GOODBYE TO MAGICJACK

[Melman]

I have been a magicJack user since 2008. I have updated versions to updated MJ devices as time went on the last 6 years to the latest MJ Plus 2014. Everything for the most part was great for all of these years. It has been a reliable and an inexpensive to say the least a cost savings on my phone bill.

Recently my power supply on my MJ Plus did not work any longer, so I decided to purchase another MJ Plus. One of the issues I had just before my power supply no longer worked in the last few weeks, is that my connection will disconnect after about 5 minutes on either making a phone call or receiving a call. The new MJ plus has the same issue with dropping call after about 5 minutes. I decided to give the tech crew at MJ to help me resolve this issue. We updated to the newest MJ firmware version, ported numbers through my Netgear WNDR3400 router, rebooted the router and the modem, refreshed my MJ account, made sure I had the latest router firmware version, and tweaked other settings with the router. With all of this, I still have the lost connection with my phone dropping after about 5 minutes.

It has been frustrating not to be able to fix something that has been good to me for 6 years. So, thank you MJ and to all of you here that helped me over the years in making my MJ work flawlessly. Now it is time for me to move on and find a more reliable phone service that is an important part of our lives to communicate with family and friends. I have cell service, so when I am not at home and need to make those important phone calls, but at home I want to use a service that will work and not tie up my cell phone minutes.

Melman

[AdmiralDecker]

Melman: The heartbeats (small ping udp packets) are not making it out from the MJ+ units to the proxies. This is essentially equal to a "keep-alive" for the service. Your network setup has a routing/NAT issue that is not letting the LAN devices send packets in a timely manner. This will cause the calls to drop after a given quantum of seconds. The problem will likely not present itself on your standard MJ devices which are connected USB to computers you use all the time, but only the NIC-based MJ+ units. This will be especially noticeable if using a retail router device and trying to support the built-in (default) DHCP configuration. Until you fix the routing, you could buy 8 more MJ+ units and the same will happen with each one.

I recommend that you verify your routing tables and port blocking, then consider changing the overall configuration to static IPs.
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[notdeadyet]

Melman: The heartbeats (small ping udp packets) are not making it out from the MJ+ units to the proxies. This is essentially equal to a "keep-alive" for the service. Your network setup has a routing/NAT issue that is not letting the LAN devices send packets in a timely manner. This will cause the calls to drop after a given quantum of seconds. The problem will likely not present itself on your standard MJ devices which are connected USB to computers you use all the time, but only the NIC-based MJ+ units. This will be especially noticeable if using a retail router device and trying to support the built-in (default) DHCP configuration. Until you fix the routing, you could buy 8 more MJ+ units and the same will happen with each one.

I recommend that you verify your routing tables and port blocking, then consider changing the overall configuration to static IPs.
AD

EXACTLY!!!!!!! why does everyone blame MJ when 99% of the time it's their won equipment and setups although it's just another case of newer isn't always better....there's still a lot of advantages to keeping a MJ plugged into a computer... new or old!

[AdmiralDecker]

EXACTLY!!!!!!! why does everyone blame MJ when 99% of the time it's their won equipment and setups although it's just another case of newer isn't always better....there's still a lot of advantages to keeping a MJ plugged into a computer... new or old!

Absolutely agreed. I own a few MJ+ units but I don't even use them. I find that constantly configuring them is a lose-lose situation. I can always find the old hardware online, so I bought some extras and keep them on the shelf as replacements. Yet, none of my original units from 2009+ have ever needed replacement. The hardware is stable and I am even writing a new [service installer] that will prevent the device from upgrading the software when returned to [user application mode] which I do every now and then.

As for the MJ+ units, I expect them to serve only as test units and collect dust the rest of the time.
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[doug900]

I have been a magicJack user since 2008. I have updated versions to updated MJ devices as time went on the last 6 years to the latest MJ Plus 2014. Everything for the most part was great for all of these years. It has been a reliable and an inexpensive to say the least a cost savings on my phone bill.

Recently my power supply on my MJ Plus did not work any longer, so I decided to purchase another MJ Plus. One of the issues I had just before my power supply no longer worked in the last few weeks, is that my connection will disconnect after about 5 minutes on either making a phone call or receiving a call. The new MJ plus has the same issue with dropping call after about 5 minutes. I decided to give the tech crew at MJ to help me resolve this issue. We updated to the newest MJ firmware version, ported numbers through my Netgear WNDR3400 router, rebooted the router and the modem, refreshed my MJ account, made sure I had the latest router firmware version, and tweaked other settings with the router. With all of this, I still have the lost connection with my phone dropping after about 5 minutes.

It has been frustrating not to be able to fix something that has been good to me for 6 years. So, thank you MJ and to all of you here that helped me over the years in making my MJ work flawlessly. Now it is time for me to move on and find a more reliable phone service that is an important part of our lives to communicate with family and friends. I have cell service, so when I am not at home and need to make those important phone calls, but at home I want to use a service that will work and not tie up my cell phone minutes.

Melman

I use Magicjack through a Netgear router, then out to Exede satellite. My wife will typically be on the phone for an hour with her mother. We have never had a dropped call. It does sound like a router issue on your end. What internet are you connecting too, cable, DSL, Satellite?