TracFone Club » Magic Jack

The Magic Jack User Experience

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:35:28 +0000

Reader Mindy May has this to say about Magic Jack:

I received my MJ yesterday and have been considering installing it. My first question was “How do I port my current phone number onto MJ”? After reading a goodly portion of the remarks stated previously – I guess the answer is that I don’t – can’t – no way be able to use my old phone number. So that pretty much settles what I will be doing. MJ goes back (all three of them).

My first indication that I probably wasn’t going to get along with MJ was that my account password wouldn’t work. Neither did the next two that were sent to me. And I wasn’t readily able to find a contact number. The number listed for MJ says “This number has not been activated.”

I am in Alberta. I had made a trip to the US on business. Used my Visa in the US and had the Visa fraud squad in a tizzy because I had not notified them of my travels. They blocked my Visa until I spoke with them and confirmed my US purchases. Knowing that it is possible to BLOCK a credit card is useful. It stops anyone who has the number (i.e. MJ) from putting charges on it (including me). Sometimes it is also useful to cut it in half and report it lost. You will be without a credit card for a week or so but when the new one comes, it will be a different number. So if you need to stop payments – those are two suggestions.

My MJs are going back and hopefully I will get a communication saying that they have been received and “Sorry that you were not happy with them” – also will need a credit or a payment reversal statement. To date, no charges have gone onto my credit card – so, for me, MJ has been as good as their word – first 30 days free. I will not reactivate my credit card until this is cleared up. And if it does not get resolved, I guess the puppy will get to chew on the credit card . . . . or something. I will try to stay in MJs “good books” because I may just want to use the product on a limited basis some time in the future.

I could see that a one year MJ contract would be good if you were going on holiday and wanted to call home on a daily basis – it would pay for itself after a few days. So I will compose a polite “thanks but no thanks” note to add to the parcel and stop by the post office.

Thanks for this site – it has helped me make up my mind about what to do. I suggest that right-up-front you set out additional findings on the known facts, i.e. if your phone exchange is full, you can’t get a number with your own (old) area code. I happen to know that the one that I am in is full so I would get a local number BUT it would have the new area code. Second – THEY assign you a new phone number. et cetera.

This has been an experience on a steep-learning-curve.

Mindy.

Beware of the Magic Jack 50 Call Limit

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:13:15 +0000

Don't use Magic Jack for business!

Reader LC reports that Magic Jack canceled her number after she attempted to use her new Magic Jack as part of her business. After they shut her down, she researched the “fine print” and discovered that they reserve the right to cancel your service if you either make more than 50 calls in a day, or call 50 different numbers.

Perhaps this is LC’s fault for not reading the fine print, but it is something potential Magic Jack customers should be aware of.

We were just sent this comment from another net forum:

Today I went to make on my magic jack and I kept getting a message to call a certain phone number about my magic jack service.

I call the number and they told me my magic jack account was suspended, abuse of their service they said.

They told me abuse was too many phone calls that lasted too long were being made on my service.

That my friend is not unlimited phone calling.

Oh, I can still get incoming calls, but wait, no one can call me as magic jack phone numbers will be long distance to your friends. If I want to continue using my magic jack I will have to buy prepaid minutes.

This is the biggest fraud being perpetraited on hard working people just trying to save a few bucks and get by.

The sun won’t shine where I would like for them to stick their junk and false advertiseing!

2 million MagicJack devices are not being used

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:32:42 +0000

We just found this quote on the ABC News website in a story about a new Magic Jack device. If you read between the lines, this quote speaks volumes.

Borislow said YMax has sold 5 million magicJacks for landline phones in the last two years, and that roughly 3 million are in active use.

So what’s happening with the other 2 million devices? Our guess is that they are sitting unusable in the homes of consumers who can’t get them to work. How nice it must be to be able to sell a product that goes unused and unsupported.

Try Magic Jack on a Thin Client for Better Results

admin — Wed, 19 May 2010 03:43:19 +0000

Reader Jack writes about the success he has had setting up his Magic Jack on a thin client.

If you are willing to sink about $75 you can put your MJ on a thin client and it works perfectly and you don’t have to be seeing the advertisements.

Once you setup the thin client like the T5720 you just push this mini-computer to the corner and leave it on all the time. Low power consumption since it works all by flash drives and no hard drive, no fans… quiet like a solar calculator.

There are many support forums so if you look around you will find it. Also have a decent internet connection helps. DSL works fine but probably not as good as a cable internet. I have had my MJ for over two years with the thin client setup and love it. No choppiness, call my family in Canada on the opposite coast everyday and talk for 30 minutes to an hours if you believe it… CLEAR CLEAN PHONE CALLS ALL THE TIME!! I don’t have that BS $20 for making local phone calls with AT&T. Works great guys… just a matter of setting it up correctly

Magic Jack Charges Credit Card and then Claims Ignorance

admin — Sun, 16 May 2010 14:08:02 +0000

We have recently been receiving complaints from Magic Jack users that Magic Jack “accidentally” charges credit cards and then claims ignorance. Contacting customer support will generate blank stares and no record of such charges.

