Buy Magic Jack Now

I just saved $320 by cancelling an extra phone line and signing up with magicJack. It works as advertised; I like it; and it’s a keeper. I also have tips to make magicJack better, and if you’re intrigued, hack into it. (Fair warning: My magicJack review is long, way more than I usually allocate for one newsletter.)

Making the Switch to magicJack

I used to have three phone lines, and for years I needed all of them. But with almost all of my communication through e-mail, I decided to dump one and replace it with a magicJack. And save myself about $320 a year.

You plug the magicJack into a free USB port, then plug your phone line into the gizmo. Now you can make free calls with VoIP — they’re routed through the Internet. (The magicJack comes with a 6-inch USB extension cable in case it interferes with other devices plugged into your USB ports.)

Plug one end into a USB port and connect the other end to your standard phone.

 

Hey, I’m Connected

To see how easy it was to get started, I connected the magicJack to a USB port on my PC. (If you use a hub it has to be powered; if it’s not, or underpowered, the magicJack might not work.) Then I plugged a phone into the magicJack using a standard phone cable. Cordless phones also work; just plug in the base unit.

The computer recognized the magicJack like any Flash drive, then it took about 5 minutes to download software updates. I picked up the phone, heard a dial tone, dialed as I normally would, and made my first magicJack call. Cousin Judy in New York said I sounded unusually good, a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one. It took another few minutes to create a 911 location and set up voicemail.

You can call by dialing your phone or do it from your PC.

Once I saw that the magicJack worked, I connected it to my ancient Nortel Venture three-line phone, the one that I rigged up to use a Plantronics wireless headset. If you prefer, you can use your PC’s speakers and a microphone, or a headset, just as you would with Skype.

What’s the magicJack Catch?

There really isn’t any. There are a few inconveniences, and one not-so-minor hassle, and I’ll get to them. But first I want to cover the basics.

One thing to consider is that you need broadband: magicJack requires speeds of at least 100KB. And if you have DSL service, magicJack will work just fine, but don’t call the phone company to shut off your regular phone line as it’s needed for the DSL connection

The magicJack service costs $40 for the first year, which includes the USB dongle. The cost for subsequent service is $20 per year, but chances are good the fee will increase. So the company pushes a 5-year service plan for $60. You get unlimited calling to anywhere in the United States, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Canada. International calls are 2 cents a minute.

If you make a magicJack call to a friend’s magicJack number — anywhere in the world — the call’s free. Calling the United States or Canada from another country with your magicJack is also free. Yep, that’s right: You can carry the magicJack while you’re traveling, connect it to your notebook, and all your calls are free.

You can call as much as you’d like, but magicJack’s Terms of Service obliquely says, “If magicJack sees excessive use, including but not limited to, a customer whose usage is twenty (20) times more than the average magicJack’s customers usage” they’ll cut off service and won’t give you a refund. Swell.

All your 411 calls are free, but you need to listen to a 20-second commercial first. I prefer Google’s free Goog-411 (800-466-4411).

Other features? You have access to 3-way calling and call forwarding. What’s missing is caller ID blocking.

Of course you’re worried about voice quality, and so was I. Most of the time it ranges from very good to great. I talked with my TechBite partner, Mike, in Denver, for about 2 hours and it was a perfect connection. Yet when I tried magicJack’s 411, and then checked voicemail, the connection cut in and out; I also experienced a disconnect when I called my mother (really, Mom, I didn’t hang up!). I got better quality if I stuck the magicJack in a port on my PC instead of using the USB hub.

Is MagicJack For You?

Maybe.

Some forums say that magicJack is good only to use as a second phone line, maybe for a teenager, or just for saving money on long-distance calls. I agree; I wouldn’t advise you to drop your only landline or cell phone for magicJack for a couple of reasons.

First, I wouldn’t depend on the magicJack for emergency 911 calls. Say there’s an emergency and you lose power. Access to the Internet is gone, and magicJack is useless.

Second, you have to keep the PC on. When your PC isn’t running, incoming calls to the magicJack phone number are routed to voicemail. (Here’s a neat option: If someone leaves a voicemail, magicJack sends you an e-mail with a sound file of the message.)

