magicJack?

[mudfud]

hey there.

any experiences with this thing? sounds kinda too good to be true, and they announced at CES that they will have one to route cell phone call through the internet, too (and avoid using minutes)

I'm thinking to ditch my land line, and this might be another option.

magicJack

[dattia]

I have a magicjack for calling overseas. I have had bad luck with mine, but I'm not sure if the problem was here or if it had more to do with the infrastructure in Egypt. My husband's business partner also uses one for this purpose and it works well for him.

I guess it is like everything else, doesn't work for everyone... but I would think hard about it before giving up the land line. I use an overseas 1-800 phone company to make my calls now and I had trouble even using that today. I switched to having my phone through the cable a few weeks ago and am now regretting it if I cannot use my overseas plan with it.

[JACKSJE4]

I wonder what the dispatcher would see if you called 9-1-1? That is the only reason I haven't ditched my land line - it's the only way the 9-1-1 dispatcher will see my home address on the screen. That may make all the difference in an emergency.

[mudfud]

yeah. like most of us pachitalkers, I am old school and still believe that the land line is the most robust. for 911, in power failures (though I am guessing that they are using powered multiplexers and such for land lines these days, too)

I heard very bad things about cable for home access. several friends have had outages of hours in a day. NOT so reliable for emergencies.

and, of course any voIP device depends on your computer and internet being functional...

but then, there's always smoke signals to fall back on, right? and I do have a small HAM radio for emergencies...

[Moparformances]

my best friend up north has one.. uses it all the time and he loves it.. keeps telling me im a fool for not switching..

the one thing that seems to be a pain is when he wants to us the phone it takes 5 mins to get hooked up.. he unhookes it after each call.. dont know what the deal might be leaving it instaled but for some reeason he unhooks it??

my 2 cents

[alstonj1]

i used vonage for 7 years kicked Verizon to the curb (best thing i ever did ).I have switched to clear now (better bundle price locked in for life for internet and phone) voip for the most part doesnt rely on your computer just your isp to work .magic jack relies on your computer to be on as well .Have had some problems but would have had just as many with Verizon as well .as for 911 calls you set that up with the provider with the address you want emergency crews to respond to when 911 is called it no problem at all .your only concern is when the cable goes out but then again some ass could take a telephone poll out and you loose your service they all have a weakness so none are full proof .

[Tulsa]

My wife and I each have two cell phones. One each for business and personal. I no longer have a land line of any kind.

[takethecastle57]

Well if you really want to have a line of Voice comunication that wont go down you might want to lok into getting a Ham radio licence (Voice or Morse Code) You can reach people around the world with the proper antenna and rig and no, you don't need a 5,000 watt amp .

[beachcat]

during our many storms one fall the only reliable communication was with the land line with battery backup. the people who had cable for their phone lines had no way to communicate nor did the cell phones work

[luckydog]

my old push button phone will still work with the power off

[compirate]

So is Magicjack worth it over say, Skype? As long as both parties have a computer with a microphone and speakers and a decent connection, can't you do the same thing pretty much for free?

And the cell phone version - does your cell phone still receive calls to it from outside? If it's 'paired' to the computer, can it still be seen by outside cell towers? Or does it just make your cell phone a glorified calling out cordless phone?

[sailorpatp]

I have been using MJ for about two years and cut my land line off. You need to have your computer on but a regular phone plugs into the MJ.
You dial (with the area code even if it is a local call) the phone just like the land line phone.
The people you talk to do not need to be on a computer.
I have my computer and on an UPS so a spike or short outage does not effect my phone.
You register your address with 911.
It has call waiting ,3 way, voice mail, call forwarding as part of the program and sends you an email with your voice messages.
It is VOIP so there is a little lag in the sending but compared to what we have on the ships it is not bad at all.
It will only power 1 ringer so I got a cordless with two handsets.
You need a fast Internet connection.
You need a free USB port (not a hub).
No faxing but that is outdated anyway.
I went from $50 a month to $20 a year for my phone.
No long distance charges for anywhere in USA.
I still have a cell phone but if I need to talk a long time or will be sitting on hold for a long time, I use the MJ
So far I have saved over $1,000.00.

[mudfud]

Well if you really want to have a line of Voice comunication that wont go down you might want to lok into getting a Ham radio licence (Voice or Morse Code) You can reach people around the world with the proper antenna and rig and no, you don't need a 5,000 watt amp .

got the license and a handheld radio.

compirate - that's a good question on the cell phone unit. it's supposed to be like a mini cell repeater station in your house, but it it is paired to the repeater, maybe outside cell calls won't come in? seems like they would have figured this out, though. product will become available in few months.

[compirate]

You either request a new number or ask to have your existing number ported (porting availability depends on where you are, takes up to 60 days, and has a $10 surcharge attached); then you input the information necessary to make e911 work (so that emergency services know where you're calling from).

So I guess that answers my questions.

[compirate]

I have been using MJ for about two years and cut my land line off. You need to have your computer on but a regular phone plugs into the MJ.
You dial (with the area code even if it is a local call) the phone just like the land line phone.
The people you talk to do not need to be on a computer.
I have my computer and on an UPS so a spike or short outage does not effect my phone.
You register your address with 911.
It has call waiting ,3 way, voice mail, call forwarding as part of the program and sends you an email with your voice messages.
It is VOIP so there is a little lag in the sending but compared to what we have on the ships it is not bad at all.
It will only power 1 ringer so I got a cordless with two handsets.
You need a fast Internet connection.
You need a free USB port (not a hub).
No faxing but that is outdated anyway.
I went from $50 a month to $20 a year for my phone.
No long distance charges for anywhere in USA.
I still have a cell phone but if I need to talk a long time or will be sitting on hold for a long time, I use the MJ
So far I have saved over $1,000.00.

So how does the 'advertisements' thing work?


I just wonder how these people can do it for 20 bux a year, and the rest can't? Is it the advertising or the selling of information? The EULA says they track the calls you make - to better adjust the advertising they send.

[luckydog]

call a prison or jail all the time and you will get attorney and bail bondsmen ads

[sailorpatp]

So how does the 'advertisements' thing work?


I just wonder how these people can do it for 20 bux a year, and the rest can't? Is it the advertising or the selling of information? The EULA says they track the calls you make - to better adjust the advertising they send.

You know...I never really watch the adds. When you dial a screen pops up but I always minimize it right away. Some of the adds I have seen have been for International calling .01 to.15 a min depending on the country.
I did some research before got it and they got a connection to every local phone company (a local connection) in the country and one for each country. Every thing in between is voice over IP. The unit is just a small USB with a flash drive with the software to run on your computer and a jack for your phone. They went through all the regulatory steps in each state to connect to the local phone co. Vonage has the software for the VOIP in the little box that they connect to your cable so you are paying $30 a month for renting the box. My box (computer) is on all the time anyway. It is not why do they charge so little...it is why do the big co charge so much.

[beachcat]

for $19.95 its not a bad deal. I had tried it once but do not have high speed internet so I had to give it away.

[Meathead]

call a prison or jail all the time and you will get attorney and bail bondsmen ads

Are you going to share with us how you are aware of this little factoid? Were you calling out from the inside or vice versa?

[Sid]

i am stuck with my land line...
its the only way i can get fast internet here..

but i use skype quite a lot... sometimes talking to various pachitalk members for hours... all for free...



in a few days my new phone plan kicks in with unlimited calls to greece and international with internet for 49Euro per month..

this is going through the standard phone company.. there are new carriers out but ive tried them before for a spare line and nothing but a horror story.. from me and others..