The magicJack Really Works!
Posted by Sandy Berger on February 28th, 2009
You may have seen it on TV in Internet advertising, it’s called the magicJack, and it promises to give you unlimited long distance telephone calling through your computer for just $19.95 a year.
Last year I had the privilege of meeting Don Borislow, the inventor of this product at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas. I tried the magicJack then and was impressed by both the product and the business plan. However, I was reluctant to recommend a product so new and so inexpensive. The magicJack sells for just $39.95 with the first year’s service included. Once you have the small magicJack device, you pay only $19.95 a year for service or five years for $59.95. Could Don keep his price point low? Could he deliver on his plan to give every magicJack a unique telephone to make and receive calls? Could he make this device as easy to use as it needed to be for the average user?
After watching the magicJack for over a year, I found the answer to these questions was a resounding “YES”, and I can now highly recommend the magicJack. It lets you make free local and long distance calls, gives you a distinctive telephone number, and even includes call waiting, voicemail, and caller ID.
magicJack
The magicJack is a small device, approximately 1 ¼” x 3” x ½”. It has a USB port on one end and a place for a regular telephone cable on the other. To use it you simply turn on your computer, attach any regular telephone with a regular telephone cable, and plug the magicJack into the USB port on your computer. The computer automatically recognizes the magicJack and sets it up for you. You are then asked to fill out a form with your name, address , and email. At that time you also choose the telephone area code you would like and a unique telephone number is generated for you.
magicJack then sends you an email which you respond to in order to activate your magicJack. As soon as that is done you can start making and receiving calls. The entire setup process takes no longer than 20 minutes and the instructions are clear and easy-to-follow.
I tried the magicJack on several computers including Windows XP, Macs, and Windows Vista machines. It worked well on all, even the 64-bit computers. The only caveat is that the magicJack needs a good USB connection. I found that some of the time plugging it into the front USB ports did not work. It needed to be plugged into the back of the computer.
You can place calls through the easy magicJack window that appears on your computer when the magicJack is attached. You can also place and receive calls by simply picking up the handset. I set the magicJack up with my wireless phone system, so I can make and receive calls throughout the house. The calls have all been as clear as when I use a land line. BTY, you don’t need any telephone line for the magicJack. You just need a computer.
You will, however, need to have a high speed Internet connection like broadband, cable, DSL, wireless, Wi-Fi, or FIOS for the magicJack to work. You can only make and receive calls when your computer is on. However, if you turn the computer off, the magicJack voice mail will take a message for you.
If you have a laptop, you can travel with your magicJack and use it for no-cost calls from your hotel room. You can take it to any country in the world and make calls back to the US for free. The address that you give on the registration is used for 911 calls. Obviously, you won’t be able to use the magicJack for accurate 911 location-based calls if you take it on the road.
The magicJack is an amazing little device that can save you a lot of money. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee. You do need to give your credit card information when you order, but they don’t charge your card until the 31st day. So you have plenty of time to cancel without any hassle. I’d say, “Give the magicJack a try!”
March 27th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Questions??
Can incoming calls be made through the land line or maust they come in through the internet?
Is it necessary that the caller have the MagicJack installed to make the call?
Will the incoming call be logged in if my computer is turned off?
I am very excited about this gaget.
March 27th, 2009 at 9:46 am
Incoming calls come through the Internet. To make calls you must have the magicJack installed and the computer on. If the computer is off, the party that calls you will get your magicJack voicemail. All-in-all, it’s not perfect, but it’s pretty cool.
March 27th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
MagicJack is on my computer and it does work well. The disappointment to me is that for it to work as well as my landline my computer must be turned on at all times and I can only receive incoming calls from the phone connected to that computer. To me that is a big inconvenience. My landline does indeed cost more per month, however all incoming calls can be answered from any of the 5 phones we have scattered around our house. Since I pay for only one of those phones (having installed the other four by myself) and since we make very few long distance calls, my $25 per month phone bill seems like a bargain.
March 29th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Of course, the magicJack is not for everyone. It works for me because I leave my main computer on all the time and because I was able to use a set of wireless phones that I already had with the magicJack. I just hooked the main telephone to the magicJack and that allowed me to use the magicJack service on the other cordless telephones throughout the house.
Also, since I have family spread across the country, I can save a lot on long distance. If you don’t make long distance calls, you won’t save as much.
