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Internet Phone is another word for "VoIP" (Voice over Internet Protocol) or "Internet calling". Internet Phone is a great way for people to save money on their monthly phone bill.
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.
Magic Jack plus: Works for me everywhere I go, I take it with me
pjsplace60
I have had magic jack since it first came out, when you had to have it plugged into your computer and it was horrible, then they came out with the plus that you plus into the router and the outlet for power no longer needing the computer... best thing they ever did. It is great for receiving calls no matter where you go, I do not use the forwarding ring because I do not like hearing all the phone rings at the same time, but I take it with me to hotel/motels, other peoples houses where I am visiting, and every time I move so that is great no install charges like regular phone companies charge. The customer service is horrible so you have to research the internet to resolve your issues on your own, however the only issues I currently have is a few dropped calls when in conversation a few times when they are quite long. The other is for some reason it just started a few months ago when i call a company that requires you to make selections by pressing options 1,2 or what ever they do not hear my button presses, none of them no matter what company I am calling, I thought it was the cordless phone I had so I got a new one, it is my third one, the first one I had did not have this problem it was an older cordless but my grandson broke it ugg, The next two are newer and I have not been able to call companies with options requirements since. I have to use my cell for them. Other than that I recently moved from Arkansas to Ohio and it is still working I would give it five stars if it were not for the above issues, but I am not sure if the options presses are their fault or incapability with the newer cordless phones.
Price,
convenient
portable
use with wired or cordless phones,
can use with cell phones
have forwarding call features
You have to have a speed quality internet, which isn't cheap for us speed
freaks
customer service is horrible
drop calls at times when in lengthy call
Yes
MagicJack Canada doesn't work
telserv
I've been a MagicJack customer since 2011, so when my MagicJack+ packed it in, it wasn't a big deal. I purchased the replacement product MagicJack GO from MagicJack Canada. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. I should have been able to plug it in where the old unit was, and it should have worked, but it didn't. I've spent hours on the chat line trying everything they have suggested. My time was worth more than this $50 (including shipping) product. I've done VoIP installs commercially, and never had as many problems or as poor quality support as MagicJack provides. If you want quality, you have to pay more. I'm tired of listening to my wife complain about the voice quality too.
Cost, Voice mail to Email, IOS app works well.
Tech Support, intermittent quality problems.
No
Magic Jack works really well, Updated Canada Porting node's
EE32768
I'm a networking expert (30 years experience) who has written VOIP code. There are three things you need to get good magicjack service: 1. Network speed. 50 Mbps for VOIP is the minimum to have good quality. The technology works with less, but technically there is a tradeoff between bandwidth versus delay and qalilty. I recently upgraded to 150 Mbps ($59/month). Spend your money on network performance and not your phone line, the latter turns excellent when your speed is good. 2. The power supply is the second cause of problems. People complain about service deterioriating, that's because the Magic Jack USB power supply is crap. But MJ will replace it for free. Or better yet, buy a quality USB power source (from a good store, not the walmart checkout). If the power is flakey the electronics and CPU in the MJ box will be crap. 3. Buy a UPS for your network router, modem and MJ box. Blackouts are when the power really goes out, but more often you will have brownouts where the power isn't full levels, and electronics don't deal welll with that, especially ones in small packages (no room for big capacitors). If you have good power and good networking, most of the problems listed go away. But no amount of customer support will solve that. If you start having to reboot the MJ box or lose calls, check the above comments. Porting in Canada works in 2018, but costs onetime $20, and the Canadian registrar costs $10 per year. Still cheap. E
cheap, good quality
needs good internet connection, does not display caller id names, just
numbers
Yes
No refund if you cancel the service
John Eddy
Tried living with it for a year and it was ok. Then the calls got fuzzy with breaks in voice. Many friends complained that my calls to them were breaking up intermittently. Customer service is poor and could not solve the problem. cCceled the service and went with another provider. tried to get the balance of my three year subscription refunded and was advised that no refunds provide. This even though I was advised that a refund would be forthcoming, and someone woul;d be getting back to me. Terrible experience. Go anywhere else.
None
No customer service. No refunds.
