Anyone here using a MagicJack phone?

[14ers]

So, I saw this infomercial on TV, and this looks to good to be true, but after reading the reviews online I am wondering if this is for real. $19 a year for unlimited phone calls seems to good to be true. Right now I pay my cable company $39 a month for their unlimited phone package.

Are there any hidden fees? Are they going to charge me for my phone number or incoming calls or something? Anyone here have one of these and care to share their experiences?

hxxp://www.magicjack.com/site/index.html

[Antmeister]

Okay, I just heard of this from my mother after telling her I considered moving over to Skype. It has been featured on CNBC, cNet, PC Magazine and a number of places with news on tech, so I am assuming this is legit. Placed an order for the free trial to see if it is gonna be all that. Will report my experiences with it since I have been looking for something to replace my hardly used landline that is only there because of bad reception on the cell phones.

[KWhit]

Sounds pretty cool.

I assume your PC has to be on for this to work, right?

I wouldn't want to have to keep my PC on all the time to be able to get calls. I wonder what the additional power bill charges would run per month?

[Rich1033]

I use it and it works fine, very easy to get up and running. In the few months I have had it I have yet to encounter any problems or hidden fees. Its perfect for me since my cell gets bad reception in my apartment.

[Rich1033]

Dola

I forgot about the only drawback so far. When I set it up they only had a few different cities to choose from as fas as an area code. I had to grab a Cleveland area code since Toledo wasnt offered. They do however let you pick between the area codes from nearby cities as well as the prefix if I remember correctly.

Not a big deal for me, but it may be for some. There are no long distance charges from the magicjack, but other people may be charged for long distance calls to you if you cant grab a local number. I have no idea if the selection has improved.

To Kwhit- Yes, your computer must be on to use it. The magicjack just stays plugged into a USB port and then you plug any normal phone into the magicjack.

[Alan T]

Looking at this, how is this any better than other VoIP services offered such as Vontage? Looks like roughly the same pricing model, but has less functionality. Am I missing something here?

[Butter]

Looking at this, how is this any better than other VoIP services offered such as Vontage? Looks like roughly the same pricing model, but has less functionality. Am I missing something here?

Vonage is $20 a month. This thing is $20 a year.

[Alan T]

Vonage is $20 a month. This thing is $20 a year.

Ahhh, that is the crucial piece of information that I missed :)

[Horizon]

I have mine and love it. Saves me a ton of money, especially when I make calls while I am on vacation in Cabo.


My 2 pieces of advice.

1) Buy a good rechargeable mobile phone that has a base that plugs into the wall for home use. Buy a cheap no frills / lights phone for use with your laptop.

2) Setup a special Magic Jack Computer User ID on your computer that only runs the Magic Jack program.

[sterlingice]

Bump- so I've been looking at MagicJack lately. A couple of guys I know from work have used it and I'm thinking of dropping Verizon FIOS's phone (what with the $40 per month price).

Any thoughts and advice? I've heard the same thing as the above poster: setup an ID exclusive for it because of all the spam and software it runs in the background.

Also, after about 2 hours it will drop the call no matter what. But, frankly, I don't expect to be on too many 2 hour long phone calls and you can call back right after that.

Anyone tried faxing on one? I know they don't officially support it but in theory people have been able to make it work. My wife does need occasional fax support for her home phone line so that could be a deal breaker.

That said, the quality seems to be good and other than having to keep a computer on whenever you want your phone on.

Anything else to keep in mind or know about? Any hidden gotchas or good reports?

SI

[albionmoonlight]

I don't have all the details. I know that my sister-in-law had one for a while and did not like it. She had issues with it whenver the computer went to sleep. Whether it was a hardware problem or a software problem or what, I am not sure. But take that for what little it may be worth.

[dubb93]

She had issues with it whenver the computer went to sleep.

Isn't this fix as simple as a few clicks and setting your computer to never go into sleep mode?

[stevew]

At some point, by your PC not going to sleep, I'd have to think the thing starts to cost you some money in electricity.

[cubboyroy1826]

I have it now and will say the call quality is crappy and it has screwed up outlook on my computer. For some reason whenever i have the phone plugged in i get double emails and after a couple of days my email stops working and have to reboot. Not sure why and tech support was literally no help.

[Matthean]

I've used it for a year. I don't have Outlook, or use faxes so no clue there. The sound quality isn't top of the line. There certainly is a pause sometimes after you pick it up. I don't recall having issues with my PC going to into sleep mode either. You obviously need a backup phone just in case you lose power, but a pay as you go phone could cover that. Again, I've used it for a year and have other family members who have picked one up as well. I resigned up for 5 years for like $69. For that cost I'm willing to deal with what I consider minor issues.
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[path12]

At some point, by your PC not going to sleep, I'd have to think the thing starts to cost you some money in electricity.

But enough to make up for $19.95 for a year? I'd guess you'd still be coming out ahead.

[Neon_Chaos]

I have one, it's a life saver.

$20 a year definitely is cheap, considering I live in the Philippines and the cost for long distance would be ridiculous.

[mrsimperless]

Anyone tried faxing on one? I know they don't officially support it but in theory people have been able to make it work. My wife does need occasional fax support for her home phone line so that could be a deal breaker.SI

Sounds like somebody needs to run to Kinko's. AFTER she makes dinner of course.

[cubboyroy1826]

As for faxing with it i would stay away. Typically it will take me 4 tries to get a fax to go through and some times it never goes through.

[Airhog]

My previous boss had one, and it seemed to work well. He only used it when he traveled back to Asia, Vietnam I believe. FWIW, the few times he called me, it seemed to work okay, and for that sort of thing, I think it's a good idea.

[PilotMan]

So I just went with Magic Jack for my home service. Two years for 40 bucks plus the dongle. So far so good with it. I am routing it through Google Voice, and have it hooked up to my server and running it as a service. So as long as my server is running so is my phone service. As far as setting it up as a service it doesn't get much easier than this

http://www.evanvaughan.com/magicjack.aspx

It worked perfect. I am hopeful this whole thing will work out, and my wife won't kill me for dumping our home service for it. It will certainly save me a bunch of money if it does. http://www.evanvaughan.com/magicjack.aspx

[BYU 14]

We have had one for over 2 years and have been very happy with it. I use it for my home office when I am telecommuting.

Multiple voice mail options, no hidden fees and reliable. As others have mentioned there are times the sound quality is not the best, but it serves my needs and I have no complaints at all.