Some information before purchasing MJ

[isleblue65]

I visited two Best Buy stores and a Radio Shack today to see if they had Magic Jacks there. The Best Buy stores had about 30 of them between the two stores. They were all the old style without the white square above the "J" in Jack. I asked the sales person how long they have had them and she said they just came in yesterday.

Radio Shack had the old ones as well (about 15 of them) and they received this latest shipment in the past week.

Authorized Magic Jack resellers (such as on Ebay) also are receiving the old style from Magic Jack. I purchased one from Ebay last month and it died after 40 days of use. Magic Jack will not replace it.

I was curious if any local Brick & Mortor stores had the new style (in case I decided, under some strange feeling of goodwill toward MJ to buy a new one).

In any case, it appears to me that Magic Jack is trying to flush out their old inventory of the first generation inferior dongles by sending those to retailers and distributors. If you order directly through MJ in Florida, you get the new style with the Echo control and better sound quality.

If I decide to purchase another MJ, I will not buy the old style. I also will not buy from Magic Jack directly because I do not trust them. Best buy has a 30 day return policy, and will usually honor returns for defective merchandise if it falls within 45-60 days of purchase because you can physically walk into the store, and I am a regular customer. Although I will have to wait until Best Buy gets the new style MJ in (could be quite a while), it is a no-brainer where I would buy a MJ next time!

Magic Jack is inconsistent on their return policy and they take returns (or defect exchanges) beyond 30 days for some people, but not for others. I was one of the others who have been shafted by MJ with 10 1/2 months left on my 1 year and a defective MJ dongle that I'm stuck with.

I would be curious to know how many people have the new style MagicJack and where you purchased it?

Craig

[az2008]

I would be curious to know how many people have the new style MagicJack and where you purchased it?

Wow. That's strange that all these old models are showing up in the retail chain seven months after the introduction of the new model. This doesn't look good, especially in light of Dan's recent episodes of questionable business practices.

I have the new model. I purchased it from MJ early last June.

Best Buy says MagicJack comes with a 1-year warranty:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 8029378138

The page has a "reviews" feature if you want to warn people that they're getting old and unsupported merchandise.

Mark

[pagemen]

i bought my mj off ebay
came with the old package but a new version inside

like this one:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21628376-

[az2008]

i bought my mj off ebay
came with the old package but a new version inside

like this one:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21628376-

Thanks. That's useful to know that packaging isn't the sole determinant. However, the OP said he examined the units and the don't have the white square behind the "J." So, it sounds like it's really the old version.

Mark

[neo1]

I recently ordered mine directly from MJ and was apparently sent the old one as well. Is there any other way to tell the version other than the white chip?

Thanks

Addition: I went back and re-read the thread. Mine does not have the white chip but did come with the cord. Perhaps there is a 3rd version?

[isleblue65]

The old ones all come with the cord. I'm not sure about the new ones. You got version 1 of 2. There is no third version yet.

I may start asking Ebay sellers to send me a photo of an actual MJ that I'm considering buying or bidding on so I can make sure I get the new version. I'm not sure that every seller even knows the difference!

The people in Best Buy and Radio Shack were surprised that they had an outdated version of the MJ, even though they recently received them. In both stores, they asked what the difference was and I told them about the physical difference (white chip under the "J"), and the anti echo and sound quality improvements. None of them knew anything about this. Not that I really expected them to.

Note: Packaging is not a determinant of the MJ version you have. I got an old version sent in the book style orange packaging with the dongle and cord in the foam insert, and it has been posted elsewhere that this is the new style packaging. Unless the Ebay seller repackaged mine in a new version package, this method is not accurate for determining version. Look for the white chip under and above the "J".

Mark, I think I will inform folks that they are buying the outdated MJ dongle, not the latest and improved.

This is yet another not so surprising look into the business practices of MJ.

Craig

[Rickiev]

Buy it via the MagicJack website, if there's a problem, its easier to return and exchange because you purchased it from them.

I've read people having problems getting a replacment if they need it because it wasn't purchase from MagicJack. After a while, they do replace it but why bother with all that mess.

[ret27m]

isleblue65

Before you go on another site and tell people something that you dont know to be fact maybe you better confirm that they are indeed an older ver. I know a few folks that have gotten MJ's from BB recently and they dont have the white rectangle and they work fine and have no echo problem. My guess would be that there are so many being produced these days that its quite possible we will be seeing different boards thru the little window.

[isleblue65]

isleblue65

Before you go on another site and tell people something that you dont know to be fact maybe you better confirm that they are indeed an older ver. I know a few folks that have gotten MJ's from BB recently and they dont have the white rectangle and they work fine and have no echo problem. My guess would be that there are so many being produced these days that its quite possible we will be seeing different boards thru the little window.

I have not posted anything anywhere except for on this site as of now. All of my information has come from this site, and people here are pretty sure that the white chip is the indicator that it is a new version.

