Panasonic phone incompatibility.

[magicjock]

Hi, New MJ user here and I have a problem.

Similar to what is described in this thread, I have a Panasonic wireless multi-phone system (KX-TG5761) that isn't working the MJ.

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/post27418.html#27418

I've been happily using the phone with my Vonage / Dlink VOIP adapter. This phone when connected to the MagicJack will not dial out (it does ring and will accept incoming calls). When I try to dial I can hear a dial tone but none of the numbers are being sent to the MJ. An old, junk, land-line phone works fine with the MagicJack.

It doesn't sound like there is a solution to the problem... yet?

Can anyone suggest some things that I can try to get my Panasonic phone system to work with the MagicJack? I'd hate to give up on MJ so soon, but I kinda like my Panny phone and not willing to part with it.

TIA.

EDIT: Tried the 100k resistor mod and it did not fix the issue.

[davrow]

With my Panasonic I dial the number, then press TALK.

It does not send any keys to the MJ until TALK is pressed, then it sends the whole number.

Is this how you are using yours?

[Tims75]

I have the Panasonic KX-TG1032S system and it works well. I really like my Panisonic phones as well. I can just dial the number and push talk and it goes through.

Now, we won't talk about the trouble I am having with dropping calls. That is another post.

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/drop ... t4095.html

Any help there would be greatly appreciated.

Tim

[magicjock]

Well, I've tried dialing both ways and get the same result. The "softphone" doesn't register when the buttons on the phone are pressed; I just get a dial tone.

I just got through chatting with MJ level-2 support for 30 mins and they told me to check back in 2-3 days so that one of their software engineers can investigate.

Seems like a firmware issue.

[isleblue65]

If your softphone still works to dial out, then I would suspect it is your USB port not supplying enough power. I have a single phone cordless TAD Panasonic phone, and after the Lucky You upgrade I could no longer dial out. I could still dial out on the softphone and receive all calls on the Panasonic.

I just ordered the USB booster talked about here:

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/powe ... t4111.html

This is the booster:
http://www.windmilltrading.com/USBProds ... H-214A.htm

Now I just have to buy a new Magic Jack so I can use the remaining 10.5 months out of 1 year that I've paid for. Magic Jack does not replace defective units, even 10 days outside of the 30 day free trial period.

Craig

[magicjock]

Are all powered USP hubs basically the same? I do have a Belkin AC powered hub.

With the MJ connected to it I have the same problem - there is a dial tone on the phone but none of the keys, when pressed, register on the softphone.

The fact that the Panny phone does ring and will receive incoming calls combined with the premise that a similar phone (from the other thread) used to work prior to the Dec-21 software update leads me to believe that it's some sort of software/firmware issue.

That said, I may just order that other USB hub you mentioned.

[az2008]

Are all powered USP hubs basically the same? I do have a Belkin AC powered hub.

No. They can suffer from a weak AC adaptor. You can check the amps or milliamps printed on the adaptor.

A brand name like Belkin shouldn't be a problem. Especially if only the MJ is connected to it. I think there would be more chance for not enough power if other things are connected, using power. But, there could be ciruitry to reduce the power output to any port.

There is an inexpensive powered hub reported by MJ users to work well. The seller says s/he's a MJ user. See the FAQ answer about USB hubs at http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/MagicJack

Mark

[isleblue65]

The fact that the Panny phone does ring and will receive incoming calls combined with the premise that a similar phone (from the other thread) used to work prior to the Dec-21 software update leads me to believe that it's some sort of software/firmware issue.

That said, I may just order that other USB hub you mentioned.

Once I receive my powered USB hub and buy my replacement MagicJack I'll report back on whether or not I can dial out on my Panasonic phone. The inexpensive hub Mark refers to is the one I linked in my previous post.

Craig

[magicjock]

No. They can suffer from a weak AC adaptor. You can check the amps or milliamps printed on the adaptor.

I do know that in MS Windows you can see the actual (?) power required for all devices plugged into a hub. You can also see the power available for each port and the bandwidth used.

