Hey everybody. I have not seen this issue. Here is what started happening to me about 2 months ago. When I pick up the phone it freezes the MagicJack for about 20-30 seconds. I cannot get a dial tone and the magicjack software is frozen where I cannot dial out on the software keypad. After the 20-30 seconds I can dial out on the phone or the keypad. This happens all the time. If I get a call from the Magic Jack it rings and when I pick up I just hear a choppy sound and it is not possible to speak to anybody. It used to work perfectly so this is something that recently happened and it's not the phone as it used to work with no issues. I also re-installed the software with magicfix and I have tried different USB ports with the same problems. I use this as a work phone and I work at home but am getting to the point where I may just need to get a regular land line. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks everyone.
MagicJack freezes when I pick up the phone
Moderators: Bill Smith, Pilot
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Anjalena
- magicJack Apprentice
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue May 26, 2009 6:44 pm
- Location: Orono, Maine
- Contact:
Mine just started doing this a few days ago. I don't know if the soft phone freezes, but I know it takes between 10 and 30 seconds to get a dial-tone. I have my magicJack plugged into a desktop (not laptop) computer in my son's bedroom that doesn't get used for anything but MJ. Right around the same time, incoming calls started giving me a LONG steady, continuous ring. And when I pick up the phone, it rings in my ear for several seconds... then goes quiet. After another 5-10 seconds, I hear another short ring in the handset (in my ear) and then after that I seem to be connected to whoever called. I have no way of knowing how many calls I may be missing due to this NEW hassle/hurdle.
I still haven't gotten the original issue fixed, which is 1> problems with the audio quality...choppy, grainy sound and 2> Not being able to call certain numbers one day (or one part of a day) because I call the number, possibly get a ring, then I hear the dial-tone again as if I'd hung up. AND 3> Customer Service stinks. They're nice enough, but they don't seem to know anything about the product or how it works, they just look up answers from a script.
My friends and family all tell me how much they hate my phone. Also, I'm in subsidized housing and am trying to find a new place to live... and I'm disabled and have a bzillion health issues. It's IMPORTANT for me to be able to call out and receive calls on my phone! I've run the update/quickfix files a bzillion times. I've also unplugged it for a bit and plugged it back in... sometimes rebooting between, and sometimes not.
If someone can help me, I'd be so appreciative. =)
I still haven't gotten the original issue fixed, which is 1> problems with the audio quality...choppy, grainy sound and 2> Not being able to call certain numbers one day (or one part of a day) because I call the number, possibly get a ring, then I hear the dial-tone again as if I'd hung up. AND 3> Customer Service stinks. They're nice enough, but they don't seem to know anything about the product or how it works, they just look up answers from a script.
My friends and family all tell me how much they hate my phone. Also, I'm in subsidized housing and am trying to find a new place to live... and I'm disabled and have a bzillion health issues. It's IMPORTANT for me to be able to call out and receive calls on my phone! I've run the update/quickfix files a bzillion times. I've also unplugged it for a bit and plugged it back in... sometimes rebooting between, and sometimes not.
If someone can help me, I'd be so appreciative. =)
"Your phone service can beat up my phone service. *sigh*"
Re: MagicJack freezes when I pick up the phone
There are too little details on your setup, but if it were me trying to diagnose the issue you have to try to pinpoint the problem to see if it is the MJ or the PC at issue. Take the MJ and install it on another PC. If the problem persists, it is possible the MJ is at fault. If the MJ works without issue, it is most likely the PC. If your PC is running XP and you want to try and fix the issue, do a system restore to a point in time in which MJ worked without issue. Keep in mind that any application installs you did prior to the restore will be lost and will need to be re-installed.blugekko wrote:Hey everybody. I have not seen this issue. Here is what started happening to me about 2 months ago. When I pick up the phone it freezes the MagicJack for about 20-30 seconds. I cannot get a dial tone and the magicjack software is frozen where I cannot dial out on the software keypad. After the 20-30 seconds I can dial out on the phone or the keypad. This happens all the time. If I get a call from the Magic Jack it rings and when I pick up I just hear a choppy sound and it is not possible to speak to anybody. It used to work perfectly so this is something that recently happened and it's not the phone as it used to work with no issues. I also re-installed the software with magicfix and I have tried different USB ports with the same problems. I use this as a work phone and I work at home but am getting to the point where I may just need to get a regular land line. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks everyone.
Smee
I use to have similar problems. The cure for me was to add more memory to my computer and delete a lot of junk off my computer. Go to your task manager and look at the performance chart. If it's all the way up your maxing out your computer. This is how mine was during these problems. Also try a powered usb hub as this seems to be a universal suggestion for everyone to try.
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Anjalena
- magicJack Apprentice
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue May 26, 2009 6:44 pm
- Location: Orono, Maine
- Contact:
I'll check with my son, but I believe almost everything (programs) have been removed from that computer. It is an old computer, about 5 or so years old, but it runs XP SP2. It has the most RAM it can possibly have for the MoBo, which is 1Gig.
