What I sent to Magic Jack support
I was having a problem with my Magic Jack which I purchased last September. After several months of excellent use (Oct 2008-Jan 2009), I started experiencing a problem. People could not hear me when I called them and I could not hear the people who I was calling. This also happened when someone called me. It was a sporadic problem but seemed to be occurring fairly regularly. At one point, it seemed to be a permanent problem and I considered junking the Magic Jack as it no longer seemed to work.
When I first started having this problem, I called the help desk at Magic Jack and talked on several occasions for a total of 6-8 hours. I ran the “fix upgrade ” 6-8 times, changed registers, reloaded my magic jack, tried it on a different computer, tried different phone, turned modem on/off, etc etc etc but still the same problem where I and the other party could not hear each other. When I called, I would hear the phone ring and then silence when it was answered.
I was almost ready to stop trying and just throw away the Magic Jack since it seemed so unreliable but I didn’t. I unplugged and let it languish near my computer unused and presumed K.I.A. After a few months, I tried it again. IT WORKED! I didn’t know what caused it to stop or start working at that time.
So the last month or so I began using it again. Sometimes I would have the same problem (parties couldn’t hear each other). But, it worked often enough that I no longer wanted to scrap it.
Yesterday, I tried to use it several times and other people called me but we were not able to hear each other. Today, I tried to call someone and the phone line stopped ringing and went dead (as it had before) with neither party hearing each other.
THE FIX
As, I reached over to hang up the phone I noticed my computer’s external speaker volume was turned down to its lowest level. I wondered what would happen if I turned the speaker volume up and called the number again. IT WORKED FINE. Then, I turned down the volume and re-dialed and had the same problem. When I turned the volume up, MJ worked fine again.
For some reason, when the volume is turned down, the speaker on the phone is adversely affected. I always use a separate phone (no headset) when I use MJ. I am not a computer guru and I don’t understand why/how the phone volume was affected by the speaker volume but apparently it is (on my computer anyway).
I have tested my “theory” at least a dozen times and it has been a great connection as long at the volume is turned up on the external speaker. When it is off, I have the problem of not hearing the other party and vice versa.
I am documenting this for you to include as a possible check when other people experience the same symptoms as mine. It would be a very easy fix to suggest by your help people and would have saved me (and your help desk) hours of trying their other suggestions.
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