US. Best of all intra state and US long distance is FREE.
If you already have a land line and DSL, tell your phone company that you DON”T need the land line and they should sell u a plain DSL (tech term “NAKED DSL”), for $19.99 and this gets you the DSL for surfing and your phone system. Remember that the $19.99 DSL service does not attract all the additional fees that u typically pay on your local phone.
Witha MJ, you can make calls any where in the US including land lines for FREE. Any one can call u from a land line to the MJ. If it is long distance they pay for the long distance and you pay nothing to receive or to make a LD call.
THIS IS A WIN WIN. I am writing this with the intention that these big phone companies that have been taking exorbitant amount of money need to be where they belong.
Review by rose January 16, 2010
So glad to find something with magic jack. I have had mine for a couple of yrs. Was working fine, even though some problems with noise and not being able to hear was a problem. Can anyone put some light on my latest problem. I have tried correcting it with their people, but still no good.
I have all my phone nos. on magic jack, witch i love. I can see my icon on my desk top, but when I dial and start talking for a few seconds or perhaps a minute, if i am lucky, all of a sudden there it is. Magic j. has stopped working, and if windows vista finds out what the prob. is they will let meknow.I have to do it over again, and again. help someone out there please. I would be most greatfull. It seems like my comp.does not recognise magic jack.
Review by Jenny November 15, 2009
When you install the product, there is a home address setting that you use for 911 calls. If you use the Magic Jack in another location then you need to change the address in Magic Jack if you want 911 to work properly.
Review by Kimberly Evans October 31, 2009
I’m very dissatisfied with magic jack and it proves the old saying true, “you get what you pay for.” It worked well at first and now the disconnections have started where the caller cannot hear what I’m saying. I’ll go back to Vonage and get a land land.
Review by Jason Christopher October 29, 2009
My wife and I absolutely love the magic jack! It’s so easy to use, so freaking cheap and more features are being added soon. What’s not to love?!
Review by MycroSmith October 24, 2009
I purchased a used computer to use with Magic Jack…that’s all I’ll be using that computer for. It works perfectly. I didn’t have a customer service issue; I’d changed email addresses, but voicemail was still being sent to the old address. Customer service corrected the problem immediately. Very satisfied with customer service.
The only “con” to this that I’ve found is that you still can’t port your number to Magic Jack. They state on their site that you will be able to do this some time in 2009, but the end of the year is coming up, so we’ll see.
Review by Magicjack no service October 21, 2009
I hope you don’t have to contact customer service. Because all they have is online customer service and they will run you around until you turn blue in your face. You better think about it; if you want it on all the time, your computer must be on all the time. It does cause computer issues so you better know how to work and fix computer issues. It does not have an uninstall program. They uninstall file on their website is infected with a virus. The service quality is average. The only thing good is the price and voice message emails. Buyer beware Magicjack is not for the weak at heart.
Review by CraigTPE October 10, 2009
I’ve been a VoIP user for several years. I live in Taiwan now, but need a way to communicate with family, friends and merchants in the US.
Started with Lingo, which was too unreliable to be useful, needing rebooting several times a day. Switched to Vonage, which was dependable & reliable and provided crystal clear connections. Then a friend told me about Magic Jack. It sounded too good to be true, but at US$20/YEAR vs US$25/MONTH, I had to give it a shot.
Magic Jack is everything it claims to be, and more. The key is adequate bandwidth. If you have a cheap, low-bandwidth Internet connection, of course the sound quality will be bad. With adequate bandwidth, it rivals even traditional land lines. People in the US say that it sounds as if I’m calling from next door. The voicemail notification matches Vonage, with the .wav file being sent to me and I can listen from any computer. I’ve been using it for several months already without a single glitch.
US$20/year, I don’t know how they can do it, but who cares? There is no long term commitment, so even if they last one month, I’ve saved money over Vonage. At that cost, any expectation of live, 24/7 customer service by phone is unrealistic. For the price, their online FAQ and chat is sufficient.
Two thumbs up.
Review by Eric Caesar October 9, 2009
poor product. only about 50% of our calls work…either they can’t hear us or we can’t hear them. also, our caller ID doesn’t work anymore. we tried the suggest fixes, but to no avail. disappointing.
Review by Patty October 6, 2009
I just tried magic jack. They bait you in by saying they won’t charge anything if you’re not satisfied.
It echoed so bad, I couldn’t even use it to check my phone messages. I had to pay to return it, and they kept $10 even though I hadn’t made 6 minutes in calls, and returned it the day I received it.
Review by Harry September 28, 2009
Hey Brad (June 17/09)…I just got my MJ registered and had my choice of many Wa state area codes. MJ ROCKS !
Review by Ken September 27, 2009
I bought my MagicJack at WalMart, hoping to reduce my cell phone usage. Unfortunately it did not even begin to install on my HP with Windows XP Media Center version, so I took it back and got my money back. It was a waste of my time.
Review by Bob September 12, 2009
Works great. If you have family overseas send them one. No more international phone charges. Works great.
Review by m72 September 4, 2009
If you are having voice quality issues all you need to do is buy a USB port with an adapter. It takes lots of energy from the computer to make a call so when you have a powered usb you don’t have to worry about the computers usage. Tell me how it works for you,I learned about it reading reviews myself…
Review by Tony August 30, 2009
Worst product EVER. Stay away at all costs and if you want to call long distance etc, you can use skype.com
Review by Sam August 25, 2009
I’m just wondering when someone will pinch me and wake me up from this dream! $40 for a years service! Desktop screen which stores all your numbers and lets you dial at a click! I talked to Canada for twenty minutes last night – for free!!! Anyone who does not like the magic jack should sell it on ebay and stop complaining. This is a tremendous product. Thank you! (I’ve had magic jack now for over 2 months.)
Review by Sam August 19, 2009
This phone jack does NOT work well at all, It sounds like you are in a tunnel the times that it does work. after 15 minuts of echo like sounds it disonects. No tech can help with this issue. DON’T WASTE YOUR MONY!!
Review by Rich August 13, 2009
I have had Magic Jack for about six months. I use it at my vacation home in AZ. I was there for a month and it worked flawslessly. I have a seven year old Dell laptop that I teather it to, and leave it on all of the time. Every once in a while I had a problem connecting or poor sound quality. It was not Magic Jack but the Internet connection that was slow and causing the problem.
I like it. I have used inexpensive VOIP services before and know that there will be a few problems here and there. Magic Jack is a keeper for me. I am very happy with the service.
Review by Robert August 8, 2009
Great idea but poor execution. This junk rarely works when you need it. Don’t buy it.
Review by Lucy Lee August 8, 2009
I’m calling it the “Magic Junk” rather than Magic Jack.
Here are the frequent “several times per day” problems I have experienced:
1.Dropped calls.
2.Can’t call out.
3.Sound of buttons being pressed.
Here are my attempts to solve.
