Magic Jack Not Reliable

rlettie4 · Post by **rlettie4** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:48 am

I had hopes for Magic Jack to replace my land line but it just isn't quite there. It works OK most of the time however on many calls the voice skips or beraks up and occasionally the person on the other end cannot hear me speaking. I can't call any place that requires touch tone responses, it will not work.

I am glad I am only out $40 bucks because I doubt I will ever see a refund.

please don't tell to me try all of the fixes. My computer is not even 1 year old and it works fine. I have tried many of the fixes already.

Matt9876 · Post by **Matt9876** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:05 am

Most new computers come loaded with so much crap that the user doesn't have a chance at making it run properly.

Just looked at a new acer laptop computer running Vista,issuing a ctl,alt,del and bringing up the task manager of running processes I found 81 processes running.

My old MJ computer has less than 30 running processes and except for the occasional reboot it runs stable.

Some will never get MJ to work properly because of how there ISP handles VoIP traffic,Sorry yours is not working maybe Vonage would be a better choice.

rlettie4 · Post by **rlettie4** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:38 am

My computer has 6GB of RAM it can run all the processes and run excel with several browser sessions loaded with no problem. Magic Jack shold have no probelm running on my PC but it does. It has potential but it is not quite where it should be bug wise. I know how to mess with computers but I want to use it like my car I want to start the engine and go.

If you enjoy messing around and making things work that's great.

Darkman90808 · Post by **Darkman90808** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 3:39 pm

but I want to use it like my car I want to start the engine and go.

For a lot of us, that's the way the MJ works. I have two and while they're not 100%, I usually just pick up the handset and call. Once in a while I may have to reboot my computer but most of the time I leave it on with the MJ plugged in.

One of the reasons I gave up my landline was because Verizon couldn't seem to provide consistent service because the house has old wiring in it. Service was inconsistent and it was becoming a pain to keep scheduling repair, plus having to pay the monthly insurance or maintenance fee.

I'm afraid it's the way of the world, these days. You just have to find what works for you and stick with it. I don't think there's one right answer. Personally, I love my little bundle of joy.

sabresfan · Post by **sabresfan** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 7:24 pm

I have found that the call quality will work better with MJ when it does not have to compete for resources on my computer. I picked up a very cheap laptop off craigslist for $20.00 and only run MJ on it and my calls have been better than ever. If your voice skips the likely problems are either MJ competing for resources on your computer or the MJ server you connect to is overloaded. For your $40 investment you can easily save hundreds of dollars your first year with a little bit of effort.

tony · Post by **tony** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:06 pm

rlettie4 wrote: I have tried many of the fixes already.

Can you elaborate?
- are you using a dedicated computer
- is your computer wired to the Internet or wireless (try wired)
- do a voiptest on your Internet connection, what are the results?
- try your dongle on another PC in another location, is it any better?
- try connecting to a different proxy server (search for the MJ wiki)
- Set QoS on your router?

What were your results?

Alesana · Post by **Alesana** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:50 pm

If you think that your computer and router meets the things that you need to have the magicJack working properly, it could be that your ISP is not giving you what you pay for..

Dissipointed · Post by **Dissipointed** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 12:26 am

I had hope for Magicjack too but was let down bad. After trying every fix the techs tried I had to restore my computer because they had me alter windows in regedit and really messed up my computer. I cannot get a refund either so don't feel bad or alone. The bad part is they had me report it as stolen so they could stop the emails coming to my inbox. Now I have a nice shiney gadget thats not even heavy enough to be a paperweight. They either need to make magicjack work or get techs that can fix it. Mine never worked and fourty dollars is too much to pay for a toy.

BADBOY · Post by **BADBOY** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:03 pm

Dissipointed wrote:I had hope for Magicjack too but was let down bad. After trying every fix the techs tried I had to restore my computer because they had me alter windows in regedit and really messed up my computer. I cannot get a refund either so don't feel bad or alone. The bad part is they had me report it as stolen so they could stop the emails coming to my inbox. Now I have a nice shiney gadget thats not even heavy enough to be a paperweight. They either need to make magicjack work or get techs that can fix it. Mine never worked and fourty dollars is too much to pay for a toy.

