Unofficial magicJack Forum

saxman · Dan Needs To Hire Me Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 184

I dropped he local phone company and kept their dsl service. It's $36.00 a month and just as soon as my contract with them is up next year I'll drop that and go to cable to get twice the speed for about $5.00 more a month. Magic Jack is the only phone I need but I have a cell with a pre-paid plan if needed but what emergency would there be? I have the pc on all the time and if it broke I'd have it running again by the next day. I did add the Hawking HH1 broadband booster so the calls are even better then before with the land line.

SpamBox · Dan Needs To Hire Me Joined: 14 Dec 2007 Posts: 390

It's my only home phone but still have my mobile too.
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Morpheus: What is "coming soon"? How do you define "coming soon"?

testing123 · Dan Needs To Hire Me Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 381

Some interesting opinions have been voiced here ...

1) As I heard someone say on here somewhere, "MJ is not yet ready for prime time" -- I forget which post it was.
i.e., Beta-level service (still!), Zero Support/Communication (from a "Phone Company" no less), constant tinkering w/ Servers leading to downtime (presumably to improve service), frequent touch-tone sounds during a call (sometimes causing certain actions from the system you are calling)
2) No official support for ATA
3) No official Linux support
4) Privacy Protection: Not so sure it is that good and I am not so sure I want to provide CC info for Int'l Calling given that.

BUT,
1) It has improved quite a bit since July '07
2) It has REAL promise and potential (I just want to see it go from Potential Energy to Kinetic Energy)
3) This concept (I hope) has put ALL other providers on their ear (esp. the big gluttonous "Bells")

You may not believe this but I REALLY want MJ to succeed -- it has already done a lot in just existing.

Right now IMHO, it is best as part of a SUITE of VOIP/Cell/etc Services hidden behind something like GrandCentral or RingCentral. i.e., Redundancy, Failover, Load Balancing, and Uptime (assuming GC or RC don't take a crap)

PS: As much as I would love to have a analog/landline as a "backup", I am not willing to pay another CENT to Local Telco (or have my privacy breached by being listed in the public phone book or Internet phonebooks or Google).
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Do you expect me to talk?? No Mr. Bond ... I expect you to DIE!
MJ running via Assembly Language on a Commodore Vic-20 Razz

testing123 · Dan Needs To Hire Me Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 381

Well, it is days like today/yesterday that make me thankful to have redundancy with other VOIP providers (and GrandCentral).

Sometimes no Incoming, sometimes no Outgoing in the last 12hrs or so.

Hopefully resolve soon . . .
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Do you expect me to talk?? No Mr. Bond ... I expect you to DIE!
MJ running via Assembly Language on a Commodore Vic-20 Razz

couch-potato · Apprentice Joined: 04 Mar 2008 Posts: 23

MJ is not good enough for my only phone - however that doesn't mean I need a landline.

I know lots of people that have cellular as their only phone service - no landline.

I have a cell and a MJ - no landline.

I would not recommend that anyone use MJ as their only phone - however I think everyone should get MJ - at the very least just for long distance!

Bendle · MagicJack Contributor Joined: 27 Mar 2008 Posts: 71

I just got a flyer from Comcast that offers internet and voice for $49.90 a month everyday low price. I noticed the catch is the download is 768kbps though.

kumar · Dan Should Pay Me Joined: 15 Nov 2007 Posts: 546

Bendle · MagicJack Contributor Joined: 27 Mar 2008 Posts: 71

saxman · Dan Needs To Hire Me Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 184

In Wa., the Comcast price is $44.00 a month for 8 mb, if you already have Comcast cable which I do. I think it's about 20 more if you don't. Right now I pay Qwest $36.00 a month for dsl to go alot slower, 1.5 mbpm.-so for 8 more bucks I can go much faster. I first need to let my 2 year "price for life" contract expire, next year. Otherwise they will charge me a $200.00 fee for quitting the contract early. My advice is never do the contact thing or pay for anything too far in the future like MJ. You never know what deal awaits down the road. These communication companies are scrambling for our bucks and business and the ball is in our corner finally.