1. Contact Magic Jack via, phone, e-mail, web-site: Result: I could not contact them by any of the means.
2. Spoke with IT professional who advised trying different modems, so I did. Result: did not fix any problems.
3. Bought brand new, high-end, telephones. Result: did not fix the problem.
4. After moving 100 miles away and changing internet service providers I had hope that the Magic Jack would work better. Result: did not fix any problems
Review by Lei August 4, 2009
My wife was going to China. I rushed to CVS and bought one for her. After she arrived, she call me from China using MJ and I can call her using my cell phone or landline when she plug in MJ. No extra charge!! The voice quality is much better than the calling card.
Review by anniem July 30, 2009
i’ve had my magicjack for about 2.5 weeks now,when i fisrt tryed to set it up had problems cause i needed to disable firewall ,after tech chat help works great always ready,can’t beat it for the price! good sound and works wonderful would recommend highly!!
Review by guitarcity July 28, 2009
I’ve had MJ for a year and for the first 6 months it worked great. Then I started getting those sounds like depressing a phone key prior to dialing, every once in a while. And like a cell phone, it would drop a call sometimes. Minor problems. The unit started going bad this past week, couldn’t receive calls, etc., so I replaced it yesterday. Called customer service, they very nicely walked me through the new set-up as I wanted to keep the MJ number assigned to me, then turned me over to the tech support to finish the porting. Overall, took about 20 mins, new unit works great, for $20 a year, unlimited local and long distance, this is the greatest invention since fire, lol. And yes, they do have live, online support and I was happy with them. You do need to update the unit monthly to keep it “tuned up”, there are websites that do that for you. I googled them, followed the instructions, and it works like a charm. Highly recommend this device.
Review by John July 28, 2009
Over 3 hours on the phone today. Spoke with 7 techs. Couldn’t fix the problem.I’ve never dealt with worse customer service.This was not the first time. I will not sign up for another year unless they improve the product and improve their customer service by 500 %.
Review by shitzngiggles July 28, 2009
We bought Magic Jack back in April after I lost my job. We now have Vonage. I can’t stress enough how much we wanted this to work. Well after nearly 3 months we finally had to give up. Thank heaven we didn’t get rid of Vonage while we tested this(we had a 2 agreement and would have been charged anyway). Of course you can’t beat the cost, I mean really, $20. a year. We find the inconsistency in the Magic Jack’s ability to work when we need it to work very frustrating. We constantly have to run the fix, connections are most often bad enough that we have to hang up with whomever we called and call back or just use the Vonage phone that was still hooked up and there is an annoying beep on the other end that we don’t hear but the other party does, and it’s also costly to have to have your computer running constantly. If you still insist on doing this, buy from Walmart or Radio Shack so you can return it and get your money back. One reviewer said, for 20.00 you can deal with the problems. We find we can’t. I now wish we had just returned it before the 30 days to Radio Shack instead of continuing to hope it would improve and gotten our $40 back and put it towards a month plus of our Vonage acct. If you buy it, good luck.
Review by Crystal July 27, 2009
WHAT A SCAM!!! DO NOT TRY THESE PEOPLE, THEY TAKE YOUR MONEY AND DO NOT REFUND! And if you are trying long distance, forget about it, the connection is terrible, you cannot connect and you get charged for the call nonetheless….sounds like a rip off right? because it is! Please warn other about the scam that MAgic Jack is, bad reviews for customer service, connection and ripping off people!
Review by isoman.2008 July 26, 2009
I have had magic jack for 8 months now. For the past 6 months it has not been working and basically I have been without a house phone. The issue is anyone with a Land Line phone “which happens to be most of my family and work place” their calls will not go through. They receive an error message “not a working number”.
I have contacted magic jack “chat” customer service many times and at the end of the chat session I get the same response. They tell me they have submitted a report and put a high priority on it. 6 months still not working, high priority must mean file it in the trash.
Review by Saad July 26, 2009
I have not been able to go through one phone call, without interuptions and statics. The call quality is very bad.
Howoever, I have seen other magic jacks that worked fine, which lead me to believe that some of these jacks come with glitches or malfunctionalities, from when they are manifactured. My mistake was not to have exchanged it or returned it within the 30 day period.
No customer support or human beings with whom you can disccus anything, but I guess that’s to be expected.
The one area where this MJ worked, was being used with my Fax machine. It could work well, as a dedicated fax line.
This company did an amazing job marketing it though, but it’s really not up to what they claim it to be.
Review by Don Hdtv July 18, 2009
I purchased my Majic Jack at Meijer Dept. Store for the usual $39.95 which inclued 1 year of service. I had a problem with it but now it is fixed. When I was talking to someone, they would occasionally hear a short beep that sounded just like one of the number keys were pressed. I confirmed this by calling my Magic Jack phone from a landline. I contacted Magic jack via the online interactive thru Magic Fix on the menu. They gave me a couple of upgrades but it didnot help. Then they had me turn the the microphone level down to 1/3 max in the Windows control panel / sound / microhone properties. This fixed it and it has worked good now for 2 weeks. I am very pleased that they were able to help me on a Sunday evening.
Review by Angel July 15, 2009
I was a little hesitant to purchase the magicjack because of all the negative reviews I read. So I went to my local BestBuy and purchased one. Even the guy at the register was kind of poking fun at the idea of a magicjack. Went home and installed it in my laptop (Sony Vaio 1.6Ghz, 1GB RAM, USB 2.0, wireless internet via high speed DSL) and it worked flawlessly. Made a couple of calls and to my surprise, call quality was great!! So then I went ahead and installed it in an old PC (maybe 10 yrs old, 500Mhz processor, 128 MB RAM, USB 1.0, LAN connected to high speed DSL). I didn’t think it would work as well because it was a very old pc, but to my surprise once again, it worked flawlessly. I made calls to Puerto Rico (talked about 1/2 hour with not a single interruption in call) and it worked better than with my cell phone. Called different cell phones and landlines and not one single complaint from anyone. I highly recommend at least trying it. You can grab it at your local BestBuy, Walmart, CVS, etc. And if it doesn’t work for you, just take it back to your local store and you don’t have to deal with MagicJack customer service, which I’ve heard is pretty pathetic.
The reasons it worked for me are:
- I always have a computer on anyways, so adding the magicjack was a no brainer.
- I currently don’t have a land line, so this will serve as my land line.
- Having a land line will help me reduce my cell phone minutes.
- Not much to loose if everything goes bad ($40), and I can always return it for a full refund.
Some cons:
- Selection of area codes and phone numbers is still fairly limited, but this is a new service so it’ll take some time.
- You can’t transfer your phone number to a magicjack number.
- Software is not horrible, but they still have a lot to improve on. More flexibility and options for the end user would really be helpful.
As a previous reviewer said, I think other phone companies have to be paying people to write bad reviews. Hope this review helps out those who are trying to figure out whether to buy it or not.
Review by William Hardin July 11, 2009
Good results. Installed itself in minutes – without confusion or problems. Features the ability to select a telephone number from any state and many cities – so by proper selection you can save frequent callers long distance charges. Voice quality is erratic. Some better than the land line – some so bad that communication is almost impossible. The device is bulky and it comes with an extension cable in case your USB ports are close together. My cable was faulty and I had some “concerns” about Magic Jack when I tried to use the cable. Well worth the price as a second land line, but no substitute for the main land line. For frequent international travelers who are used to paying big bucks to call back to the US – this could save them a lot of money.