Device Manager-->Universal Serial Bus Controllers-->Properties-->Power tab

According to Device Manager, when I have my MJ plugged into a local USB hub on my machine, the MJ shows that 500mA is required (same for a Logictech Quickcam, which I have plugged into a different USB hub). I think that 1/2A is within the USB spec, and my powered USB hub is supposed to supply that amount of current.

[On a related note, I have run into situations (on an old laptop) where USB current has been exceeded. Windows will let you know about it in the form of a pop-up warning dialog.]

Once I receive my powered USB hub and buy my replacement MagicJack I'll report back on whether or not I can dial out on my Panasonic phone. The inexpensive hub Mark refers to is the one I linked in my previous post.

Craig

Yes, please do. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[davids]

+1 on the Panasonic cordless phone.

Have the KX-TG2344 model. After the upgrade, cannot dial... continue to hear dial tone. Incoming calls and outgoing calls from softphone are OK.

[Romulous]

Just wondering if you have Pulse instead of Tone dialing selected that may be an issue

[x5ive]

I am having the same issue. I have a Panasonic KX-TG2000B 2 line phone and I have Magic Jack plugged into line 2. Everything was working fine until the upgrade.

Now when line 2 is selected you get a dial tone and the MagicJack softphone will pop up on the pc screen however the dialed numbers are not registered. The only way to make a call is to dial out using the softphone.

[Kokkos]

I have a very expensive Panasonic KX-TG4000B 4- line that worked flawlessly with MJ until the recent LUCKY TO BE SCREWE....I mean YOU.


I have to initiate every outbound call through the MJ Soft Phone cannot dial out only hear the dial tone no touch tones initiate dial.

VERY FRUSTRATING not being able to downgrade.

Happy New Year!

Kokkos

[hmorton]

I have been having the same problem with no dial out on my panasonic phones as well as another phone hooked up to the MJ. So today I decided to see if I could either mod the phone base station or even the MJ. I tested the levels of DTMF on the panasonic base station and compared them to several POTs and found it to be very slightly lower than the POTs I then checked the frequency's of the DTMF and found them to be dead on. The 1/2Db drop from the panasonic should not be an issue in any way. At this point I wanted to look at the MJ circuits so I opened my unit up and then hooked up a DTMF generator that I have and started looking at the signal path in the MJ. This is when I noticed that my soft phone was displaying the numbers that I was entering in the display. So I hooked up my panasonic to the opened MJ and low and behold it was working! So I then put the cover back together and plugged everything back and to my surprise I had the problem again. I then removed the cover again and now it is working. At this point I feel that the chrome plated plastic is probably adding stray capacitance to the circuit card which may be mucking around with the input circuits impedance. I will run some additional tests when time permits. But in the meantime I wrapped the MJ in electrical tape and that seems to work as a stop gap fix.

More later when time permits.
Harry

[az2008]

At this point I feel that the chrome plated plastic is probably adding stray capacitance to the circuit card which may be mucking around with the input circuits impedance. I will run some additional tests when time permits.

That coincides with the 100k resister fix.[1] But, nobody knows why the 12/17 upgrade made things worse. Someone just posted that a 220k resister fixed it.[2]

But in the meantime I wrapped the MJ in electrical tape and that seems to work as a stop gap fix.

Soon we'll have to start a photo gallery on the wiki of the ugliest MagicjJacks.

[1] http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/MagicJack/ ... ller_ID.3F
[2] http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/poll ... 61-15.html

Mark

[side4]

I too have the Panasonic phone that stopped dialing out after the upgrade and after 4 -5 hours of pain stakeing non tech support from MJ discovered that the DTMF tones are too short after the upgrade and will dial out just fine on a phone that the tones are longer like on older phones...

[Kokkos]

At this point I feel that the chrome plated plastic is probably adding stray capacitance to the circuit card which may be mucking around with the input circuits impedance. I will run some additional tests when time permits.

I removed the case and tested still dial tones do not work with Panasonic Phone. ordered some USB HUbs - Powered.

Will post back on results.

