Has anyone else had problems with people on the other end of the line complaining of hearing a dialing sound or beeps. I have friends who say they hear these sounds and miss part of our conversation....I do not hear it on my end and have had no other problems.

Well 32 years of credit card protection would be great, but I really meant 2. in message below

I should have known better. I ordered the Magic Jack and the charge was more than double what I was told it would be. I'll go over what I believe are the good and bad points.
Bad points:
-Will NOT work with alarm systems.(You have to keep your land line anyway)
-NO 911 service in my area
-Can NOT send and receive faxes.
-No local numbers available in my area. (I may be paying less, but everyone I know has to pay a charge to call me)
-Reports of "I can't understand you, you're breaking up" are common.
-Outages are not exactly rare either. (no dial tone)
-You must have your computer on 24/7 (Not recommended for most home PC's)
-Will not work in power outage (In an emergency, you better have a reliable source of communication)
-Will not work if you're having internet or PC problems.
-No real form or customer support what-so-ever.
-No phone number to speak to a person. (A phone company with no phones?)
-This company has a VERY POOR rating with the BBB. Check it out for yourself BEFORE you buy this horror of a device!
GOOD POINTS:
-It maked you feel better when you smash it with a hammer.

I ordered majik jack online, for the 30 day trial. I used a debit card and they deducted the amount immediately. As soon as I had ordered it, I got a little concerned, that it might be a scam, because I had not heard of it before. So, I found negative reviews on the net, and this site was one of them. I had to go to tech chat to cancel. That was the biggest run around i have ever witnessed. Getting your money back from those crooks is next to impossible. They told me for days that the refund was being processed. Baloney. Never was. I have sent a form to the IL AG's office, and the BBB. I doubt that I will ever see that money, and would like to inform everyone there is no justice when ordering on the internet.

I am frustrated with them. I have had my mini van towed to them three times in the last two monthes. Every time it comes back to me There is another problem with it. I am paying 13,000. for the car, and now I just spent another 1300.00 on more repairs. I went with my wife to gewt it and before I even left the lot with the van I noticed a piece of cardboard holding my driver side window up. I went in the shop and asked what happened and he said it was broken when he got the car. We had told him that it was working when the tow truck driver( there driver) picked the car up, and that it was not broken. He was very ignorant, and rude to me in front of my wife, and 1 year old son. He said that what happens to my vehicle while on there property is not there problem. Now they want me to pay for a window motor that was never broken to begin with. I want to publish this. Please help me...Ken

If you are interested, you can follow this link and see a review of Magic Jack done by a third party (Information Week). You have to register on the site to view it but it is free.

http://www.informationweek.com/whitepaper/Personal-Tech/Smartphones/demo-magicjackwp1213674635754;jsessionid=RPLG1UOSNPBXAQSNDLRSKH0CJUNN2JVN?articleID=21520218&cid=well1_wp_pertech

Bambi:"I purchased this product because Clark Howard endorsed it."

Clark does not endorse products and he clearly speaks of the risks when he talks about the service. He said he's heard of problems with customer service but when a company is charging $20 a year, you really shouldn't expect much for service. The posts are also clear as to the reason to not use fake MC/VISA for purchases especially on the internet. Problems can be magnified and it can be much harder to dispute a problem. I imagine common problems people have are probably related to a clunky computer, poor line speed or a firewall blocking the MJ port that it uses to do it thing. Your ISP may even block unusual ports like that in their system much like Clark's mention of a problem on the road that was caused by a company's firewall.

