Getting magicJack to work with Google Voice.

CheeseKing · Post by **CheeseKing** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 8:51 pm

Can this be done? I find that sometimes Google Voice will pick up and sometimes magicJack's crappy voicemail system will pick up. It's rather annoying, and it's prompted me to grab an old answering machine from my junk pile to use. That works, of course, but it isn't ideal. Any ideas, folks?

Darkman90808 · Post by **Darkman90808** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:42 pm

sometimes Google Voice will pick up and sometimes magicJack's crappy voicemail system will pick up

This what prompted me to get the MagicFeaturesPlugin, so I could double the rings on the MJ, ensuring missed calls would go to GV.

I think Magic Beans will allow you to do the same thing with perhaps a little more flexibility, but I don't own it so I can't speak with authority.

CheeseKing · Post by **CheeseKing** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 1:05 am

Hmm.. Is there any way to do it without having to buy something extra?

Darkman90808 · Post by **Darkman90808** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 2:14 am

Not that I'm aware of, at least not reliably. You might do a search on removing the skin to reveal some of the MJ features. I'm just going from memory here. I haven't actually done it. However, I think these options may have gone away with the last update/upgrade.

It's late, so I'm a little fuzzy but if I can think of any search words or phrases that might help, I'll post them. For starters, you might try DND (Do Not Disturb).

CheeseKing · Post by **CheeseKing** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 2:15 am

Thanks for the info, friend. And sorry to disturb you so late. I'm a bit of a night owl, myself.

Darkman90808 · Post by **Darkman90808** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 10:52 am

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/repl ... -t170.html

Here is a link to show the MJ sans skin. (Scroll all the way to the bottom.) This is very old, so I'm afraid it may not be of much help, but it was the best I could come up with this a.m.

I'll try and fool around with it later.

CheeseKing · Post by **CheeseKing** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 3:00 pm

Thanks.

sabresfan · Post by **sabresfan** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:03 pm

You can use Magicbeans to transfer to your googlevoice number after 4 rings. In the disableing voicemail thread Vdot gives instructions on how to disable or transfer calls without having to get Magicbeans but it involves changing registry entries and for the small price I would recommend getting Magicbeans and just not have to worry about it. The old method of deleting or changing the name of the skin files will not work anymore for transferring calls or turning off MJ's voicemail.

Darkman90808 · Post by **Darkman90808** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 2:16 am

The old method of deleting or changing the name of the skin files will not work anymore

sabresfan... thanks! I thought I remembered that to be the case but I couldn't find it readily. I hate to rely on my frail memory 'cause a lot of times I breeze through these posts, especially if it's not a topic I'm particularly interested in.

CheeseKing · Post by **CheeseKing** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 2:18 am

Thanks to both of you for the info, but... I tried the registry edit and it didn't work. Oh, well..

MacroHard · Post by **MacroHard** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 11:03 pm

The way I have handled this was to leave Call Presentation on for all my callers in the Google Voice system. This seems to have worked with the small number of tests that I have done, but I just did this today. I guess only time will tell. I know, not the best solution, but it seems to work consistently.

I'll post again in a week or so to let you all know how it works. Oh, wait, a call. Let's see what happens...

Well, that was the first unprompted call. It seems to have worked well.

Again, I'll post in a week or so.

CheeseKing · Post by **CheeseKing** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 12:24 am

Thanks much! I'll see you in a week, good sir.

MacroHard · Post by **MacroHard** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:08 am

OK, this worked perfectly for the last 6 days. Not one intercepted call by Magic Jack’s (MJ) voicemail.

This is not an ideal solution (being able to disable MJ’s voicemail is ideal), but it is consistent and, in my situation, workable.

Note/Disclaimer:
I know that this is not a solution, it is a workaround. The way it works, works for me and may not be suitable for your situation. So, unless you have constructive advice to help improve the usability of going around MJ’s voicemail, please do not expect me to respond to people telling me how it doesn’t do ____, or ____ (you fill in the blanks).

This works if you someone calls your Google Voice (GV) number AND your MJ number is only one of the numbers setup in your GV (you have at least one other number).

Set it Up:
Leave call presentation on for all calls in GV.

How I believe it works:
When call presentation is on in GV, GV will announce the call and give options on how you would like to handle the call (i.e., pressing 1 to answer), you probably already know this. When MJ’s voicemail answers, it doesn’t know how to respond properly, so GV keeps on ringing your other numbers.

Not a Solution, a Workaround:
- This means that it will stop ringing on your MJ number.
- This means that if you want to answer the call after MJ’s voicemail picks up, you will have to answer via another number that is in your GV list (maybe your cell?).

What it does do:
- Stops messages from going to your MJ voicemail.

Again, this works for me in my situation. I realize that it may not satisfy everyone else’s situation.

I look forward to everyone’s helpful comments.

sabresfan · Post by **sabresfan** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 12:38 pm

Nice find with the call presentation. The only other way I know of now to use google voicemail with MJ now is with Magicbeans. Just transfer to your google voice number after 4 rings and it will go to google's voicemail if you have it setup to ring your MJ number. MJ stopped the ability recently to have your phone ring 4 more times for 8 rings but at least there are ways to disable their voicemail if one wants.