Kokkos

[isleblue65]

The fact that the Panny phone does ring and will receive incoming calls combined with the premise that a similar phone (from the other thread) used to work prior to the Dec-21 software update leads me to believe that it's some sort of software/firmware issue.

That said, I may just order that other USB hub you mentioned.

Once I receive my powered USB hub and buy my replacement MagicJack I'll report back on whether or not I can dial out on my Panasonic phone. The inexpensive hub Mark refers to is the one I linked in my previous post.

Craig

I got the powered USB hub yesterday, but it does not work. I thought I would report that it is very cheaply made (chinese). None of the LED lights for power or individual USB ports lit up when the a/c adaptor was plugged into it, or when the hub was connected to the computer. However, the hub was receiving power - just no visual indication of anything. The prongs on the a/c adaptor looked like pieces of steel plate that had been die cut and chromed.

However, the seller is very accomodating and says he will gladly exchange it for another or refund my money, and that he stands behind what he sells 100%.

A USB hub is a simple device, so I suppose I will exchange it for another. If it works it should work for a long time. If it doesn't , I'll buy a $60 hub at Best Buy.

I still have a few days until my replacement MagicJack arrives from Florida, so not much I can do with the USB hub or my Panasonic phone at the moment.

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/e-ma ... 83-15.html

[pagemen]

if you check an ATA, you'll find there are SO MANY settings for the phone parameters, its irresponsible for MagicJack to just ship some simple USB device and claim it as plug as play.

there is a $20 usb hub around, which guarantees to work and confirmed by many users here:

http://www.windmilltrading.com/USBProds ... H-214A.htm

paying $60 for usb hub is just....well, if you have the money, that's OK. but I would consider a thin client instead, or some ATA...

[Kokkos]

Here is what I purchased to test out on fixing the problem:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0294475453

It will take a couple of weeks before I receive them will post back on results.


Kokkos

[az2008]

It will take a couple of weeks before I receive them will post back on results.

Personally, I wouldn't expect great results from a $5 powered USB hub. With the amount of time and money you've already invested in MJ (thin clients?), I would have sprung for a major brand name like Iomega, or the one referred to in a few places on the wiki which has been vetted by MJ users.

But, it will be interesting to find out if it works for you. It would be good to have more things to refer people to. But, if it doesn't work, I think you may still have to try another USB hub just to be sure you gave it a fair chance.

Mark

[Kokkos]

Your Right, I checked the Ma output 500 per usb so will see. Kinda like Magic Jack $19.00 a year for a phone seems to match $4.00 per usb hub.

If no go the off to ebay. But who's kidding who all the USB Hubs are China Inspired.

Kokkos

[isleblue65]

there is a $20 usb hub around, which guarantees to work and confirmed by many users here:

http://www.windmilltrading.com/USBProds ... H-214A.htm

paying $60 for usb hub is just....well, if you have the money, that's OK. but I would consider a thin client instead, or some ATA...

This is the one I purchased. I do need to clarify something from my last post however. I was incorrect when I claimed that it did not work. Richard, the owner of Windmill Trading who sells it was kind enough to call me and explain how there is a design flaw in the hub that deceivingly makes it seem like it is not working. The power light and USB lights only come on when the hub is plugged into your computer AND a device is plugged into one of the USB ports on the hub. I had the hub's a/c adaptor plugged into the wall, and the cable plugged from the hub into a USB port on my PC, but there was no power light. I then plugged my MagicJack into the hub, but there was no green light adjacent to the USB port it was plugged into. I now realize that it did not light up because the MagicJack I used is defective. When I plugged in my mouse, the power light and green light at the USB port lit up.

The powered hub is Chinese, and it does not have the finish or weight of the $60 Best Buy hubs, but it DOES work, and the owner of Windmill Trading is top notch! He told me I could return it to him any time in the next 30 days if I wasn't completely happy. And how many company owners will call you long distance (even if they are calling on a MagicJack)(':)') and spend 10 minutes with you explaining something on a $20 purchase?

Craig

[isleblue65]

My new MagicJack came yesterday with my existing phone number programmed into it. It loads up and works fine - using the softphone. However, my KXTC1871 cordless Panasonic will still not break dial tone.

