MagicJack - forget it on Intel Macs for now

[vettejock99]

First, let me say that I have found the MagicJack to be surprisingly good on ALL wired connections I've tried under Windows and using most wireless connections it has worked as well as most cellular calls (for me, at least). That said, I bought it to use on my Intel Mac Mini running Leopard 10.5.2. Now that I've had it a couple of weeks, I began the process of trying to use it there, and let me tell you - it is currently not an option.

First, it appears that MagicJack has killed the Java "hybridizer" applet that upgrades the unit to work on Mac. If you contact technical support, they are as bad as any first tier support I've ever seen.

So, no long story here, just a "buyer beware" if you think you are going to use it on an Intel Mac and a plea to any MagicJack insiders here to get it resolved. Maybe this should be in the "Rant and Raves" section, as I know it has a little bit of both, but if someone can challenge me technically on what is going on here and actually fix it, that would be great.

[Trebuin]

I'm in the same boat. I'm running it just fine on the vista side but on the osx side, there is just no controlling the QOS.

[AsparagusBear]

I have had no problems whatsoever running the MagicJack on my Intel iMac...

Then again, I never exposed this MagicJack to any windows products.

When I first plugged the unit in I got an error telling me that the device was unreadable, just ignored that and applied the fix from the website and have run with no issues since.

[Trebuin]

I have had no problems whatsoever running the MagicJack on my Intel iMac...

Then again, I never exposed this MagicJack to any windows products.

When I first plugged the unit in I got an error telling me that the device was unreadable, just ignored that and applied the fix from the website and have run with no issues since.

Actually, it runs fine on the vista side. The computer is a server running videos, encoding, and high bw file transfers. On the OSX side, MJ is crippled with no tuning ability. On Vista, I can give MJ both BW priority and CPU priority.

[vettejock99]

I have had no problems whatsoever running the MagicJack on my Intel iMac...

Then again, I never exposed this MagicJack to any windows products.

When I first plugged the unit in I got an error telling me that the device was unreadable, just ignored that and applied the fix from the website and have run with no issues since.

I suspect that would no longer work, as the Java applet is no longer working properly.

[technoweenie]

I have had it working on my macbook for over 3 months with no issues. I did just send it off to the Philippines (I have a house there) with the macbook. I hope it still works the same. I never plugged it into a windows box, applied the MAC fix, and it worked.

Lets hope this is true once it arrives and and plugged in there.

tw

[AsparagusBear]

I have had it working on my macbook for over 3 months with no issues. I did just send it off to the Philippines (I have a house there) with the macbook. I hope it still works the same. I never plugged it into a windows box, applied the MAC fix, and it worked.

Lets hope this is true once it arrives and and plugged in there.

tw

I have a friend who has family in Manila and he is sending them a MagicJack as well. He had them do the http://www.testyourvoip.com/ first to make sure their internet connection was robust enough and it passed. Am curious to know how well this going to work out for them all, if it does, its going to save then Hundreds if not thousands of dollars in long distance calling.

[vettejock99]

My connection is plenty robust. 15mbps down, 1.5mpbs up. That doesn't resolve the issue, though. Hopefully his will be new enough that it will just have the proper software already on it.

[reyrios]

I am running 10.5.3 on my mac mini with no problems, except no caller id (on my handset) and no call waiting (second call goes straight to VM). Other than that, I sued it every day with great audio quality.

[vettejock99]

I am running 10.5.3 on my mac mini with no problems, except no caller id (on my handset) and no call waiting (second call goes straight to VM). Other than that, I sued it every day with great audio quality.

Um......good for you. Doesn't help anyone who needs to "upgrade" his/her MagicJack. Their site still won't let you do it.

[AsparagusBear]

I am running 10.5.3 on my mac mini with no problems, except no caller id (on my handset) and no call waiting (second call goes straight to VM). Other than that, I sued it every day with great audio quality.

Um......good for you. Doesn't help anyone who needs to "upgrade" his/her MagicJack. Their site still won't let you do it.

Are you still not able to get the Magicjack to work on your mac?

