Cheap Phone Calls - MagicJack Alternatives - Comments Page 2

Bob,

Can you say Ooma?

Better than Magic Jack & all the others and a lot less per month once you buy the base. You'll make up the base price in a very short time. I got mine at Costco for $180.

If you don't check it out, you'll be paying more per month.

Phil

I tried MagicJack a couple of times-didn't like it. I choose TracFone. Only $20 for 3 mos. Very good if you're a light user like I am. And then there's Assurance free for low-income people. Certain conditions apply.

Nancy, according to their website:
http://www.nettalk.com/en/competition
It is fax friendly

Frankly with the multiple poor reviews of Magic Jack I am reluctant to try either MJ version because the worst complaints are about the customer service experience and inability to process payment options. What difference does a better device mean when you can't pay for or enroll for the service to be renewed?

I used the old Magic Jack and hated having to leave my PC on all the time. I now have the MJ Plus and have no complaints. I have not had to use customer service and have been a customer of Magic Jack for 3 years. We live in a rural area, where every call is long distance, except within the city limits. The savings have been remarkable. Now if I could just get a cheaper broadband service I'd be in heaven. Alas we are limited to only one service provider. This is a trade off of not living in the city so who can complain?

Bob -

Way at the bottom of one of Skype's pages, I came across this little note:

No emergency calls with Skype

Skype is not a replacement for your telephone and can't be used for emergency calling

When I thought about it I realize 911 automatically gets your address. Probably can't do it with Skype. No problem if you have a mobile phone too.

Magic Jack Plus is awesome. Get rid of expensive phone service. Magic Jack for one year cost less than one month of regular phone service. I give it a top rating for price and depndability.

I just talked to the folks at Nettalk. They told me that they don't 'port your existing number to the new service' at this time; they also deny offering a paid return postage for any unsatisfied customer. These are two possible deal breakers for most people. Other than that, I love what you do.

EDITOR'S NOTE: You're right about the portability issue. But the Nettalk website does offer free return shipping for the Duo. See https://buy.nettalk.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1

"Free" is fine, but for trouble-free service from any phone, good told Tel3 (tel3.com) is hard to beat. Their service works out to about 2 cents a minute and it has been quick, easy and 100% trouble free for me for several years. I give Tel3 about $20 by Paypal once or twice a year and can use it anywhere - friend's house, hotel, cell phone, whatever. It has saved me tons of time, trouble and $$$$.

I debated changing to a service such as Vonage. However, a few years ago, my area was hit by a summer storm and we lost electrical power for three days. My ATT phone was the only thing working in my house. I live in the city so this was not a problem of being out in the countryside. Cell phones have to be charged, and these other services can only be used if your computer is powered up. I do use Skype for my international calls and find them quite satisfactory.

I have been using MagicJack for about 4 years now, and it works great. I had one problem where my wireless router was blocking calls, but I resolved that by updating the Router firmware.

Magic Jack is great, and works well. I likely will be trying out the new Magic Jack Plus soon as my 6-years of service contract runs out. I purchased the Magic Jack and 6 years of service for $110 and have had unlimited phone now for ~ 4 years. Any way you slice it, it been a real $$ saver!!! My only complaint is that for calls > 1.5 hours the Magic Jack drops the call. I simply redial the number and I can talk for another 1.5 hours. Spoke to customer support and they did not understand the problem nor could they help? May have something to do with my ISP resetting there ports? I wonder if anyone else has experienced this one bug?

Okay, I'll admit I'm stupid. what is a dongle?????

Always appreciate your research, Bob. I'm a full time VoIP user and reader of your articles, Bob.

Tried MagicJack and was not happy at all with the customer service. It worked a lot of the time... Then I went to NetTalk in its early stages. It worked most of the time and later stages almost all the time. It still serves me well, in fact it is my main phone. Since I was one of the early users I get lifetime free service! $20/month is very reasonable. Their personal service is a big big plus. I was also an early user of Skype. Price kept me with them. They did me out of about $60, which never got resolved. I only pay up by $15 increments now and not auto pay. I use Skype full time along with NetTalk. I'm happy with both, but Skype really lack on the service end of things. Quality of service about matches NetTalk.

Yes, I used MagicJack for FAXing, until I dropped their service. Now I would suggest seeing Bob's "Free FAXing services" articals. I use FAXaway.com now, even though I have a FAX machine. They are about obsolete.

Don

I recently signed up with VOIPO. $5.20/month. No charge for hardware device. Unlimited calling to US & Canada. No opinion yet as I just started service this week. So far, truly plug and play.

I started with Vonage last summer. They sent an e mail saying they had the program set up for only 11.95 plus tax. They sent the adapter free shipping and included a 25.00 American Express Gift Card. I had been with Cox Communication and was paying 39.95 per month. Now I pay 16.01 per month. I have no trouble with Vonage. All calls and everything are great. No problems whatsoever.

I have both the original Magicjack and the new Magicjack plus. The original works swell and I love it except that I have to maintain a computer for it. The Magicjack plus has extremely low and unusable receive audio whether it is in the USB port or on the router. I have been on their "chat" with a tech several times with no results. I keep asking for an exchange or return for repair but apparently that won't happen. Perhaps someone can tell me how their audio compares between the two models. I would gladly buy another if I had some assurance it would work like the original. Jim F

I live in the Philippines and have 2 Magicjacks. I can make free calls to the USA with no problems, and when I travel outside the Philippines, I take one with me and call home from wherever I may be in the world, again for free!

I am a little surprised that Ooma didn't make it in your Magic Jack alternatives. The Ooma system costs as little as 179.99 (at Costco). After the initial investment, it costs $3.45 per month for taxes. It is a great System. I have been using it for about 2 years and have yet to regret it. Take it with you and you can access the system from any router wireless with the optional wireless adapter that plugs into the unit.

I've used all sorts of VOIP alternatives. The best by far is OOMA. Hope you'll review it soon.

Bob, you didn't mention Oomaa. Why not.

I noticed that Nancy asked about any of these devices that can be used to fax, there is one Net Talk does. I just thought you should know. I think that Net Talk is far superior to Magic Jack!!