I am using the powered USB hub (2000mA supply)and there is still no difference. The December upgrade may have made the MagicJack signal weaker, or may be demanding more from a USB port than 500mA, but these are NOT the cause of the Panasonic phone incompatability.

I hope somebody came up with a fix?

Craig

[ECartman]

My Panasonic phone worked fine for over a year before the "upgrade", and now it won't break the dial tone. Plugged in a Uniden phone and it works fine.

Definitely a problem with the Panasonic's short tones.

[xxM5xx]

USB

I am far from an expert on this subject. There is much to know. I may be able to help some forum members though. Here goes-

A unit load is defined as 100mA in USB 2.0, (this was raised to 900mA in USB 3.0 but I digress). A maximum of 5 unit loads can be drawn from a single port in USB 2.0. In other words, 500milliamps.

In the USB World there are hosts and clients. The MagicJack is a client. (USB hubs are both client and host). Plugging phone(s) into the MagicJack draws current from the MJ which the MJ gets from the computer's USB port (or a hub).

There are two types of USB devices: low-power and high-power. Low-power devices draw at most 1 unit load. High-power devices draw the maximum number of unit loads supported by the standard. All devices default as low-power but the device's software may request high-power as long as the power is available. Examples of low power devices are a USB mouse or USB keyboard. Examples of high power devices are PDAs, things with motors like hard drives, cdrom drives, lamps, etc.

The USB specification requires that devices connect in a low-power mode (100 mA maximum) and state how much current they need, before switching, with the host's permission, into high-power mode.

Unfortunately, not all equipment meets the specification. As you might imagine, this creates a mess. Many laptops do not provide the minimum 500 milliamp power out their USB ports. I have seen this many times. Furthermore, there are a plethora of non-conforming devices available in the marketplace like those USB humping doggies seen on YouTube, USB LAVA lamps, keyboard vacuum cleaners, USB battery chargers, USB heaters for coffee mugs and so on. I recently designed and built a non-conforming USB device using a custom programmed ATMEL microcontroller powered from a computers USB port to dunk tea bags in hot water. These devices are non-conforming because they do not communicate data, they just pull power, often times more than one unit load at USB2.0 which is 100milliamps, without getting permission from the port host. I am guilty of this also.

I forgot where I was going with this.....oh yeah, if you are having trouble with anything USB related (MagicJack?), start your debugging by making sure the USB port you are plugged into has enough potential power available to power whatever the heck you throw at it. If hub ports can source 5 unit loads and you have four ports on your hub you had best be sure you have 2 amps or better to power the entire thing (4 x .5). There is also issues with inrush current, soft start circuits within devices, minimum voltage specifications (4.4V for USB2.0) and more. There is a lot to know about this stuff.

Simplest advice I can give you is, if you don't know what loads your telephones and MagicJack will suck out the port, be on the conservative side and make sure you use a powered hub and that the hub has enough of an AC\DC Adapter to allocate at least 500milliamps per port. If you have a laptop, don't "trust" that is has the potential to source 500 milliamps on it's USB ports, my experience is that many will not. Even many desktop computers fall short of the spec. My old Compaq SR1710NX desktop would not properly charge the battery on my AT&T / HTC 8525 smart phone via USB. When in doubt use a powered USB hub, with an big external 5V supply.

=============

Here is a photo of one of the hubs I use. I bought it cheap at a Big Lots store (similar to a dollar store) for about $3. It did not come with an ext. power supply, but it did have a connector on it enabling it to be plugged into an external DC power source. The connector was tiny, and I didn't have anything to properly mate to it. What did was open the hub, removed/unsoldered the tiny power connector and added my own bigger connector that was compatible with a Linksys PAP2 switching power supply. The snot you see to the left of the hub is hot glue supporting my DC connector appendage. Fortunately, I had an extra PAP2 power adapter, it is rated at 5Volts@ 2Amps. Perfect. This works flawlessly for me. I hot glued the USB hub directly to the computer keyboard. The small phone you see on the right is a USB Skype phone (not used with MagicJack). The cradle that holds this phone is ordinarily for a car dashboard. I hot glued that car cradle to the desktop keyboard as well. The hub connects the MagicJack, a WebCam, a Mouse and the Skype Phone.