Review by TruthHutrs2009 July 8, 2009
I have had MJ for 4 months, Great Product.
I have read some negative reviews, but here is what I have to say.
# 1 you must have DSL with a speed of 1.5 or higher
# 2 you must have a decent computer, pentium 3 with windows 95 wont get it
# 3 you need to use a corded phone for best results
# 4 if you get noises, you need to do an update
# 5 24/7 online support is fast and efficient
It is the best thing since sliced bread, the belly achers that say it is junk are just plain ignorant!
Review by andy July 7, 2009
i have seen many advertisments for the magic jack. i have many diff ways i can get it. i have not tried mj yet but after reading so many good reviews i am going to buy one from walmart which is less than 5 min from where i live.
Review by Michael July 5, 2009
I am in the US Army currently in Iraq, I came here with the Vonage pocket phone (the usb)and the dayI called home, all I could hear was “hello, hello” no one could here me, and when they did, it was a 5 to 7 second delay. Not to mention the internet here sucks. One of my soldiers told me about magic jackand I was sceptical at firts because of the vonage usb phone. Well I had my son send it to me and as soon as I got it, I plugged it in. THE ONLY problem I have using the magic jack, is the internet connection. Other than that, I can call home to my family as if I never left. If the internet connection was alot better, then there is really no problem. This is the best thing for US Military soldiers, I am not endorsing magic jack, but to be able to call home when YOU want to and not wait in line for a phone, you tell me what would you rather do.
Review by Angie June 28, 2009
My husband is in Baghdad, Iraq as a US contractor. He was using some other service and then someone suggested magicjack. They let him test it. I went to the PX to buy it for $39.95. We love it. I am in NC and talk to him as if he is right here in the states. When he uses the standard phone it is the clearest as opposed to the bluetooth or headphones. And of course you can’t beat the price.
Review by Kim June 21, 2009
Be careful with this product — Magic Jack worked great, but I ended up uninstalling it for 3 reasons: (1) It presents continuous advertisements that you cannot opt out of (2) It ***tracks the phone numbers you call*** to better target the advertisements (3) It installed hidden software on my Mac and did not provide an uninstall utility. Regular searches of my computer did not find the software, but using more sophisticated Unix commands I was able to find the hidden software.
Review by bigmarunga June 20, 2009
We have been using Vonage for three years. Our monthly Vonage bill was $14.95 and has increased to $23 a month. We recently purchased Magicjack and the quality is equal to or better than Vonage. We will be cancelling Vonage and using Magicjack exclusively. I hooked it from the Magicjack USB connector to an existing wall phone jack and all the jacks in my house are able to receive Magicjack (disconnect an existing phone service line first at the outside junction box). If Magicjack gets too expensive I still have all my Vonage gear and I’m sure they wiil be happy to have us back.
Review by Brad June 17, 2009
No Phone Numbers available in Washtington State!
I just did an on-line chat and confirmed with MagicJack Customer Support that there are **NO** Washington State phone numbers available in **ANY** Washingon Area Code. To make matters worse they have no idea when they will have any. Their web site claims they do have availablity when in reality they don’t. So BEFORE YOU BUY MAGIC JACK, CHAT ON-LINE WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE TO SEE IF THEY ACTUALLY CAN PROVIDE THE PHONE AREA CODE AND NUMBER YOU NEED!!
Review by lynda June 16, 2009
best money saver i have ever invested in. had it for 2 years now and still saving every month. i make alot of long distance calls. my kids all have one for their calls and have their own phone number. can’t beat this deal.
Review by Kirsten June 14, 2009
I’ve had a magic jack for three months now. I purchased it at Walgreens. It has been excellent! The call quality is better than my cell at my house, and the price can’t be beat!
As a side note: Last night, I had to call 911 for an emergency (saw some teens fighting on my lawn…) and it went straight to my local police department. I’ve heard people complain about 911 not working correctly on the older models, but I did not have to give any information form them to find me. They already knew my address and sent someone right out. The suspects were apprehended within 2 minutes of dialing.
Now- I’m sure you must update your address when traveling for this feature to work correctly. Just in case, I’d recommend updating it as an “away” location. That way, if you are 1400 miles, it won’t call your home police.
This was the only feature I was fearful about, and it did not disappoint! I’ve already told my friends and family to switch!
Review by Joe Simon June 11, 2009
I have been a Magic Jack customer for over a year now. I can not recommend this product highly enough. The sound quality is great. People don’t know I’m using VOIP unless I tell them.
I see the commercials for Vonage and can’t believe that people would pay the extra money for it.
Easy set up. (Non really) plug it in, wait a minuet or so and your done.
Especially now that internet providers are offering DSL with no phone service it’s the best.
Review by Lisa June 6, 2009
My home phone lines and DSL are with Bellsouth. I really would like to cancel my service with Bellsouth, too expensive! How are you all able to keep your internet connections? I would imagine you are getting service from Comcast, Direct tv, Aol or someone right? Can you explain to me how I would cancel all services with Bellsouth (DSL & Phone Lines) and install MJ for the $20.00 a month. Thanks so much!!
Review by Superbill01 June 5, 2009
I have had the Magic Jack for 3 weeks and for the most part it is great. Occaisionally there are some glitches but they soon straighten out. We took our computer along with us on a trip to Yellowstone Park and we were able to call friends and family through the Hotel wi fi. The cost for a year is great and we are not bothered by taxes, surecharges,and other fees. If you make a lot of calls it is well worth the savings.
Customer service is a direct line through the computer and they answer most questions by instant msgr.
Review by Diana June 4, 2009
I’ve been using magic jack for about 9 months.
No problems what so ever, It works as well as a landline.
The sound quality is amazing, never had any issues with it at all.
It took less than a minute to install.
You can add so many phone numbers to the phone book, 200 and going. I talk alot so it’s perfect for me.
I had to reinstall windows, and i was afraid i was gonna lose the phone number, but of course i didn’t.
Review by TRAVIS June 4, 2009
Easy to install but good luck trying to get your voice mail to work. Sometimes you can hear my voice other times it goes to the automated lady and then won’t let me retrieve my voice mails. VERY frustrating and don’t recommend if you want to use this for a business line. Had to go to web site to chat with someone to fix the problem, got someone but problem never fixed. They told me to shut my computer off…mmm really easy way to get off the chat i think and never got problem fixed. beware!!!
Review by Therese June 1, 2009
If you havent done it yet dont bother!!!!!! Terrible product.
I did Sr level techinical support for 10 years and I thought this product would be good. I just finished 2 hours of support with them because of loosing multiple calls, calling and getting no sound on either side(but magic jack said it was connected) bad connections when calling numbers so they had to call me back. Ive tried to make calls and about 1 out of 3 go through. I have a very good cable modem and connection, with literally a brand new computer right out of the box. I have run all their upgrades, tried different phones and still no solid calling capability! I tried to call the police for an emergency the other night and they couldnt hear me. BAD! Really not a good product. Ohh and when I am on calls even with no one on the computer you get beeps like someone is pressing buttons on the phone when neither side is…. Very annoying.
