Someone recently told me about something called the MagicJack USB gadget. It’s a USB gadget that you plug into your computer and it allows you to use your computer as a telephone. You are assigned a telephone number with it, and apparently, you can make free phone calls- local and long-distance- for the first year. After that, you have to subscribe to MagicJack for $20 a year.
It sounds phenomenal!! But I have found very few reviews anywhere. I don’t want to shell out $40 for the MagicJack and *hope* that it works for me. Has anyone of you tried it?? Does it really work? My telephone bill is upwards of $60 A MONTH and if the MagicJack really works, you betcha I’m going to get it!
Please leave a comment and let me know if you have tried it. Thanks!
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:) I’m a married mom of four teenage children. We live in Upstate New York in a soon-to-be-renovated 1855 house with our dog, cockatiel, and three cats. Life is never dull, and exciting things just seem to always happen to me... why me...
September 4th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I don’t have it, but want it! I know 2 people with it that SWEAR by it. Our grandparents in ME have it as well and they say the best part about it is I guess you can change what area code your calling out from when making a call making every single call you make a LOCAL call! No long distance fees! Let me know if you get it!
September 5th, 2009 at 12:04 am
We’ve been using it for 3 months, Rebecca, since we moved. Yesterday we broke down and got a “real” phone line. No doubt, the price is right, but we’ve had some problems that I finally couldn’t live with anymore.
1) Until yesterday, I’d forgotten what a clear line sounds like. The MJ, while I could follow a conversation, was always a shade fuzzy-sounding, and occasionally had loud static sounds. Also, people I talked to said sometimes it sounded like I was trying to dial out when I was talking with them (like I was hitting buttons) but I wasn’t even moving. I couldn’t hear this.
2) When it can’t get through to your computer, it has voice mail. There’s an option to send an email when a voice mail is left. My husband tried repeatedly to get it set for my email address, but the emails always went to his computer (where the software is) no matter what he did. Sometimes messages would sit on his computer for a couple days before we realized we’d missed it.
3) The kicker, though, was getting cut off mid-conversation. This was happening more and more frequently. I don’t know why.
Bottom line? You get what you pay for. I want a clear, reliable phone … and this isn’t it.
September 5th, 2009 at 1:22 am
Thanks for your comments, Jennifer and Jean.
I wonder, Jean, if your poor reception had anything to do with you being out in the country? Jennifer- do your parents like near a city, or out in the country? Sometimes wireless receptions like that are susceptible to interference, or lack of transmitters. Hmmm.
Anyway, we’ll see. If there’s ever a time I have $40 kicking around, maybe I’ll give it a go. But I guess I’m not in any hurry since it sounds like the MJ isn’t completely reliable.
September 5th, 2009 at 6:42 am
I don’t know, Rebecca, but our internet is through Road Runner now, and we have better speed than we did at the old house. That’s how MJ gets here, so I don’t think distance can be a problem. But I’m not a techie … as you know.
Also, I forgot to tell you that my son had friends who used to use MJ and he said they had the same kind of problems.
September 7th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Rebecca,
I got a Magic Jack when I first saw them advertised. The device is easy to use and the support is very good. As someone said earlier, I can hear well on a MJ call but everyone who is on the other end seems to complain that I sound underwater. Because I am a big Skype user, I’ve taken to signing out of Skype if I am planning to use Magic Jack. My thinking there is that there might be a conflict given Skype is also a VoIP technology.
So, I guess the upshot is that the quality of a Magic Jack is about as reliable as a mobile phone. Because I operate a business from my home full-time, I’ve always had a regular phone.
For the price, I would say give it a try but don’t give up your land-line phone.
Where did you get these crazy emoticons? LOL
Marj Wyatt aka Virtually Marj
October 6th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
I got the Magic Jack about a year ago and it works fine- about a 7/10 rating. I can hear everything myself, but occasionally somebody on the other line has a problem with sound. Definitely worth the price to replace expensive monthly phone bills.