We have selected two recent customer comments. You decide what’s going on here.

Reader Ann Marie writes:

BEWARE OF CREDIT CARD PAYMENT. I wanted to renew my subscription [with Magic Jack] and after using my credit card, the system said ‘invalid’ however my bank said the charge was made. After speaking with Magic Jack help desk “Nigel” told me to do the transaction again. I warned him that I already used the card and it was charged, but did it again and same problem, and my card was charged again. Then the chat session just ended and I cannot get on to the help desk. The bank said another charge was made on [my credit card], and can only be refunded if Magic Jack emails a confirmation.

John writes with additional details:

I am a Canadian, living in London, Ontario. I recently purchased the Magic Jack. I had no problems installing, nor have I any complaints about call quality. I have a NYC phone number. One thing that is not mentioned, or at least not where I have seen it… Canadians using an American number cannot call Canadian toll-free numbers.

My problems started when I tried to purchase a Canadian number, using my prepaid Visa card. I went through mymajicjack, using their online system to order.

I have been charged twice for the Canadian number… leaving me with a 32 cent balance, and still no Canadian number… and yes, it is $4.95 plus $10.00 for the Canadian number.

Upon contacting customer service (their joke of customer service, online support), I was told that they had no record of these transactions. (Never mind that I can provide their company information showing to whom the payment was made). I was told that I would be emailed by customer service… I obviously have not been. I was assured that their engineers are working hard on it (seems like a recurring theme…)

I was also told that since there was no record of an order, these pre-authorized amounts (as I was told) would be removed… and check back with them 3-5 days after receiving my statement… so it seems that I have to wait for up to a month to see what happens.

It seems that an honest company would be a little more proactive about customer service, and follow through on promises made.

I am quite seriously considering contacting the American IRS… it seems that the majic jack company charges quite a few credit cards without providing the service being paid for… I guess we’ll see what happens…

There you have it. Does that sound like a company you would like to deal with?

Magic Jack Causes Speakers to Stop Working

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:32:35 +0000

We have uncovered a fix for this problem. Sometimes installing and using a Magic Jack device will cause your speakers to stop working. If this has happened to you, please follow these steps for a potential fix!

Windows XP
1. Click Start
2. Click Control Panel
3. If your Control Panel is in Category View, double-click Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices. If not, go directly to the step 4
4. Double Click on Sounds and Audio Devices
5. Click the Audio tab (the middle one)
6. Under both Sound Playback and Sound Recording, select your default audio device (the one you want to use) from the drop down menu
* Never select Tigerjet as your default device
7. Click the box labeled Use Only Default Device” (located in the bottom left corner of the window)
8. Click Apply and OK

or…

Windows VISTA
1. Click the Windows Button (Old Start Button)
2. Click Control Panel.
3. If your Control Panel is in Classic View, Double-Click Sound. If not, go directly to the step 4.
4. Click on Hardware and Sound.
5. Click Sound.
6. Right-Click on your default device (the one you want to use) and select Set as Default Device
* Never select Tigerjet as your default device.
7. Click Ok.

Magic Jack Skirts the Law Again

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:44:09 +0000

Magic Jack plans to use a legal technicality as the basis for its next product. Your home becomes a mini cell tower. How does that make you feel? Here’s the scoop:

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Fri Jan 8, 2:29 pm ET

[Associated Press] LAS VEGAS – The company behind the magicJack, the cheap Internet phone gadget that’s been heavily promoted on TV, has made a new version of the device that allows free calls from cell phones in the home, in a fashion that’s sure to draw protest from cellular carriers.

The new magicJack uses, without permission, radio frequencies for which cellular carriers have paid billions of dollars for exclusive licenses.

YMax Corp., which is based in Palm Beach, Fla., said this week at the International Consumers Electronics Show that it plans to start selling the device in about four months for $40, the same price as the original magicJack. As before, it will provide free calls to the U.S. and Canada for one year.

The device is, in essence, a very small cellular tower for the home.

The size of a deck of cards, it plugs into a PC, which needs a broadband Internet connection. The device then detects when a compatible cell phone comes within 8 feet, and places a call to it. The user enters a short code on the phone. The phone is then linked to the magicJack, and as long as it’s within range (YMax said it will cover a 3,000-square-foot home) magicJack routes the call itself, over the Internet, rather than going through the carrier’s cellular tower. No minutes are subtracted from the user’s account with the carrier. Any extra fees for international calls are subtracted from the user’s account with magicJack, not the carrier.

