"In order to complete this call . . ." Error Msg

[JSKoehler]

Has this happened to you?

Using your handset (not the softphone), you dial a number and get the "In order to complete this call you must dial the area code and the phone number. Thank you for using Magic Jack" error message.

Then, you check the display on your phone (if you have one) to verify that you did dial the area code and all seven digits of the phone number, and sure enough you did.

So, like me, you say "WTF! Fricking, fracking Magic Jack" and re-dial and the same thing happens, or perhaps you attempt to redial and can't get a dial tone. More cursing of the Magic Jack. After several more attempts and failures, you are ready to do violence to . . . well someone or something.

OK. Take a deep breath. Now go to your computer and open the Magic Jack softphone and look at the number list. Do you see the number you dialed, or just part of it? If you have the same problem that I did, what you are seeing is not 805-555-1234 but something like 855-124 or 805-551-234. More cursing? OK. Take another deep breath.

Now think, what else was going on while you were trying to make your call? Anything different from other times when MJ was working OK? In my case, it was kind of hard to think with the radio broadcast of the baseball game I was streaming going on in the background on my laptop via my wifi router, so I shut it down. Of course, to get on the desktop where the MJ is connect I also had to ask DW to get off of her account where she had been playing one of those mindless, bandwidth eating games on Facebook.

You guessed it . . . MJ was now working, no problem. Coincidence? Maybe, but to test the theory, I cranked up the ballgame again and put some additional load on the bandwidth through the desktop and, sure enough, the softphone started dropping digits dialed from the handset (curiously, if I dial from the softphone, its not a problem).

So if you encoutner this problem, check to see what kind of stain you are putting on your internet connection when it happens.

I also notice that the "reverb" or "echo" problem seems to occur more frequently when other applications are using a lot of bandwidth.

[JSKoehler]

So if you encounter this problem, check to see what kind of stain you are putting on your internet connection when it happens.

Umm . . . make that " . . . what kind of strain . . ."