The techs don't have a clue as to what they are doing !
As a matter of fact they are very ,very useless.
One informed me that I was on satellite and it wouldn't work .
I almost hit the ceiling when they came back with that .
I keep telling them that I have DSL , but they keep insisting I was on Satellite.
Useless MoFo's if you ask me.
I came here to this forum after spending umpteen hours working with them.
Then after joining this forum I had my problems solved in less that fifteen min.
The MJ isn't the problem . It works, it is just you have to realize that you cant be downloading a movie torrent watching IPTV and expect the MJ to have enough bandwidth to function properly .
I would also advise running Process Lasso Pro v3.64.3 software .It will help.
but if you insist in getting rid of your MJ I'll take it from you at no charge then your trouble will be over . lol

BadBoy

Dissipointed · Post by **Dissipointed** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:37 pm

I wasn't downloading anything or watching tv or anything else it just plain old didn't work. I got my fourty dollars worth with my trusty old hammer because they don't refund your money they just take your money. I now have Vonage and it works no matter what your doing and I didn't even have to change my windows registry or install software to make it work either. I restored my computer and its working like new again its a shame I had to loose all my information on my computer because I trusted the Techs at Magicjack. That won't happen again. Good luck with your Magicjack just make sure your not using your computer when your on the phone lol.

Darkman90808 · Post by **Darkman90808** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 5:00 pm

Dissipointed... sorry your MJ didn't work for you. Not sure why not, but IMO Vonage vs MJ is no contest. I looked at Vonage but decided the numbers don't work for me.

They're still $24.99/month + tax, license, and dealer prep, right? If I remember correctly, previous user posts say it comes out to around $32 a month! Rounding down to $30/month * 12 months per year = $360. When I compare that to $20 per year for my little bundle of joy, after the initial investment, I could easily justify a dedicated machine set up as a thin client or to put it on a cheap laptop from eBay, like sabresfan.

It may be you don't have the patience, time, energy, or desire to fool around with the darn thing. I get it. But, personally, I would rather hang by my thumbs than take on another monthly service fee.

Just for the heck of it, I did a Google search on Vonage reviews and came across this link: http://www.whichvoip.com/voip/user_revi ... review.htm

I guess the reason I found it interesting is because I'm using Verizon Fios and according to this review, Vonage doesn't work with Fios. I've probably spent too much time on this; it's not my intention to bash Vonage.

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.

Dissipointed · Post by **Dissipointed** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 5:57 pm

Hey I understand saving money and I really wished Magicjack would have worked for me. I don't mind paying for anything that works because in my case I really needed a phone because I am disabled. I think I came out ok because there was no setup charge for Vonage and I got a seventy dollar Walmart card with it. Oh well enough talk about Vonage like I say I wish you the best of luck with your Magicjack and its been nice talking to you.

sabresfan · Post by **sabresfan** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:06 pm

I can say that MJ is not for everyone. When I first got MJ my calls sounded terrible. I read a ton of info and little by little realized my computer had more garbage on it than I could have ever imagined. My MJ was sluggish when I first got it. I had to wait about 10 seconds before I even heard a dial tone. Two things made the biggest difference for me with MJ. Cleaning up my computer and learning how to block the over sold MJ servers. When I cleaned up my computer the dial tone was there just like a landline but my calls were almost always choppy. This is where a powered usb hub and blocking the Atlanta server my MJ is set for made the difference. You can drive yourself nuts trying to get MJ working correctly but you have to have a clean computer and a decent internet connection. You don't have to have a super fast connection I'm on roadrunner light and with Vonage's speed test at their sight I get a yellow light. I could use their service but a higher speed is highly recommended by them. With the ability to disable the voicemail now or transfer to my cell after 4 rings MJ has become even better. MJ works no doubt about that the crappy laptop I'm running it on now and my calls sound great prove that in my mind. When someone says their awesome computer can handle MJ and all the other things at the same time but their calls sound terrible has never really taken the time to learn about MJ or voip in general. It can be done if you invest the time to make it work.

BADBOY · Post by **BADBOY** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:50 am

how to block the over sold MJ servers

Could someone tell me more abut this ?

Bad Boy

Darkman90808 · Post by **Darkman90808** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 12:35 pm

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/MagicJack/ ... y_proxy.3F

This may help you get started. FWIW, I use the Los Angeles proxy by default, which should have high traffic, but I don't have any problems. Other things, like the Hawkings Broadband Booster, also do not seem to affect my MJ, while others have reported improved results by using it.

I don't think there's a magic bullet (pun unintended); just trial-and-error till you get what works. Good luck!

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Magic Jack Not Reliable

Magic Jack Not Reliable

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