Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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80 of 81 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Works great for me but it is not for everyone, April 1, 2009
The key to using Magicjack without any problems is to research information on it first to decide whether it's right for you *and* whether it will work for you. It's not really as easy as 1-2-3 nor will it work magically despite its name. You need to exceed its miminum system requirements, have high speed internet service (like cable), and YES, your PC has to be on with your internet connection available for Magicjack to work. But for $20 a year (initially cost is $39.95 for the Magicjack with 1 year phone service), to me, Magicjack is a great product which provides free unlimited long distance across the country and local phone service. However, Magicjack should not be your only phone service because if your electricity or internet connection goes out, Magicjack won't work. At least also have use of a cell phone service.
I bought my Magicjack from its website [...] and received it in less than a week after I ordered it. If you want the option of returning it easily should you decide not to use it, most people on the web recommend buying it from a store like Walmart, Radioshack, Best Buy or even QVC. It took me less than 10 minutes to install Magicjack (plug it into your PC's USB), register it, pick a phone number in my area and start using it. For me, deciding which number to use took the longest time. I live basically in Philadelphia, PA so there were a lot of local numbers I could select. The [...] site lists its available area codes and phone prefixes. Not all areas are available yet so make sure you can select a local phone number for your needs before buying Magicjack. Keep in mind that if you use a non-local phone number for your Magicjack, people that call you may incur toll charges or long distance charges.
After Magicjack was up and running, I tested it by making calls to and receiving calls from landline phones, cell phones, Vonage phone service users and other Magicjack users. Everyone I called commented that they can hear me clearly. I also had no trouble hearing them just as well. No echoes, no static, no disconnections, no strange noises. The longest phone call I've made so far lasted about a little over an hour.
Now, mind you, my Magicjack is on an IBM X41 laptop which has 1.49GB RAM, 1.50Ghz Pentium M processor and Windows XP (Professional) SP3. Magicjack is basically the only main application that is running on this computer. You do not need a dedicated PC for Magicjack but it won't work as well on a computer that have other large applications such as multi-media, graphic programs, email systems and games running at the same time. My internet connection is cable and I have a wireless router but the computer with Magicjack is connected "wired" to the router. I specifically wanted to test Magicjack on this type of system setup so that I couldn't blame any problems I might encounter on any other factor. I also wanted a system that I could leave running for 24 hours if I decided to use Magicjack as one of my main phone service.
The one problem I did encounter was at the beginning when I found that one of my phones wouldn't ring when someone called me. By googling the problem, I found out that this problem is due to the ringer equivalency number (REN) of the phone you are using (google "phone REN" to find out what it is). Most phones have their REN listed at the bottom of the base unit. From my experience, I believe Magicjack will only work for phones that have REN of up to 1.0B (add up all phones in your system to get your total REN. Mine had a corded base with 0.6B REN with 2 more cordless handsets. I figured that made my phone system total to 1.8B REN). Magicjack did ring on a phone that had 0.98B REN. To fix the problem, I bought a multi-handset GE DECT 6.0 (model 28223 Series) which basically has REN 0.0B. Magicjack had no problems ringing with this phone. My phone system was over 3 years old anyway so I didn't mind replacing it.
My system setup is probably an optimum environment for Magicjack although while Magicjack is running on one computer, I have another laptop running wirelessly connected to my cable modem in addition to a desktop connected wired to it also running *and* a Vonage modem connected to it.
To find out if Magicjack is right for you, google reviews on it first and be sure to read up on the system requirements and recommendations from Magicjack users that have had no problems using Magicjack and love using it. These users will offer the most detailed information and they give out tips and tricks to make Magicjack work at its best such as how to set up your system for automatic reboot, optimize your internet connection, set up your USB ports so your computer doesn't power it off, using "thin clients", etc. Be aware that you'll also find a lot of reviews from people who hate Magicjack but most of them seemed to have bought Magicjack when it first came out. You'll find complaints about Magicjack's customer support also but since I've had no problems so far, I have no experience with them. I used Google to get the answer to all the questions I had about Magicjack.
Personally, I think Magicjack works better than my Vonage whose service I plan to stop using soon. Also, don't be afraid to try it out even if you're not technical. My younger sister knows very little about computers and she also uses Magicjack without any problems.
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70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
You get what you pay for, November 9, 2008
magicJack - No More Phone Bills - Free Local & Long Distance Calls!magicJack Phone Device - 2 packmagicJack: PC to Phone Jack
August 2009: I like magicjack enough now to up the rating to a 4 star. It's a great deal, and I've begun using it for business telephone conversations with no problems. 2009 UPDATE FIXED ALL QUALITY ISSUES.
Original comments of Nov 2008: If you're looking for cheap long distance service, this is it... and they've reduced the price even more. If you live in an area where it takes long distance to call anybody 5 miles away, this is an inexpensive solution. It works well enough that I'm keeping mine.
An update for 2009 fixed the voice quality and dialing issues, which were major drawbacks... but these are fixed and do not exist anymore. That's the positive. There are minor drawbacks.
1) When you first install majicjack, it sometimes doesn't install right. However, the service desk does well at helping.
2) Every time you start your computer, majicjack takes over for 2:15 minutes, though it says it only takes a minute. My computer and connection are very fast. My fix: I plug magicjack in after my computer has booted, and the computer boot and magicjack boot both take less time.
3) While it's booting, it takes over your computer and doesn't allow you to do anything else.
4) Every time it boots, for the full time it is booting, it puts up a magicjack ad: Unnecessary brainwashing.
5) It puts icons everywhere: First, the main window appears in the middle of your screen. If you minimize it, it pops back up in the middle of whatever you're doing when the phone is used. Hell on games. I eliminate this by stuffing the open window under the bottom left corner with just a little corner showing so I can grab it if I want. (I guess I can eliminate this by unplugging magicjack, and pluggin it in only when I want to use it. Pretty antique operation.) Second, it puts an icon on your desktop, and if you delete it, it reappears every time you reboot magicjack. Third, it puts an icon on the tool bar that takes up space and inconveniences my management of multiple programs. Fourth, because it gets used some, it appears on the Start Menu quick start menu. Why all these icons? It's already running all the time! Fifth, it appears where I'd prefer it to appear: On the programs menu.
6) Fixed in 2009: People used to tell me they cannot hear me well. Now there is no mention of low volume or static.
7) Fixed in 2009: The transmission used to be one-way communication. You could not talk on top of one another in a two-way communication, as the transmission became choppy both ways. This no longer happens: it's like a normal phone now.
8) On the main screen there are tabs marked Contacts, Calls, and Favorites. The Favorites tab lists a bunch of links from throughout my computer, including from my browser favorites and random links only appearing in My Documents. Apparently the MagicJack program searched my whole computer for these links.
9) Fixed in 2009: In Dec 08 the I started having increasing problems dialing numbers in my area, though I'm dialing from another area code. I haven't had this problem since.
2009 UPDATE FIXED ALL QUALITY ISSUES. Now if I could just get those irritating icons to go away.
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21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Item still needs improvement, September 1, 2008
Yes, free phone service sounds good and is a huge savings - but ... the Magic Jack only works 50% of the time.
Often we can't receive calls in, or make calls out. We have to reboot the computer a couple of times per day.
Luckily, we don't use the phone much and we have cell phones, so this is not a huge deal, but still a concern.
The Magic Jack still needs improvement.
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