Please Help, MJ+ Madness, Calls Dropping

[mj-mad]

im sure this has been covered and that many MANY suggestions have been made for addressing this issue as i have done TONS of reading and troubleshooting and have spent HOURS AND HOURS of time chatting with 'agents', but im really at my wits end now.
my router is a linksys wrt54gs - i have set and reset all kinds of settings, ports, and ip addresses and while i no longer experience the error 23 i was getting the first day or two i am not able to fix the issue with calls dropping.
i am a new customer with less than a week into buying this and have been trying non-stop to get this to work properly.
i am willing to try a few more suggestions or willing to start over if someone has the time and knowledge to walk me trough starting from scratch. OTHERWISE, if its highly possible that my router is the issue, i would like to know what router(s) you might recommend i can look into picking up. please have a look through these here ...
http://www.microcenter.com/default.aspx? as i will be very nearby one tomorrow and can pick it up. preferably one in the $40/$50 range or so. nothing too much over please. theres also a bestbuy i can visit although their prices are higher.
looking forward to hearing back and appreciate any help with this guys!
thanks!

[SteveHC]

I assume that you're using a MJ+ as a stand-alone device connected by Ethernet directly to your router. I'd suggest that you first try plugging your MJ+'s Ethernet cable directly into your MODEM for at least a short while, to see if your calls still drop out... if they don't, the chances are at least pretty good that it's your router that's the problem. Make sure you've got the most up-to-date firmware installed in your router.

I'm not familiar with your specific Linksys, but FWIW, a lot of the older, non-Cisco-cobranded Linksys routers seemed to have had a lot of problems with MagicJack.

FWIW, I have a Netgear (WNR2000v2) that works very well with my MJ+; it's a factory refurbished one that I picked up for about $25-$30.

[docooo]

Hve you also tired a differant phone?
I run a "old" WRT54G and hve no problems

[mj-mad]

@SteveHC, i will try connecting straight to modem only to test, for a little while right now. its not practical for us though since we need the router for others needing connection from another computer and streaming purposes too. but for the sake of testing i will try it out now. will post back shortly after some testing.
@docooo, hi... i hear you 100%!! i took the MJ+ with me to work for testing purposes and it worked fine there all day, also hooked up to another wrt54g!
mine is wrt54gs so there is a difference but i just dont know what to make of it. i even noted a few of the settings and made a few changes here at home to see if there would be any difference but still nothing
off to connect straight to modem. will post back shortly.
thank you for chiming in guys!

[mj-mad]

so i have tested the service with the direct connection to the modem and can honestly say that the experience was what normal phone service should be.
with that said, i guess its safe to say that i should invest in a new router.
while connected directly to the modem, not once did a call drop and not once did i get the "the magic jack customer you are calling is un-available to take your call, bla,bla,bla" message.
wishing i would have gotten some suggestions though as for the routers that i might consider.
any suggestions are welcome.
thanks again guys!

[Bill Smith]

Walmart has some cheap routers ($35 or maybe less). Buy one and try it. If it does not work, simply return it to the store and try another one. Sorry I can't be more specific; my old Linksys still works fine.

[mj-mad]

done. switched out the router and things are definitely working as they should.
FYI, heres the one i personally invested in ....
http://www.microcenter.com/product/3550 ... ort_switch
saw it for less on amazon and ebay too.
all the best to those pulling their hair out as i was.
and thank you to those that chimed in with their suggestions, especially SteveHC!

[SteveHC]

- Well you certainly didn't skimp on the new router LOL! If I remember correctly, CNet rated that one very highly; I think they consider it to be one of the best on the market! It may very well become my next router.

[mj-mad]

it got the nod from someone who i have a great deal of respect from too.
the suggestion actually came from him and this guy has a great deal of knowledge of pcs and hardware.
i justified it by looking at my savings from switching to this new system as well as looking at the fact that i was going to now have something that offered better performance, more features, etc.etc...
i feel more than comfortable / satisfied with and yes when i looked, i can see right away all the positive reviews for it too.
as i said i paid a bit more because of my need to get things running smoothly ASAP but definitely check it out in ebay, where it was cheapest, or even amazon as i saw there for less than i got it too.

[StanR]

Make sure your MagicJack is at least 3 ftt away from your Wireless Router antennas. I found lots of problems when they were close. perhaps the radio waves are interfereing with the MagicJack. Same for being away from a cordless phone.