magicJack and magicJack Plus Support, Reviews, FAQs and Hacks

jeffnyc

Tried calling 1-866-562-7848 (KMart toll free). If I dial with mj it just rings and rings, if I dial with another provider it goes through and connects normally

HolmanGT · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:32 pm Post subject:

jeffnyc,

Same here, area code 435.

gooney · Last edited by gooney on Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:36 pm; edited 2 times in total

jeffnyc · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:53 pm Post subject:

anyone know why?

gooney · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:12 pm Post subject:

curiousgeorge · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:13 pm Post subject:

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/need-help-t573.html

Maybe this will help or at least try to explain the situation there are a few diffrent post's on this issue, try to search the forum for the best answer,but FYI its a problem on MJ's side that hopefully will get resolved if enough people complain about it(hint,hint Wink

) use the MJ live chat and give them the number you are trying to dial make sure you tell them it works on your landline,cell,neighbors landline and cell but not on your MJ they will send that number to their techs.
for troubleshooting (simply put they need to update/configure their servers to work with these problematic numbers) all part of the beta testing thats being done by us the customers. Hey Dan B. throw some of that tech support money this way. Wink

gooney · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:31 pm Post subject:

Ok i found the answer... If the first 3 digits of any 7 digit number is the same as an area code, MJ will treat it as one... For example 1-866-562-7848 (KMart toll free), the 562 number is the same as the Long Beach, California area code... Same goes for your local numbers, You can get through your local number though by entering your local area code first.

ahhhhh MJ needs to fix this

Stewart · Dan Should Pay Me Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 663

IMO, this problem is not related to specific exchange codes. For example, calling 866-562-7228 (Yahoo!) works just fine from MJ, even though 866-562-7848 (Kmart) fails. Likewise, 800-426-4333 (IBM) is ok, but not 800-426-7378 (another IBM number).

What is actually happening is this: Large toll-free users often negotiate contracts with their carriers where they are not billed during the initial IVR phase of a call (until the caller selects what service he wants, or sometimes until he is connected to a human). With traditional bulk phone service using multiple "dumb" T1 lines, the toll-free user would not signal "answer supervision" until the call had progressed to the point where billing should start. Although modern systems have eliminated the need for this kludge, the practice is still quite prevalent. If you call one of the problem numbers from a cell phone or IP phone that displays when a call is actually answered, you won't see "connected" until you have given the appropriate responses to the automated system.

Now, MJ is using an intermediate carrier to terminate toll-free calls; they have a configuration problem where they play an audible ringing signal until they detect "answer", rather than playing the audio from the customer's automated system. They also fail to send any DTMF tones to the system, so the caller cannot control it. As a result, the caller just hears ringing until the system eventually times out and disconnects.

I have reported the details about this to Amange; I believe that he understands the problem but it has obviously not been fixed. It's not clear why -- MJ receives a portion of the toll charges that Kmart or other toll-free users pay to receive such calls, so MJ would make more money if this worked properly. Of course, it would also make for happier MJ customers.

The good news is that there are many ways to make toll-free calls over the Internet without charge to the caller, e.g. Skype, FWD, Gizmo, Yahoo!, Grand Central, etc. AFAIK these other services do not suffer from this problem.

gooney · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:15 am Post subject:

Stewart · Dan Should Pay Me Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 663

The good news is that MJ has fixed the problem described in this thread. I made some test calls to a variety of toll-free numbers; there were no problems accessing and controlling the automated systems.

The bad news is that the new carrier (Choice One) insists on sending their own ANI on such calls. This is presently 585-698-1xxx (Rochester, NY). While some toll-free customers use Caller ID to locate a caller's account, route the call to a regional call center, etc., many use ANI instead. If you are on the west coast and call a TV show voting line, you may just get a message that voting is closed, because it's three hours later in the East. Or, if you call your credit card company, they may not see your phone number and will ask you for additional authentication information.

So, it's not clear whether the number of complaints will go up or down.

Some test numbers that may be useful:

800-437-7950 Reports your ANI.
866-692-6447 Reports your Caller ID. The announcement says "your ANI is", but it's really your Caller ID. It's not meaningful to block Caller ID on a toll-free call, but it's possible that some toll-free users receive the "privacy" indicator and treat your call differently if it is set.
712-580-9999 I don't know what this reports, because I don't have access to a service that allows me to set Caller ID differently from ANI on a non-toll-free call. If you know, please post. If you know a number that shows the other value, please post that, too.

diamond45 · MagicJack User Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 38

It appears that half of the time that the calls go through with the proper ANI, other times it is a 585-698-1xxx number.