Review by CraigTPE June 1, 2009
I have been a Vonage customer for 5 years. Vonage is completely reliable and, assuming your internet connection has adequate bandwidth, the sound quality is crystal clear. Vonage doesn’t need the computer as the adapter plugs directly into your modem and is packed with features.
But do I really need all that? Magic Jack is only US$20/year vs Vonage’s US$30 per MONTH!! That is a difference of over US$200/year. So what if I need to go through the computer?
I picked up a Magic Jack at a Walgreens on a recent trip back to the US and have been testing it out for a couple of days. Yes, the web site, advertising and packaging are all cheesy. Yes, customer service is not available at the snap of a finger. So what? It installed effortlessly in less than 2 minutes. So far the sound quality has been as good as Vonage.
For US$20/year, it is the deal of the century. I just hope it’s not too good to be true. I hope they stick around and not “Jack” the prices up once they have us all hooked.
Two thumbs up, for now.
Review by Joe June 1, 2009
This is a great for a second line in the home. The only problem is that there are no Canadian numbers for the MajicJack but since most of my calls are to the U.S. it is still an amazing deal. My average monthly savings $40.00 CDN. Only issue is installing it on Vista, it was hard to find the link on the website.
Review by Pam May 30, 2009
I received Magic Jack Thursday and installed it that evening. Installing was quite simply and I’m not a computer whiz. After the installation I then answered the few questions and received my phone number and then connected my corded phone to it. I am impressed. My daughter puts it through it’s paces daily and she has never had any problems. I was one of those people that have heard about it but was not convinced and decided after reading several reviews it was worth trying. If I can go without tech issues for a few more days, my landline will be disconnected. I for one am happy to only spend a year what I normally spend a month on the landline.
Review by Lorri Whitehurst May 26, 2009
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with ‘Scott’
Scott: Hello, how may I help you?
lori: please
lori: I been waiting on a express shipment for 2 weeks now
Scott: Can I have your email address and your order number please..
lori: TS01093235
lori: lorgenda@yahoo.com
lori: my businessis really suffering
Scott: Thank you..
Scott: Please wait while I check that for you
lori: orlando is a very big city we have alot of post offices
lori: after paying 54.00 dollars now they want me to run around orlando and figure out which 1 its at I have a bad leg
Scott: Can I have your Complete shipping address please..
lori: 5751 kislin place orlando florida 32826
lori: I’m loosing money and clients
lori: guys help your taking money & want clients to figure out where its at and go pick it up too?
lori: I have a bad leg
Scott: The order was shipped on 05/12/2009.
lori: well we’ll be in june soon
lori: far from express
Scott: Thank you for your patience. I will transfer you to a higher level of support. Please hold while I transfer you.
lori: guys listen I always wated this item and want to be reseller
lori: but how can I use or resell if I cant even get it
Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.
You are now chatting with ‘Paolo’
lori: again
Paolo: Hello, Lori
Paolo: How are you today
lori: your the 7th person
lori: half n half
lori: number 7
Paolo: May I have your shipping address, Lori
lori: 5751 kislin place orlando florida 32826
Paolo: Your full name and e-mail address please
lori: listen please I’m loosing alot of money and Im paying you for it as well
lori: since your product is so great why cant we talk to anybody on any kind of phone?
lori: mygod I have typed that 6 times already
Paolo: I’d love to talk you over the phone but our phone support is not yet available, Lori that’s why we are using tech chat support as of the moment
lori: do youguys have any records youkeep at all?
lori: LORI SANTIAGO WHITEHURST
lori: well thanx for being honest about phone situation
lori: but its ironic nobdoy can even call youon your own device
Paolo: You are most welcome and I appreciate for providing your full name.
Paolo: May I put you on hold for a moment while I check your order
lori: I guess
Paolo: Thanks
Paolo: One moment please…
lori: ok
Paolo: did you already check your package on your Local post office?
lori: we have 3 here and I thought you were going to deliver it
lori: I have a bad leg
lori: nobody said for 54.00 I wood have to search for it
lori: we have 3 post offices here
Paolo: Alright, I checked your order through the USPS and they confirmed that Your item was processed through and left our ORLANDO, FL 32862 facility on May 13, 2009.
Paolo: You should get the package there, Lori
lori: this is my 1st time ordering express then having to go find it myself
lori: some of us are not able to walk as well as others
Paolo: I understand and I know how you feel, Lori but the USPS confirmed that Your item was processed through and left our ORLANDO, FL 32862 facility on May 13, 2009. The item is currently in transit to the destination, I would suggest that you go to that Facility because you didn’t received your package.
lori: yes been new that after it was not here 3-5 days
Paolo: or contact that facility for your convenient not to go there, Lori.
lori: i been checking the whole time
lori: some of us our kinda cripple and cant get around well
Paolo: Okay, you should have also check the package through your local post office, Lori.
Paolo: You should refer this to the USPS.
Paolo: Okay?
lori: people order online so they save on gas and traffic
lori: and finding a ride for cripple people
lori: or cancel order
lori: Im paying for a head ache I can get for free
lori: im paying you
Paolo: We can’t cancel the order because the USPS confirmed that the package is in their facility ORLANDO, FL 32862
lori: all your doing is taking money only
Paolo: Okay
lori: well I cant get it and I have 30days to cancel
lori: by the time I get it it will be 30days
lori: on an express order
lori: on my end I sayafter 7 people your not even sending anything at all
lori: 7people and like 2 weeks on express order
lori: I am cripple
lori: pretend Im your crippled grand ma
Paolo: Actually we already send your package and it is on your local post office, you go there and get the package or contact them for it . That’s the convenient way to get your package, Lori./
lori: why was I not told I had to pick it up from day 1?
lori: yu no I could have always went to radio shack which s closer
lori: obviously nobody new to say it or post on website
lori: till now
lori: sounds fishy
lori: is it in disclaimer
lori: or I’m suing
lori: your not being completely upfront
Paolo: Lori, I wish I could help you with this but you are the only one who can help to resolved and get your package on your local post office.
lori: nowhere it says that
lori: and you will have bad name after this
lori: trust me
lori: I suggest you guys try to sneak what your saying in disclaimer
lori: or website
lori: its miss leading
lori: this has to be new or they would have been told me
lori: Im cripple not stupid
Paolo: No, it is not Lori. You just forgot to check your package on your local post office.
lori: big dif
Paolo: I believe that I have already provided you all the information needed; I would like to ask permission to end this conversation with you. Thank you and have a great day
Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.
Review by Versatile May 24, 2009
My father got this for his family, and he asked if I knew about magicjack.
I said no, and he was surprised, as I guess a lot of his friends at work used it.
Well he bought it and I was skeptical, $20 a year for a device that lets you use your phone to call people for free?
We got it installed, and the moment I tried it I was surprised. It does what it claims to do. We got magicjack hooked to the office PC which is one most of the day anyway, and our phone is setup to 3 rings to capture the voicemail from the caller rather than using the magicjack voicemail system.