[magicjock]

I removed the case and tested still dial tones do not work with Panasonic Phone. ordered some USB HUbs - Powered.

Will post back on results.

Kokkos

Removing the case didn't work for me either. Neither did using a powered hub or installing the 100k resistor hack.

[az2008]

Removing the case didn't work for me either. Neither did using a powered hub or installing the 100k resistor hack.

Some said using different impedance resisters had different effects. But, someone else said the problem is specific to Panasonic. Something about the DTMF tones being too short for MJ to recognize (after the "Lucky You" upgrade).

Mark

[Kokkos]

Microsoft, Apple, and other vendors Linsys, Cisco etc. offer upgrades and down grades if upgrade causes problem.

Magic Jacked us and destroyed the ability to use equipment purchased; that did work before "Lucky To Be Screwed" If they do not allow down grades then the money we have saved should be put to use if not resolved.

Kokkos

[isleblue65]

Microsoft, Apple, and other vendors Linsys, Cisco etc. offer upgrades and down grades if upgrade causes problem.

Magic Jacked us and destroyed the ability to use equipment purchased; that did work before "Lucky To Be Screwed"

Kokkos

I agree completely. I went through 6 hours of chat sessions and worthless 'fixes' that rendered my computer useless, all for a MagicJack dongle that went bad after the "screw you" upgrade. It took 2 weeks without any service to finally get a new MagicJack and now my Panasonic phone doesn't work on it. I have lost access to hundreds of contacts who are programmed into my Panasonic (Literally 100% of my contacts are there), and the sound quality and reliability when using my corded phone are worse than they were before.

I've done everything that was recommended on here: powered USB hub, removing the case, resistor, bought a thin client, set high priority in my PC to MJ and QOS in my router. We now only have the use of a really old corded phone with MJ, and after my wife lost an important long distance call yesterday after only 15 minutes she was as finished with MJ as I am and signed us up for Vonage.

To hell with MagicJack.

Thanks for all of the help and effort that everyone here has put forth. This IS a great resource for MagicJack users.

I find it baffling that some people have great luck all the way through with MJ and some like myself have had continuous problems.

I wish there was an answer for the Panasonic problem but there is not. I am not willing to throw out my $200 Panasonic phone/ answering system or buy another cordless phone to accomodate MagicJack.

$24.99 a month for reliable VOIP service with the first two months for $10 sounds like the best deal and the best way to get back my lost piece of mind since this MagicJack nightmare began 2 months ago.

MJ is now residing in the junk drawer up in the office.

Craig

[HendersonMike]

My Panasonic phone works just like it did pre Dec. "upgrade"....

[jonfk2]

I have two MagicJacks; one modI and one modIII and they both work equally well with my Uniden Dect6.0 phones. In over a year's use, I have had almost NO problems with equipment or updates. NO powered hubs or resistor fixes have been needed.

[free2talk]

same experience here as that of isleblue.
Before the dec upgrade which jacked us everything was working fine in my setup of thin client connected to a cordless panasonic phone.
Now the voice quality is really bad at times and the caller id does not show on my handset.Chatted for 4 hours today with the support and it was usual do this do that but nothing that could fix it.
I am willing to give it a few more days and if it doesnt work even then
I would go back to vonage or consider skype.
Good riddance....
Pre dec upgrade it was working great....I just dont understand the idea of a forced upgrade.If i dont want an upgrade why should they shove it down our throats ?
Anybody found out a way yet to stop the upgrades being forced ?

[xxM5xx]

If i dont want an upgrade why should they shove it down our throats ?
Anybody found out a way yet to stop the upgrades being forced ?

Software firewall such as ZoneAlarm.

I didn't let my dongle get the updated firmware for several days while I watched the Internet forums to see what people were saying who were "upgraded".