This would be a good discussion to have here. Maybe you are right that the improvements are embedded somewhere else in the circuit and what we are seeing through the window on some of them is just the same chip from a different manufacturer.

Has anyone actually spoken to an intelligent MJ representative who has confirmed that the white chip is the way to tell the new version, or is this just an assumption based on the date the improvements took place and that this visible change first started appearing at around this time?

Craig

[az2008]

This would be a good discussion to have here.

I think the questions are:

1. Anyone who has received a new MJ in the past 2-3 weeks (directly from MJ), does it contain the white rectangle printed on the circuit board, visible above the "J" of the logo printed on the clear window?

2. Anyone who has a true first generation device (obtained before May 2008, and not having the white square), can they compare their device to one of these possibly newer devices sold at Best Buy or Radio Shack to see if there is a difference? (physical, firmware, etc?).

Mark

[az2008]

FYI: Someone posted images of the three types of MJ units:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21646657-

The middle image appears to be Gen 1 which was replaced last May.

The bottom image is Gen 2, which began to be distributed last May.

The top image is appears to be what someone received in the past month as a replacement, and what is found in stores. I guess we call it Gen 3, or Gen 2a. It seems to be more recent than Gen 2.

It's a bit confusing because it doesn't have the large white block. If I would have seen it, I would have said it was Gen 1.

Confusion twice confused, people who are receiving it might say it has a "white block" because there is a small square device soldered onto the board behind the top of the "J". So, now people may be referring to two different things as having a "white square".

It's probably necessary to refer to Last May's Gen 2 as a large'ish white block, appears to be painted on the circuit board, and has a tall round dealy-o immediately to the right. This new Gen 3 doesn't have that.

Mark

[isleblue65]

Thanks, very helpful info. Based on those photos, I have a version 3 and version 3 is what all of the retailers have. The little tan chip with the red coil above it is definitely what mine is and what Best Buy and Radio Shack have.

I had no idea there were three versions!

So did version 2 have the echo control and sound quality booster? I wonder what they did differently with V3?

Craig

[az2008]

So did version 2 have the echo control and sound quality booster? I wonder what they did differently with V3?

I don't know. Maybe it's just an engineering change to reduce costs of manufacturing.

Gen 2 was reported to be a change to fix problems.

If I would have seen one of these newer things, I would have thought it was Gen 1 just because I'd never seen a Gen 1.

I'm glad that guy took the time to take those pictures and post them. It eliminates a lot of confusion.

Mark

[ret27m]

The people in Best Buy and Radio Shack were surprised that they had an outdated version of the MJ, even though they recently received them. In both stores, they asked what the difference was and I told them about the physical difference (white chip under the "J"), and the anti echo and sound quality improvements. None of them knew anything about this. Not that I really expected them to.

Might not be a bad idea to inform them that a mistake was made and they in fact have the NEWEST ver.

[az2008]

Might not be a bad idea to inform them that a mistake was made and they in fact have the NEWEST ver.

I'd also let them know that the MJ's behaviors in other matters don't make it easy to give the benefit of the doubt on such matters.

Mark

[tloe]

I am left wondering what the difference is between the gen 2 and 3 models, if anything. If you're buying off of ebay, just ask the seller to go to the dslreports thread and make sure you're not getting the gen 1 model.

[FredFriendly]

1. Anyone who has received a new MJ in the past 2-3 weeks (directly from MJ), does it contain the white rectangle printed on the circuit board, visible above the "J" of the logo printed on the clear window?

I ordered my magicjack directly from magicjack.com on December 7th (and had it up and working on the 10th). From the photos referred to on dslreports.com, it appears to be the newest version, no white square, but the small surface mounted part above the J in magicjack, as in the photos. It is definitely not version #1. It came with a USB extension cable in a pasteboard/foam package made for 2 magicjacks and extension cables, not bubble packaging.

The file dates of the autorun files on the first part of the device itself are 07/21/2008, but the magicjack folder on the 2nd part is dated 09/11/2008. I don't really know if it did an update when I first plugged it in, but until Christmas Eve when it was automatically updated, the main program files had a date stamp of 08/22/2008.

As this is my only magicjack, I have no basis for comparison, but, occasionally, I do get a substantial amount of echo.

FredFriendly
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[isleblue65]

I think this would help:
Version 1

Version 2

Version 3

[jonfk2]

There may be a version 4 as mine (purchased from RS the day after Thanksgiving) does not look like any of the above illustrated. Works GREAT with NO issues.

[az2008]

There may be a version 4 as mine (purchased from RS the day after Thanksgiving) does not look like any of the above illustrated. Works GREAT with NO issues.

Can you take a picture of it, close-up like the others? You can mail it to me at [email protected]. PM me here to let me know you did it. (I don't check that email account.).

Mark