Cool product, I wouldn’t recommend it to replace the primary phone line as during a power outage you would need the PC to be on to make calls. As a secondary line or a supplement to a cell phone, definitely.
Overall rating I gave it 4 stars because of requiring a PC, but hell, attach it to a low power netbook that consumes 23watts and whats the big deal? ;0
Review by Vlad May 22, 2009
Worst Customer Service, no way to get phone number to call or regular mail address to send an official complain. Junk Web Site. Buggy software – can die with no explanation and you will have to log-of/log-in, meanwhile all calls will be getting “busy” signal with no transferring to voicemail. So-so sound quality. Price is the only good part, but there are comparable solutions on the market now. I don’t recommend it. Never buy a second year contract! You will be unable to get a refund once your 30 days trial period is over.
Review by Bruce Wayne May 20, 2009
This is probably the best home phone solution out there. Works just as promised. NO ISSUES AT ALL. Clear conversations, voicemail, caller ID. Everything is just as promised.
Review by DCG May 18, 2009
Very good. I liked it. No complain. But after I installed majic jack I am not allowed to listen my in my computer. I can see the song playing but unable to hear sounds from speaker. It seems that majic jack sound and computer speakers are not compatible. You have to select one, either phone speaker or computer speaker.
Review by Ann May 17, 2009
Jenny is WRONG ……. CALLER ID DOES NOT WORK. Maybe she got lucky with her installation, but the rest of us still do not have caller ID and the internet supports those facts.
Ann
Review by Barbara May 17, 2009
My husband bought a Magic Jack for his office. He thought I was crazy to suggest it, and said I’m too gullible. He LOVES it! It has voice mail too, and whenever someone calls, their caller ID shows up on your computer screen. I recommend this to everyone!
Review by Kenny May 11, 2009
Couldn’t get the thing to work when we first plugged it in, contacted MJ and they were finally able to get the registration to come up. Finally made a couple of calls on it sounded great then the MJ shut down and we were never able to use it again. I spent four hours on a chat with support trying to get it started again and it never did. The support had me running in circles, unplug the MJ wait 20 secs and plug it back in (over and over and over) total waste of time. But at least it works now.
Review by Joy May 8, 2009
Ok, you can’t beat the price. It’s only $20 so you get what you are asking for. I would not recommend using this as your main phone. Also, the quality of the phone call is not bad but sometimes we have to yell to get them to hear us. We keep it around because it’s cheap. It’s easy to install but not reliable.
Review by Heather May 3, 2009
I have been using Teleblend VOIP as my only telephone service for years with no serious problems, but I’m sick of paying about $20/month for something I rarely use (I have two lines, one for fax. It is less than $15 for one line).So I decided to try Magic Jack, and here’s the thing I’ve discovered: your happiness with this product will wholly depend on the computer you are using it with. It did not work consistently with two of our older computers, and so at first I was highly disappointed. However, we got a new “Media Center” computer with Vista premium and lots of memory and processing power, and it works absolutely perfectly. I still can’t get it to work consistently with my fax, which is frustrating, but then again Magic Jack makes no claims that their service works with fax. Bottom line: If you are having trouble, it just might be the interaction between Magic jack and your computer, not the quality of the Magic Jack product per se. If you have a fast, modern computer that you can keep on most of the time, you might join me in being satisfied with Magic Jack.
Review by Nate April 26, 2009
I picked up Magic jack at my local Radio Shack for $40. I was told i could return it if it wasn’t up to my satisfaction. Well I’ve been using this now for 4 months and I’m extremely happy with the results. I make/receive crystal clear calls. I love the fact that i get an email every time i get a voice mail. This is the absolute best deal in home phone. You can STILL have phones all around your home. I purchased a multi-handset home phone system. Hooked the base one up to the magic jack and the others around the entire house. They all work extremely well and people don’t even notice I’m using anything other than a regular phone line.
Review by K Johnson April 22, 2009
I should have known. If it sounds too good to be true…
My wife and I purchased the magicJack a year ago, but we returned it because it did not work. After reading the positive reviews and the comments that indicated that magicJack has improved, we thought we’d give it another try. Big mistake!
We purchased and installed magicJack on a brand new computer that was specifically purchased to run magicJack, but we quickly discovered that magicJack is still a terrible product that does not live up to the company’s exaggerated claims.
On the bright side, the installation was fairly easy. I just plugged the phone cord into the magicJack and then plugged the magicJack into a USB port on my computer. The magicJack software installed onto our computer and then I updated the software as other users recommended.
After the installation and update were complete, my wife called our new magicJack phone number. When I answered the phone, we were able to speak for exactly 31 seconds and then the phone went dead. When I tried to call her back, I heard it dial out, but then it immediately went to a dial tone. The call would not go through. When my wife tried to call me back, her call went straight to voicemail.
I restarted the magicJack dial pad and we tried making calls again MANY times, but got the exact same results. Inbound calls ALWAYS disconnected exactly 31 seconds after I picked up the phone, then all inbound calls went straight to voicemail. During all of the inbound calls, I noticed that there was a message on the dialpad that said “Pending ACK” after I picked up the phone and during the entire 31 second call. I believe that the magicJack device or the dialpad is waiting for an acknowledgement from the magicJack server, but it times out and disconnects after 31 seconds when it does not receive the acknowledgement.
When I contacted magicJack’s customer support via their chat service, I chatted with at least FIVE first-level support technicians (Jacqueline, Glaiza, Kyla, Charles, and Jezebel) and FIVE second-level support technicians (Roy, Marykate, Junrex, Hero, and Haley) over a two day period of time and during six different chat sessions that lasted almost a total of eight hours.
Yesterday I was chatting from noon to after 7pm (I was determined to make this work), and today I chatted for at least another hour before the chat session was disconnected. Most of the techs were incompetent, but polite; however, two of the techs were very rude. Although I was chatting from a different computer, Roy disconnected the chat session after he asked me to reboot (I guess he realized that he could not solve the problem). Haley hung up on me after I explained that she was taking me through the same steps that everyone else took me through many times before.
If you don’t mind spending many hours chatting with tech support and still have a phone that doesn’t work, give it a try. But if you value your time, don’t even bother.
Shame on you magicJack!
By the way, I copied all but the first chat session if anyone wants to read how magicJack techs handle support issues.
Review by George April 20, 2009
Works great, installs easily, absolutely no problems or issues after 30 days use. To go with it, I bought a Panasonic cordless system. Placed the base unit near my computer and plugged it into the MagicJack with it’s standard phone line. The three other cordless handsets are positioned around my house, so I’ve got convenient phone service throughout.
Review by Eric April 14, 2009
Bought thisand it was defective. Spent almost 4 hours chatting with their tech help and did not get as far as to even register. A huge waste of my precious time. I can not recommend this product.
Review by Darren April 14, 2009
After some of the terrible reviews about MagicJack I was very skeptical about getting it. So far I have nothing but good to say about this thing! It’s awesome, and it WORKS! Just make sure you have broadband internet and a compatible computer to hook the MagicJack up to.
