Post your reviews of magicJack. Include items such as call quality, feature usage, fax sucess, EULA thoughts, price considerations, support issues, etc.
Hi All,
New user here. Just wanted to share my thoughts so far. I just recieved my Magicjack yesterday, installed with no problems and I am as happy as if I had good sense. Voice quality is very good. Have made a good deal of calls this morning with no problems.
The only drawback that I could see was the lack of a local number, but I went to Grand Central and got signed up. They accepted me this morning and now I have a local number that people can call.
My biggest issue is that my internet connection can be spotty at times, but having Grand Central means that even if my connection is down my calls can still reach me on my cell.
I realize just browsing the forums that lots of people do have issues, and even though I am quite early into using the Magicjack, the combination of MJ and GC seems like its going to be hard to beat.
The MJ/GC combo is very hard to beat esp for the reason you mentioned.
I only give out my GC number now, and love that I have the choice to pick, screen, send to vm or reject. Also like if I'm talking on my cell when I get home, I can easily transfer the call to my home/MJ line without the caller even knowing!
WOW! You guys are MJ savy! You're like the Gods of MJ's! (Switching from your cell phone to your MJ - without the caller knowing?? Are you kin to Einstien! ) I am hoping to get mine in the mail no later than monday.
But I'm kinda nervous I'll mess up something. I wish I could get my own area code in NC...
If I can't will I be able to change it in the future for free? Also..can someone tell me what a GC is? I think it's your landline? But whats it stand for?
So even if my NC area code isn't listed yet, can I configure ( with ya'lls help) my MJ so local people can call me free of charge? I don't have a landline phone any longer. I think they hate me equally and I refuse to ever go back to them. But I would, however, like for my friends to be able to call me locally and not be charged for it. Am I asking too much?
Jenny wrote: If I can't will I be able to change it in the future for free? Also..can someone tell me what a GC is? I think it's your landline? But whats it stand for?
Jenny wrote: WOW! You guys are MJ savy! You're like the Gods of MJ's! (Switching from your cell phone to your MJ - without the caller knowing?? Are you kin to Einstien! ) I am hoping to get mine in the mail no later than monday.
GC stands for Grand Central. This service is in beta right now and isn't officially open to the public but I went to the website Thursday evening and clicked the "reserve me a number" button, the next morning I was emailed an invite so I jumped on it.
I live in central SC and had to choose an Atlanta area code so anyone without some type of free long distance plan (i.e my Mom) would have to pay LD charges to call. With GC I was able to choose a local (if not somewhat odd) number for my city and now anyone with that number can call locally just by dialing 7 digits.
But thats not all that GC does. It allows you to set up several phones, like your home number, cell, work number and when someone calls your GC number all those phones will ring, or you can set up different calling combo's for different callers. Also it will centralize your voicemail, allow you to block annoying callers, record messages on the fly, switch a call from your different phones invisibly and a LOT more.
After it comes out of beta (Google bought the company) they may charge for the service but with the savings my magicjack offers I'll be willing to pay for the GC service because it works with all phones and doesn't require you to have a MJ. My brother who doesn't use a MJ signed up and it works fine on his phones.
Anyway good luck with your magicjack. When you receive it first plug your phone into the MJ THEN insert the MJ into your USB port. Allow Windows to detect it and reboot when instructed. At this point I had to go into My Computer and double click the icon to install the softphone (I use XP and you will actually see 2 icons , one labelled "Vista only". I double clicked the other and it installed the softphone. Maybe someone else running Vista can clarify if you need to choose the other icon?
After that the service was great, my audio quality seems as good as any landline phone I've had.
Oh one note (I've seen it mentioned here). Magicjack will highjack your audio settings at first and change everything to a USB Tigerphone. I noticed at the MJ website that the video that plays had no sound. A visit to the control panel, sounds and audio settings to change this back to my soundcard solved this problem. This seems like a great place if you have problems, lots of people to try to help.
@ Grasshopper..
Thanks for all the replies..Great posts! (You too Spam Box! sorry for bolding up, I do that out of habit in all forums I use. )
Jacksondale, I'll probably have to do the same thing you did being I'm in NC.
But I have yet another question...I'm running Windows XP..Is that a problem?
Do I have to instal Vista? I hope not, seems it should run on any OS. But what do I know.
Thanks again guys! You all seem like a very helpful bunch, thank God!
