Magic Jack - The Things They Will Not Tell You Before You Buy!!
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Magic Jack - A Video Of Some Issues
Another Unhappy Magic Jack Person
Magic Jack is indeed a unique idea and also well intentioned it is meant to try to provide a low cost telephone option to the general public at a very low cost. Currently as of the writing of this HubPage the cost of the device is 39.95 one time and then 19.95 for the yearly service fee. This gets you phone service and unlimited long distance.
This is all rather virtuous, but then reality sets in First of all Magic Jack works on Voice Over IP. I'm not a huge fan of VOIP, read my HubPage on that subject. Secondly it is possible to do this yourself for almost as cheap,see my HubPage on that as well.
Lastly Magic Jack like everything else has it's downside:
- The TOS of Terms of Service Scares Me. I have read a TOS agreement and it appears to require you let them advertise and they seem to have the right to access you computer. It appears they want to send context advertising to their application on your PC. This uses your bandwidth and could barrage you with ads. I could be wrong here so read for yourself.
- Magic Jack only works as long as your computer is on, therefore if you want to have a phone on all the time, you need to have your computer on all the time. The 19.95 cost does not mention your extra power bill for having to do that.
- It also is VOIP based and the quality of the call will vary according to how good the Internet connection you have is, low speed DSL and this unit might not be a happy marriage.
- Currently you can't keep your phone number (Port it) but according to the site
this service is coming. - Customer Service is not very good apparently. Getting a human to talk to is apparently not a option, you can apparently only pass text type messaging with the customer service members. It appears that they had pretty good service initially but as the use of it has exploded, service has declined. Personally I think they will get a handle on this and fix it.
- I also hear they have billing problems, but then again so does Verizon. This can be very frustrating, and is not a positive event.
- Your Computer should have USB 2.0 capabilities, some old computers are USB 1.x and this may not work at all , or at best, slowly.
- If the power is out your likely out of phone service, unless you have your computer, and Internet connection on Un-Interuptable Power Supply (UPS).
- If your Computer dies, so does your phone service and to get it up running again will require
you to get a new PC. That's a bit more than 19.95 folks. - I think that as more and more of these units get sold the call quality will suffer. There needs to be some back end infrastructure at Magic Jack to make all this run correctly and at their current adoption rate , capacity is sure to be a issue.
- I wonder what happens if they decide to rasie tphe rates. I think you will have no choice but
to pay them the rate change. Unless you want to go back the phone company. - The Phone companies are going to start offering similar services soon , i have read about some in the planning from Verizon and others. So soon the "big boys" are coming to play in this sandbox.
Conclusion:
If you want a Cheap Phone and calling and do not mind having you computer on all the time and no guaranteed call quality and the TOS does not scare you then Magic Jack is likely for you and there are huge numbers of you out there.
If you want phone company type of reliability, quality and service.. the choice is yours. I'd evaluate and make a decision.
Personally I'm not a Magic Jack person, I'd rather do it myself and have the control I desire.
But i have to admit this is a tempting and likely very good solution for a lot of folks, I just hope the sudden growth does not bring the service quality down.
Magic Jack Links
- MagicJack VOIP Service Review - ""Magic Jack - Product has some issues!"" - Viewpoints
MagicJack VOIP Service. See consumer reviews, ratings, and advice on the MagicJack VOIP Service. Consumers say 'Magic Jack - Product has some issues!'. Read reviews of thousands of other products too. - Official magicJack Site
magicJack.com - Never pay a monthly phone bill again! Free local and long distance calling in the USA and Canada. 100% Risk Free 30 Day Trial. No Contract, No Obligation.
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Comments
1) who turns his computer off these days?
2) every house in US have more then one PC. so if one pc is down we can use the other one
4) Why pay AT&T $30 a month for a phone line that I get no more then 20 calles a month ? (every one have cellphone !!!!!!!!!)
5) when the block out happend in USA even land lines went down.
"If the power is out your likely out of phone service"
6) it's works good with basic DSL from AT&T ( the chepest plan they have)
1. I turn my computer off, but point is taken. Also most computers outside of very expensive servers are not designed to be on 24x7 it reduces the computer life.
2. Good point I tend to agree.
3. AT&T and other carriers are clearly goign to have to come up with some solution,
4. If power is out the infrastructure that carries the VOIP traffic that Magic Jack takes adavantage of will also likely be down. That TA adapter you have for your DSL unless it's plugged into a UPS supply will die just like the blackout.