The only other desktop PC we have is mine, which is a much better and newer computer... but I play full-screen games and I can't do that when MJ keeps minimizing my window every 3 seconds. This is what it did last year when I first bought it, in August. Not only when I made or received calls, but also just whenever it refreshed or whatever it was doing. It seemed to always want to be on top and that's just insane.
And I've had audio quality issues with the MJ since I got it, and also trouble with making and receiving calls. It was strange. I could call one number and it wouldn't go through, and no matter how many times I tried, it wouldn't go through. But if I dialed another number (both local numbers) it might go through, or not. It seemed if the call went through to a number, that number was fine for a while (hours, maybe?), but the numbers that didn't go through were botched for a while (also hours?). Later in the day, or the next day... some of the numbers that wouldn't work before, would work fine and some of the ones that worked fine might be broke.
The audio quality problem has always been annoying and I've contacted the online support and they tell me to reset the computer or remove the MJ and put it back in or install the current fix or uninstall a program, and I've done all of the things they've said, every time. I've even gone through the FAQ/Troubleshooting thing and that's never helped.
And for the record, nothing has been installed on that PC for a year and a half except MagicJack and the fixes they've put up in the troubleshooting section of their site. I mean, the cable going to the monitor isn't even plugged in currently cuz nobody uses that computer.
I have a DSL modem and a nice router plugged directly into my computer and my son's laptop uses a wireless connection to my network, but the desktop that runs the MJ is wired, not wireless. Also, it is not running through the adapter USB cable, it's plugged directly into the PC and it's in the back, not the front.
Seriously, if I could, I'd go back to my previous phone service. But I can't afford to go from $20/year back to $40/month. And I want to fix this somehow, at least a fairly reliable connection would be nice. But I can't afford to buy anything. Literally. I'm living in subsidized housing and my rent is probably about to go up, and I have $12 in my checking account and that's not likely to get much better anytime soon as I'm gonna have to use every penny I get to try to fix my car so I can drive it to doc appts and the grocery store without getting a ticket.
And I'm so sorry about sounding so bitchy. I don't mean to, it's just been a really really bad day. =( And I thank you all for helping and doing anything you can. I'll see if my son can check the PC and see if there's anything else he can uninstall and use msconfig? to turn off as many auto-starters as possible and then reboot the system. And I'll repost the results afterwards.
By the way, rebooting that computer earlier today helped a bit with the long delay before getting a dial tone. There is still a delay but it seems to be 5 seconds or less now.
Again, thank you all. *hugs*
Holly
The only other desktop PC we have is mine, which is a much better and newer computer... but I play full-screen games and I can't do that when MJ keeps minimizing my window every 3 seconds. This is what it did last year when I first bought it, in August. Not only when I made or received calls, but also just whenever it refreshed or whatever it was doing. It seemed to always want to be on top and that's just insane.
And I've had audio quality issues with the MJ since I got it, and also trouble with making and receiving calls. It was strange. I could call one number and it wouldn't go through, and no matter how many times I tried, it wouldn't go through. But if I dialed another number (both local numbers) it might go through, or not. It seemed if the call went through to a number, that number was fine for a while (hours, maybe?), but the numbers that didn't go through were botched for a while (also hours?). Later in the day, or the next day... some of the numbers that wouldn't work before, would work fine and some of the ones that worked fine might be broke.
The audio quality problem has always been annoying and I've contacted the online support and they tell me to reset the computer or remove the MJ and put it back in or install the current fix or uninstall a program, and I've done all of the things they've said, every time. I've even gone through the FAQ/Troubleshooting thing and that's never helped.
And for the record, nothing has been installed on that PC for a year and a half except MagicJack and the fixes they've put up in the troubleshooting section of their site. I mean, the cable going to the monitor isn't even plugged in currently cuz nobody uses that computer.
I have a DSL modem and a nice router plugged directly into my computer and my son's laptop uses a wireless connection to my network, but the desktop that runs the MJ is wired, not wireless. Also, it is not running through the adapter USB cable, it's plugged directly into the PC and it's in the back, not the front.
Seriously, if I could, I'd go back to my previous phone service. But I can't afford to go from $20/year back to $40/month. And I want to fix this somehow, at least a fairly reliable connection would be nice. But I can't afford to buy anything. Literally. I'm living in subsidized housing and my rent is probably about to go up, and I have $12 in my checking account and that's not likely to get much better anytime soon as I'm gonna have to use every penny I get to try to fix my car so I can drive it to doc appts and the grocery store without getting a ticket.
And I'm so sorry about sounding so bitchy. I don't mean to, it's just been a really really bad day. =( And I thank you all for helping and doing anything you can. I'll see if my son can check the PC and see if there's anything else he can uninstall and use msconfig? to turn off as many auto-starters as possible and then reboot the system. And I'll repost the results afterwards.
By the way, rebooting that computer earlier today helped a bit with the long delay before getting a dial tone. There is still a delay but it seems to be 5 seconds or less now.
