Cheap Phone Calls - MagicJack and Alternatives - Comments Page 1

I am using Magic Jack Plus 2014 edition. The phone quality is excellent in this version. No problems, and never had to contact support. Very easy to install. the price is right too.

Had used Vonage for 6 years, looked into Magic Jack and choose Ooma. Quit Vonage after 6 years as voice quality declined, price went up while support went down. Their target audience appeared to shift to Americans with relatives residing overseas.

MagicJack had a recurring, monthly charge when I ported my existing number to their system. This charge never ended & was unacceptable. My only recourse (with MJ) was to forego my established 30-year phone number and, take MJ's newly assigned number. Also, as you have said, MJ support is terrible.

I chose Ooma for support first and voice quality second. Didn't like the initial device outlay as it locks me into Ooma for several years. However, I do enjoy the quality service at a cost of incurred taxes per month. This amounts to $2 - $3 per month for my home phone. Note that with Ooma there is an uplift charge for Caller ID.

Ooma is the way to go. No doubt about it.

Calls within the U.S. and Canada over VoIP are free. Been using the service for over 2 yrs and am completely satisfied. Got rid of my local Verizon landline after testing a couple of months.

And, Google Voice and recently Fax capability works on this service. As mentioned, I only pay monthly taxes and fees ($3.47/mo. in my area) after the initial charge of the unit (buy at Costco for cheapest or offers online).

Additional features come with a monthly charge of around $10, but for $13.47 per month, it's a gem in my mind & experience. I get an additional telephone line for free with the Ooma handset.

Also rated the best in a leading consumer magazine over all others -- you know -- the one that doesn't accept advertising to rate products.

phil

I have begun to get an awful amount of pop-ups on my monitor. Sometimes when I delete one, several others pop up in their place. Is there any to eliminate this bothersome thing?

I've been a 3 year user of NetTalk and gave it up early this month. Over this period, quality and customer support have both degraded. I still have an open support ticket from almost a year ago, full of broken promises and neglect to my problem. I could not even reach local numbers.

On the other hand, Magicjack does NOT reach all landline numbers in the U.S. In particular mine and this was verified by 3 of my friends. Quality of calls I've received from friends using MJ often leave something to be desired.

I have gone to using an ATA (PAP2T-NA) and voip.ms where I have gotten superior quality connections, no problems yet, $1 per month for DID number plus 1 cent per minute inward and outward. Well satisfied so far and it fits my long distance usage well. I will never go back to NetTalk with all its problems and almost total lack of customer service.

I tried using VOIP based on my Google Voice acct. I've had for over 7 years and the OBIHAI 220. My provider is COX, and I have the 25 mgb plan, and they gave me a Cisco unit, that was both modem AND router, and looking on the Cisco site, it was a top of the line, so I was happy. But it experienced trouble, dropping my phone coverage, every 7 or 8 days. I'd know it was dropped, only by trying to call someone, hearing it dial, but never connecting. I contacted Cisco in Calif, and they said they ONLY assist, business acts., not personal, but to tell COX, and they'd correct the trouble,

I called, and the tech came on several occasions, and changed out everything between the Cisco and where the service connected, in the distance, changing all the wiring, inside and out, to brand new. Still, it continued. When I knew it was out, I'd place the straight pin in the hole in back, and reboot back to factory standards. THAT, gave me my phone service again. But when it was out, it'd not only NOT ALLOW me to make calls, but also to NOT RECEIVE CALLS. So, after they did all they said they could, I took the phone service with COX, and they swapped out the Cisco, for a Cisco modem, and a Netgear router. My phone service, with COX, works great, but it's certainly not free, as VOIP is. But, my Voice act. still works, but for some reason, that VOIP with Cisco, didn't.

When using Magicjack plugged into router, Magicjack device overheats to the point of becoming dangerous--so that is not really a viable setup. You should have researched this a little more thoroughly before giving blanket endorsement.

