Replace Your Landline With MagicJack? - Comments Page 2

Category: Gadgets , Telephony



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Posted by:

Bob Greene
17 May 2017

If Magic Jack claims are true, that flies in the face of its apparently terrible record with customers. Years ago, the Florida state's attorney general warned MJ about its reprehensible conduct with the public.

Most complaints about MJ concern its poor customer relations, not the device, itself (which is not to say it is flawless). On one consumer complaint website, there is page after page of allegations detailing incidents in which MJ failed to follow through promptly and fairly on its own commitments. When lawsuits are settled, details are often sealed from public scrutiny by court order. That seal makes the definitive judgment on MJ-- and its customers-- very difficult.

Like Bob Rankin, I know some consumers have no significant problem with MJ. However, on reviewing much of the consumer agitation and smoke about MJ, I have decided something is amiss, if not on fire, and did not pursue my own interest as a prospective customer. My contacts via chatline with MJ customer service were answered evasively and incorrectly by MJ staff on several occasions, which confirmed my decision to avoid MJ.

Those who wish to pursue the matter before becoming an MJ customer should search the internet with terms like "Magic Jack + criticism + complaint" and read for themselves the consumer experience. Starting any consumer website is an expensive proposition with no return on investment, so it is plausible that no anti-MJ website would exist, had MJ acted in fairness and transparency with certain of its customers. Something is amiss.

Posted by:

Thomas Davis
17 May 2017

I've had MJ for several years. What you say about it is mostly true. However, there are some area codes in the US that are NOT free. I know because we have relatives in a small town and MJ will not complete the call without a charge. MJ doesn't tell you about this until you actually try to call a number in one of these areas, and when you call MH customer service, that is when you find out that not ALL numbers in the US are free.

Posted by:

Dennis Soli
17 May 2017

All, remember MJ is costing you a few dollars a month. One of the ways they do that is they have poor tech support. But remember you paying about $20 per year or less than $2 per month. This is another case of you get what you pay for.

Having said that, I have a buddy in Australia who has been using if for over a year. My calls to him and his calls to friends in the US are free (well - less than $2 per month). I have a friend who calls Norway (from Florida) and all of her calls are free. Both of them love it. Me personally, I have had issues with it, but after struggling with tech support, it has worked fine. But you have to be able to put up with inconvenience when chatting with MJ tech support.

If you are lucky, the device will work great and you will be very happy with it. Otherwise, you will get frustrated and will just be another device sitting there collecting dust. Good luck.

Posted by:

Phil
17 May 2017

I've had a Magic Jack for several years. I bought it because I was living in Europe and could make free calls to the US.

I moved back to the US 2 years ago. When I discovered that my ATT phone was actually VOIP I cancelled the service and starting using the MJ as my home phone. It works just as well as ATT did. Sound quality is much improved since the 1st one 6 or 7 years ago.

I bought one for my daughter in Spain and we can make free calls MJ to MJ. Also, international rates are dirt cheap if you call to a landline in Europe.

I thought it was a scam when I 1st heard about it. It's not, and it works great.

Posted by:

John Martin
17 May 2017

I have had MJ for over 5 years. I did not want to be tied to my router with a long phone cord, so I purchased a cordless phone with 4 hand sets, plugged the base unit into MJ, have mobility in my home with 4 cordless extensions. I recommend this product to my relatives and friends.

Posted by:

Brigitte Robertson
17 May 2017

I read Bob's reviews of MJ many years ago, but was a little hesitant to try it, as I didn't want to lose our long-time phone number. A few months ago, I finally realized, that I was paying AT&T in excess of $60 per month, for just a few local calls. Magic Jack has been wonderful, although there were growing pains. Installing the device was not just plug-and-play, I was on the (cell) phone with customer service for several hours. They also don't tell you up front, that there is a fee for keeping your old number. That said, I haven't looked back, and I was more than happy to fire AT&T.

Posted by:

Nick Iacovelli
17 May 2017

I use obhai one time fee for the box and that all it uses google voice for number and totally free

Posted by:

John T
17 May 2017

Really do not see the point in having this device and then also a mobile phone!
I finally cancelled my landline years ago and only use my mobile phone.
I have had no bad experiences operating this way.
MJ as other VoIP services is an additional cost and if you lose your internet then your lose your phone too.

Posted by:

Charley
17 May 2017

Magic Jack has certainly improved over the years, especially for people who have relatives overseas.

But you still need a reliable Internet connection.

So in a power outage, Magic Jack won't work if your Internet is down (which is the usually the case in a power outage).

