Will MagicJack Replace My Landline? - Comments Page 1

Category: Telephony



All Comments on: "Will MagicJack Replace My Landline?"

Comment Page: 1 |  2 

Posted by:

Stu
18 Sep 2020

I have been an avid supporter of Magic-Jack, at one time had 3 numbers with them...Now due to bad customer service I have let one expire....the same will happen with the other two. Just not trustworthy!

Posted by:

JP
18 Sep 2020

You can't really replace a landline with magicJack because you have to have an active Internet connection to use it. Chances are, if there's a bad storm that knocks out power, you won't have access to the Internet. With a landline, chances are very likely that you'll still be able to make phone calls.

"Most" people now have a cellular/mobile phone, and most of those are smartphones that allow the use of apps. I use WhatsApp on mine and make daily calls to the UK for free.

I once used magicJack, but it didn't fair well on calls that required me to "press 1" to speak with a customer service rep, or to enter the digits of my prescription number, etc. Also (when I last used it), there was an unspecified amount of "fair use" allowed. I never reached that point, but read complaints from people who had their service cut-off temporarily.

If you have cell coverage in your area, I think you're better off with a cell phone.

Posted by:

Tom
18 Sep 2020

I have been using magic jack for over a year and deleted my land line. Am very happy. Computer does NOT have to be on to make/receive calls. If you are on a call and a second call comes in you hear a beep. If you ignore the beep their message is recorded and will play on your computer. Very Happy. Tom

Posted by:

hifi5000
18 Sep 2020

The way they have advertised the service in the past inferred the service is free.It is not and you have to do your due diligence to see if the service is right for you.

Be aware your phone service on MagicJack will be just as good as your ISP access.If your ISP is unreliable,I would think twice before dropping your copper landline.

Posted by:

William Morris
18 Sep 2020

I don't have a land line. I use my cell, Duo, Zoom, and Skype. I don't see where Magic Jack would be of any addition to these.

Given that, should I choose to get one, would they provide a phone number?

Posted by:

sandy
18 Sep 2020

I have had MagicJack for more than 7 years. Only problems I have had had been the power connector quick working and it took a bit to figure that out. We have MJ in Israel with family, Costa Rica with family and Colombia. It has been great. I take it when we travel. At home we have it connected directly to the router and have a wireless phone with an answering machine. Love it.

Posted by:

Bob K
18 Sep 2020

I use NetTalk. It is very similar to Magic Jack, both for features and price. The reason I picked that was MJ said it would not work for FAX machines, and NT said "why not?" My Net Talk has been great!

Recently ported my main phone number (was via the cable ervice provider) over to Ooma. That service is great! Ooma provides many enhanced features, and the price per month can be about the same as MJ and NT.

The Ooma service gives me 7 digit dialing for my area code, while both MJ and NT required 10-digit on all calls.

Posted by:

gwc
18 Sep 2020

I have had a Magic Jack for at least 10 years, took it overseas with me with no problem then let it expire. When AT&T started raising their rates, I got a new model Magic Jack in February of this year, have it on battery backup as well as my router and haven't had a problem. I did fire AT&T and love it.

Posted by:

Nigel
18 Sep 2020

We get cable TV, phone & Internet from one provider. Due to price bundling & special offers it was actually less expensive to have all 3 rather than just cable TV & Internet. Also when you dial 911 from a landline your address/location comes up on the screen in the dispatch centre. With Magic Jack, I doubt it. Disclaimer, we live on the West coast of Canada and was in effect when we signed our contract. So check carefully before getting rid of landline.