Review by DAS April 7, 2009
I ordered this device, promptly attempted to cancel my order. However, the company shipped anyway and was not willing to take the device back. There customer service is terrible!
Review by Clemente Batan April 6, 2009
I was walking around Best Buy and saw this product. I decided to try it coz of the potential savings that I would get. I immediately plugged it in and the item started to install. Before complettion of the installation, I checked the phone for dial tone and was surprised that there was one, then I waited and waited and waited. After reading the instructions, it says that “don’t pick up the phone during installation” so I thought, “Oh man, messed it up”. So I go to their website and clicked on an Upgrade. Then I was able to register it (which gave me a local number) and registered my address for 911. I started to call my parents in CA and they didn’t even recognize that it was Magic Jack, they though I was on a landline. I called friends and they said it was a bit better than a cellphone but not as good as a landline. I connected my 900mhz wireless phone and it worked great. The 2.4 ghz phone didn’t work too good with my router so I’m sticking to my 900mhz phone. BTW, I love this product and the audio quality on my side is good. I also tried it on my MAC laptop and it worked great!
Review by Harriet Bograd April 5, 2009
My order was filled promptly, the Magic Jack installed easily, and when I’ve used the online chat, tech support people have responded quickly to my questions. I really want to love this device, and I do think it’s a great value for people on a tight budget.
I have had two landlines in my home (the main one from RCN, and a second VOIP line), and lots of two-line phones. To use the Magic Jack to support this setup, I got a USB hub with an AC adapter. I was able to run the wires so the Magic Jack supports line two on all my phones.
But here is a problem that is almost a “deal-breaker” for me. Whenever I dial a phone number on the Magic Jack line, the Magic Jack window pops up on my computer screen. The window also pops up if anyone else on any other phone in my home uses this line.
Tonight, I was making a lot of calls, and I was trying to take notes on the conversations on my computer (I use a headset so both hands are free). The Magic Jack window frequently popped up and interfered with my typing.
I have reported this problem to the tech support people. I wish I could talk directly to the developers. I imagine that it would not be difficult for them to add an option in the software that allows us to keep the screen minimized, or at least to make it very, very small.
It seems crazy to spend an extra $200 per year just because of this minor annoyance, but the pop-up window really does interfere with my being able to work efficiently.
I really hope that they can find a way to fix this annoying issue.
If the Magic Jack developers read this, I hope you will look up my account and let me know where things stand with this.
Harriet
Review by Robert April 5, 2009
It’s fantastic product. The quality is about as good as my landline. Plus it has all sorts of features that cost extra for a landline, and for only $20 per year. Very easy to set up.
Review by heather April 4, 2009
I just received the magic jack yeserday. I installed it, and it did all of the work for me. So far, I am very impressed and satisfied with my purchase. Magic jack connects right away and the calls are crystal clear.
Review by Art Gans April 3, 2009
Conceptually it is great—but in reality it is worthless. Totally unreliable. Akin to the kind of service one might expect in Afghanistan. The professor on Giligan’s Island could probably cobble something together out of coconuts that would be more reliable.
Zero Stars for all Categories !
If it sounds too good to be true. It is.
Review by Chris March 30, 2009
MagicJack works…thought it wouldn’t but it does. Five stars.
Review by Carol and Gary B in Michigan March 30, 2009
We’ve been using the Magic Jack for about a week now and so far we’re very pleased with it. Free long distance, call waiting, caller id, directory assistance as well as your own personal phone book, local weather, and so much more. We will be saving alot of money with this product. We recommend it to everyone!
5 PLUS STARS!!
Review by Brian March 28, 2009
Hello All. I have figured out that for me spending $360 a year for my pay as you go Net 10 phone, is too much for me! I want an alternative that has voice mail and is cheap.
I thought about Magic Jack and have found out it will cost me $20 a year for unlimited calls in the US! Hello! That is $1.70 per month of service! Amazing.
I went to Best Buy today and purchased. It took me 10 minutes to install and have my new number up and running. The sound clarity is amazing, I tested it right away with my brother and friend on a cell phone. It was crystal clear and fast too!
What more do you want! I am completely happy with Magic Jack! Thank You Magic and Jack (If you don’t know, those are the names of the Inventors dogs, Magic and jack.)
Brian
Palm Desert, CA
Review by Sheri LeRoy March 20, 2009
Love my MJ! I bought it to use at our camp where we have great wireless service but very crappy cell service. The MJ works wonderful. Once in a while there might be some echoing on the line but compared to standing outside in the rain in the only small spot of space within 3 miles that my cell phone works in… it’s a blessing.
Will definately renew for another year… possibly splurging for the 5yr plan. Recommend to everyone I know and I love my phone number (I picked an easy one to remember!)
Review by merle March 20, 2009
Try calling 911 with this product. If you do not have a landline they will never find you. Saving money is great if you never have a fire, health problem, need law enforcement now. What is your life worth?
Review by Kirk March 15, 2009
I was skeptical at first but I have had Magic Jack for 5 months and am pleased. It has already saved me around $600. This is one purchase I made from an infomercial that I am proud of. Thanks MagicJack.
Review by Sue March 9, 2009
Received my magicJack 1 week ago. Had some minor problems with getting a slight voice delay, but spent a little time with the tech support people and they cleared that up right on line. I have experienced no problems with calls. Like the fact of voice mail & caller ID.
While I am not going to cancel my landline service yet I am goicg to cancel my long distance service. This alone is worth its cost of the magicjack.
Wish they had tech support that you could talk to though that would be a real plus.
Review by Nabil March 9, 2009
I recently canceled my Verizon phone service and internet and signed on with Comcast internet and got the Magic Jack from the local Best Buy store. So, far it has delivered as advertised. It took me about 3 months to finally buy into the hype, but I must say, it works great. My 92.91 dollar /internet phone bill is down to about $25 with long distance. Great deal!!!
Review by carl March 7, 2009
I have been using MJ for 3 months. It has it’s issues, but still great as a second line or if you cannot afford the 50.- bucks a month for a full featured “new”ATT land line. Not a good choice for people who need an electrician to change a light bulb.
Review by chad simmons March 6, 2009
Just got my magic jack, no problems on install, sounds good so far and the price can not be beat. maybe those people that don’t like it have nothing better to do then to complain about saving money. (suckers)
Review by Greg March 5, 2009
I finally bit and took a 30 day free trial. Installation was a breeze. I’ve used it for a day and, unfortunately, the voice quality has been sub-par. I live on the east coast and called a relative on the west coast. About every third word got lost and static came and went. I called from my new macbook pro and my fiber optic broadband service is 10 Mbits/sec upload, so I’m pretty sure it was not a bandwidth or processing power issue. To test, I made a Skype video call to the same relative that lasted over 20 minutes and the skype voice quality was consistent and far superior even with the video on.
I’m hoping against hope that this will be a temporary glitch of some sort, but several of my older relatives are hard of hearing and they simply would not be able to follow a conversation such as the ones I experienced today. The plan was to get rid of my more expensive VOIP monthly service,but that’s looking unlikely at this point. Given the raves that abound for this product I guess I’m just one of the unlucky few.