The most reliable system is still an AT&T landline. But you are paying a lot for it.

And my experience has been that cell phones often don't work with area wide power outages.

So I may be a little crazy but I have an AT&T landline, a cell phone and also phone service from my cable company. And I use Skype to talk with people overseas.

Posted by:

Rob
17 May 2017

I have had magic jack since 2008 and it has been a work horse for me, I got it when it was 19.99 a year and it sounds too good it was not it worked great the one and only issue that I have is that the time resets to there server time which is back east so the time on the phone is always wrong, however I prepay for 5 years at a time and I have not had a phone bill in over 7 years, magic jack renews automatically and it just works I have moved several times it is easy as long as you can connect to the internet you have phone and you can take it with you and use it all over the US and Canada with you laptop and have instant phone they are calling your home number and they get you whether you are in florida or california.

Posted by:

Tomzzz
17 May 2017

To get absolutely free USA calls over VOIP, I bought an OBIhai 200 unit (Amazon.com) for $47.00. Now I get free calls through my Google Voice number!

I just plug the OBIhai box into my router and then my old-fashioned home phone into the little OBIhai box. A few tweaks on the OBIhai website and I'm making and receiving free calls through Google Voice.

No monthly charge is the best!

Posted by:

nicky49
18 May 2017

Magic Jack is ok until you have a problem. Then the aggravation begins because they have the worst customer service out there.

Posted by:

Jerry
18 May 2017

Have had MagicJack Plus for years with no problem whatsoever........ we pay with a five year plan which averages out at 19.95 a month....... it seems that some people are just not compatible with MagicJack. LOL

Posted by:

Hugh Williams
18 May 2017

I am interested to know why Majic Jack works out better than apps like Whats Up or We Chat.
Both are free, and you can send videos, large files have video calls and texts all for free to mobile and landlines I think. We use it on a mobile with a Sim but no plan at all so it is totally free to family in Europe. I believe it works on pc as well

Posted by:

Sy Ellin
18 May 2017

We have 2 Magic Jacks. Obviously to serve 2 locations. Both phone numbers are the same so it rings at both locations.

Posted by:

Cat
18 May 2017

I have used magic jack around 8 years now, i love it!!! I find it will not bog down your pc if you plug in magic jack to make your call..you can always check email to see if any called you.
I LOVE magic jack, it has saved us a lot of money on phone calls.

Posted by:

Phil Rome
18 May 2017

I have used at least 2 iterations of MagicJack over several years early on there were a few instances when I could not get a dial tone. Most the time turning the cable adapter and the router off for several seconds corrected the problem. I do the same thing for computer problems,just shut it down and reboot. For all long distance calls we use MJ free in US & Canada. We have many relatives in Germany and make many calls at about 2.5 cents/minute. For international calls you need to deposit money into the phone number account usually in $10.00 increments, enough for 400 min. talk time for my wife to talk to her 6 siblings in Germany. MJ lists the rates for most countries in the world on line, there are many different rates. I am satisfied with the reliability and quality in recent years. Occasionally a call gets dropped, no problem, just redial.

Posted by:

Dee
18 May 2017

I have used MagicJack since it started up. Picked my own area code and number. Initially had to use speaker phone to get good quality however ever since the MJ App for mobile and tablet devices came out, I have had absolutely no problems. Bonus, you don't need the cumbersome computer and adapter with you if you are a traveller. Friends use it as their main phone line in both the US and Canada with two corresponding area codes. If you like the use of a hand held telephone or if you like to use your smartphone or tablet, MJ is a great cheap option. Ps. A Canadian area code will cost $10/yr extra.

Posted by:

James
18 May 2017

I am on my 2nd 5 year term with MJ. I have sent faxes with my MJ. I have the android app, using my cell phone. My only issue is that the app apparently closes, my fix was to just access the app daily. As far as PC issues go most fixes are resolved by rebooting PC with MJ still connected (could take several reboots). Keep your PC updated. Since I have the app for my cell phone and use wifi I no longer need my MJ installed anywhere. My best advice is to read about your MJ and understand ALL it's capabilities. Information and knowledge is a great tool. I picked a number as close to my actual location as possible. As far as the other FREE unit mentioned here, I guess you will need a GOOGLE account.

Posted by:

Boyd
18 May 2017

I have used Magic Jack for several years and canceled our landline December 2015. It is $20 per year if you pay for 5 years but you do have to pay the local 911 charges. That's a little less than $20 per year here. Still cheap in my book. Zero problems and we are able to send and receive faxes. I just wish they had come up with a better name.

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