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Product Review: MagicJack

I'd like to know about "magicJack," which is free phone service.
Sue G.

Love My magicJack!

I have a magicJack and I love it! I ordered a five-year deal. It lets me make unlimited long distance calls over my high speed Internet connection. The gadget plugs into a USB port and then the phone plugs into it. It has voicemail and displays the number for incoming calls. All of my family lives out of state and it saves them money too, as I just call them back when they call. They have online chat support if you have questions. Also, when I get a voicemail, their system sends me an email that I have a voice mail message and gives the name of the caller, the date, and the time. It's great as long as you have high speed Internet. At first, the phone I was using was an old junky one, so the other party couldn't hear me well. My folks had a spare phone and they gave it to me, so now I'm all set!
PF

Lacking in Customer Service

I've been following the reports on epinions.com for magicJack, and you'll find that it either works really well or the quality of the sound is bad. In any case, they all say that there is no customer support. There is either no phone number to call, or there is never a live person to answer questions.
Claire

Take It on the Road With You

I purchased the magicJack about three months ago. I paid the $39.95 for the USB device and it arrived in the mail within the week. It was easy to install and it works perfectly. You must have high speed Internet. I travel, so I carried the device with me to test it at the hotel. It did work using their Internet connection, but the clarity was a little sketchy just like your cell when you are about to lose signal. So if you do not have a great high speed Internet connection, you will not be happy. I love it, and I am saving $120 a month since I cancelled my local phone service. I now will only pay $19.99 a year to use magicJack, and I can call local and long distance unlimited. Also, I can take it on the road with me if I know I will have high speed access. What a great savings!
Terri in N.C.

Have Cell Phone Back Up

My husband uses magicJack and likes it a lot. It is very affordable. I do believe your computer has to be on to work. I would also advise having a cell phone because occasionally you need back up if your Internet goes down.
Jacquie in Tacoma, WA

Not For Me!

After a lot of research, I ordered a magicJack. We wanted to get rid of our landline altogether. While ordering, I fell for the Five-Year Platinum Preferred Plan for $49.95 that they offer to you at sign up. Don't buy it until you test the magicJack on your computer!

Now that I know my computer doesn't handle the magicJack very well, I see I've thrown that $49.95 away. For us, the sound quality is poor. The online representatives believe it's my computer USB ports that aren't powerful enough to support the magicJack. I tried buying an external USB hub, but it didn't seem to help, meaning more money down the drain.

So much for trying to be frugal! But, my idol, Clark Howard, swears by magicJacks! So, maybe it's just my older (2 years?) computer that can't handle it.
Charlene

Saving Me Money

I was skeptical at first, but I bit the bullet and got a magicJack. I think it's great. I've gotten rid of my two phone lines, which were costing me (along with my Internet) about $98/month. I now have a DSL high speed Internet phone line only, which costs me only $65/month. I also no longer have any long distance charges, which were costing about $12/month. Not a big savings, but savings at least. I like the fact that you can take the magicJack with you and use it in a hotel. I did find that our portal phone didn't have the best sound quality, so we picked up an inexpensive $5 regular plug in type phone.

I would recommend it. You do need to keep your computer on to have phone service. I can say that we've had no trouble with, it and I find it was worth the cost.
Cheryl

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Product Review: MagicJack