What happens when you plug it in on the Mac?

[vettejock99]

I am running 10.5.3 on my mac mini with no problems, except no caller id (on my handset) and no call waiting (second call goes straight to VM). Other than that, I sued it every day with great audio quality.

Um......good for you. Doesn't help anyone who needs to "upgrade" his/her MagicJack. Their site still won't let you do it.

Are you still not able to get the Magicjack to work on your mac?

What happens when you plug it in on the Mac?

It says something about an unrecognized disk or something similar.... Whatever is often reported here and elsewhere. Seems like the upgrade probably reformats some (partitioned?) or all of it, but of course I can't upgrade because the link is no longer on the site.

[AsparagusBear]

Um......good for you. Doesn't help anyone who needs to "upgrade" his/her MagicJack. Their site still won't let you do it.

Are you still not able to get the Magicjack to work on your mac?

What happens when you plug it in on the Mac?

It says something about an unrecognized disk or something similar.... Whatever is often reported here and elsewhere. Seems like the upgrade probably reformats some (partitioned?) or all of it, but of course I can't upgrade because the link is no longer on the site.

Yes, the link is gone from the site at this time. I guess the only solution would be to ask customer service where the link is... that could take lots of time though.

[vettejock99]

Are you still not able to get the Magicjack to work on your mac?

What happens when you plug it in on the Mac?

It says something about an unrecognized disk or something similar.... Whatever is often reported here and elsewhere. Seems like the upgrade probably reformats some (partitioned?) or all of it, but of course I can't upgrade because the link is no longer on the site.

Yes, the link is gone from the site at this time. I guess the only solution would be to ask customer service where the link is... that could take lots of time though.

I tried that, too. Let's just say the "help" line isn't that helpful. Apparently it is harder for them to understand the concept than you'd think but then again, English isn't their first language, either. Though polite, their script does not allow for individualized thought. Me, I'm using the service for now on a PC, getting rid of the Mac Mini, and as soon as MagicJack gives me so much as one iota of problem I am going to write them off as a niche solution and revert back to Teleblend. They may have their issues, but the service is still a great value, and I don't have to deal with the whole softphone/dedicated PC issue (and with my GrandCentral number I don't have to worry about them going out of business like SunRocket did).

[mb44]

I'm going away this weekend, so I decided to finally install the MagicJack on my laptop (it's been running fine on a PC for several months)...

I pop it in the mac, and nothing happens. It mounts a drive called PHONE with the Windows software, but no Mac software or install.

I look on their site and I couldn't find the software to download... after some googling, I found the link to the Java Hybridizer application: http://support.magicjack.com/hybridizer/macUpgrade.html which, of course, doesn't work. Looking at the Java console, the error is that their server, develop.talk4free.com, which has the java code on it, is not operational.

Code: Select all

network: Connecting http://develop.talk4free.com/support/hybridizer/com/magicjack/hybridize/Hybridizer.class with proxy=DIRECT
network: Connecting http://develop.talk4free.com/support/hybridizer/com/magicjack/hybridize/Hybridizer.class with proxy=DIRECT
load: class com.magicjack.hybridize.Hybridizer not found.
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.magicjack.hybridize.Hybridizer

Lovely. So I open up their live chat and talk to not one, but two people who have no clue what I am talking about and have obviously never used a Mac before.