According to YMax CEO Dan Borislow, the device will connect to any phone that uses the GSM standard, which in the U.S. includes phones from AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA. At a demonstration at CES, a visitor’s phone with a T-Mobile account successfully placed and received calls through the magicJack. Most phones from Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. won’t connect to the device.

Borislow said the device is legal because wireless spectrum licenses don’t extend into the home.

AT&T, T-Mobile and the Federal Communications Commission had no immediate comment on whether they believe the device is legal, but said they were looking into the issue. CTIA — The Wireless Association, a trade group, said it was declining comment for now. None of them had heard of YMax’s plans.

Borislow said YMax has sold 5 million magicJacks for landline phones in the last two years, and that roughly 3 million are in active use. That would give YMax a bigger customer base than Internet phone pioneer Vonage Holdings Corp., which has been selling service for $25 per month for the better part of a decade. Privately held YMax had revenue of $110 million last year, it says.

U.S. carriers have been selling and experimenting with devices that act similarly to the wireless magicJack. They’re called “femtocells.” Like the magicJack, they use the carrier’s licensed spectrum to connect to a phone, then route the calls over a home broadband connection. They improve coverage inside the home and offload capacity from the carrier’s towers.

But femtocells are complex products, because they’re designed to mesh with the carrier’s external network. They cost the carriers more than $200, though some sell them cheaper, recouping the cost through added service fees. YMax’s magicJack is a much smaller, simpler design.

Magic Jack Customer Service Chat Log – Lauralee

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:04:47 +0000

Here is another Magic Jack Customer Service Chat Log for your reading pleasure! These things are always so strangely interesting. When you read it, try to look at it objectively and see who’s right and who’s wrong.

=====

Chat InformationPlease wait for a site operator to respond.

Chat InformationYou are now chatting with ‘Crystal’

Chat InformationYour Issue ID for this chat is LTK419085579833X

Crystal: Hello, how may I help you?

Lauralee Holley: I was talking to someone before and was disconnected or ignored

Lauralee Holley: Chat Information Please wait for a site operator to respond. Chat Information You are now chatting with ‘Mickey’ Chat Information Your Issue ID for this chat

is LTK419085575169X

Mickey: Hello, how may I help you?

Lauralee Holley: I ordered the magic jack online and I want to return it but it’s been more than 30 days

Mickey: CAn I have your magicjack number please?

Lauralee Holley: I dont know it because it doesn’t work

Mickey: One moment please…

Lauralee Holley: I tried many times to get it to work and it doesn’t

Mickey: Did you register it?

Lauralee Holley: I think so

Mickey: Is it plug in now?

Lauralee Holley: no it’s in the original packaging

Mickey: It’s not yet registered I guess.

Mickey: One moment please…

Lauralee Holley: Can it be returned being the fact it’s never been used

Lauralee Holley: Is there anything I can do to get a refund?

Mickey: Thank you for your patience. I will transfer you to a higher level of support. Please hold while I transfer you.

Chat InformationPlease wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.

Chat InformationYou are now chatting with ‘Roy’ Chat InformationYour Issue ID for this chat is LTK419085575169X Roy:

Hello Lauralee. My name is Roy. To better assist you, let me put you on hold while I read your previous chat. Thank you.

Lauralee Holley: Is anyone there?

Roy: Yes.

Roy: Thank you for waiting.

Roy: May I have your sales order number please?

Lauralee Holley: would that be on the packageing

Roy: On your email confirmation.

Lauralee Holley: I’ll have to go check my email real quick

Roy: Sure thing.

Lauralee Holley: I don’t have the email

Roy: May I have your complete name and address please?

Lauralee Holley: how do I find that?

Roy: Your complete name and address that you’ve used when you place your order?

Lauralee Holley: oh I’m sorry. [address removed by admin]

Roy: It’s okay. No problem.

Roy: Thank you for the information.

Roy: Please wait while I check that for you

Roy: Please confirm the information below.

Roy: Order Date: 10/05/2009

Roy: LAURALEE HOLLEY

Roy: [address removed by admin]

Roy: US

Lauralee Holley: yes

Lauralee Holley: That is correct

Lauralee Holley: So can I get a refund?

Lauralee Holley: Is anyone there? If you cant help me is there a 1 800 number that I can call?

Lauralee Holley: hello?

Lauralee Holley: I pasted the conversation

Lauralee Holley: I just want to know if I can have a refund

Lauralee Holley: I’ve been trying to get a answer for an hour and a half

Crystal: You want to return your device right?

Crystal: Are you still with me, Lauralee?

Lauralee Holley: yes

Crystal: May I know where did you purchase the magicJack device?

Lauralee Holley: online

Crystal: May I know if you are still on your free 30 day trial?