April 18th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Honestly, what do you expect for, basicly, nothing? (OK, let’s call it Lunch for two), considering that a company like Vonage is charging the same amount for a little more than one month of service. You have to leave you computer on? Of course! The Internet is your connectivity and with the computer off you are not connected to the Internet. What did you expect? Turning your computer off, for the Magic Jack phone, is like unplugging a landline phone. Do you expect a landline phone to ring when it is unplugged? Why would the MagicJack phone receive calls made to some other phone number? Does you landline phone do that? Have you considered forwarding your landline calls to the MagicJack number? It only rings one phone? Why would it ring a phone that is not connected to the computer? Have you considered that you can probably hook up a whole network of phones to the magicjack instead of one phone? After all, if you could plug a splitter into the magicjack, I would assume that you can plug in a whole houseload of phones. For those that gripe about non-US usage: It was not intended to provide free calls out of the US, but works to others with a magicjack. It also won’t work on some operating systems (Windows 2000pro, for example). BUT, because it doesn’t solve every single person’s communication problem is not a reason to bash the product. I can’t use a bicycle to get to work…but that’s not a reason to say that bicycles are useless!
May 16th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Can you plug in a fax machine to Magic Jack?
May 18th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Sandy,
That is a great question. The answer is “sometimes”. It seems that some fax machines will work and others will not. magicJack’s official position is that they do not support using faxing with magicJack. However, on their website they provide the following instructions for using the magicJack with a fax:
Please try the following steps to use magicJack with your fax (contact your fax manufacturer for details):
1. Turn off error correction on your fax machine or program
2. Set the fax machine or program to use the slowest speed available
3. Increase the speed, checking at each speed that faxes work
May 20th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
I have a seveir hearing problem, hope to have new hearing aids soon that are supposed to work with phone. Notice I said SUPPOSED, the aids I have now have that option but it has never helped .
Is magicjack hearing-aid compatible ?
Also is there a means for adjusting sound up or down ?
May 26th, 2009 at 8:37 am
I love this product, Granted the pop up box drives me crazy. I use it to fax and pluged in 4 phones all over the house.
I want to know can you use more than one magic jack on one computer?
May 26th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Pete,
Since you use your own telephone with the magicJack, the sound is controlled by your telephone. I hooked up a sound-amplified telephone and it worked perfectly. Also, on my cordless phones, I can adjust the volume up and down.
Brian,
I don’t think you can use more than one magicJack on a computer at the same time. You could use two different ones at different times, but I don’t know why you would want to.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Hi
I own a magicjack. I am planning a trip to Costa Rica and wanted to know if the magicjack would work for making calls back to the states and if so is there a charge for the call. Also, will my magicjack phone number appear on the caller ID of the person receiving the call here in the states?
Thanks
May 27th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Frank,
When you are in Costa Rica you can attach your magicJack to your laptop or to any Internet-connected computer there and use it to make free calls anywhere in the US or Canada. I have used it in hotel rooms when I travel and it works like a charm.
Your magicJack number will appear on the caller id of the person you call.
Let us know how it goes in Costa Rica.
May 30th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Can Hotel phones be attached to magic jack to make calls or do I need to take a phone when travelling?
May 31st, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I have found that most of the hotels I have visited use telephones that have a regular telephone jack that can be plugged right into the magicJack.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Has anyone used the callerid fix being advertised on http://www.majicmojita.com... Does it work? I am going to give it a shot but want to see if there are any reviews out there already.
June 7th, 2009 at 2:42 am
this gadget works just fine but remember it is just as good as your internet connection, iv’e been using it for abour 3 weeks now purshased it at best buy cost me around 40 dollars and change , yesterday i disconnected my land line and i’m saving around 60 to 70 dollars a month on phone bills , this thing is connected troughout the house on the house wire , bottom line it might not be for everybody but it fits all of my needs for right now ,, and remember it is only as good as your internet connection
June 7th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
If you have magic jack in Costa Rica I know that you can make calls to the US and Canada but what about Europe and other central and south American countries?
June 7th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Sandy,
I cannot find this anywhere. Does the magicjack support caller id on call waiting? I know it supports caller id. I know it supports call waiting. BUT… when you are already on a call, and another call comes in on call waiting, can you see the caller id of the new caller that is coming on call waiting? What do you hear/see on your phone when a call waiting comes in?