XP is fine. I run XP Home. Everything stills seems to be good on my end concerning the Magicjack. I did make acall to my sister-in-law today (about 50 miles away) and we both had some problems with echo. My first call was with GC but then I called back using just the MJ, echo was gone for me but she said she still heard it. I think it might be an issue with her phones as I haven't had any problems with any other call. Remember though, that to run your Magicjack your computer must be on (not a problem for me as I rarely shut it down anyway.
PS if you're running GC and get a call with your GC number it can still ring your cell even if your internet connection is down.
Also note it is free for people to call your MJ number no matter where they are calling from, it was explained to me as fees that one company pays to another for the express purpose of us getting free phone calls, so basically even if you don't have a local number its still free for them to call you. Just say "its from the internet" its what I do, and that usually precludes any other questions...
gnimsh wrote:Also note it is free for people to call your MJ number no matter where they are calling from, it was explained to me as fees that one company pays to another for the express purpose of us getting free phone calls, so basically even if you don't have a local number its still free for them to call you. Just say "its from the internet" its what I do, and that usually precludes any other questions...
Oh really? I noticed you're in Austria..does that apply to EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE? So if I have to get a number in Atlanta, and I actually live in North Carolina, it would still be a FREE call if my neighbor called the Atlanta number? I don't have to worry about getting the GC number then? This is interesting...
If thats the case, why are you guys getting the GC numbers then? Just for caller ID purposes, or what?
gnimsh wrote:Also note it is free for people to call your MJ number no matter where they are calling from, it was explained to me as fees that one company pays to another for the express purpose of us getting free phone calls, so basically even if you don't have a local number its still free for them to call you. Just say "its from the internet" its what I do, and that usually precludes any other questions...
WHAT?!?!
No that's not correct. (notice Jenny this is a perfect time for bolding...hahahaha )
If someone isn't using MJ, and is calling you from out of state or from what would normally be a long distance call - they will incur a charge. Now if they too have a MJ, then they can be anywhere and not incur extra charges.
gnimsh wrote:Are you sure? I was confused about this and asked Magichack, and that's what how he explained it to me...
Very sure. There is nothing written or posted anywhere that would suggest otherwise. I think maybe there was some confusion when you spoke with MagicJack. Was that in an email or chat? And do you still have it. Would love to see it!
In chat:
[00:06] <Gnimsh> and does it apply to incoming as well? (and who is neil?)
[00:07] <MagicHack> not sure if it applies to incoming - my guess is no...since incoming calls make MJ money
[00:07] <MagicHack> Neil works for MJ...
[00:07] <MagicHack> in their sales/support
[00:07] <Gnimsh> uh..how do incoming calls make them money if its free to call the MJ number?
[00:08] <kumar> yea...
[00:08] <MagicHack> CLEC's make money on incoming calls...
[00:08] <kumar> clec?
[00:08] <MagicHack> in this case, the clec is ymaxcorp.com
[00:08] <kumar> oh...
[00:08] <kumar> hey could the spoofing skrpt be runfrom a site...
[00:08] <kumar> and u set the proxy to that?
[00:08] <MagicHack> clec = Competitive Local Exchange Carrier
[00:09] <Gnimsh> so that's something that's been confusing to me...if someone calls my mj number, is it long distance for them or free? I know they say its free, and that's whaty I'm confused
[00:09] <MagicHack> kumar: in theory
[00:09] <MagicHack> it is free
[00:09] <MagicHack> here is what happens
[00:09] <kumar> but only one person could use it?
[00:09] <kumar> (proxy)
[00:09] <kumar> from site
[00:09] <MagicHack> suppose I call your MJ line from my cell phone
[00:09] <MagicHack> you pay nothing to receive the call
[00:09] <MagicHack> I pay nothing to make the call
[00:09] <MagicHack> BUT
[00:10] <MagicHack> under the covers, my cell phone company (verizon) is paying MJ money
[00:10] <MagicHack> that's how phone companies make money
[00:10] <Gnimsh> oohhhh
[00:10] <MagicHack> you'll never see this money (and it is literally pennies)
[00:10] <Gnimsh> but it does still use minutes
[00:10] <MagicHack> but, they do make money on incoming calls
[00:10] <MagicHack> yes, it does...
On a side note, you'd be surprised at how often Kumar uses the word "free" ... What a cheapskate!
Please forgive me if I sound ignorant. ( I am when it comes to Magic Jack)
My question is: Do I need to wait on my MagicJack to come BEFORE reserving a number at GC? OR can I go ahead and get one reserved now, before MagicJack arrives?