Again, thank you all. *hugs*
Holly
"Your phone service can beat up my phone service. *sigh*"
You said your computer is much more powerful
You could install it on your PC, then follow the instructions on this site as to install it as a service. If it's installed as a service, it is COMPLETELY transparant, and cannot be seen, however the phone plugged in will work. MagicJack will also start up with your computer, so you don't even have to be logged in for the phone to work (May take like 30 seconds for it to kick in after boot though)
You could install it on your PC, then follow the instructions on this site as to install it as a service. If it's installed as a service, it is COMPLETELY transparant, and cannot be seen, however the phone plugged in will work. MagicJack will also start up with your computer, so you don't even have to be logged in for the phone to work (May take like 30 seconds for it to kick in after boot though)
Hi Anjalena,Anjalena wrote:I have my magicJack plugged into a desktop (not laptop) computer in my son's bedroom that doesn't get used for anything but MJ. =)
You sound quite computer literate. If the MJ computer in your son's beadroom only runs MJ, is it an option to re-load Windows so you have a fresh installation? That should clear up any and all processes running.
Another option, Comodo Registry Cleaner (free) includes a utility to manage what gets loaded or not when your PC starts. You could use that to test blocking un-needed things from loading.
Best of luck.
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Anjalena
- magicJack Apprentice
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue May 26, 2009 6:44 pm
- Location: Orono, Maine
- Contact:
Okay, I found the thread for running MJ as a service. And I found another post on a different thread that showed how to check my VoIP rating, or whatever it's called, online. I used two different services and my rating for my computer (the newer, faster PC) was 4.2 on one site and 4.4 on another. With these promising results in hand, I've plugged the MJ up to my computer and am going through the instructions on how to set it up to run as a service. I'll be sure to report how it goes after testing it. Probably tomorrow or so since it's really too late here to be making calls. Heh. =)
Thanks for all the help guys. I'm really hopeful about this one.
Holly
Thanks for all the help guys. I'm really hopeful about this one.
Holly
"Your phone service can beat up my phone service. *sigh*"
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Anjalena
- magicJack Apprentice
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue May 26, 2009 6:44 pm
- Location: Orono, Maine
- Contact:
It's a no-go. I get an IMMEDIATE dial-tone now when I turn on the phone, so thumbs up there. And when I dial before hitting the talk button on my phone, then hit talk, immediate dial-tone, few seconds pause, then it dials the number. So, also, thumbs up there. However, (and this is after rebooting after setting everything up per the original post of the "Magic Jack as a service - a better way") I would get no ringing, at all. I'd let it try for 30+ seconds, and no ringing.
So, I did something that I presume now was stupid. I unplugged the magicJack and replugged it in. NOW, the damn softphone/software window loads every time. BUT, I'm getting ringing now... I think... cuz whenever it rings or someone answers, HUGE chunks of audio are being clipped out. I needed a refill on my vicodin today for the weekend and I'm screwed cuz I couldn't get through to the doctor. *sigh* Frickin MJ.
Anyway, I found semicharm's auto script installer and tried using that hoping it would fix me up, but I think somehow I have to clean some stuff up before it's gonna work right again, because of unplugging and plugging the MJ in again. I'm sure it must have reinstalled itself somehow though I don't see a MagicJack folder under Program Files, there's no program listing under Start>All Programs, and when I go to Add/Remove Programs, it's not listed there either. So I'm sure something needs to be fixed somehow. Problem is, I'm not a coder, so I have no clue what to do at this point. =( Can someone give me a hand?
Also, when ending magicjack.exe in the task manager, then going to services and trying to start the magicJack service, it's giving me that stupid error window:
error>
"The MagicJack service on Local Computer started and then stopped. Some services stop automatically if they have no work to do, for example, the Performance Logs and Alerts service."
So, I did something that I presume now was stupid. I unplugged the magicJack and replugged it in. NOW, the damn softphone/software window loads every time. BUT, I'm getting ringing now... I think... cuz whenever it rings or someone answers, HUGE chunks of audio are being clipped out. I needed a refill on my vicodin today for the weekend and I'm screwed cuz I couldn't get through to the doctor. *sigh* Frickin MJ.
Anyway, I found semicharm's auto script installer and tried using that hoping it would fix me up, but I think somehow I have to clean some stuff up before it's gonna work right again, because of unplugging and plugging the MJ in again. I'm sure it must have reinstalled itself somehow though I don't see a MagicJack folder under Program Files, there's no program listing under Start>All Programs, and when I go to Add/Remove Programs, it's not listed there either. So I'm sure something needs to be fixed somehow. Problem is, I'm not a coder, so I have no clue what to do at this point. =( Can someone give me a hand?
Also, when ending magicjack.exe in the task manager, then going to services and trying to start the magicJack service, it's giving me that stupid error window:
error>
"The MagicJack service on Local Computer started and then stopped. Some services stop automatically if they have no work to do, for example, the Performance Logs and Alerts service."
"Your phone service can beat up my phone service. *sigh*"