But you really can’t beat the price … And for 20 bucks a year, I mighty just keep it anyway for use with my laptop when I’m on the road.
Review by Mike Miller March 3, 2009
I was skeptical to get this little MagicJack thingy. However, after talking to tech support and grlling them with questions, I figured 30days risk free, what do I have to lose? I ordered it on a Friday and received it the following Tuesday. I opened the package and plugged it into my USB port. I canceled the installer and downloaded the latest software from MJ website for Vista. I ran the software, it installed with no problem. Went through the steps of setting up my phone number and withing 5 minutes or less I was making a receiving calls. I have had Vonage for over 3 years now and I can tell you that the MJ is just as good so far, even after only using it for one day. It has pretty much the same features that my Vonage line has. Call Forwarding, Call Waiting, Caller ID, Voicemail delivered to my Email, easy Voicemail setup and retrieval using a phone etc. For now I plan to keep my Vonage line until I am certain I want to keep the MJ. I also plugged it into one of my wall jacks and it activated all my home phones just like my Vonage did. All in all, I am very pleased with it’s ease of use an setup and overall quality. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone to at least just give it a try.
Review by Miranda March 1, 2009
I have had the magic jack for a few weeks now and it works well. I can’t speak on how reliable it is, given the few kinks within the system like: the echo of my own voice and the occasional upgrades that is needed for quality service (which you never know about unless you sudden have no service, the issue however is fixed promptly once upgrade is complete). I am sure these small issues will improve overtime as with any new device. I paid only $19.95 for my first year of service and the value of having phone service for this price far out weighs any minor issues. I rate this product with an overall rating of a four because there stands “room for improvement”, the only con would be the fact that there isn’t a customer service phone# for a live person to speak to for clarity on any sudden issues and there isn’t an owner’s manual for any details of overall set-up or operation; you have to figure it out and if you’re savvy with computer devices of any kind, then it’s quite simple.
Review by Chris Sorensen February 24, 2009
Love it, use it every day and it has saved me more than $1,500 per month for my business for the last 4 months. That’s huge!!!
5 Stars!!!
Review by William February 7, 2009
After testing for two weeks I am very satisfied with MJ. Best audio is achieved using the laptop’s built in mic and speakers. That arrangement also enables recording the conversations, such as conference calls and webinars. All the menu features work better and quicker than my cell phone, such as address book and seeing/redailing calls made and received.
Review by Matt January 29, 2009
MagicJack is great! I run it via my laptop with cable or Wifi. Talk about looks when I take the laptop to a free Wifi spot, plug it in and plug a regular phone into it and sit there and make calls.
Oh, I also connect my Fax machine to it to fax!
Review by carl January 22, 2009
Unbeatable value ! $ 50.-( shipping and tax incl) for the first year and $ 20.- afterward! Has some flaws and the call quality is bad on about 10 % of the phone calls. Not equal to a full featured land line, but for the money it is the best deal in telecom land ever.You need a clean, updated computer and a real high speed internet and you will be fine.Perfect as a second line, but good enough for anyone who has a cellphone and cannot afford a landline(anymore).
Review by janet January 16, 2009
i have been using magicjack for three days my computor and the magicjack work great had it in four days installed it in 5 minutes its great awesome product and a phone saver
Review by fefe January 16, 2009
I love it so far. I know a lot of people are worried about the fact that they don’t have customer service, but for the price, how could they possibly do that? We switched from Phone Power, which we really loved–they were, however, very kurt upon cancelation, which was a bit of a turn off–but Phone Power was about 26 dollars a month. Magic Jack has a few slight irritations, which are all listed in the above reviews, but it is a small price to pay for saving hundreds maybe even thousands (depending on your phone’s purpose) of dollars per year. Keep an open mind and ask yourself would saving that kind of money a year be worth losing $50 bucks or so if you don’t like it. It seems like a no brainer to me
All my best
Review by Laura January 9, 2009
I bought this as a second line for my 11 year old daughter. Now I get my phone back. I had a hard time setting this up. There is no customer service phone #, but the live chat worked just fine. We spent 30 minutes working with them and they even had to get a more senior person on the chat. In the end it all worked no problem. I don’t like that you have to keep the application open all the time so I moved it to an extra computer we keep in the rec room. I have it connected to a IM enabled phone (VTECH IS6110 very cool!) so now she can IM her heart out and still get phone calls all without taking over the computer or house phone.
It’s not a great solution for a primary phone as its dependent on lots of things. If the power goes out, the internet slows down or you need to reboot your PC you lose your phone service.
It would be good if you want a dedicated fax line. I wish I new about it long ago. They can not port numbers yet, but they promise later in 09. They also say not all area codes are available. Neither of those would have been that big of a deal though.
Understand what you are buying and you won’t be disappointed.
Recommended for the right application
Review by Rachel January 7, 2009
I’ve had MagicJack for almost a year now. The quality of the sound has improved over the year and I now feel comfortable using it as my primary phone number. You do not have access to a customer service agent via phone, but there is a very helpful online chat based customer service. I’ve used them a few times and they’ve always been helpful. For the price and the ease of use the slight trade off in sound quality is definitely worth it.
Highly recommend.
Review by BUBBA 2122 January 2, 2009
It’s nice to see some common sense users of this product for a change. The only issue with this device is IGNORANCE. After reading hundreds of I love it and I hate it posts, I’ve come to a few conclusions.
1: Never buy ANY free 30day trial on ANYTHING!!! Get MJ from QVC, Circuit City etc… Then you have a hassle free return. ALL 30 DAY FREE TRIAL AND GIVE US YOU’RE CREDIT CARD NUMBER Company’s will set on your money and give you the runaround, duh. Your and every other sucker’s money is letting them make interest off it. They ALL will bite you in the azz with the fine print. DON’T DO IT!
2: For the people that think that thing that comes out after you press the button on the front of the computer is an automated cup holder, you’re too stupid to use this product. Hell, they probably have trouble operating a light switch and flushing the toilet. If you are a 1 on the (1 – 10) Tech Savvy Scale, save us the drudge of reading your negative post and don’t even think about getting this product. It’s way, way, way over your head. Go play with the light switch or something. MJ is a startup company running on a shoestring. It’s $40 dollars! It’s $40 dollars! It’s $40 dollars! It’s $40 dollars! It’s $40 dollars! What do you expect them to do, send a tech to your house? Come on people get real. If you can’t make it work then return it to Circuit City or QVC etc… Oh, you did the 30day free trial thing? DUH… you deserve the hassle. Just don’t bore us with your post.
3: Paranoid people get up in the morning; check the weather etc… on Internet. Hello! Your ISP tracked what you did and the Weather web cookie and all the other cookies did they’re thing. Picked up your Cell phone and made a call, Hello! Your phone service tracked and logged your call, they also knew you were home because of the built in tracking system. Got in your car and stopped at intersection, got your picture taken by traffic cam. Somebody knows where you were at the time of day. Stopped to get gas, restaurant, shopping swiped your credit card, God only knows how many people got this information on what you bought. Went to work and your employer tracked every keystroke, oh and don’t forget to smile for the candid camera. I looked your name up in the White pages and Goggled Earth your address, WOW! You got a really nice house dude. Maybe I’ll pay you a visit and spy on you. You think MJ gives a rip about the above information? They just want to know local information so they can push you the latest add special from the local pizza place. Unless you live in a cave, get a life because this is your life, you’re just too stupid to recognize it and all the bitching in the world is not going to change it. Install this on an old Pc, stick in the closet, plug in a wireless phone and forget about it. Now it’s out of site and out of mind. Just like all the above listed things you ignore every day.