MagicPhoneMan · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:50 pm Post subject:

MJ can't be the only phone because its not really portable. A lot of people don't have laptops. MJ best use is for a home phone. A cellular phone is too convenient to go without one. If you have MJ and a pay-as-you-go cellphone, you can save a lot of money

sean · Apprentice Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 12

my Verizon home service $65 plus tax month unlimited long distance and local..
Sprint cell $60 month 1000 anytime minutes, unlimited nights(7pm-5am), and unlimited weekends
Magic Jack $20 a year
I had magic jack for 3 weeks now..trying to figure which to cancel and keep mj..

HendersonMike · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:35 am Post subject:

I kicked my loco (local) phone company to the curb 2 weeks ago and have not regretted it yet. I do have a pay-as-you-go-cell for "those" times.
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A MagicJack happy user since 3 April 2008.
Using MJ on a XP Media Center machine
2.80 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
4 gig Installed Memory (3.62 recognized)
BEFSR41 Linksys
Maintenance of YOUR machine IS everything

DrScissorhands · Newbie Joined: 26 Apr 2008 Posts: 1

i use vonage for my primary.
I have 2 cells I carry, then the other 2 people in my house carry cells
i added 2 magic jacks for outgoing calls....

vonage set to simulring to cell 2

cell 1 also has data plan for lappy, and on different service than the other cell plans in the house

i run a small business, and need multiple lines.

this poll dont have the option I need..... so i did not vote.
I would never rely on magic jack as my primary, but i do rely on voip and cells.

total = 6 lines, and I love it.
You could not pay me to have a land line. expensive, and no more reliable than voip, especially if you have cordless phones. afterall what good is a cordless phone if the base is off...
therefore I have came to the conclusion is a cell is the most reliable phone to have, voip is second.

Bendle · MagicJack Contributor Joined: 27 Mar 2008 Posts: 71

Doobles · Apprentice Joined: 03 Feb 2008 Posts: 12

$60.00 a month for broadband doesn't sound that bad. I live in the sticks and my DSL costs me $90.00 a month for 3 megs down 256 K up. Cable just came to the area and can do 10 megs down 1 meg up for $38.00 a month.

I was rate locked in a contract with the phone company for 3 years. (The contract ending in February of 2009.)Those idiots raised my rate to $107 in February, then $115 in March, then $99 in April.. Now May's billing is here and it is $102.00... LOL. A few weeks ago cable was offered. I just dumped DSL and went with the cable company. Cable company is triple the speed and 60% cheaper.

The phone company threatened they are going to force a $600 early termination fee on me. I think I have a case to get out of it. I called them twice a month since February and gave them 4 months to fix the billing problem... Which I think is more than fair.

They also threatened they are going to disconnect my land phone if I do not pay the early termination fee. SO... I am going to be one step ahead of them and tell them to disconnect and use Magic Jack until cable offers local telco service which is suppose to be late in the summer or early fall. I told the phone company if they try to collect, I will take it up with the state utility commission.

I already have a cell phone with reliable service.. I think MJ would be Ok for my house phone. I have not yet hooked up MJ.. Probably will tomorrow. I think it will work out very well. I tried Vonage.. I do not like automatic credit card billing. I never had any billing problems with Vonage, but other companies I have. If you are overcharged, your account is zapped, it takes months of fighting to get your money back. Until Vonage does paper statements, sends, or e-mails me a statement so I can approve of the charges before I send the money.. I will stay away from Vonage.. I don't care if its $5 more a month to do it that way.. That's the way I like to be billed.. Smile

Vonage nailed me with an activation fee and termination fee when I had the service. Overall Vonage was good and reliable. I just didn't like the way they billed, along with the activation and termination fees.
Thanks again.. Sorry to ramble.. LOL