MagicJack Phone Service

My mother-in-law has one and it can be annoying. Half the time she doesn't get her messages and when she calls, there's lots of static. Also we bought one before she got hers and were never able to hook it up, even after working with their customer service people. But that's just my experience.

Good Luck

Some voice-over-internet services do not pick up certain voice frequencies well - my brother has voice-over-internet calling, and it is useless as a home phone for him, because he has a deep bass voice and the phone simply doesn't pick him up. Works well for his wife, but my brother can't talk on his own home phone!

Hi Renee
They really do a lot of good advertising. I tried it last year and I could not get it to work really well with my laptop (which is all I have). Plus, when you are on the computer like I am all the time I still needed my phone line= for some reason it did not work that well for me. Hopefully, you will get some responses that say it works for them.
Good Luck and Blessings

Hey there, we have used the magic jack service, it's legit and it has helped out on the long distance calls. The only thing about it is it only makes certain phones ring. in our case we had to have it plugged in and have the speakers on to hear if we had an incoming call or sit at the computer. I personally love it since our family is all over the U.S. it even lets you create a "phone book" and you can store your numbers and email contacts. I've seen it sold at wal-mart and i believe target is selling it too now for like $20..good luck

My brother ( a true computer geek) got one to try and it is fun but I'm not sure I would use it as your main phone line. It is perfect for people with relatives out of the country who want to be able to call home easily. Or have others call them- since you can choose your area code.

I have been using majicJack for 3 months now & ABSOLUTELY love it & all it has to offer. I did the 30 day trial & had to order & pay S/H. It is now available at stores for $20 & IT'S YOURS TO KEEP FOR LIFE & connect to any CP for use. You just can't lose either, for $20 a year for phone service that has everything you can think of, even call waiting ID. It's the most creative invention yet. Not had one problem to this day! For people on fixed budget or not, it's one way to afford a home phone. Just remember, your CP must be on for phone to ring. A little extra electricity if kept on overnight. I normally turn everything off at night & turn back on when I get up. If CP off, calls go to VM which you get an email telling you the phone number where call is from & you can also call your VM & retrieve messages left. You can also tell magic Jack "Do Not Disturb" if CP is on & you don't want phone ringing, such as during the night or kids napping. Does take about 2-3 minutes extra to boot up CP when turning on. majicJack has to set itself up, so to speak. I use a base phone that is corded & connected to CP & then have just a cordless base unit (that came with corded phone) in living room. I do not understand why other people would have problems & do not know why. There is so much technical help besides all the answers to any question you can think of online.

Hi Renee
I do have one and its only downsides are if the internet is down, you have no phone service. Also your computer has to be on to recieve calls. Now you can pay extra for a voicemail account, but I chose not to pay the extra fee.

Ck

I had never heard of it before reading your post. After reading your responses I just wanted to remind or tell everyone who may have this type of service of something they may not have thought about. When we got our alarm system set up they told us upfront that it would not work if we had Vontage (or, apparently, the other services of that type).

I have one and love it. You do have to have your computer on at all times and high speed internet (dsl or cable) to use it, but you can have calls forwarded to say a cell phone if you like. I've only noticed some minor issues, occasional static, or lost voicemail. But seriously for $20 a year I love it!

In your browser type in "magicjack" read most of the blogs, there are loves and hates. I think I going to get myself one.
SP

My parents have it and it's horrible. It only works sometimes and will frequently cut off in the middle of a conversation. Also, with MagicJack you have to leave your computer on all of the time for it to work.

We use Vonage - we've had it for about 4 years now - and we love it. We've never had any problems and we're on the Internet all of the time.

A lot of it depends on which type of Internet connection you have. You need to have cable to get any of them to work well. Other types of Internet connections are just too slow - they don't have the bandwith to handle multiple phones and/or Internet and phone usage at the same time.

I personally don't have one but I know 2 different people that do and they both really like it.

Two things:
1. My parents have it. It's dead cheap but calls do get cut every so often.
2. Check to see if it will affect your emergency calls. When you call from a landline 9-1-1 knows where you are even if you don't say anything. Sometimes you don't get this with Internet phone service.

My parents got this a few months back and it is terrible. It works when it wants to and half the time I can hear them but they can't hear me and vice versa. They are the only ones I know that have it but based on their experience I would not recommend it.

I don't have it but my parents use it and they love it!

I would love to know too.

My sister got it and she loves it. She did experience the problems that a previous poster said that her parenys had, but my sister was relentless and kept calling majic jack until the problem was solved.She hasn't has a problem in months and loves the lower cost.

Hi Renee'

I did order the MagicJack and it worked fine. I didn't have any trouble with it and it was easy to install. Just plug it in, download the program to your pc when it pops up, plug your phone into it, and your ready to go.

I did return the item, because they said it had the capability for 3 way calling. That is a 1/2 truth, which I noted with my return. 3 way only works if all parties call you and then you connect them from your phone. It was a necessity for me, but if you don't need that particular feature everything else was good. Hope this helps.

J. F.
Helping Moms Work From Home
http://www.4MeAndMom.com

We had Vonage for a few years and it was the same concept. It was good, except that we couldn't have more than one person on the computer and use the phone. If two people were using the internet, then the phone didn't work. I have a 12 year old and a 9 year old, plus myself, my husband, and my MIL, and we all use the internet, so this was a problem for us. If you don't use the internet too much then this probably wouldn't bother you. I've never heard of MagicJack so can't really comment on the company.

my brother in law uses it and says it works great...we are now going to purchase it cause we did away with our home phone and are just using our cell phone!

i googled this with the bbb and they had a lot of complaints about this company.

hi renee....i have had magicjack for over a year now and it worked quite well, until we had to move due to all the hurricane stuff and switch internet services. when we had time warner it was actually pretty good. you do plug it in the back of your computer and plug your phone in and its that simple. they do have all you said they offered and for a low price.....when we switched to the basic at&t basic internet(the cheapest)for some reason hasnt worked as well....we were also trying to go cheaper. well u have a good day.

I know someone who uses it & she swears by it. She even promotes it in her email signature. The only thing I'd suggest is try it for yourself & see. Good luck.

Hi Renee, I bought the magic jack after I saw your question here. that is why my response is so late, but I found it is worth it! I got it at Walmart, so i would be able to return it easily. It really works very well, I just have to have my PC on to use the phone. It did seem like it was a slower connection on my Pc if I did both at the same time. You have to have a certain level of pc to. I recently went back to my old Pc ( Windows 98) because I got a virus on my windows xp pc, and it doesn't work on the 98. If you have another phone you can use when your power is out or pc is off, you will like it, and its worth it, for long distance and if you are like me, I didn't have a home phone just a cell, it saves my anytime minutes! Just know that if other people call you, they may be hit with long distance charges. Best of luck! S.

I wouldn't use it for my main phone service. I agree about Vonage....it's GREAT! And, CHEAP!

We were in Aruba in February and had someone tell us about MagicJack and said that he had called home every day to check in with his office....all from his MagicJack. I thought it was designed for travel purposes.....not sure I would consider using it as home phone, but I guess it could be.