Lauralee Holley: no I am not

Lauralee Holley: I never used it because when I tried to install it, it wouldn’t work

Crystal: Thank you for your patience. I will transfer you to a higher level of support. Please hold while I transfer you.

Chat InformationPlease wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.

Chat InformationYou are now chatting with ‘Imarie’

Chat InformationYour Issue ID for this chat is LTK419085579833X

Imarie: Hello Lauralee. My name is Imarie. To better assist you, let me put you on hold while I read your previous chat. Thank you.

Imarie: I hope you can bear with me.

Imarie: Thank you for allowing me to review your previous chat session. Allow me to assist you with your issue.

Imarie: Would you mind if we will just replace your magicJack, Lauralee?

Lauralee Holley: I don’t want it

Lauralee Holley: this one doesn’t work why would a new one

Imarie: I understand that one but that’s all we can offer since your over 30 days already and we cannot issue a refund even if you send the device back to us.

Lauralee Holley: I NEVER USED IT

Imarie: I understand that one but we have a policy that we need to follow and I guess you are aware of it too.

Lauralee Holley: so i got transfered 4 times and waited and hour and a half to be told I am not going to get my money back

Imarie: May I know the issue you are having with your magicJack?

Lauralee Holley: when I tried to install it, it wasn’t working so I went to FAQ and it told me to buy a new phone because my phone was not compatable so I tried 8 different

phones and still the same problem I get a dial tone but the call does not go threw

Lauralee Holley: It doesn’t work so now I want my money back

Imarie: But you are over 30-days already, Lauralee.

Lauralee Holley: I don’t care I got sold a product that does not work

Lauralee Holley: and hasn’t worked since day one not day thirty

Lauralee Holley: I got scammed and ripped off

Imarie: I understand your concern but it was clearly stated in our FAQ section that you will only be refunded if you are still under 30-days.

Lauralee Holley: So basically your telling me that I am stuck with this thing that doesn’t work

Lauralee Holley: I paid money to your company for me to get nothing

Imarie: That’s why I offered you a replacement.

Lauralee Holley: Do I have to pay the shipping?

Imarie: We will pay for the the shipping for a RUSH for the new magicJack and you need to pay for the return postage of the OLD magicJack.

Lauralee Holley: Why should I have to pay anything?

Lauralee Holley: I refuse to pay anymore

Lauralee Holley: It is not my fault that it doesn’t work so why show I have to pay more

Imarie: Okay, then there’s nothing I can do about it. I already offered you all possible things and still you refuse.

Imarie: Is there anything else I may help you with today?

Lauralee Holley: I want a manager or someone who can help me since you cant

Imarie: I am the highest person that you can deal with in this chat session.

Imarie: There’s no one higher than me already.

Lauralee Holley: How else can I reach someone besides the computer? Is there a phone number I can call?

Imarie: No, we only do chat support here, Lauralee.

Lauralee Holley: so whats 281-404-1551?

Imarie: That number is not related to our support. You are free to call that number to check if you can talk to a person.

Imarie: Is there anything else I may help you with today?

Imarie: I have not heard from you in a while. Do you wish to continue this chat session?

Imarie: Since I have not heard from you for some time, I am going to close this chat. If you need any help in the future, please do not hesitate to chat with us again. Good bye

Chat InformationChat session has been terminated by the site operator.

Magic Jack Contact Customer Support

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:25:42 +0000

If you absolutely, positively must get help from Magic Jack, try using this information:

Mailing Address

Magic Jack LP
PO Box 6846
West Palm Beach, FL 33405
Contact: Peter Russo – CFO

Street Address

5700 Georgie Avenue
West Palm Beach, FL 33405

Phone

Main Office: (561) 594-2140 – this is just a recording telling you where to get support, you can leave a message if you want.

Alternate: (561) 722-0433 Facsimile (561) 586-2328

Financial Support: (281) 404-1551 open from 11am to 8pm EST

Also try (561) 543-0144 or (561) 543-3905 – this one might have message to e-mail to an address given in the message.

Support manager

Rikard Bone
Email: rikard.bone@magicjack.com

Magic Jack Founder

danborislow@aol.com
dan@magicjack.com
Dan.Borislow@magicjack.com
DBORISLOW@aol.com

Good luck!

Does Magic Jack work with Windows 7

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:21:56 +0000

Reports from the field indicate that MagicJack works with Windows 7. Here are some selected quotes:

Yep, can confirm MJ works with Windows 7 on the Release Client and more recently the retail version. No issues. I’m running a stock MJ out of the box.

And another:

I just bought Windows 7 and put it on my laptop and it works very well. I never had any real issues using magicJack with XP and or Vista and for me it seems to work even better with Windows 7.

So no worries with Magic Jack and Windows 7.