The long term effects of not allowing the upgrade are probably your account stops working altogether, but using a software firewall on the computer and telling the firewall to deny the upgrade would have worked for you, for a while. It worked fine for me.

xxM5xx

[free2talk]

Thanks for the reply.It would help for future upgrades.My question was more on the lines of what do to revert if already upgraded.

The caller id on my panasonic phone started working today.
I removed all other USB devices from the 4 back ports on my T5720, it had only one port in use apart from the jack and with only magicjack plugged in.Caller id now shows up on my panasonic phone.Hallelujah !!!!

This confirms that the new upgrade makes it draw more power and has screwed up all the other panasonic owners.But why only panasonic phones i dunno...
I would keep an eye on the voice quality and let the forum know.I think it should improve too.
Back to being a happy camper.

[xxM5xx]

Thanks for the reply.It would help for future upgrades.My question was more on the lines of what do to revert if already upgraded.

The caller id on my panasonic phone started working today.
I removed all other USB devices from the 4 back ports on my T5720, it had only one port in use apart from the jack and with only magicjack plugged in.Caller id now shows up on my panasonic phone.Hallelujah !!!!

This confirms that the new upgrade makes it draw more power and has screwed up all the other panasonic owners.But why only panasonic phones i dunno...
I would keep an eye on the voice quality and let the forum know.I think it should improve too.
Back to being a happy camper.

There is older firmware available for reverting backwards. I have the firmware from prior to 12/17/08.

M5

[davrow]

My question was more on the lines of what do to revert if already upgraded.

Answer, run stroths utility. On page 5 he mentions be able to use it to revert back to prior versions.

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/stro ... t4230.html
.

[gooney]

I have been using magicjack with Panasonic KX-TGA101S 4 handsets with no problems for months.

[free2talk]

I have been using magicjack with Panasonic KX-TGA101S 4 handsets with no problems for months.

Whats ur setup ? Processor , RAM etc ?
Does your voice sound choppy at times ?
This has started only after the last upgrade and it was great earlier .Did you take the latest upgrade at all ?

[gooney]

I have been using magicjack with Panasonic KX-TGA101S 4 handsets with no problems for months.

Whats ur setup ? Processor , RAM etc ?
Does your voice sound choppy at times ?
This has started only after the last upgrade and it was great earlier .Did you take the latest upgrade at all ?

OS: Quad Boot Config = Windows XP Pro x86 SP2/Windows XP Pro x64 SP2/Windows Vista x86 Ultimate SP1/Windows Vista x64 Ultimate SP1
CPU: Intel Core 2 E6750 2.66GHz( O.C 3.20GHz )
RAM: 6GB(2GBx3) - Crucial Ballistix 800MHz PC6400
ISP: Comcast Cable 6mb down and 768kb up

I dont recall any choppy calls in the last couple of months and yes i have the latest update

I have 4 MJ in my house... 2 connected to my ata, 1 connected to laptop and 1 to the rig above.

[free2talk]

I am running on a thin client T5720.It would be interesting to know if the others with a panasonic phone AND on thin clients are having this problem.

Time to move the jack to a laptop and see if that works better.

[Kokkos]

Same problem, new powered usb hub did not fix the panasonic short tone problem.

Kokkos

[DanD]

I have a Panasonic KX-TG5050 cordless phone, and it has always worked well with magicJack.

[jimmc]

I have two MagicJacks; one modI and one modIII and they both work equally well with my Uniden Dect6.0 phones. In over a year's use, I have had almost NO problems with equipment or updates. NO powered hubs or resistor fixes have been needed.

I don't know how to identify "generations" of MagicJacks. I have a three-year-old MJ that worked fine on an AT&T multiline phone. I purchased a new multiline phone, a Panasonic 4200, and the MJ DOESN'T work with it. Dial tone, won't dial, etc like described here earlier. All on Macintosh computers, btw.

I've had a "backup" MJ dongle still in the package, purchased a few months ago. I fired it up, registered it, and all is well with the Panasonic now.

I'll just carry the older unit with me when traveling, so no harm done.

I now have a four line phone with TWO POTS lines (home and business), and TWO VOIP lines (MJ and an Australian service called Pennytel).

Very convenient.