Anyone tried the new Magic Jack Plus?

[WackySam]

I've heard good things about the standard version of Magic Jack but never tried it myself due to the fact that it had to be connected to a PC running 24/7. Now that the new "plus" version can be used as a stand-alone unit I'm thinking of giving it a try. Love to hear your opinion if you've used it.

[WackySam]

does anyone know a relatively cheap way to forward your home phone number to the magic jack and cancel the home service?

From the MJ website-

You can take your old phone number to the New magicJackPLUS by setting up our porting procedure. So easy, but so valuable too. If you want to get a new Phone Number anywhere in the country, you can do that and even get a vanity number too.

While the cost to do this isn't on the site, I've been told that it costs $20 to do so.

[vitaman2]

I have both Magic Jack and Magic Jack Plus. Both work well if your DSL line is not overly busy. I frequently use it for three hour conference calls. It will clip voices if you do any heavy upload/downloads during the conversation.

[WackySam]

Even your cell phone dies eventually in a power outage!

Not when you have one of- these

[martin_fierro]

Oh, the magic this does.

[Mr170IQ]

My brother got my mom a Magic Jack. It’s ok most of the time, but she doesn’t leave her PC on 24/7, so it isn’t as useful as it could be.

Amazon reviews have indicated that the OBi110 VoIP Telephone Adapter is a much better product.

[jcsjcm]

Awesome......... I want one of those! hahaha

I have been looking for something that could give your cell phone some life (for my kids) when they have killed the battery which is often while they are out. Thanks!

[Mr Fuji]

If your router has QoS capabilities, then you can enable QoS on your router to prioritize your DSL’s bandwidth to the LAN port that the MJ+ is on.

[TheOldLady]

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[Larry Lucido]

Gives new meaning to “Go back, Jack, do it again. Wheels turning round and round!”

Oh, did you ever get your original question answered, Sam? :-)

[13foxtrot]

netTalk DUO same idea a magick jack but plugs in your router/hub.

Works fine for us.

[Future Useless Eater]

Thx WS, I didn’t realize you can now keep your old number

[WackySam]

After using the Magic Jack Plus for a few days now, I can say it does (so far) everything that they say it will. Sound quality is no different than a standard phone line and it only took 24 hours to convert my phone number. The only cons to this service that I can see is that you have to dial a one and the area code even for local numbers, and there’s no call blocking feature.

So far, I have to say that I’m an extremely satisfied customer.

[mk2000]

Sounds great to me. I like my Vonage though for a couple of reasons I can call a friend in Australia for free. I still have all my old features. The negative is if you lose power you lose your phone since it goes with your cable modem. If Magic Jack works then it's a bargain.

[WackySam]

The negative is if you lose power you lose your phone since it goes with your cable modem.

I keep my router and DSL modem connected to a UPS. Last time I lost power it stayed up for over 8 hours until the power was restored. After that, I guess I'll have to use the cell as backup. IMHO, it's a small price to pay for saving over 1k per year. I just hope it continues to work as good as it has.....

[WackySam]

I like my Vonage though for a couple of reasons I can call a friend in Australia for free.

That is another con against Magic Jack. You can't call overseas for free. To do so, you would have to buy another MJ and send it to your friend in Australia as only overseas call *into* the US are free.

[Mr Fuji]

I'm coming from Ooma to MJ+. I liked Ooma but what started as a pricier upfront cost/free service has turned into pricier upfront/monthly fees. So I decided to cut my ties with Ooma and sell the device on ebay once they finish disconnecting the my Ooma service, which is taking forever.

I have had my MJ+ for a little over a week now. Overall, I really like it. I have had three lengthy conversations and numerous small calls and the quality was great.

The only real complain I have it that the MJ answering service picks up automatically after the fourth ring. I prefer my phone's answering machine to pick up after the fourth ring instead. I know you can set the physical answering machine to pick up after three rings but that's cutting a little too close.

[WackySam]

I'm coming from Ooma to MJ+. I liked Ooma but what started as a pricier upfront cost/free service has turned into pricier upfront/monthly fees.

I looked at the Ooma service before ordering the MJ+ and saw that while they said their phone service was free, you had to pay taxes which added up to over $4 per month. I wonder how MJ skirts this?

The only real complain I have it that the MJ answering service picks up automatically after the fourth ring. I prefer my phone's answering machine to pick up after the fourth ring instead. I know you can set the physical answering machine to pick up after three rings but that's cutting a little too close.

Yeah, I noticed this also. I'm surprised they don't allow a configuration of the number of rings.

[Mr Fuji]

I looked at the Ooma service before ordering the MJ+ and saw that while they said their phone service was free, you had to pay taxes which added up to over $4 per month. I wonder how MJ skirts this?

Yes, Ooma was fully free during the first year, other than the device which is usually over $200. The second year we had it went from free up to around $13 a year. Still not bad and we were OK with it. Then last month Ooma said they would start charging us $4 for fees + taxes per month when my contract expires. That was enough for me and my brother always loved his MJ, so we decided to go with it.

If I understand correctly, with MJ, they pay the fees too but just charge everyone the same flat annual fee. I imagine that's also why the MJ+ adopters are probably paying more than the original MJ owners (the overall fees are going up in general for MJ).

Yeah, I noticed this also. I'm surprised they don't allow a configuration of the number of rings.

The conspiracy theory is that MJ wants every call coming in to a MJ customer to be answered. This allows them to maximize the fees they collect from other phone companies to connect calls on their network.

[bahrain]

If you get the Magic Jack Plus (half price for current Magic Jack Users) they allow you to transfer your home phone number to the PLUS unit.