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Home > All Providers Reviews > Magicjack

magicJack Reviews

magicJack is an extremely cheap VoIP provider that works by using your existing Internet connection to make and receive calls. magicJack provides a plug-and-play device (like a USB drive) that you can connect to your computer or high-speed modem to start making local and long-distance calls. You can use magicJack for as little as $19.95/year per line. 

With the newest magicJack Plus system, you don't have to have your computer on at all times in order to receive a call.

Is magicJack worth it? 

We recommend that anyone interested in buying a magicJack read the user reviews here first.

 

Users Average Rating

Providers Comparison

Note: The graphs above only measure the user ratings displayed over the last five years.
Write your own review

MagicJack is crap

user_review
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
5
Average: 5 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)

cheap China stuff.....Will not last long....Poor customer service. Why don't they use parts made in the USA?>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Work good for a while until cheap China parts fail
Cheap China parts
No

MagicJack - GO VoIP Adapter

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3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)

We are very disappointed with our experience with MagicJack. For over half the calls that we receive, the only caller ID info we receive is the words, "incoming call". Hello!!! I "know" I have an incoming call, because- wait for it- my phone is ringing!! ;-) We chatted through the MJ chat line, only to be told that what we are experiencing is "a known issue" and that "the engineering department is working really hard to fix this matter". The call log, for incoming and outgoing calls, isn't uploaded until the following day, so we can't even look at the log to see what calls we have missed. Using MJ is like being transported back to the early 1990s. Save your money and more importantly your SANITY and don't buy a MJ unit.

None
Everything from customer service, to lack features (no caller ID), to call log that isn't updated until the following day.
No

Dropped Calls

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Average: 1 (1 vote)
5
Average: 5 (1 vote)
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Average: 2 (1 vote)
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After about a month of good service, MagicJack started to drop calls after about 2 to 6 minutes. The online chats were worse than useless. One chat said that MagicJack requires 30 ms latency with 3 ms jitter. But the VoIP guidelines are 150ms latency max (one way) with 40 ms jitter max for good quality. It shouldn't ever drop calls unless the connection goes away for a 'long' time. OK. So, I measured ping times to google and also to a magicjack IP address (104.20.33.77),and got 14 to 19 ms using my smartphone, but my laptop got 10 to 12 ms. So, on my next online chat, I told that to the chat person, and it told me that that was not good enough (they lowered the bar) and that I should complain to my ISP. It also told me that magicjack was a superior service that required very low latency and jitter. But, it's really the other way around. The more latency and jitter tolerant a VoIP provider is, the better the service is. Obvious, right? So, these guys just hide when their stuff gets overloaded and does not work. Very poor service. And they have a deal where you pay extra for 'better' service. Now, that's a real scam. Ten times nothing is still zero.

None
Out of control. No customer service when their stuff fails.
No

Scam - software non-operational

user_review
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)

I have spent hours on the phone with the Magicjack support people, and still have a device that will not work with my operating system. It appears that they sell devices to Mac users knowing full well that it is incompatible with the latest Mac software. You will not find this disclosure on their website, and they will not refund your money when you find that it does not work with your system. Instead, they will put you on hold, transfer you to another department without warning, and obfuscate rather than admitting that the problem is on their end. After hours on the phone, they will then tell you that a fix is in the works, you just need to be patient while they are working on it. This company scams people, plain and simple.

Absolutely none.
See above. Device does not work with Mac software from the current century. Magicjack knows this, and sells the device as if it does.
No

MagicJack I bought 2007 stills works perfect

user_review
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)
5
Average: 5 (1 vote)
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)
5
Average: 5 (1 vote)

I bought my first MJ in 2007 and I still use it today though mostly only use it for questionable contacts where I suspect my number will be spammed or added to telemarketing list. I've bought two newer units (MagicJack Plus) over the years and they also work just fine. I used the first magicjack USB dongle with a laptop while driving truck cross country from 2007 to 2012. I used it for all communication with dispatch and to send in my trip and pay information. On occasion I would even send a fax with MJ though I learned I had to turn down the fax speed and only send B&W. I currently use two MagicJack Plus units for my home phone and home business phone lines. A few points I'll make. The older USB style has to be used in a powered USB port while the newer units with a RJ45 jack do not require a PC to use. ALL MagicJack need a high speed internet connection and a very good power source. Once, while messing with the configuration of my router, i did mess up the magicjack and customer service was no help at all in getting it running again, I did work that out on my own. The quality of the Dongle is not the best, but has lasted me since 2007 with repeatedly plugging and unplugging it in the USB port. The AC jack for the MagicJack Plus stopped working after a year though it does work for with a quality replacement I bought. I have the two MagicJack Plus plugged into the same UPS I have the router & modem plugged into which allows me to have phone service during a power loss unless the internet service goes down as well. MagicJack is as easy as getting cheese-wiz out of a can. The only prerequisite is an IQ over 75

The MJ is hands down the least expensive good phone service available.
It is NOT something that should be used by people that do not think mechanically. If you don't know what a powered USB port is, don't touch it. If you are challenged mechanically/electronically, don't waste your time
Yes

Absolutely horrible system. Do not get it!!!

