Magic Jack tips for trouble

[minokismom]

The MagicJack has been a part of our family for approximately two years. The beginning was rough. The device did not want to work on either of two laptops in the house. In desperation, ran MagicJack on an old XP with nothing downloaded on it--except necessities and MagicJack. Works just as well as a landlline in terms of quality vocal!

Four days ago, I upgraded Firefox and Avg, only to discover that in the precess it changed some programming and the MagicJack was having incoming (only) audio problems. After much troubleshooting and time, finally managed to save the device. How? By unplugging the battery for a time and reinstalling it.
This actually worked.

[bitstopjoe]

The MagicJack has been a part of our family for approximately two years. The beginning was rough. The device did not want to work on either of two laptops in the house. In desperation, ran MagicJack on an old XP with nothing downloaded on it--except necessities and MagicJack. Works just as well as a landlline in terms of quality vocal!

Four days ago, I upgraded Firefox and Avg, only to discover that in the precess it changed some programming and the MagicJack was having incoming (only) audio problems. After much troubleshooting and time, finally managed to save the device. How? By unplugging the battery for a time and reinstalling it.
This actually worked.

Not sure what kind of MagicJack you have but there is no battery..It gets it power from the USB port of your PC..
UNLESS of course you mean the battery of your Laptop. Not sure why that would fix anything as opposed to just rebooting it.

[Nugrl]

The MagicJack has been a part of our family for approximately two years. The beginning was rough. The device did not want to work on either of two laptops in the house. In desperation, ran MagicJack on an old XP with nothing downloaded on it--except necessities and MagicJack. Works just as well as a landlline in terms of quality vocal!

Four days ago, I upgraded Firefox and Avg, only to discover that in the precess it changed some programming and the MagicJack was having incoming (only) audio problems. After much troubleshooting and time, finally managed to save the device. How? By unplugging the battery for a time and reinstalling it.
This actually worked.

Not sure what kind of MagicJack you have but there is no battery..It gets it power from the USB port of your PC..
UNLESS of course you mean the battery of your Laptop. Not sure why that would fix anything as opposed to just rebooting it.

so bottomline here is that MJ runs better on XP than any other OS? would you say that is true?

[sabresfan]

The MagicJack has been a part of our family for approximately two years. The beginning was rough. The device did not want to work on either of two laptops in the house. In desperation, ran MagicJack on an old XP with nothing downloaded on it--except necessities and MagicJack. Works just as well as a landlline in terms of quality vocal!

Four days ago, I upgraded Firefox and Avg, only to discover that in the precess it changed some programming and the MagicJack was having incoming (only) audio problems. After much troubleshooting and time, finally managed to save the device. How? By unplugging the battery for a time and reinstalling it.
This actually worked.

Not sure what kind of MagicJack you have but there is no battery..It gets it power from the USB port of your PC..
UNLESS of course you mean the battery of your Laptop. Not sure why that would fix anything as opposed to just rebooting it.

so bottomline here is that MJ runs better on XP than any other OS? would you say that is true?

I wouldn't necessarily say it runs better on xp than other os's. Many people on here have run MJ successfully on vista, 7 and mac. For me personally mj runs great on xp.

[nailgunner]

so bottomline here is that MJ runs better on XP than any other OS? would you say that is true?

Hell to the no, especially if you have a "normal" computer. I have been switching my MJ back and forth between a XP and a 7 machine. When both are loaded with "normal" programs, I find the Windows 7 calls are better. On the XP, I have to stop most of what I'm doing.

I'm sure if you are doing what the OP is doing with just about only MJ on it, there is no difference. And if you upgraded to Windows 7 from XP, that could be a problem since 7 requires more memory. But if you are looking at out-of-the-box computers with 7 or XP, I would stick with 7.

[Matt9876]

I'm a big believer in using a small XP based computer to exclusively run the MagicJack device, works 99% of the time like a real phone.

[nailgunner]

I'm a big believer in using a small XP based computer to exclusively run the MagicJack device, works 99% of the time like a real phone.

There is absolutely no doubt that running MJ exclusively on most computers should give you great results.

That said, I'm running it on Windows 7 with a BUNCH of crap on it, and it works like a real phone 99% of the time as well.

If you are looking at retail set-ups, by default, an "average" Windows 7 set-up will have a faster processor and more memory than an "average" XP set-up and will give you better results if you are using your computer for other things along with MJ, IMO. If it's just sitting there for MJ, there would be virtually no difference.