2nd question: when a call is coming in on magicack, does your cordless handset ring, and can you answer it right on the phone without having to walk to your computer in another room?
June 8th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Mario,
If you use your magicJack in Costa Rica you can make calls phones in the US and Canada for free, but you can only call other magicJacks in Europe and other countries.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Mo,
magicJack does support caller id. After testing a little, just how this works seems to depend on the telephone that you have attached to the magicJack. On one of the phones I tried, the caller id doesn’t work at all — on others it does.
I have my magicJack attached to a corded phone that is part of a phone system that has several wireless phones. When a call comes in over my magicJack, all the phones ring and I can answer on any one of them.
June 8th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Hi,
Can my MJ only be used on the computer I first loaded it onto (a single compuer), or can my magicjack be used on multiple computers (my husbands computer, my laptop, my desktop, a library computer,etc…?) Is adware downloaded onto every computer that it’s subsequently used on? I don’t mind my computer, but my husband wouldn’t be happy!
Also, after I select my area code and prefix, can I pick the remaining four digits of the phone number out of a group of available numbers? Thanks!
June 9th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
The telephone number and all the magicJack info is on the device itself, so you can take it and the telephone that you connect to it, from computer to computer if you like.
The magicJack doesn’t install any adware. There is an ad next to the dialer window, but that is generally an ad for magicJack.
You can select your area code and prefix, but the remaining four digits of the phone number are automatically supplied so you have to accept what they give you.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Thanks Sandy for your answers. You did happen to miss one item I am concerned about. What happens with the situation I described above, regarding “call waiting ID”. Do you know who is calling you if they break in on your existing magicjack phone call? In other words, you are currently on the phone with your magicjack line, either a call you dialed yourself or an incoming call that you answered. You talk for 20 minutes. Seven minutes into your conversation, a new person calls in to your magicjack line. How do you know there is a call? Does your phone beep? Does the number of the person calling in show up anywhere, or do you need to answer this 2nd call blindly? If you do not answer will it go to voice mail?
June 16th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Hi, Mo. I can tell you, from my own experience with Magic Jack, that, yes, it will beep when you have an incoming call while on the line with someone else. It won’t however, display the other caller’s number. It will give you a little dialog that allows you to accept or decline the call, also.
June 16th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Sandy, I haven’t yet tried using my Magic Jack on another computer, so, I’m wondering if I will have to go through the set up process again, or will Magic Jack behave as it usually does on my own computer? Another thing; will it install anything on the other computer? I’d like to be able to use my Magic Jack on a computer at a public library (if they’ll let me, that is).
June 19th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Can you keep your phone number with magic jack???
June 20th, 2009 at 9:14 am
I cannot receive local calls from landline phones…Called customer service and after lengthy chat still cannot receive local calls from landline. Other than that, it works fine.
June 20th, 2009 at 9:16 am
No, you cannot keep your number. It gives you a new one.
June 20th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Gary,
When you plug your magicJack into another computer, it remembers your name and information, so it doesn’t take long to start. Whether or not your library would let you use it will be entirely up to them. Some libraries use a program to erase everything from the user’s session before the next person uses the computer. If your library has something like that, I would think it would be okay, but you are safest to ask first.
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Really great article, love the site. And the template is really nice – is this designed just for this site or is it a template you bought. I’m looking for a good one for one of my blogs (I have several).
June 24th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Since MagicJack wont receive local calls, does that mean I have to have local service from a local telephone service (or another cell phone?).
June 24th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Bob,
Look up Magic Jack prefixes in your area code and try one from your land line. I’m certain that my local phone company is illegally blocking Magic Jack numbers in my service area because they are afraid they are going to lose customers. Who would pay $30 a month there for what you can get with MJ at $20 per year? I can call my MJ from any phone except my local land line. My parents had MJ for a few months and they could receive local land line calls at first, but not anymore. We have the same phone company. I am in contact with FCC now.
June 27th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
when i use my magic jack my callers hear a sound like when a button is being pressed. this sound occurs at intervals throughout the conversation. this happens with everyone i have spoken to so far. i have had the majic jack for 4 days now. does anyone know what could be causing this, and how i can fix it? The magic jack in hooked up to a uniden cordless phone system with 2 additional phones.