info: You are now chatting with 'Melly'
Melly: Hello, how may I help you?
Mark: Hi, I'm having trouble getting the MagicJack to work on a Mac. It just doesn't install, and the "upgrade" page to work with a Mac doesn't lead anywhere http://www.magicjack.com/9/mac.asp
Melly: Thank you for bringing up your concern. Let me assist you with that Mark..
Melly: May I ask, are you using an Intel-Based Mac?
Mark: yes.
Mark: It's a MacBook Pro (Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.4)
Melly: Thank you for that informaton Mark.
Melly: May I know what is the exact error message you encounter everytime you plugged in your magicjack?
Mark: there's no error, it just doesn't install or do anything. I get a drive mounted called "PHONE" that contains the windows software, but nothing to run or install on a mac.
Melly: I see. I am so sorry to hear that Mark. But the upgrade for mac is not available.
Mark: what do you mean? it used to be available? I remember seeing it on your website. And your site says it supports Intel Mac!
Melly: Is there any antivirus running in your computer?
Mark: nope.
Mark: right on your homepage, http://www.magicjack.com/8/index.asp it says mac is supported and has the apple logo. and again in the FAQ it says several times that mac is supported.
Melly: I see. Please double click the "PHONE" icon Mark.
Mark: ok
Mark: there are 2 files - "autorun.inf" and "DONT USE THIS DRIVE" as well as 1 folder - "magicJack"
Melly: Please choose the autorun.inf Mark.
Mark: the Mac doesn't know how to open it... however, if I tell it to use TextEdit (the mac's version of Notepad) that works, but its just a text file, not an application.
Mark: [AutoRun] ;action="Please, use CD-Rom Drive to start mJ" icon=magicJack\autorun.ico defaulticon=magicJack\autorun.ico label=magicJack [Content] MusicFiles=0 PictureFiles=0 VideoFiles=0 [IgnoreContentPaths] \ \magicJack [DeviceInstall] ;DriverPath=
Mark: sorry, that didn't paste well, but you get the idea.
Mark: autorun.inf is a file that Windows uses, it won't do anything on a Mac.
Melly: In order to completely address your concern, Would you mind if I'll transfer you to our higher department, so they could provide you more details with your concern?
Mark: please do so.
Melly: Thank you for your patience. I will transfer you to a higher level of support. Please hold while I transfer you.
Mark: ok
info: Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.
info: You are now chatting with 'Roy'
Mark: hello Roy
Roy: Hello this is Roy, I will be assisting you today. Please give me a moment while I check your previous chat.
Mark: thank you.
Roy: Thank you for patiently waiting, are you using an Intel based Mac?
Mark: yes. as I told the previous tech, it's a MacBook Pro, running Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.4
Roy: In the Finder, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu.
Roy: Look at the Processor line to see which kind of processor is in your Mac.
Mark: its an intel core 2 duo
Roy: Please unplug your magicJack, keep it unplugged for 15 seconds then plug it back in.
Mark: ok, give me a minute to do that
Roy: Ok.
Mark: same result.
Mark: just the "PHONE" disk, no mac software or installation
Roy: Your autorun might not be enabled.
Roy: Can you enable it?
Mark: there's no such thing as autorun on a Mac
Mark: autorun.inf files don't do anything on a Mac
Mark: there is no Mac software on my MagicJack, and nowhere on your website to download it from anymore.
Roy: Yes, it is not available as of the moment.
Mark: that's a problem.
Mark: you say you support Mac, but you don't actually?
Roy: We do, we have some existing magicJack users using Mac, but as of the moment the Mac upgrade is not available.
Mark: well you advertise the product very prominently on your website as being supported on mac!
Mark: thats very misleading, don't you think?
Roy: We are very sorry for the iconvenience, it is not our intention to mislead, we do support Mac, it is just that the upgrade is not available as of the moment.
Mark: when will it be available? part of the reason i got the MagicJack was to use it when I travel, and so if it won't work with my Mac laptop, its pretty useless to me.
Roy: Please try it again in a couple of hours.
Mark: try what again? there's nothing to download or do? are you saying the website will be updated in a couple of hours?
Roy: Yes, please try to check the Mac upgrade again, it will be updated soon.
Mark: Ok, I will do that. Thank you.
info: Your chat transcript will be sent to magicjack@(REDACTED).com at the end of your chat.
Roy: Thank you for your understanding and we appreciate your patience.
Roy: Thank you for chatting. Good bye.

I figure it's not even worth explaining the "real" problem to these idiots... but it appears that "in a couple hours" the mac support will be working again. Right. I'm not holding my breath.

edit to add: If anyone would happen to have a copy of the Mac install app or the software or anything, and wouldn't mind uploading it somewhere or posting it, or even emailing it to me, that would be awesome. If I actually had the software, I'm pretty sure I could get the thing to work. Thanks!