[bitstopjoe]

I'm a big believer in using a small XP based computer to exclusively run the MagicJack device, works 99% of the time like a real phone.

There is absolutely no doubt that running MJ exclusively on most computers should give you great results.

That said, I'm running it on Windows 7 with a BUNCH of crap on it, and it works like a real phone 99% of the time as well.

If you are looking at retail set-ups, by default, an "average" Windows 7 set-up will have a faster processor and more memory than an "average" XP set-up and will give you better results if you are using your computer for other things along with MJ, IMO. If it's just sitting there for MJ, there would be virtually no difference.

Maybe for most yes, but I have XP SP3 right now with 38 processes running at this very moment and 99.99999% of the time my MJ is just as good as a landline. If and when I tell people I am using a MJ via VOIP they had no idea. No Dual core here. Just 2 gig of ram on a 7 yr old Intel MB.
Yes I tweak my PC so that only what is absolutely necessary is running in the background ( NO AV running actively, YES I am VERY VERY careful) only Comodo Firewall. I even have uncessary services stopped or in manual mode. Is that why for 2 1/2 years now I have had no problems? Maybe, as it sure didn't hurt...

[cell14]

Is that why for 2 1/2 years now I have had no problems? Maybe, as it sure didn't hurt...

It certainly did not hurt and probably improved the performance, but, as I found out, there can be one problem with no cure- ISP .

[bitstopjoe]

Is that why for 2 1/2 years now I have had no problems? Maybe, as it sure didn't hurt...

It certainly did not hurt and probably improved the performance, but, as I found out, there can be one problem with no cure- ISP .

AMEN... Your internet connection is of PARAMOUNT importance, bar none...
One can have the cleanest whiz bang PC with tons of ram and speed and it would mean squat with a crappy conection with high jitter and latency...

[nailgunner]

Is that why for 2 1/2 years now I have had no problems? Maybe, as it sure didn't hurt...

It certainly did not hurt and probably improved the performance, but, as I found out, there can be one problem with no cure- ISP .

AMEN... Your internet connection is of PARAMOUNT importance, bar none...
One can have the cleanest whiz bang PC with tons of ram and speed and it would mean squat with a crappy conection with high jitter and latency...

I agree 100% with you both. My original comment was in response to Nugrls question if XP was a better OS for MJ than 7, and there is nothing about XP that makes it better, or nothing about 7 that makes it worse, for MJ.

BUT, more ram and a faster processor can make a difference if you are running other processes when making a call. I certainly wouldn't buy a new system just to get Windows 7 for MJ. But neither would I take a new computer with Windows 7 on it, and install XP on it to try to get a better working MJ.

But I can say, with my two systems with virtually the same programs on it, since I deleted most of the pre-installed crapware on them, the 7 machine gives me better calls than the XP. And I attribute that mostly to more ram and a faster processor. And that's with keeping them defragged and cleaned up with the same programs.

[beerhat]

..."That said, I'm running it on Windows 7 with a BUNCH of crap on it, and it works like a real phone 99% of the time as well."

Not sure why anyone would consciously want to run Windows 7, unless they absolutely had to. It is the biggest pile of obfuscated crap based on a horribly insecure and inefficient design.

Give Ubuntu, or any other linux distro a whirl. It'll shock you.

[nailgunner]

Not sure why anyone would consciously want to run Windows 7, unless they absolutely had to. It is the biggest pile of obfuscated crap based on a horribly insecure and inefficient design.

Give Ubuntu, or any other linux distro a whirl. It'll shock you.

And this technical computer advice is coming from someone who can't figure out how to use the quote system correctly on a forum? Thanks, but I'll pass.

I'm not sure why anyone would resurrect a thread from almost a year ago over Ubuntu. But as to why someone would consciously want to run Windows 7? Because it has run flawlessly with every program I have ever wanted to use.

Years ago, before my XP machine, I tried Linux for a SHORT time. I had so many issues playing my games on it, I gave it up. I'm sure it's gotten better over the years, but I'm also sure you still have to jump through hoops to get some 3rd party software working with it, if at all. Who has time for that crap? Why would someone consciously limit themselves by using Linux?

[Darkman90808]

....I tried Linux for a SHORT time.

My experience was similar. A few years ago, I had some time to kill and thought Ubuntu might be a good way to avoid the Windows "tax". I'm no tech weenie, but I can maneuver my way around a keyboard and usually do okay, even if just by trial-and-error.