Posted by:

Thomas J Davis
18 Sep 2020

You cannot call "every Number" in the US. There are some phones in the US that you cannot call without paying a charge. I have a relative that I have to pay a charge to call with MJ

Posted by:

bill
18 Sep 2020

Been using it for years. Never a problem of any sort. Connected to modem and to landline phone with 4 extensions. When I want to block annoying calls I goto magicjack page on net and add it to call blocking feature. You can add up to 99 numbers. Have never looked back

Posted by:

chuck
18 Sep 2020

the only problem I have with MJ is CLID has no name only number

Posted by:

Vince
18 Sep 2020

MagicJack might be good for urban/suburban areas, but for rural areas with poor or no access to the internet, it's not a good replacement for a landline, especially in an emergency. We pay about $60/month for a landline because our internet is via wi-fi and our cellular reception is one bar at most. When the wi-fi is up, we can use that feature on our cell phones, but can't rely on it 24/7.

Posted by:

Roger A mager
18 Sep 2020

I've used MJ for years. No issues of late. BUT live in a major metro area and have good solid Internet. I think the key to successful user-friendly dependability.

Posted by:

Emily Booth
18 Sep 2020

I've had Magic Jack for over a year. I dropped AT &T after being a loyal customer for over 40 years.
My phone bill kept rising primarily due to taxes and fees.

AT&T dropped a negotiated local phone call plan with a local consumer group. When this happened, I was grandfathered in. I continued with AT&T but my phone bill continued to rise. I reached a point where I couldn't negotiate anymore discounts with AT&T. I was told they were dropping landline service in my state. So, I went to Magic Jack.

I don't use the Magic Jack app on my cell. It added an additional step to making calls.

I'm very happy with Magic Jack. The quality of sound is better than AT&T. I get an email with a recording whenever a message is left.

Best of all, I got rid of a monthly bill. I still have U-Verse, tho.

Posted by:

Joan E Moore
19 Sep 2020

I have had Majic Jack for years!! Great product, does what it says it does. No problems, no hassles! Can't imagine going back to a real telephone line. I just have a data from ATT for my computer... and since I'm a SR I get it fopr $10 per month! Score!

Posted by:

Walter Freitag
19 Sep 2020

My Ooma quit and I switched to MJ. Wrong choice!!! Over the first month of service, I made 4 calls to tech support (India) to try to solve the problem of having to reset the device every 1 to 3 days! The only way you could tell it needed to be reset, was when you tried to make a call.
Had to pay $17 for phone tech support.
Poor customer service. If I have anymore problems with MJ, I'll switch back to Ooma.

Posted by:

GregC
19 Sep 2020

I have used the Majic Jack GO for over three years and I would highly recommend it. It came highly recommended from both friends and family. It is an exceptionally VERY GREAT Value.
As noted above, it does NOT handle fax machines, and occasionally it will drop a call. I live in a condo and the WiFi interference is extreme and my HP Win10 laptop drops more often than MajicJack. My friend has an Ooma and it is considerably more expensive, without a noticeable quality improvement.
You will have to manually setup an 911 address if you want this service to be available. In Canada there is a $CAN10 yearly charge for a phone number, somewhat steep, since I only pay $20 a year for the actual MajicJack service. It was $100 for 5 years) ( still far less than Ooma )
Never needed to call support so I can't comment on that issue.
When we travel, we just use call forwarding to a cell phone. Feature setup is web based so if you decide to engage call forward when away, there is no problem. If your house power goes out calls are still forwarded. We unplug MJ when we are away.
By the way, almost all "land lines" are now VOIP and are subject to failure when there is a power interruption. My only cable company VOIP box would completely fail in a power failure, including call forwarding, unlike Majic Jack !

Posted by:

Kris
19 Sep 2020

I have been using a similar system "Nettalk" for many years now for about the same costs. I have friends overseas who also use it. Buy on-line, take a US or Canadian number and use on your computer in any part of the world with internet capability.

Posted by:

daz
19 Sep 2020

Short answer NO!!! Ive had MJ for 7 years and you can hardly make a call, the line quality is sooo bad, Ive had both computer dongle and router dongle. On the other hand, a Google Voice unit is free once bought and has PERFECT quality. When my 5 year contract runs out Im switching. I have the Google set up at 2nd residence.

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