5. I think the quality will vary , I used to write VOIP code so it will vary but in general I think DSL will work fine as you say .
Thanks for the comments you make good points. Magic Jack appears to be a great solution for folks that are aware of the issues and willing to take the tradeoffs. Its like everything we buy . they just do not tell you about the downside.
Thanks..
Hi im from Ecuador South America, and yeah even there are some issues with this device it has been a great solution for me. I live in Ecuador and I have magic jack here and it has been a great solution for calling relatives and friends in USA and Canada. And believe me when you live here and call USA with magic jack you really save lots of money :)
Also my uncle and grandma have magic jacks, they live in Ecuador too, but in other cities, so I can also use it to call them for free. So yeah it has some restrictions but at the same time great advantages. about the quality i have had a very good quality, even though nowadays I have a 2048kbps Internet speed, i at first had just the 250kbps and the quality was great even then.
greetings
Manuel Andres
Manuel
Thanks.. I'm certain this device can be used as you do and save some money.
My son uses it and likes it. He is in college and needs to save the money.
Thanks for the info... you brought up a couple of interesting points...I've been using MJ for about a month, and for the little inconveniences, the monthly "cost" is a hell of lot better than Time Warner Cable's charge of about $60 /mo ! I'm saving about $700 a year - minus the "extra power bill" charge. But, certainly, even that extra charge still makes the switch to Magic Jack well worth it. For my money, MJ is not hype. It's a strong tool to help beat down the rising cost of almost everything, these days. Thank you MJ !!!
Regards to all !
John Duncan
John I tend to agree as I think I said before I just wanted folks to enter into the whole thinging knowing everything. I agree it's a big money saver
Did you know you can use it as a fax line? Unofficially of course, but ppl are using it! So if you have a PC @ the office always on and you have a fax line, you can use the MJ as a fax line! (Though it is not free of issues, it is still cheaper than a phone service commitment).
Magic jack does not work with linux
I signed up for Magicjack today and it is true that they offer you an extra 5 years for an additional $59.99 --- this might scare some people --- but I thought it was awesome. I liked the idea of one YEAR at $19.99 but I loved the idea to get 5 years for $11 bucks a year.
That's not a "contract" like a cellphone... no early termination fees... LOL just stop using it if you don't like it.
So far I managed to make it work with new Google Voice (free and very cool)and managed to wire it up so that the whole house will work from the one jack. :-)
the quality has been great so far too!
I really love my Magic Jack. I have three kids and have mine as a second line. We use it for all of our long distance calling. Now I only use my land line for local calls and incoming ones. For the price you can't get a cheaper second line! I have had no problems with it so far.
I've said this before but it appears the Magic Jack is a love it hate it device. I still worry since I see it advertised on TV everywere that they will over committ and quality will suffer. So far from the comments thats not a issue.
i just recieved and ad for magic jack, My gf calls home to russia allot to speak to her family so I believe this will save some money despite the downsides. I can put up with advertising for cheap free calls to russia and other countries, but great Hub
I shut my pc off most of the time......but you can configure a thin client to run the MJ, SAVES WARE ON YOUR PC AND ELEC., just plug the thin client into modem/router and your good to go,only use's a fraction of electric a pc would......even on ebay under magicjack I have seen pre-configured client's just plug in and play so to speak....kinda turns it into something vonage or comcast would give you......
Would I trust it as my only source of a phone.....NO!
I've had MJ for more then 1 yr 1/2 but would I go for the 5 yr plan....NO ...not really sure they will be around that long....
One thing that kind of bugs me in their TOS is they can (and will from what I've heard) shut your service down if you use it more then 20 time's the average MJ user, but will not tell you what that average is, and since not too many people have it and probably one's that do dont use it all the time it could be pretty easy to go over the 20 times limit......
All that being said Im ok with it, it can and does save your cell phone minutes (much more then 20 bucks a yr. worth) and I will renew yearly......I think of it as a neat gadget/toy for the most part......
My magicjack is almost 1 year now. soon pass 1 year. And in next year I will not use it.But I will use it the year after next year. Can I still can still have its now's number and pay the bill for extend its service license the year after next year?(means that if I do not pay its service for next year ,they ll cancel my this client?)
cere I am not sure..I think you would have to contact MagicJacK to find out for sure.
excellasys says:
5 months ago
Update: I recently heard from one of my friends that they try to get you to sign up for 5 years !!! of service. I will have to look into this but if thats true, thats worse than the cell phone contracts.