4: This DOSE NOT and SHOULD NOT replace you’re your phone system. Analyze what it can and cannot do for you. If it makes business sense then get it. If not, DON’T slam this product because it doesn’t meet your needs. This device saves me and millions of people like me lots of money.
5: Read 1 – 4.
Review by Harold Peavy January 1, 2009
I took a chance and purchased this product, and was totally amazed at how great it works and the sound quality. I’ve read unfavorable reviews and positive ones also.
One suggestion when I attempted to load majic jack on one of my slower laptops everything was terrible. sound quality everything. But when I reloaded the majic jack on one of my newer computers the product has been awesome.
Thanks, majic jack
Review by Lavender January 1, 2009
I have a question. It seems everyone is using this to replace their “expensive” landlines. That makes sense — unless one has DSL, in which case, s/he needs his landline in order to have Internet. So, where’re the savings? S/he still has to pay for a landline. I can see if one has to make a LOT of long distance, but if one doesn’t — and I RARELY need to make a long distance call — the Magic Jack doesn’t really make any sense. So, if you’re like me (DSL/few long distance calls), keep that in mind.
Review by drbray December 30, 2008
This is the least expensive and probably the best telephone service that I have EVER used!
Review by Heinz M December 25, 2008
I have had MJ for over 6 months and replaced the Lingo VoIP phone with it. Lingo gave free calls to western Europe but cost $27.50/mth (incl. all taxes).
To make calls to Europe, I have paid $10.00 to MJ, which they charge against at 2 to 2.5 Cents/min. I have used about $5.50 of that since last June for these calls which has saved me a bundle over what I paid before.
To start I had some problems with MJ, in that I used a front mounted USB jack, which introduced plenty of noise. Once I switched the plug to a rear USB connector, it cleared up fine.
MJ does disconnect more often and has to be reset regularly as compared to my old Lingo service, but the cost is SO much lower, that I feel that the extra inconvenience is worth it.
I do have a regular landline as a backup.
Review by George Di Rienzo December 24, 2008
It’s great on a PC , especially if it’s a newer one. Alas, I recently bought a mac (MAC OS X , version 10.5.5 and my troubles began. Voice mail is non existent. My original magic jack “died” after 4 months. It should have lasted 5 years. They replaced without cost to me as long as I returned it within 20 days. I can make and receive calls on the cheap. They said a upgrade is forth coming but they appear to be in no hurry.
Review by TH December 24, 2008
I was very skeptical when I first ordered my Magic Jack. After plugging it in and using it I couldn’t be happier. I mostly use my cell phone since all incoming calls are free. I have been with Vonage for about three years. Bye Bye Vonage. I would suggest Magic Jack.
Review by Jon December 23, 2008
Ive had magic jack for a month now, and ill list the pros and cons
Pro’s first
———–
-You have a phone number, and you can CHOOSE any location in the USA. Im living in canada but my phone number is in California so my friends there can call me locally!
-You can bring your magic jack where ever you have a laptop and an internet connection (this is amazing for buisness calls and trips)
-It emails you when someone leaves a message!
-$40 dollars the first year and $20 each following year! AMAZING!
Cons
—————-
- Your computer must be on for the phone to ring (otherwise it goes straight to your answering machine)
-If you are downloading a lot of files, i find the voice can get choppy. This is because the phone is dependant on how fast your internet connection is. I am unfortuantely on a very slow and unreliable DSL right now, but as long as im not downloading its fine
- The voice quality is only about 80% and i find it difficult hearing women especially on it. It seems the higher end sounds get a bit muddy. I have no problems hearing the lower voices (this could also be because my phone is crappy though… but this is what ive noticed)
OVERALL
——————–
Buy this for long distance if you need it! it is so cheap you almost HAVE to buy it.
Review by Jayne December 15, 2008
Sucks! Am returning today. It wouldn’t load onto my main computer and loaded just fine on a laptop. Have to keep computer on all the time which I could get used to, but I can’t tell you how many times I tried to make a call and it froze or wouldn’t even dial and when I finally did get a call made it cut out so many times I gave up. I could even probably deal with the freezing up or slow dialing because eventually it would work, but I can’t with the cutting out. If I don’t give up, the person on the other end of the line does. Not worth if it can’t talk anyways.
Review by Eric December 8, 2008
This works great with a newer computer. If you have a slow computer it may have some issues. Just this weekend we updated with a new desk top and the phone works a lot better!
Review by Robert O. December 1, 2008
My only problem with MJ is a screen keeping poping saying usb audio file needed, I am only able to talk through the speakers not through the phone, whats the problem? How can I obtain this usb audio file?
Review by AAB December 1, 2008
I’ve had the magicjack for a week now and I am happy with it. I ordered magicjack so I could bring the magicjack with me on business travels and teleconferences.
Review by Barron J November 23, 2008
You can’t expect excellent support on such an affordable device. It’s a one time fee thing. It either works or it doesn’t. You can return MagicJack if the thing doesn’t work, there are directions on the website. My MagicJack works great.
Anyways here is the MagicJack phone number for customer 1-800-683-4939
Review by shane November 16, 2008
I order magic jack so I could verify craigslist account because I did not want to use my real phone number. So far this thing works great.
Review by Mobile Phone Reviews November 11, 2008
Magic Jack is actually quite a brilliant device. Not sure about how the 911 works, but it should be ok as long as you specified the address when you signed up.
Review by Peter W. November 10, 2008
After seeing this review, I decided to buy this for my mother. And she actually got it working! This is the woman who can’t run iTunes without calling me up. But now that call is free lol.
Review by NONIEFRAN November 5, 2008
70 year old non pc savvy grandma- It installs itself—have this 4 weeks- so far, so good- just got charged $40.00 (after 30 days)–next Oct9- it will be 19.95 FOR A YEAR—
WHAT MORE COULD I ASK!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review by Hannah November 4, 2008
I’ve had my first magicJack for over three months now and am very happy that I bought it. I absolutely love MagicJack!
Review by dnavery October 17, 2008
Sound quality is not as clear as a landline phone number but still a great deal for $40 a year.
Review by Charles J. Schuck III October 14, 2008
I have been using the magic jack for a week or so now. So far I have loved it, Easy installation, No Configuration juts te way I like it. Plug and Play at it’s BEST!No Software to install, all you need is a extra USB port. This is a truly genius device!
Review by Jenny October 14, 2008
All-in-all, Magic Jack has been a great cost saving replacement for my old home phone and even Skype.
I would recommend MagicJack to anyone looking for an affordable replacement to a secondary or landline phone number.