Sorry..but the only VOIP I've ever used was Skype and those folks sold out to ebay and everything went haywire, IMO.
So I might be asking a couple more questions before its all over, as I don't want to mess anything up before I get to start using it! Plus this is only the 2nd time I've ever used a VOIP Thanks to everyone for all your help and advice.
1 more question, please: IF they ever come out with MY area code, or say I mess up at GC getting a local number, will it cost me to change my number again or to fix it?
Jenny wrote:Please forgive me if I sound ignorant. ( I am when it comes to Magic Jack)
My question is: Do I need to wait on my MagicJack to come BEFORE reserving a number at GC? OR can I go ahead and get one reserved now, before MagicJack arrives?
Sorry..but the only VOIP I've ever used was Skype and those folks sold out to ebay and everything went haywire, IMO.
So I might be asking a couple more questions before its all over, as I don't want to mess anything up before I get to start using it! Plus this is only the 2nd time I've ever used a VOIP Thanks to everyone for all your help and advice.
1 more question, please: IF they ever come out with MY area code, or say I mess up at GC getting a local number, will it cost me to change my number again or to fix it?
No you don't have to wait, that's the beauty of it. You can change forwarding numbers on a whim. However you can only do it on a PC
For starters, go to your control panel, and the sounds and audio devices shortcut. The MJ device basically acts as an exteran soundcard, so it takes over your sound from the main soundcard. Just choose the other one (that ISN'T TigerJet USB) and your sound should be coming back to the computer. Then in the MJ softphone app make sure you've got it set for the phone if you have a phone plugged in or headset if you're using mic and computer speakers/headphones...its set to phone by default. Hope this helps.
Before you posted that last bit of info for me, I started having this loud humming? Noise..I am completely lost as to what to do now. I chose the other 2 instead of the tiger thing. But I can't seem to figure this out. Please help. Can I start over (uninstall) if all else fails?
First: I apologize for posting so many times in a row..
I got the buzzing noise off my PC by restarting it. Now..obviously MJ is recognizing my phone is hooked up because everytime I pick it up or lay it down, MJ comes on top of all apps. My only problem now is..I can't get a dial tone or call out on my Phone? From menu on MJ I made sure I was switched to phone instead of headset. Any recomendations?
Also, I can dial on MJ although I can't hear on it, and I can hang it up by my phone..
I can use MJ, using a mic..First I dial the number on the keypad on my screen, then have to go to menu, and switch to headset. I can hear fine, and talk - through my mic.
I just can't figure out how to get it to STAY and work on telephone, through menu?
I keep editing this message as I get alil further along.
OMG this is a nightmare! I cannot get a dail tone on my phone, Nor use it. I CAN, however use MJ through my PC using my mic. Does anyone know what I should do now?
I keep putting it on telephone through the menu button, but it doesn't stay?
I've tried both. I've got a wired phone to it right now.
LOL! I have a REALLY old rotary phone here..I hooked it up, and what do you know, It worked! ...Well the dial tone anyway. Couldn't dial out. Maybe I need to keep hunting another phone till I find one that will have a dial tone and dial out. Thanks!
And don't forget about me! I may be back crying some more, lol..
kumar wrote:Do you think that it could be the wireless router interferring with the phone? try disabling the router's radio and see if that helps...
Kumar
Jenny, Are you sure your power adaptors for those phones are pluged into a live outlet? Hard to imagine both phones are defective, but that's what it sounds like. snafu
snafu2 wrote:Jenny, Are you sure your power adaptors for those phones are pluged into a live outlet? Hard to imagine both phones are defective, but that's what it sounds like. snafu
Hi Snafu. Yes I am sure they were plugged into live outlets (tried a couple) and other things work fine in them. My phones aren't defective, the MJ apparently is. I am sending it back anyway, to get another one.
Thanks all the same though!
WOW! You guys are MJ savy! You're like the Gods of MJ's! (Switching from your cell phone to your MJ - without the caller knowing?? Are you kin to Einstien! 
) I am hoping to get mine in the mail no later than monday. 
@ Grasshopper..
sorry for bolding up, I do that out of habit in all forums I use. )
WHAT?!?! 
and those folks sold out to ebay and everything went haywire, IMO. 
I cannot get a dail tone on my phone, Nor use it. I CAN, however use MJ through my PC using my mic. Does anyone know what I should do now?