Magic Jack - Good or Evil? - Comments Page 3

I have gone through four MagicJack devices and each has died after about 2-4 months of use. Their support team is exceptionally poor and I have caught them flat out lieing a few times. That said, I have had each MJ replaced at no cost and the replacement worked for 2-4 months. Initially the MJ worked great and I recommended it to numerous folks and most of them have experienced similar issues with the device and support.

I believe the MJ devices are pretty good if you plug them in when needed. If you plan to have the MJ plugged in 24/7 I don't think it is a mature enough technology to handle it. Great concept and hopefully they will clean up their support side and get the devices to remain stable for the long haul.

I have had MJ for almost 2 years and used with 3 different computers - the main one being a Acer 3.2 machine with 4MB of ram. I connect with Brighthouse cable with average download test speeds of around 50,000 and upload at slightly under 500.

From day one I have had problems with MJ - echo, breaking up, weak audio, either I or the one I called unable to hear, having to redial and on and on.

I have spent HOURS on the phone with tech support - that being an experience in and of itself. No matter how many times you call or what you have done in the past with CS, you are going to have to jump through the same hoops every time you call just like it was your first call - THE SAME HOOPS OVER AND OVER AND OVER . . .

Even when you are working with one of their "higher level" tech people and you have to re-boot to see if what they did helps, when you call back there is absolutely no way to get the person that answers to switch you back to higher tech UNTIL YOU JUMP THROUGH ALL THE HOOPS AGAIN - a total waste of everyone's time and a real pain.

Nothing has helped - I do not recommend this product. - jb

I am into my second year of use and although I had problems at first with my computer recognizing the Magic Jack, once remedied, I'm happy. It's still relatively new so bugs are to be expected. The bugs are no worse then Microsoft with its new operating systems. I took the 5 year special with my first year and won't pay another bill until 2013. My only complaint is that it has a way of popping up when I am playing a game and it takes me out to the the desktop. My biggest problem is that I have a way of forgetting when someone is using the phone and I will restart my computer and disconnect the call, oops !! When I compare the phone bill totals I used to have $120 and up to the total monthly I have now $0. You can't beat that especially with todays economy. Plus you own it, take it with you where ever you go, you own the phone number, no changing numbers when you move unless of course you choose to. I highly recommend Magic Jack to everyone. Thank you for allowing me to comment. Have a BLESSED day.

Bob, I have problems with any software that states "certain other information" will be gathered from my computer.

This phrase could not be any broader, opening up the dark thoughts that my entire computer is, indeed, open to them at their slightest whim.

To me, it's sort of like Obama wanting me to give up my gun. It ain't gonna happen.

One other thing here. Try running their TOS through Eulalyser and see what happens.

Lastly, please remember that "if it sounds too good to be true...."

I've had my MJ for about ten months. I used it in the Bahamas for three months with no problems. I used it in America for about three months with no problems. Now I'm living in South Korea and have used it about four months here. I have experienced no problem with this device. I've used high speed internet at all sights. I'll probably renew it at the five year level as it's been a very good add on for my computer and the cost can't be beat.

I'm still a happy customer. I'm hard to please, so this comment doesn't come lightly.

I have been using Magic Jack for a year without any problems. I do believe a lot has to do with the quality of your Internet connection and quality of your PC. The only downside I have experienced is that my PC must remain on in order to use it. Yet, MJ will still handle incoming calls and send them to their voicemail system.

Thanks for defending Magic Jack and posting this article. I hope MICROSOFT takes notice ! If you are going to spy on us and use that data to generate income , at least MAGIC JACK gives you, the customer, the benefits from it . MJ is much newer than MS. They create OS with problems and make another "newer system". Check your malware programs , they too include spyware. Cookies now include trackers in some instances. Thanks MJ you save me $ and have a great product.

Well I hate to tell you Bob but you have it all wrong. Everything that the BroadBand Nation blog says came to fruition. I know first hand. Not soon after I installed Magic Jack, my friends and relatives that were on my contact list started receiving emails that were claiming to be from me. I did not send them the email but a spammer did. The funny thing is it was a contact list that I have not used in quite a while and it showed up on the Magic Jack soft phone. So yes they used my personal info (my email contact list) and sold the information to a third party or someone willing to pay for it. Coincidence? I think not!

EDITOR'S NOTE: You could be right, but I think the chances of MJ doing anything like that are ASTRONOMICALLY SMALL. Here's why... Google, Microsoft and other companies are routinely accused of similar things, but it's always the stuff of rumor, smear and misunderstanding. It's just too stupid, because it could never remain a secret, and would destroy any company in short order. Coincidence? I think so! Do a thorough virus and malware scan and you'll probably find the answer.