We have the OOMA service, both a Hub/Scout combo and a Telo. These days, the Telo seems to be going for about $99. It's a pretty good service, I like the voicemail forwarded to an email address, the call forwarding, and the ability to send telemarketers to the bit bucket.
Sometimes though, calls get dropped, and I was on the phone for an hour for a conference call and then my connection ended. I think it was the OOMA service, but it may have been because the Hub didn't have a static IP address. It does now, so next time we'll see if I can stay on a call for over an hour.

I use the original MagicJack - and the voice quality at the other end is generally terrible. I've tried to find out if the new MJ has better voice quality - but, so far, I can't get a straight answer. Thinking of trying Ooma even though it costs more.

Bob,
I have tried Vonage, Skype, MagicJack and Nettalk.
While I have had issues with all of them, I find Nettalk Duo best for my purposes. While they had a hiccup when I first started, they fixed it and gave me six months free service. Good customer service, good quality and great value.

Mr. Rankin:

I had been sitting on the fence with regard to the MagicJack which I have using on and off for almost 6 years now. I had to unplug it some months ago as the call quality was not good. However, I am not blaming the device.
I have DSL (low tier - 1mps) which is pretty slow comparatively speaking - - so the problem may be solved if I increase my internet speed which will happen when Verizon FIOS Finally arrives at my building in late spring / early summer according to my residence manager.

In the meantime though I think I will invest in the Nettalk Duo since it seems to have less complaints.

Again, thanks for the time you take to inform and educate your fellow Rankinites!

i've used magicJack extensively while only doing detailed research on netTalk duo. from the negative comments on the latter, it seems that some specific router models have a harder time connecting to it, but due to your more extensive knowledge on this matter, Bob, i could be wrong if this was, as you mentioned here, relegated to earlier problems with this then emerging technology. if possible, let me know what you think about it &/or if you've come across the same complaints.
Keep up the good work!

I went to Nettalk 2 years ago & never looked back. The biggest plus is that Nettalk includes fax support, faxing using Magicjack costs extra.

I have had an Ooma Telo for the last 10 months and love it. Calls are clear. Have not had any problems. If one has a good internet connection, it works great! I did subscribe to Ooma Premier service and I can block not only phone numbers but entire area codes which is one of the best parts of Ooma Premier. It's a lot quieter since telemarketers cannot get thru. Ooma Premier is $10 per month or a one time payment. Am only billed monthly on my credit card for taxes since I pay for the Premier service with a one-time payment.

I have used Magic Jack now for about 5 years. I use it 4 or 5 months of the year when we go south for the winter. Sometimes it works great and sometimes it won't work. Recently it was crashing during a call or when loading. Mj did an upgrade and it seems to be working well again. Would not want it as my only phone.

I use IconnectHere, it's about $15 a month for 800 minutes transatlantic calls. I agree : not the cheapest one, but I have an US number here in Europe. So friends and relatives in the US can call ME for nothing or close to nothing. I only need an internet connection (router), their VoIP box and a standard phone ...

I have used MagicJack for years, in fact I own a few of them as I travel overseas and I always have a spare just in case one decides to quite on me. Basically you can not beat the price and the call quality is better than I have heard on some cell phone calls. As mentioned in the article CS via "chat' is not the best. Also have a sub plan with Skype which works out cheap to call other Countries. No landline ...got tired of the pricing, "Rachel from card services" calls, political...and all the other annoying calls.

MagicJack generally works ok. BUT phone calls are frequently disconnected and I can not call some 800#'s. When I contacted MagicJack about these issues they conveniently blamed the problems on
my router. They also refused a refund as I was beyond the 30 day limit. When I need quality telephone service I maybe forced to return to the high priced Teleco I left.
Also of note re the MJ customer service they offer additional free use of their service to discontinue the support chat.

I HAVE HAD M/J FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS AND M/J PLUS FROM ALMOST DAY ONE AND HAVE NEVER HAD THE FIRST BIT OF PROBLEM. I USE MY M/J WHEN I'M OUT OF THE COUNTRY AND AGAIN WITHOUT A SINGLE PROBLEM.

I think Bob covered this topic sometime a go. There are many VOIP service providers to choose from. All have different features and cost plans. I am sure reliability varies as well. VOIPO seems to work best for me at this time.