I thought I’d get smart and try a work-around. I attached the magicJack to the USB port of my server, an always-on Seagate Network Attached Storage device. The magicJack had a hearty laugh and refused to be recognized. The designer of the magicJack said it couldn’t be done.

BTW, magicJack includes a local number as part of the service; most metropolitan areas are covered, but you might not be in one of those spots.

Try magicJack for 30 days. If you don’t like it, all you pay for is shipping. The trial starts when you order the device, and you have to get it back to them within the 30 days. (I know you have more concerns, you always do. So read the FAQ for all your picayune questions.)

Two Not-So-Magic Quibbles

One thing I didn’t like: I had to click the Minimize icon to get the magicJack program into the system tray. I’d prefer it automatically minimize when magicJack loads. I haven’t been able to find a way to do it, and no, I don’t want to use an extra software tool to do it. The designer said, “… anything is possible, but this is not on the drawing board; the magicJack is built for the people who need to see it loading.” Whatever.

The company includes an Outlook add-in that lets you dial directly from Outlook’s contacts. That’s handy, but I’d also like a way to import directly into magicJack’s contacts from an Excel or CVS file.

You’ll also have to remember to add an area code no matter where you’re calling, even if it’s a local call.

MagicJack Tricks and Hacks

There are lots of ways you can play with the magicJack. Here are a few:

• I don’t need to see magicJack’s splash screen, so I disabled it.
• If you want run the magicJack from your hard drive rather than the USB dongle, here’s the trick. It doesn’t seem like it’s worth the bother, though, because you still need the dongle in order to connect to a phone line.
• When I connect an external USB drive, I expect it to be drive letter “G.” Without asking, magicJack grabs the first two available drive letters — “G” and “H” — for its USB dongle. It’s easy to fix that.
• You can run magicJack as a Service, spoof its caller ID, reveal more magicJack features by changing the skin, and maybe get your Chevy to get more miles per gallon. It’s all in the magicJack hack site. The Unofficial magicJack forum has more ordinary fixes, hacks, and advice.
• If you have a PBX system, and a nimble mind, you might be able to hack the magicJack to act like a trunk in any Asterisk-based IP PBX. If that’s not Greek, get the details at VoIP Insider and INTJ Geek.

magicJack working with magicFCC and magicCarriers on magicFemtocell

by Chris Ziegler, posted Apr 22nd 2009 at 3:48PM

By Charlene Collins

From Associatedcontent.com

Recently I did an interview with my friend, Edith. She and her husband got the Magic Jack phone and they are very happy with it. On her recommendations I got the Magic Jack for myself; well, actually it was a gift from my son-in-law. He bought two Magic Jacks; one for my computer and one for his own.

The day we got the Magic Jack we were thrilled and excited to get them installed. We picked out the area codes we wanted and Magic Jack gave us our numbers. In our house I have an Atlanta number, while my son-in-law and daughter have an Athens number, both have different area codes, which I thought was kind of fun.

After the installation (plugging the unit into a USB port and uploading it to the company) we couldn’t make a call. Sean, my son-in-law, tried and tried to get our phones to make a connection and they wouldn’t. I knew there had to be something minor wrong, because my friend loves her Magic Jack phone. Sean talked to a representative through the chat line provided by Magic Jack, and she looked inside our computer through remote access and said that our Internet provider did not support Magic Jack.

I thought all would be lost, but not so! The technicians went inside our router and re-wrote something in there that allowed for us to use the Magic Jack phone. Now I am happy as a clam and I’ve made calls to friends all over the United States. The calls are free within the United States and Canada, and there is a nominal charge to call overseas.

I have a friend in Germany that I would love to talk to, so I plan to buy some minutes for that purpose. You just purchase a package of however many minutes you want to pay for and then you can call England, Germany, India and anywhere else in the world for just a few cents a minute.

In a way, the Magic Jack phone behaves something like a cell phone. It’s an Internet phone, so the connection may not be perfect all the time, like it is with a landline phone. I called my brother twice today. The first time he said he couldn’t hear me well. He said the call was full of static and my voice sounded far away. I hung up and called right back and the connection on his end was clear as a bell. On the first call I could hear my brother, Ralph, clearly, but he couldn’t hear me so well, but when I hung up both sides of the connection were clear without any interference.