I've used MJ for the past few months. I only plug it in when I make outbound calls. I forward all my inbound calls to my home phone; so I don't have to leave my computer on. I haven't had any problems at all. Since I live in a border state, and I'm not serviced by AT&T, it's a long distance call for land lines that don't have unlimited long distance. It's worked great, especially for the people that are calling me.

I think it is a matter of how much you trust any of these companies to "do the right thing." If their TOS or EULA says they CAN or MAY do something, a prudent person must assume that they are in fact doing or going to do it in the future. Unfortunately, so many members of "Generation D" care not one iota about their privacy and care only about convenience and what ever satiates their demand for immediate gratification. I wouldn't load their SPYWARE on any machine that I own but that's just my preference. And judging by these comments MJ's customer no-service speals for itself.

@jim brown
If your computer only has 4MB of ram that is your problem right there!

I have about 24 years of experience working with computers. I put together two computers about a year ago and have a router with custom tomato firmware. The router gives priority to VOIP. I can restore my OS from any state in about 15 minutes, to include but not limited to uninstalling MagicJack.

I have been using MagicJack for 6 months now and just got another one. There is only one problem that I have had with it. I keep my computer on running almost 24/7. There have been times when I have to go to advanced users and select restart. The reason for this is sometimes calls become unintelligible on the other end and even if I hang up and recall the problem persists. Only restarting the MagicJack software fixes the issue. Even with this problem I greatly love my MagicJack and have traveled with it. I always use the usb extension cord to avoid damaging the usb connector as I have read that some people have had issues with it.

As for leaving my computer on almost all the time, I am using an AMD Sempron 2800 processor underclocked to 2600 levels so the CPU pulls less than 45 watts. My next purchase planned is a backup power supply so that when the power goes out I can still make calls.

I purchased the first MagicJack online and got the second one just recently at the local Walmart. The land line is now saying bye bye.

I would Like to say MagicJack works great, no problems now that I have a higher high speed connection, those audio echos could be caused by programs running like scanning for viruses,or downloading, and when I'm not at home I turn my computer off! I can always check my messages later, or my email for voice mail messages.
Have a nice day!

I heard so much about majic jack I of course have found out for myself
I connected it to the computer, and did the set-up
waited then called my sister in New York from georgia
Well First it disconnected, then I called back and she could not hear me, and the third time we talked for an hour or so with no problems
I also called my other sister in New York and no problem
guess it has to warm up, but it beats the $200 a month bill, $20 a year with the jack, thats a no brainer and spyware well just keep the computer clean.
I had a spyware virus cleaner always catching keyloggers most of them it turned out came fromk my well known paid for software to get rid of the spyware viruses?????

I've been using MagicJack since last October and love it! I replaced the second phone line in my house that I was using for business. My MagicJack device is now my business line and it works great.

My TrendMicro blocked MagicJack from modifying HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\InternetSettings via \Application Data\mjusbsp\magicJack.exe
According to Trend Micro:
Policy Violate:
Internet Explorer Setting Modification

I use MJ and it works well and is a great bargain. However, your article contained misstatements.

First, it is not true that any piece of software running on a PC can access (read, write) any file on that PC unless the owner has absolutely no security. Second, just because an owner is no longer using MJ to make phone calls certainly does not mean that MJ could not connect back to some other computer across the internet collecting user information. It is highly distressing that MJ does not come with an uninstall capability to remove the MJ software, although third party software is available as you noted.

I'm going to read the TOS. I have no reason to think MJ is doing anything nefarious but until I'm sure about that I will be wary.

This extends my last post. The TOS looks good and provides me a feeling of comfort in that it is written clearly and appears to explain exactly what the MJ software is doing. However, I would prefer that it also include what the company and service may not do - that do not spy on me or my hard drive beyond what they expressly give themselves the right to do in the agreement, or do anything else malicious.

I am interested to find if magicjack works overseas and if there are problems. there are some countries that will block skype being using on to call to the US or calls being made from the US to another country.

I use magicjack almost daily from Vietnam. It works well both ways, although sometimes the quality is not great, probably because of bandwidth available.

i recently bought the magicjack online from its site, BIG MISTAKE! Although i love the product and it works well for me. My card has been charged with some purchases i did not authorize, and i believe it because of the MJ site. So my advice is , if you want to get the MJ u should buy it in a store or something not the site!