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1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
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1
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Absolutely horrible!!! Took nearly 2 months for them to port an existing phone # (that they do not explain up front and was to take only 25 days, which is still ridiculously long and finally sent a 'successful port' message after 4 months), and no matter what dept I called about it, they could not figure it out. When it was supposedly finally working, people I called would get annoying beeps/noise on their end and incoming calls would not come thru (tried several different ph's, cords, power sources, etc, and still no reply from customer service on how to rectify any issue for over 2 weeks and several ph calls/web assistance requests - which by the way are extremely painful to connect to unless you like waiting forever), all of which I had to troubleshoot myself as they have absolutely no idea. After discussing it with them again, they still had no idea of what I was talking about. and still blame it on my internet provider. Because it works on my laptop (still with noise issues to whoever I call) they determined that it was fine and gave up on any assistance. It may work when you're out of the country but there are also fee's for that. Do not bother with this product at all. Troublesome, crap customer service, no value for your money at all. Total cash grab for whoever invented this p.o.s.

absolutely none
just about everything
No

New Canada Magicjack User

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3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

I am a new user so far & just cancelled my Shaw phone line service. I am a 45 years old Shaw customer & they gave me a lifetime loyalty discount of $10/month. So I am not really saving that much by using the Magicjack. If I did the research a little bit deeper, I probably won't do the switch & I might even regret it soon as I can't tell how good they will be with the service. So far so good & I was able to plug the telephone wire from the Magicjack to a telephone port; swap some wires in the basement to make all my 5 phones work just like before. The security alarm system has phone line trouble light ON & will have to deal with that later. Porting my old number costed $19.95USD. That took only 8 days (6 business days). Canada number another $10USD. Admin 9% charge $2.70USD. $43.12 CAD total +the hardware cost from Bestbuy. Found out Magicjack charges $30USD to port out a telephone number. Don't like that at all. Renew next year will cost: $39+$10+$4.41 = $53.41USD or $4.45USD/month or around $6CAD per month. Read people had bad experiences with renewing.

Still some saving but no customer service.
Charges $30USD+9% admin charge to port out a telephone number comes time.
No

Faulty MajicJack unit

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2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)

I have been a MajicJack customer for a long time. I have praised it and recommended it to many since it was very useful. I had initially paid annually for about 5 years and last year I decided to pay for the 5 year plan since I didn't think it would come to this at all. Starting several moths ago, it stopped working, giving me an error message when I try to open it. I have tried to contact customer service several times and today finally I was able to chat and was placed 10 in waiting line! "Woo hoo" I thought. It finally came my turn and I started to chat with Mr. Byron C. I explained the issue. He checked to see if the serial number matches the service I have paid for till 2022 and it did. Then he said, regarding the error I was getting " Byron C: Not a problem. We will need to update the device's firmware. Do you know what kind of operative system does your computer run? Is it a Windows computer or a Mac computer?" . So he tried to give me a link, which was downloading a file with a weird extension so I had to go to website he sent to get the executable, still got another file with a weird extension that Windows didn't know how to run. But I changed the extension to ".exe" and then got the upgrade to run. But I still got the "Invalid Serial Number (oracle_magicjack:live)" error which is exactly what I got before as well. then Mr. Byron C said: Byron C: Please follow this steps: 1. Go to Windows start menu and type Device Manager and click on the result you get. 2. It will open a new window, go to DVD/CD-Rom Drives and Click on the one that says YMaxCorp. 3. Do a Right Click and go to Properties. 4. Then Go to the Details tab. 5. On the drop down menu go to Device Instance path. 6. On the value box there will be an information, please copy and paste the information on this chat. And when I gave the information, now the issue is the MajicJack unit is not working. His exact words "Deshika sadly the device is not working that is the reason why is giving you that error.", and "you have to buy a new magicJac unit." and " I can not refund the money because was the last year. and you can not use the service of magicJack without a magicJack unit." I know I will tell everyone that never ever to use Majic Jack and absolutely never pay for 5 years. All the time I was using annually, unit was fine. but since I got the new "MajicJack PLUS" with the 5 year plan, I have to buy another unit. I'll stick with other free services that's readily available nowadays. Seriously disappointed.

Used to be good
extremely disappointing customer service
No

Horrible Service

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Average: 1 (1 vote)
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Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)

I purchased this product to be able to send to my husband who is stationed in South Korea so he could have access to call the US. It so happened he didn't need to use the MagicJack and I tried to send it back and they would not let me because it was past the 30 days. I received the MagicJack a week after ordering it and they started counting the 30 days as of the day of order and by the time I sent it to S Korea and when my husband sent it back to return to MagicJack the 30 days were up and they were not willing to make an exception so they ended up charging me $43. They didn't care about the military issue on how sending items work and how they don't get the person until the package has been checked by the military. The rep just interrupted me and said that no matter the issue they would not refund the money. He was so rude. When I asked to speak to someone above him he said no matter who I talk to they will not issue a refund. They have no people skills when speaking to their customers and I am really surprised they are not willing to help people who are going through issues like trying to contact your family member who is thousands of miles away and still says they don't care about the issue of why MagicJack did not work for them. Horrible. Would never recommend for anyone who has military family or spouses deployed anywhere across the world because when it comes to reps helping they don't care, they just want to take your money.