I’ve called my friend in Jefferson, GA, which is just about 30 miles from here, the call sometimes breaks up like a cell phone does. The connection has also dropped once during our conversation, just like a cell phone will do sometimes. I called her right back though and we talked for a long time and both sides of the connection were clear.

I really do love this phone, even though there might be a few bugs in it. What can you complain about for free? The first year is free service, and the next year is $19.99. I like the way the phone system operates. When you pick up the phone to dial a page comes up on the monitor with a dial pad that you can dial with your mouse. You can dial from your list by just clicking on it and click send, or you can just dial your phone. You can also use a headset with it, instead of using a telephone. I tried that, but couldn’t get it to work. I might have the wrong kind of headset for it. My headset is designed for talking back and forth through a chat like on Yahoo, so that might have been the wrong kind of headset; I just don’t know about why I couldn’t get the headphones/mic to work.

It was easy to set up my voice mail. I just had to dial my number, then press * 1234 and follow the prompts to set up my voicemail. The downside of the Magic Jack is that when the computer is off your phone won’t work. Likewise, if you have a power outage your phone won’t work. The plan was to cut off our landline phone and just keep the Internet through our phone company, but I think we are going to keep it for awhile for backup, in case there is a power outage and if the cell towers aren’t working.

One thing I do like about the Magic Jack phone system is that I have my own number. I can call anywhere I want to for no charge. I share minutes with my family on my cell phone, so I am limited on how much I can use the cell phone, so my Magic Jack phone is perfect fit into my life.

I do think the Magic Jack is worth the price we paid for it. It’s just under $40. If you have a credit card they won’t bill you until your month trial is over; however, if you pay by debit card they will take the money out immediately. After Sean bought these two Magic Jacks online, he discovered they were for sale at Walmart for the same price, so if you don’t want to order over the phone, or online you can purchase one at Walmart and upload it into your computer.

In conclusion, I would have to say that outside of the few little bugs the system has, I really enjoy using the Magic Jack phone system. I have already saved enough money through long distance charges to pay for Magic Jack.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

How VoIP / Internet Voice Works
VoIP services convert your voice into a digital signal that travels over the Internet. If you are calling a regular phone number, the signal is converted to a regular telephone signal before it reaches the destination. VoIP can allow you to make a call directly from a computer, a special VoIP phone, or a traditional phone connected to a special adapter. In addition, wireless “hot spots” in locations such as airports, parks, and cafes allow you to connect to the Internet and may enable you to use VoIP service wirelessly.

What Kind of Equipment Do I Need?
A broadband (high speed Internet) connection is required. This can be through a cable modem, or high speed services such as DSL or a local area network. A computer, adaptor, or specialized phone is required. Some VoIP services only work over your computer or a special VoIP phone, while other services allow you to use a traditional phone connected to a VoIP adapter. If you use your computer, you will need some software and an inexpensive microphone. Special VoIP phones plug directly into your broadband connection and operate largely like a traditional telephone. If you use a telephone with a VoIP adapter, you’ll be able to dial just as you always have, and the service provider may also provide a dial tone.

Is there a difference between making a Local Call and a Long Distance Call?

Some VoIP providers offer their services for free, normally only for calls to other subscribers to the service. Your VoIP provider may permit you to select an area code different from the area in which you live. It also means that people who call you may incur long distance charges depending on their area code and service.

Some VoIP providers charge for a long distance call to a number outside your calling area, similar to existing, traditional wireline telephone service. Other VoIP providers permit you to call anywhere at a flat rate for a fixed number of minutes.

If I have VoIP service, who can I call?
Depending upon your service, you might be limited only to other subscribers to the service, or you may be able to call anyone who has a telephone number – including local, long distance, mobile, and international numbers. If you are calling someone who has a regular analog phone, that person does not need any special equipment to talk to you. Some VoIP services may allow you to speak with more than one person at a time.

What Are Some Advantages of VoIP?
Some VoIP services offer features and services that are not available with a traditional phone, or are available but only for an additional fee. You may also be able to avoid paying for both a broadband connection and a traditional telephone line.

What Are Some disadvantages of VoIP?
If you’re considering replacing your traditional telephone service with VoIP, there are some possible differences:

Some VoIP services don’t work during power outages and the service provider may not offer backup power.

Not all VoIP services connect directly to emergency services through 9-1-1. For additional information, see www.voip911.gov.