Skype versus MagicJack: I am using both. My son was afraid of MJ so he went with Skype. I am using the free Skype , I tried to purchase the three months or the 12 months deal for the nationwide dial and the use of a phone number. Skype website just kept cycling me to a one month credit card charge. A friend in Tampa told me she is communicating with her husband in Afgan. (private contractor-not military) and they talk everyday both using a local 813 area code for Tampa. She calls him from anywhere in Tampa from any land/cell phone with a local dial. I suggest parents save the cell bills and LD and set thier kids with MJ at college because most colleges use wireless Internet and with local home areacode assigned parents will be able to call their kids from work or from anywhere in their same home city, yet be all the way across the country.
I ordered three magicjacks, and need a couple more. I used a credit card per Clark's instructions. I oppted to skip the free month as I was committed to do it based on my Tampa friend.
I got the local area code for Jacksonville, 904 for my phone number. I also connected the phone to our wired land phone system (second line in the house we use to use for Internet dialup. So when anyone calls the MJ phones ring all over the house on our second system. A long time ago she set the phone with no long distance carrier as we used cell phone or warehouse card for LD. Now we use the MJ from anywhere in the house for LD. So it is great to have MJ use a regular phone (single line). It is better than using Skype and the USB phone limiting you to be near the computer.
I bought at Walmart the Box which allows you to use the same phone for landline and Skype..It works. We also have the skype desk phone and one head set.
I like both services, but I think Magicjack is a better deal. At $40 plus $7 for SH what can I lose for the first year,
Now I also agree, I purchased three MJs and they charge me for three SH ($21) but sent all three in the same package for only couple of bucks, so I paid the only hidden fee mentioned in some the Rants below.
One last problem. My son Just could not get the Skype phone to work with his four year old MAC. However, it did on my laptop, So he now has my windows laptop.
I just installed MJ on MAC laptop my work provided me. It was no different. Did anyone out there have a problem installing the MJ on an OS10 system MAC?

I am livid about the business' practices that I am currently experiencing. I was told that this was a thirty day free trial. I give my card number but was told that my card would not be charged until my thirty days was over. Not true it took them 2 days to process my payment. I used my debt card, but that should not have matter since they were not taking the money right away.
I received an e-mail: Please read this important information about your recent magicJack order DT00669221.

Your total magicjack order amounted to $ 110.80. Please note that these charges may appear on your debit card as two separate charges. One for $ 46.90 and the other for $ 63.90 for the above stated total of $ 110.80. This process assists many who prefer not having the initial hold for the entire amount.

Well that made as much sense as me buying this TV info product.

So I paid 19.00 for one year, I decided to go with the five year plan which was 59.00, I thought the total was 59.00, but found out later that it was an add on to the 19.00.... a play on words on their part. OK 19.99 plus 59.00 = 79.00... $31.00 for what? Shipping? This package probably weighs 12 oz at the most.

This put me in a really bad situation and now my account is -160.00, the two magic jack transactions and bank fees of 105.00 and I have more checks coming out on Monday and nothing to cover them with....I'm screwed...I can say that on the internet .......can't I.
I tried to contact them and they only have one way to communicate and that is a chat IM. Now that is ironic.........a telephone service with no telephone service.
..this is funny I called their 411 service and they have no listing for Magic Jack.
I own an internet business and am distressed that Dan Borislow is allowed to continue to do this.
I have started my own blog on this situation and would really appreciate a response or a story about your "Internet rip off"

http://magicjackripoff.blogspot.com/

I have sent out a notice to mompack.com (thousands of on line women business owners, I have sent a letter to the NC Attorney General and I am not done yet. This is a scam and a rip off business. I cannot comment on the product yet, but shame on you Dan Borislow for your "False Advertising" less than honorable business practices.

Hopefully this helps other spouses like myself who might get excited at the prospect of better communication w/ loved ones in a war zone....
Sadly I learned after ordering that even though the military can use personal laptops - the internet service is still monitored through the government & if they find out an added program like MagicJack is downloaded they can take away the internet service. So - even after specifically chatting online w/ a magicjack rep about military using it (she said yes they have had military in Iraq use it ) I wasted my time & money on the shipping to return the product. Getting a RMA # wasn't the easiest thing 2 do - and only having the chat option really stinks - they could do better w/ the web site & invest in better customer service options.

