outgoing calls

[epizod]

I set up my magicJack 2 days ago and have one issue with it that maybe someone can help me with. When I call someone I can not hear their phone ring or them talking so after a bit I hang up. They call me back and it rings in to my house and when I pick up and say hello we can carry on a conversation just fine. I have it set up so my answering machine comes on after 2 rings because I am not smart enough to get the voicemail to work. I really want to fix this glitch because I know I'm going to really lie it and a lot of my friends and family are waiying to see if I like it. Any help would be appreciatedin simple language as I am a57 year old woman who didn't understand all the techy talk I was reading in these forums.
Thanks in advance

[az2008]

I set up my magicJack 2 days ago and have one issue with it that maybe someone can help me with. When I call someone I can not hear their phone ring or them talking so after a bit I hang up.

This should have been posted in the tech support area.

Are you using a telephone handset connected to the USB device? Or, a headset (dial the number with the softphone)?

If it's the handset, you should try disconnecting that handset and use the softphone with a headset connected to the computer's speaker/mic outlets. Or, use the speakers and a mic (although you may get a lot of echo due to the mic picking up the sound of the speakers). But, based upon the description of the problem. You don't really need a mic to test this. Just the computer's speakers. Call someone (maybe your local Sears which has an automated voice answering system) and just see if you can hear the phone ring, and the other person's voice (using the softphone and computer's speakers). It doesn't matter if they can hear you, you just want to see if you can hear anything using the computer's speakers instead of using a telephone handset. (You should unplug the handset and make sure in the softphone menu->volume headset control, that the "headset/other" is selected, and the volume is turned up.).

If you don't use a handset, let me know. Otherwise, try that and reply with how it went.

Mark

[epizod]

yes I am using a handset so I unplugged it and used the soft phone over my speakers and made a call. I could not hear it ring just like when I used the hand set. Then someone called me and the ringing came thru the speakers but of course I couldn't answer because my handset wasn't plugged in. So I plugged it in and they called back and it rang thru the phone and we could talk. Right now I call people that know me and my number it rings at their house...I can't hear it but on the soft phone it says trying and operational so I let it blink that a few times and then hang up and they call me right back. This is good for some friends and family but businesses that I need to talk to don't know to do this. If you can help me further I would appreciate it so much. I'm gp\oing thru breast cancer treatment and need to be able to reach my doctors and family.

[az2008]

I'm going thru breast cancer treatment and need to be able to reach my doctors and family.

If you're fighting cancer, I don't think MJ is right for you. It can be a very frustrating, aggravating experience for many people. It either works, or it's a nightmare for people. There's rarely a middleground. Since it looks like you may fall into the latter category, I just don't think you need the negativity in your life right now. I would focus on positive things, not things that will raise your blood pressure and give a sense of disappointment.

If you'd been able to hear the person you called using the softphone and speakers, then I would have suggested it was something peculiar to the phone you connected to the MJ device. Or, that maybe a powered USB hub might help (it seems to be the magic solution to a lot of problems.).

But, since you had the same problem using the softphone and computer speakers, it sounds like a MJ network problem. I've seen one or two other reports like this over the past day or two. Unless someone else has another suggestion, I think all you can do is wait and see if something gets fixed on the network (which is often how MJ works, just wait a few hours or days, and it gets resolved).

Otherwise, you have to contact the MJ support people through the chat feature on the MJ web site. But, they're not very good. They will have you go through 2-3 hours of diagnosis of your computer, router, firewall, etc., perhaps doing things that will destroy your system. (Like I said, if you're battling cancer, you shouldn't put yourself through a frustrating experience like that.).

If you don't want to get rid of MJ, you can spend $10 to fund a "pay as you go" Skype.com and/or vbuzzer.com account. They are between 1.5 cents and 2.0 cents per minute. You don't get a phone number for people to call you at. But, you can make outgoing phone calls using a softphone.

With that setup, you could use MJ for incoming calls. Use vbuzzer.com or skype.com to make outgoing calls (until the MJ problem is fixed).

Everything considered, that might be the best solution for now. Even if MJ gets fixed, you can always use one or both of those as backups (because MJ will always have some instability). That's what I do. I have an account with each. I just have to remember to make a call every 3 months so the unused balance doesn't roll off.

Maybe someone else has suggestions about outgoing calls where you can't hear the ringing or person on the other end. But, if I were you, I think I'd look for the easy way out. Just drop $10 on vbuzzer and/or skype, and get over the cancer for now. No drama.

Mark