None
Customer service, and no refunds
No

Don't do it the service is awful

user_review
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
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Average: 1 (1 vote)
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Average: 1 (1 vote)

I placed a order and upon logging in I discovered that I was charged for a product I did not receive. I contacted them to address it and saw no sense of urgency to correct it right away. I decided their service might not offer the kind of response time we need here. I contacted for a refund and cancel 15 minutes later and I was left on hold for 10 minutes to be told that there was a restocking charge for more than half of the order.

Fancy website with slick sales tactics
Service
No

Pages

magicJack

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United States
2002Year Founded
27%Recommend
307User Reviews

Overall Rating

2.35
3.5
51%
43%
50%
33%
70%

Service Locations

    VoIP app

    The Skinny

    magicJack Revealed

    What is magicJack?

    A magicJack is a small device that allows you to make Internet phone calls for cheap prices.

    As of 2016, magicJack Express costs $39.95 plus shipping and handling. You get 3 months of free unlimited calling to the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. Additional years cost $35.

    How does magicJack work?

    One of magicJack's top selling points is its ease of installation.

    1. Plug your phone into the magicJack
    2. Plug the magicJack into your computer
    3. Start making calls

    Is there a special magicJack phone?

    Nope! The magicJack device is what's known in the industry as an analog telephone adapter (ATA). You won't need a special phone in order to use magicJack.

    What do you think of magicJack?

    Many users have had a variety of issues with magicJack (as evidenced by the reviews). However, here are a couple of advantages of magicJack:

    1. Lowest Monthly Rates

    Setting aside the fact that the first 6 months of phone service with magicJack are absolutely free, monthly rates are available for as little as $3.00 per month. Prices like that are extremely hard to complain about, and even some of our most scathing magicJack reviews still rate magicJack with 5 stars in the price category.

    2. Cheap Equipment

    Any way you slice it, $39.95 is a great price to pay for the complete setup of a VoIP phone service that uses your existing phones. Other VoIP companies require specialized IP phones that can cost over $100, and an ATA adapter alone is often more than $50.

    Even if the device runs into a problem and needs to be replaced, the low cost takes most of the sting out of a new purchase. In fact, with the money you'll save with magicJack's low monthly rate, the device practically pays for itself.

    3. Easy to Use

    MagicJack is designed for people who have never heard of VoIP in the first place, and want a simple plug-and-play device that works right away. That's exactly what magicJack offers, and the new magicJack PLUS offers even more options. The old device required a constant connection to a computer to work, but the new one only needs to do so once to register. After that, just plug it into the wall and feel free to shut the computer off. The video below outlines how to use magicJack without a computer.

    Previously the magicJack software was been reported by some as very difficult to remove. MagicJack software now comes with an easier to access uninstall option, so this point is no longer valid.

    MagicJack Customer Service

    Unfortunately, magicJack does not have a customer service hotline. That means that the only way to resolve a service issue is through a high-traffic chat room, which occasionally has a slow response time as a result. Fortunately, the device is easy to install, so you'll likely never need the support. If you run into trouble, our best advice is to be patient with the chat, and see if the issue lies with your router configuration or Internet speed in the meantime.

    If everything checks out and the chat system seems frustrating, just try doing something else for a while and wait for the chat system to get back to you. You can watch one of the many fan-made YouTube videos for magicJack support, try one of the links below to see if your issue is answered there, or even take care of checking your email while you wait. Sometimes, the best option is to simply wait a few hours for the peak traffic to die down, so that the support team has more time to dedicate to your needs. Either way, spending an hour or two researching and fixing any issues with the magicJack adapter is definitely worth the amount of money that you're saving with .

    Third-party magicJack Support

    There are also some helpful blogs out there on the web that cover how to use magicJack if you still encounter trouble.

    Overall Analysis

    In the end, and despite the issues that customers raise about magicJack service, we feel that magicJack offers a very low priced Residential VoIP service, especially for someone new to VoIP. However, there are a lot of negative customer reviews you should take into consideration. The extremely low monthly rate for unlimited phone calls is impossible to ignore, and the ease of installation further makes the case that magicJack's barebones VoIP service is one of the best in the industry.!

    Don't take our word for it. We've got over 100 magicJack reviews for real magicJack customers. See what magicJack users have to say.

    If you have used magicJack, here's you should do: Write a review. We could use your voice on our website.

    Have something to say? Leave a comment about magicJack.

    Have you used magicJack's service? Write a review. You can help other prospective customers make a good decision.

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