June 28th, 2009 at 11:37 am
I have not heard of that problem before. If you have an old corded phone around, why don’t you hook that up to the magicJack and see if the same thing happens. Then you will know if it is the magicJack or the telephones.
June 30th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I am in Costa Rica and want to make a local call…diall a local Costa Rica number. Is this possible using MajicJack? I have tried dialing a local number several different ways but it does not seem to work. Help….
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:16 am
Linda
Some local phone companies are afraid that people will cancel their local service and primarily use magic jack, so the local phone companies are illegally blocking local calls to magic jack numbers. Do what i did and contact the FCC.
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:17 am
How do I activate my caller ID on the magicjack? At the moment, my phone simply says “incoming call” when I get a phone call. Thanks.
Stella
July 7th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
i have a problem using magic jack
my home phone is a wireless, it’s landline but wireless service so i don’t have a cable .
is there anyway that i can still benefit from magic jack? say by using some extra cords or something ?
July 12th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
When you call people from the MagicJack are the charged long distance?
July 13th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Kambal,
You can use the magicJack whether or not you have a landline. You just attach the magicJack to your computer and then use a plain telephone cable to attach any old telephone that you may have.
Beck,
When you call people using your magicJack, there are no long distance charges either for you or for them. If they call your magicJack number from another magicJack, there is not charge to either of you. But if they call your magicJack number from a regular telephone they will be charged either for a local or a long distance call from their telephone company.
July 19th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
RE: Pamela’s Question Above…
My Parent’s Have a Magic Jack & We Also Hear a Beep Every Few Minutes. Can This be Stopped & How?
Thanks in Advance…
July 21st, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I have the same problem, that I am unable to receive local land-line calls. Cell phones work fine. I also tried to resolve the issue with the online chat and was promised a resolution within 24-48 hours. It’s been more than that and I still have no luck. I will be returning it, as I bought it to replace my land line. I’m very dissapointed!
July 27th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I am going to replace a phone line in an extra space by using a MJ, can I plug in my TIVO and expect it to update appropriately?
July 28th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
I just purchased a MagicJack and though everything was fine until i discovered anyone using a Landline to call my MJ cant get through. Cell phones and other VOIP services work just fine. I think the phone companies ARE blocking these calls!
I too have that annoying beep. I will try to use another phone to see if this corrects the problem.
July 30th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I don’t remember having a voice mail pass word setup, I may have
just don’t remember. How do I locate it if I already have it?
Or how do I get the password?
Are there any instructions on thing like this with magicjack or maybe a
magicjack message board?
I have received two or three voicemail messages having trouble understanding this.
Pete
August 7th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Sandy, Brian, anyone else who may care,
You can use more than 1 mj on a single computer:
1) Must have computer with enough horsepower
2) Must set up a seperate Virtual PC session for each mj
August 8th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Jan, can you explain that a little more. I want to use two MJs on my one desktop computer. One will be a regular phone line and the other a business line or fax line. My computer chooses one or the other and not both. It has plenty of “horsepower” but what’s enough? Also, how in the world do I ’set up a separate virtual PC session’.
August 10th, 2009 at 5:07 am
I love MagicJack! I have been using it ever since it came out. I was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to stay in business at that price, but I figured that it paid for itself after a couple of months.
It isn’t perfect, but I will put up with it for the savings. The main tip that I can offer is that dedicate the computer to MagicJack during phone calls. Close the other programs until you hang up the phone. It works great if you do that.
August 11th, 2009 at 11:03 am
I’ve been reading these posts and am a little confused. If I have MagicJack but say my mother doesn’t, she won’t be able to call me? I don’t get that! I’m trying to decide wether or not to purchase this. We have elderly grandparents and a new baby at home so I’d like to have a phone there in case of an emergency. We do have cell phones so we don’t use the house phone very much but I’m still very concerned that people won’t be able to reach me on this if they don’t have MagicJack. Thanks to all who reply, I appreciate the feedback.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
hello, i’ve gotten a magicjack and it wont take calls but can send them out, any idea how to fix this?
August 16th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
hi, i just recently got magic jack. i seem to be having a problem. my friends and family can’t call my magic jack from a home phone line. i can’t seem to find any solutions to it, anyone have any ideas?
August 25th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Answer to Pete:
Try using the default password which is 1234.
August 25th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Answer to Jamie:
Anyone can call your MagicJack number whether or not they have a computer.