Even though I did NOT even open the package - I would still consider using the product IF I had other family members who used the internet more ~ but am returning it BEFORE the 2 weeks they give after finally obtaining the RMA # (even though it's got a 30 day guarantee)

I tried magicjack and had inconsistent
connections. I am trying T-mobile's new product, @home. It is a router which you keep your home phone number. It's $10 a month

Several months ago I ordered MagicJack online. Charged to a credit card. It arrived in a few days. I couldn't get it to work properly. I wanted to use it for outgoing long distance calls. Only got one call through. Also,it somehow knocked out sound on other programs on my computer. I thought I might have gotten a defective phone but unfortunately I couldn't find a number to call for help. I would have liked to work with it a bit longer but sent it back within two weeks because I didn't want to get stuck after the 30 trial period. It really needs more detailed installation instructions!!!! Trying to find information on the web page is a nightmare!!! I was unable to find directions for returning it and no place to call. I wrapped it and sent it, Return Receipt Requested, and included a letter explaining my reasons for the return. They did receive it and my charge account was credited immediately. I would have protested the charge if they hadn't. I'm very disappointed that I couldn't make it work, and think that with a little help, I could have used it. However, I don't feel that I was SCAMMED. Maybe I was just lucky. After all, it does seem too good to be true!!!

this is way better then the hotspot router. I use the UMA service on my cell and use the home phoneline. I LOVE this...

If you have to power up a PC, how is Magic Jack better than Skype? I suppose the simple answer is that Skype does charge for connecting to non Skype sources, but not a lot. Since Skype works with handsets not connected to PC's, is that worth the potential extra costs?

I have Magic Jack. I want to send it back but to no customer service won't let me I try to return it they give me a magic fix when the fix don't work they give me another magic fix no phone number no e-mail address no way to contact them 99% probably good this 1% extremely dissatisfied with this company I would like to see somebody else try to return it and give me heads up on why a 100% guarantee return can't be done by this 1%

I saw it on TV, checked the internet buzz and went ahead and got one with just 1 year service. I use it now instead of a warehouse calling card (3 cent a minute). I have cable and the with it the majicjack works great. I couldn't get a local area code for Naples FL but chose one in Tampa area near my son so his calls to me are local. I can call the grandkids now whenever and no dialing access numbers, pin numbers or the like. Very eazy and better quality than my land line in my condo. Yes if I shut the computer down it doesn't ring--but calls go to voice mail and I get an email when I poweer up telling me I have voice mail. What's not to like.

I fired my phone company today, My magic jack is awesome. Came in my mail 5 min later i was making calls. $30.00 a month i will save and that is great. People need to relize that to keep price down there is no costumer service and that the sound quality may be a slight diffrence but very little diffrence, GET IT,I will enjoy the savings , By the way you CAN use it to call your bank and use the number prompt system,

The company is scamming us, charging us for the device even though we tried to return it within the 30 day free trial. They refused the return and still have it billed to us along with about $100 more ... stay away from this, we are appealing to our credit card company.

I never heard of MagicJack, which is surprising since it's been around for a couple years, and typically I or one of my friends comes across "gizmos" like this before the general public. It sounded interesting, but like Clarke said on his radio show, it's surprising the company can offer the service for that price. There has to be a "catch", which seems to be outlined by the negative reviews below:

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/voip/magicJack.aspx

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zvsLfiOELaA

The quality of reception likely has more to do with the quality and speed of the internet connection. It sounds as if those that have better than 3 mB connection have little issues with the product.

Cellphone signal boosters: Debunked as worthless on this radio show and others. Those that claim an improvement can chalk it up to coincidence only. This is regarding those "cute" stickers you are supposed to fix to your phone. If there are active powered "repeaters" you place in your home, that's different.

Land Lines: Provide some use, but are a dying breed. With wireless plans becoming so affordable, it's not worth having an unnecessary second line, when you can just use your cell at home. Of course, there are rural areas where signal coverage is low, so a land line is still mandatory.

Needless to say, land lines can go out during natural disasters, so that's no reason to keep one, and as far as security systems, I thought they've all gone away from phone lines in favor of internet routing or radio signals. Maybe there are some providers still using the older technology.

Cell phones and 911? Look up e-911.

"Computer @ home without land line?" - not sure what's being asked here, but DSL no longer requires land line service, and there's also cable, satellite and cellular (you can either tether your cell phone to your computer, or buy a cellular card for your PC or laptop).

Have you ever been in an earthquake or other major disaster? Chances are your cell phone won't work. Your landline will work. I'm sticking with my reliable landline!

