"Magic Jack" Phone Service: You Get What You Pay For

With the telecommunications industry changing overnight, and with cellular telephone service costing between $50 to $60 per month for a single line of service according to Kiplinger, it's easy to understand the appeal of a phone company like Magic Jack, promising unlimited phone service for just $19.95 a year. Of course, for Magic Jack to work, you have to have access to a high-speed internet connection.

The Magic Jack web site claims you only have to have a minimum internet upload speed of 128 kb/sec. They claim it will work with WiFi, Wireless, Broadband, DSL, and Cable hook-ups, but not with any internet connection accessed by satellite. I have had Magic Jack for two years and I like the unlimited service that it offers. But I wouldn't recommend it to others. The main reason I have it is due to the cost of only $19.95 a year, but here are some of the drawbacks. In addition to the yearly subscriber fee, you pay $40 for the Magic Jack device that uses a USB connection that plugs into the back of your computer. When the service works, I'll admit, it's great. But about half the time, the software to run the Magic Jack doesn't load when you turn on your computer. You see, your Magic Jack device only works when your computer is turned on. When your computer is turned off, any phone calls made to your Magic Jack phone number goes straight to voicemail which shows up as an e-mail in your inbox. While the e-mail notification of phone calls is nice, your Magic Jack device only works when your computer is turned on, unlike Vonage, for example, which will work whether your computer is on or off. Of course, you pay $14.99 a month for Vonage or $24.99 a month, depending on whether you're taking advantage of a promotional offer they have or not.

When the software to run the Magic Jack doesn't load, I have to reboot the Magic Jack device by removing the USB connection and then plug it back in. Every time I turn the computer on, it takes about two to three minutes to load the software even though a Magic Jack icon flashes across your screen that says,"One minute of patience for a lifetime of savings." The software must be fully loaded before you can use your Magic Jack phone. At least one third of the time, when I dial out, I get some sort of dialing error. Speed dialing doesn't always work, even if it's programmed correctly on your phone. Sometimes I'll dial and the Magic Jack system won't respond, meaning I'll have to remove the USB connection for the device and wait a few minutes for it to reboot.

It is not uncommon to be on a phone call with someone while using the Magic Jack device and discover that the person I'm talking to, all of a sudden, can't hear me. So they hang up on me and I have to call back. The other day, I waited on hold for almost half an hour (I like to use the Magic Jack phone especially when I have to call a government agency!), and when the party came on line, I could hear them, but they couldn't hear me. I had to repeat the process twice on that particular occasion! It still beats using up daytime minutes on my cell phone, but I have had a Magic Jack device in two different locations, use a 6GHz phone with a wired, high speed internet connection with an upload speed well in excess of 128 kb/sec, and still have problems with the phone.

There are also times when the computer is on, and my Magic Jack software indicates my phone is active and waiting to send or receive calls, and I'll get a call on my cell phone from somebody saying they couldn't reach me on my Magic Jack phone. The other day, someone called me on it, didn't reach me, and instead of the call going to voicemail like it is supposed to, the person at the other end got an "all circuits are busy" recording. Granted, any phone service is likely to have an "all circuits are busy" recording once in a while, but this happened on several occasions.

When I had occasion to need service from Magic Jack, all they have to offer is a "Chat Room." I got my problem resolved, but only after spending almost an hour waiting for responses. What I've discovered about Magic Jack is that it is only for someone who doesn't mind a lot of service interruptions. About fifty percent of the time, it will work like a normal phone. It tends to work better when you initiate the call. For some reason, when others call me, it seems like the call will drop, they can't hear me about halfway into the conversation, and I wind up having to call them back. The Magic Jack phone works well enough for me to do what I need, but my cell phone is probably ten times more reliable. I use a new computer, I subscribe to an internet speed that my provider tells me is fast enough to permit video streaming, and I use a 6GHz phone device. My high speed internet service is through Cox Communications, a well-known national internet and cable TV provider. Why the Magic Jack device doesn't perform any better than this, I have no idea. If you decide to try Magic Jack, be prepared to do all the installation work yourself, which really isn't all that difficult. Plan on rebooting a lot because the software will malfunction on you for reasons I can't explain. Plan on having to call back at least a third of the people you call since the call will either drop or the people on the other line will have problems hearing you. Do NOT expect to receive a phone call on that device. If it's an important call, either call them or have them call your cell phone. Good luck!