VoIP providers may or may not offer directory assistance/white page listings.

Can I use my Computer While I talk on the Phone?
In most cases, yes.

Can I Take My Phone Adapter with me When I Travel?
Some VoIP service providers offer services that can be used wherever a high speed Internet connection available. Using a VoIP service from a new location may impact your ability to connect directly to emergency services through 9-1-1. For additional information, see www.voip911.gov.

Does my Computer Have to be Turned on?
Only if your service requires you to make calls using your computer. All VoIP services require your broadband Internet connection to be active.

How Do I Know If I have a VoIP phone Call?
If you have a special VoIP phone or a regular telephone connected to a VoIP adapter, the phone will ring like a traditional telephone. If your VoIP service requires you to make calls using your computer, the software supplied by your service provider will alert you when you have an incoming call.

Does the FCC Regulate VoIP?
In June 2005 the FCC imposed 911 obligations on providers of “interconnected” VoIP services – VoIP services that allow users generally to make calls to and receive calls from the regular telephone network. You should know, however, that 911 calls using VoIP are handled differently than 911 calls using your regular telephone service. Please see our consumer fact sheet on VoIP and 911 services at www.voip911.gov for complete information on these differences.

In addition, the FCC requires interconnected VoIP providers to comply with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (CALEA) and to contribute to the Universal Service Fund, which supports communications services in high-cost areas and for income-eligible telephone subscribers.

Aspects of these considerations may change with new developments in internet technology. You should always check with the VoIP service provider you choose to confirm any advantages and limitations to their service.

If you’ve never heard of VoIP, get ready to change the way you think about long-distance phone calls. VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is a method for taking analog audio signals, like the kind you hear when you talk on the phone, and turning them into digital data that can be transmitted over the Internet.
How is this useful? VoIP can turn a standard Internet connection into a way to place free phone calls. The practical upshot of this is that by using some of the free VoIP software that is available to make Internet phone calls, you’re bypassing the phone company (and its charges) entirely.

VoIP is a revolutionary technology that has the potential to completely rework the world’s phone systems. VoIP providers like Vonage have already been around for a while and are growing steadily. Major carriers like AT&T are already setting up VoIP calling plans in several markets around the United States, and the FCC is looking seriously at the potential ramifications of VoIP service.

Above all else, VoIP is basically a clever “reinvention of the wheel.” In this article, we’ll explore the principles behind VoIP, its applications and the potential of this emerging technology, which will more than likely one day replace the traditional phone system entirely.

The interesting thing about VoIP is that there is not just one way to place a call. There are three different “flavors” of VoIP service in common use today:

ATA — The simplest and most common way is through the use of a device called an ATA (analog telephone adaptor). The ATA allows you to connect a standard phone to your computer or your Internet connection for use with VoIP. The ATA is an analog-to-digital converter. It takes the analog signal from your traditional phone and converts it into digital data for transmission over the Internet. Providers like Vonage and AT&T CallVantage are bundling ATAs free with their service. You simply crack the ATA out of the box, plug the cable from your phone that would normally go in the wall socket into the ATA, and you’re ready to make VoIP calls. Some ATAs may ship with additional software that is loaded onto the host computer to configure it; but in any case, it’s a very straightforward setup.

IP Phones — These specialized phones look just like normal phones with a handset, cradle and buttons. But instead of having the standard RJ-11 phone connectors, IP phones have an RJ-45 Ethernet connector. IP phones connect directly to your router and have all the hardware and software necessary right onboard to handle the IP call. Wi-Fi phones allow subscribing callers to make VoIP calls from any Wi-Fi hot spot.

Computer-to-computer — This is certainly the easiest way to use VoIP. You don’t even have to pay for long-distance calls. There are several companies offering free or very low-cost software that you can use for this type of VoIP. All you need is the software, a microphone, speakers, a sound card and an Internet connection, preferably a fast one like you would get through a cable or DSL modem. Except for your normal monthly ISP fee, there is usually no charge for computer-to-computer calls, no matter the distance.
If you’re interested in trying VoIP, then you should check out some of the free VoIP software available on the Internet. You should be able to download and set it up in about three to five minutes. Get a friend to download the software, too, and you can start tinkering with VoIP to get a feel for how it works.

Next, we’ll look at exactly how VoIP is used.