I really wanted Linux to work for me. I put in a LOT of time screwing with it and finally just gave up. To each his own, I say. Just not my cup ' tea.

[Diggs]

There are Linux fanboys just as there are Windows fanboys. And no, Linux won't run your Windows programs flawlessly just as Windows won't run your Linux programs flawlessly. Big difference is that all 35,000+ Linux programs are free and just waiting to be downloaded through the repository and they all do work fine. Windows has no complete repository of all it's software and you have to pay to play on just about everything.

Ubuntu gets better and better as do most of the other Linux distros. Sounds like you guys were trying Ubuntu back in the 7.x or 8.x version days when you still had to use command line for a few things. You might be surprised at todays versions (11.10 with 12.04 LTS just around the corner). Take a tour of 10.04 below. You might be surprised at the things a two year old distro can do that Windows can't or is just finally getting to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvfRpmqKRbs

(And yes, I use both Linux and Windows depending on the task, but prefer Linux for the wealth of software.)

[nailgunner]

There are Linux fanboys just as there are Windows fanboys. And no, Linux won't run your Windows programs flawlessly just as Windows won't run your Linux programs flawlessly. Big difference is that all 35,000+ Linux programs are free and just waiting to be downloaded through the repository and they all do work fine. Windows has no complete repository of all it's software and you have to pay to play on just about everything.

Ubuntu gets better and better as do most of the other Linux distros. Sounds like you guys were trying Ubuntu back in the 7.x or 8.x version days when you still had to use command line for a few things. You might be surprised at todays versions (11.10 with 12.04 LTS just around the corner). Take a tour of 10.04 below. You might be surprised at the things a two year old distro can do that Windows can't or is just finally getting to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvfRpmqKRbs

(And yes, I use both Linux and Windows depending on the task, but prefer Linux for the wealth of software.)

It's not so much being a fanboy of Windows. I have little doubt Linux works better than it did when I tried it. And I'm sure for a number of specific applications that Windows is the less preferred OS.

But other than games, I haven't paid for a piece of software in over 10 years, (unless you count the wonderful MJ). I do extensive spreadsheet work, and like OpenOffice Calc almost as much as I did Excel when I used it in a business environment. And I recently finished an extensive photo editing project with various free/share ware programs without a hitch.

I personally have no reason to tinker with a different OS. There are no applications that I need or want to run on Win7 that I can't. But to wonder, as our friend did, "why anyone would consciously want to run Windows 7, unless they absolutely had to", is a laughable comment, in my opinion. Something I would not suggest to Linux users, except in a semi-tongue-in-cheek response to a laughable comment.

Those comments are usually one-directional, by the way, with Linux users questioning the sanity of Windows users, and not usually vice-versa. But for a ton of computer users like myself, who surf the web, play some games, run a few standard office-type applications, I'm at a total loss as to what advantage would be obtained from switching OS's. Better security? Years of using free virus and firewall programs has worked well for me.

[Diggs]

It's not so much being a fanboy of Windows.

My "fanboy' comment was in no way aimed your way gunner. Sorry about that.

[nailgunner]

It's not so much being a fanboy of Windows.

My "fanboy' comment was in no way aimed your way gunner. Sorry about that.

No problem. I took no offense regardless. I view Microsoft about the exact same way I do magicJack. I like the company because they have a product that works for me. Almost everything else about them leaves quite a bit to be desired.

[MagicJackLinux]

Not sure how Linux got brought up in this TOPIC area but I use Magic Jack on Ubuntu 11.10 AND did on Linux Mint 12 too. MORE correctly, I use it on Windows XP in the Virtual Box. I've looked at WINE, but turned my head at THAT like a confused dog and used Virtual Box. I actually liked Windows7, I decided to Dual Boot with MINT and began experimenting with Linux. I enjoy learning new things, I like the idea that Linux is safer than all the viruses and garbage meant ONLY for Windows, up until now. So how is Using Magic Jack in the Virtual Box on Linux? Just perfect. ONLY problem I had was using Slingbox to watch a Hockey Game on WHILE trying to talk on Magic Jack, it made a pulsing noise and cut out a bit. Used by itself in Virtual Box, it works fine. I'm not tethered to Windows. I'm not a Religious Zealot for ANY OS. They are only tools to get to the Internet with. I have used them all and just like playing with new OS's. I've used Ubuntu, Linux MInt, Puppy Linux and a few others. Used my Sister MAC for a while when House sitting. It's discovering HOW to make things work Thats the most fun.