Go to magic jack free calls for $20.00 a yearejtp7

if my dsl wasn't through verizon, local phone company, i'd use tracfone.
i have no choice

I live in an area that had/has poor cell coverage. A few years ago a cell phone "palm tree" tower was erected approx. 500 ft. from my house. My AT&T reception went to six bars, excellent reception everywhere in my house for six months. Then the signal drops to 1-2 bars for six months resulting in weak, terrible reception. Seems to coincide with annual maintenance checks, but can't get anyone to check into it. Customer Service people have no idea what I'm talking about. Being persistant got me to a tech person who understood my problem and corrected it. The fix worked until it failed about six months later. No way in the world to get back to that tech that fixed my problem. World's largest comm network and there is no way for them to call one another in-house. I could change my carrier to the company that owns the tower, but I was told that they don't have good coverage in other areas. Go figure.

Don't I need to have a LAN line in order to access the internet in my house?

You can also find Cell Phone amplifiers through CellMate products - find them at AccessoryGeeks.com We are stuck in-between two cells, so coverage is spotty in our house. We bought a Cellmate - installed it in our Garage (you can also get an outside antennae). We had 0-1 bar, now get 3-4 bars. $269. for inside amplifier.

Dock-N-Talk allows you to hook up your cell phone via cable or bluetooth to a dock that then can feed traditional phones (i.e. it creates a dial tone). This would benefit someone with poor signal because they can set their cell phone in a good place and not have to move the cell phone to answer a call - just use a standard handset. I have used it at home for about 3 years now and have not had any problems with it. I never have trouble with loosing my signal any more. It cost about $220 or less if you can use a cable. http://www.phonelabs.com/

Hello ALL, the t-mobile "AT Home Hot-Spot" is just plain terrible. There is always an echo on my outgoing voice. My callers complain about the coppy voice. Let's Call Tech Support about the problem; they have sold me a new router to correct the problem and last but no least they sold me a new model phone to correct the problem -> I still have the horrible phone sound and the folks at T-Mobile do not care or want to fix it. Go with someone that offers unlimited minutes and stay away from t-mobile's "At Home" service............. it just is not there yet and they do not want to take responsibility for it. I am surprised that Clark still recommends the service, he has NOT used it!!!

A small magnetic mobile antenna can be made to work in certain situations. I have a two story houe and I've mounted one outside a window on a metal support. The metal support is important because it creates a ground plane antenna.

I use a new device called Magic Jack. It connects to my computer's USB jack and gives me unlimited calls over my highspeed connection. It even works with 911! It costs $40.00 to buy the unit and $20.00 per year to license the software. No taxes. No long distant charges in the US. You can even take it with you overseas, so you can send and recieve calls back to the US for free.

June PC magazine has great article and rates credit monitoring Services

I want to drop my landline, but I have DirecTV and it needs a phone connection. In addition, AT&T/Bellsouth provides my DSL. Do I have any viable options??

I got BellSouth to disconnect my "landline". It still works for only "911" & best of all ............ NO CHARGE!!

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gizmo+grandcentral&search_type=

how can you access the Internet if you dont have a landline phone?

Sure I'm cheap. Why else would I be hear but I need my broadband access. I would love to just use my cell which has free long distance in the U.S. and loose the land line. I tried Vonage but guess what? Not only do you have to pay to have an additional phone line installed but then another monthly phone charge on to of that. So where's the savings?

The $169 unit is NOT for homes but just covers an office desk area. Home units are $300-$400 and could need a $100 antena

Invest in a backup battery that will charge your cell. I got one at one from the office supply store for $100.00. Runs my computer so I have Vonage active in case of outage and charges my cell.(also works as a surge protector)

my contract expires in august. should we start shopping around now, or will internet (skype) be available on more providers later this year


be available on all providers like

When power goes out, portable phones do not work but a land line usually still works,and sometimes cell towers are down. I have had such an experience.

I've found that this product does what it says it will do. It doesn't take a genius to install it and maybe that's a problem for some. It is a bit pricey but what is the value of using your cell phone at home.

I would love to get rid of my landline but I have a security service which dials through it. Any solution to this? Security System dials directly to Police and Fire if intrusion or fire.

The Wi EX units are junk . There are alot better out there