August 25th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
My MJ wont accept incoming calls. it just sends everyone to MJ voice mail. Whats the deal.
August 25th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Josh,
The first thing that I would do is to try a different telephone. If that does not solve the problem, magicJack has an FAQ that will take you through trouble-shooting that problem. Go to http://www.magicjack.com, click on FAQ/Knowledge base and type in “No incoming calls”.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Hope this link helps some of you!
http://www.magicjacksupport.com/
September 1st, 2009 at 12:37 am
After contacting FCC, my MJ is working just fine! Now accepting local calls!
September 1st, 2009 at 8:55 am
Now isn’t that interesting! Gene, why don’t you let us know exactly who you contacted in case someone else has that problem.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Just google FCC find the number and talk to whomever answers the phone! You have to stay on hold for a while, but they will get the ball rolling for you!
September 13th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I’m glad to see this info regarding the Magic Jack. I have one and I love it. Regarding the people who state that people can’t call them from local lines, or even that calls wouldn’t come in; I was wondering if possibly they had the problem I had at first where I could make calls out, but could not call in to my Magic Jack. In my situation I later realized that the call was showing on the Magic Jack screen, but I wasn’t hearing any ring so I didn’t know about it until I saw a message. I found that my phone was not compatible with Magic Jack as far as the ring went. It worked, but it never rang. I noticed several mentions of people having a Uniden Dect 6.0 phone that worked and I got an inexpensive one and still had the same problem, but then saw a post that some computers don’t have enough power to support all of their USB ports in use (I was using the back USB, not front).It suggested purchasing a powered USB hub. I asked at Best Buy and the suggested one from Dynex that had 4 USB plug ins that connected to one of my computer USB ports but also connected to electricity to give a boost. It soved the problem and my Uniden phone did begin to ring and does work properly. My original phone still did not work as far as ringing goes. My daughter then got a Uniden phone for her laptop but did not follow directions which state to plug in the phone to charge for quite some time before plugging in the phone line. She does not get near as clear of reception as I do. She may have compromised her phone battery, but we are going to try using the USB boost with her phone and see if that helps. My computer was an older one and her laptop is newer but she has a heavy load on her USB ports also. If that does not fix her problem, then we will try my phone on her system next time I travel to her area and see if perhaps she needs to get a new battery.
One other comment, If someone is not getting as good of reception as desired make sure that you place your phone as far from your computer tower or body as possible. I originally put my phone on the glass shelf above my tower and the reception was not very clear which frustrated me. I then decided to move the phone on the other side of my monitor putting it about 2-2.5 ft away from my tower on my computer desk and the reception is perfect (unless I call my daughter who doesn’t get good reception on hers) I am glad that I did not give up too soon with my Magic Jack. I have perfect reception and there’s nothing better than not worrying about phone bills. asd
September 18th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Thanks for your insights. I’m sure you have helped a lot of people.
September 26th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Thanks very much for this very informative blog. Great tips and troubleshooting for the MajicJack.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:59 am
http://www.magicjacksupport.com/
A Very Helpful site!
October 1st, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Although I have some flaky problems with calls from time to time the majic jack is well worth the money. I am gonna wear that thing out calling home from Europe in a few weeks!
October 22nd, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Magic Jack may be handy at times, but the software will infiltrate your PC (even after it is uninstalled) & their customer service sucks!! When asking for a refund of my second year without having even used it I was not only told no, but I was disconnected twice. The value wasn’t that good.
October 27th, 2009 at 12:11 am
I just bought my MJ at Wal-Mart and I was wondering if I can call 911 on it if I should have an emergency?
November 7th, 2009 at 12:27 am
I received my Magic Jack a few days ago and I am thoroughly impressed. I can use it on my laptop without plugging in a telephone. I simply talk into my mic and the sound from the person on the other end is delivered through my speakers.
The Outlook interface is also amazing. I just click on a contact and click dial, that’s it…too easy!
I have a friend who lives in Canada and spends much of his time in Mexico. He takes his laptop and M.J. and calls home for free.
November 19th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I just set up a MJ last night and tried to use it for my Series I Tivo to call out and get its daily schedule. No go. The Test Call sequence says “could not connect”. Is there just NO way to get a Tivo to work through MJ? Is this a Tivo limitation or an MJ limitation? Anyone have any other ideas about how to enable Tivo without an old POTS land line?