No
worthless customer service
bworsfold
First of all Magic Jack sales reps misrepresented their product so beware of them and their dishonesty. I was told there is no charge to port your current landline number and as soon as i wanted to initiate the port process i found out there was a $50 fee. I was also lied to about features like caller id which is also useless with magic jack. If you need customer support you cannot get anyone on the phone. You can only chat with support on the MJ web site and the support reps are totally useless and unprofessional. The service is mediocre at best and they virtually do not support the customers that drive their business. There are more reputable VOIP services that actually appreciate customers so avoid Magic Jack as much as possible.
cheap service
no support and very snotty customer support reps
No
Terrible customer service and Poor device/quality/ performance
Anesh
Purchased Magic Jack Go device 6 months back and received bad device . I have issues form the installation of the device . Initially no receiving call but I am able to make calls. To catch up Customer service team, every time I need to spend 40 min to 1 hour and every one ask same questions but no output . finally after 5 calls this issue was fixed. and for last 2 months device is not working no green light at all on the device . Phone getting charged but shows no lines. had around 20 calls with customer service team till now. still device is not working. we did trouble shoot multiple times , commenced device directly to Modem , connect device to laptop and updated firmware as well still not working. phone not working for last 2 months . still customer service team ask to pay more Money to get device. Discussed customer service team and their account department almost 5 time . they confirmed over phone that they will send device to me and tracking number soon but they don't send that discussion over email as well for proof . I haven't received device yet.
no use
No use of this service
No
Don't believe the bad reviews
euroboy65
I truly believe a magic jack will work great if you have good internet service. If you have lousy internet, like DSL, you won't be happy. When I had Verizon DSL, my magicJack didn't work worth a damn. Now that I have Comcast high-speed internet, it works great. Never a glitch or flaw. Sounds as good as any hardwired phone back in the day.
Reliable and cheap
Need great internet service to work well
Yes
Terrible customer service from Magic Jack
rick fearns
In my opinion, Magic Jack doesn't want any verbal contact with their customers. Billing seems to me to be incompetent. paid for a vanity telephone number, which was clearly marked and provided for on the Magic Jack website. They applied it to extending telephone service instead of for the vanity number. Spend hours trying to straighten it out. Couldn't reach a competent representative who could handle the problem. Unable to call a particular exchange in the 501 area code. Obviously (to me at least) Magic Jack's problem, but could get no assistance on the phone (can't reach technical personnel on their phone line) so had to try the on line chat. Wait times are often a half hour or more. Then, the agent doesn't understand what the problem is. If you want cheap telephone with poor support, then in my opinion, go with Magic jack. Otherwise, if you value your time, find another provider. You get what you pay for!
Cheap
Poor or no customer service
No
OK when it works
Temba
I've been using Magicjack for about 4 years now, using two different Magicjack devices in that time. - First, I couldn't begin to count the number of times that incoming calls just stop working. I got a letter from my doctor's office saying they'd been trying to reach me but the incoming number just fast beeps (not a busy tone) or just goes to a standard message for buying Magicjack with no option to leave a message. The solution each time is to call MJ customer service and have them reset the line. Lost track of how many times I've had to do that. In the end, I gave up on using this as an incoming service. It's just far too unreliable. Second, MJ customer service has a strategy for any technical problem they can't handle: they just hang up the call. This isn't because you're being difficult. You'll explain your situation and then they'll just end the call. The only way, and I mean the only way, to get anything accomplished is to immediately escalate the call and hope they don't hang up before that. It's a call center staffed with people who can barely speak legible English. So maybe 75 - 80% of the time MJ is reliable as an outgoing call service. It is 100 % unreliable as an incoming service. They do annoying things like continue to play messages before you can make an outgoing call, trying to get you to re-activate old accounts on old devices that you've upgraded from. They say there is no way to stop that. I'll only continue to use it until my current account expires.
Only reliable for outgoing calls
Cheap for an outgoing call service, but you get what you pay for.
100 % unreliable as an incoming phone service - at least in four years of
experience with a Canadian number
Quite possibly the worst customer service on the web
No
Works great!
robertvm
I installed MJ July 2017 on a Verizon Fios high speed internet connection. It works brilliantly. I suspect many of the negative reviews may eminate from using DSL or some other, slower connection. Set up was easy, as was porting over my old phone number onto MJ. I prepaid 5 years and my new "land line" costs about $3.00 per month. Awesome. In the 4 months it has been set up, I only once had an issue, and just unplugged the device and then replugged it in. It just works. Basically, totally great technology that costs next to nothing. I did not set up the cell phone app, so can't speak to that part of the service.
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.
Plug your phone into the magicJack
Plug the magicJack into your computer
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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