List Price: $99.99 Our Price: $39.00 You Save: $60.99 (61%)

Product Description

Add magicJack Telephone Adapter to your PC and you can make telephone calls within the USA and Canada for FREE! Skype uses a peer-to-peer network, whereas magicJack uses a dedicated telephone networkOther VoIP carriers do not have dedicated telephone networks, and lease this service from other companies. That means higher costs and poorer reliability. magicJack uses its own dedicated telephone network. You can use magicJack with either a regular telephone handset, or with a headset. You can also use both, and switch between the two. You can move magicJack between Internet providers. You can use magicJack from anywhere in the world (where broadband web access is available). It requires - PC - Windows XP or Vista operating system; (Mac/Apple expected soon); Broadband, high-speed internet, cable internet, DSL - WiFi - WiMax magicJack comes with an easy-to-use device to allow you to use a regular telephone handset. Service is free for 1st year. $20 per year thereafter.

Customer Reviews:

• Does just what they say it will
  One thing I learned from years of dealing with computers and programs is that following instructions is critical. I ordered the Magic Jack and made an error in my order, requesting 3 instead of 1. I went online to chat support and it was taken care of in about 5 minutes. When my MJ came I had already read through the instructions thoroughly on their website. When I installed it, I was already familiar with the proper sequence of events and I followed the instructions exactly. At first it didn't want to dial out, but I just let it sit and didn't bother it, rebooted my PC a couple of times, and within a day seeming on its own, it was running smoothly. It seemed to work its little start up glitches on its own. You have to remember..this is NOT a telephone..it is a computer program. I find when it is giving me a problem, it has been set on headset rather than telephone. Sometimes I have to reboot my PC to clear up any problems dialing out. Now that I know how it interacts with my PC, I never have any problems at all. Today I needed to fax long distance. I unplugged my phone, plugged in my fax machine..gave it a minute to adjust and then sent a fax with zero problems. Also, the phone I use with my MJ is a dual phone...the main phone sits by the computer, and I have the second handset in my living room. I can call easily from there and the dual phone works just like it did when I had it plugged into the wall. I have a great deal with my DSL for my local land line and I use my MJ exclusively for my long distance...works perfectly. I am sorry that others have not had such smooth progress, but I suspect it comes from moving thru the installation too fast and skipping instructions. Remember...it is a computer program, not a phone service. Update the MJ software often and check the settings under Menu to be sure you have it all setup as you want it. ...more info
• Well worth a trial
  If,like me,you got rid of your land line years ago and have only a cell phone MG is a good way to conserve daytime cell minutes. After having one for 9 months I have worked through a problem which at first made the MG seem totally unreliable.The problem was the USB power from my cheapo emachines desktop.When I plugged it into a vista wireless laptop it worked perfectly but this was not a solution on as I did not want my notebook to have to sit around plugged into a telephone.
  I had a very old unused Dell notebook with a G card and 1 USB 1.0 port into which the MG is plugged.This actually works-the dell has only 1 usb and only the MG is plugged in-it connects wirelessly to the router and this whole setup works. It may be that a powered USB hub would make the MJ work on the emachines but I am making do with for now with what I have.To use the MG with the Dell I have to wait for windows to start before I plug it in....more info
• Working well so far
  Got Magic Jack this week and installation was not 'magic' but tech support was helpful. First, let me say this is just a backup phone and whether it is 'on' all the time isn't that important to me.
  
  Pros
  Price, price, price.... Paying $50 a month for a landline I rarely ever use is silly when I can get this for this cheap price.
  
  I think they have made some recent upgrades in January and the voice quality is good, no distance sounds or talking over one another. Now I have a cable modem with 10Mb download but a computer that is several years old with 1GB memory.
  
  Cons
  If you have multiple people using the phone and the computer at the same time, the computer person will get a popup in their face everytime the phone is picked up.
  
  Otherwise so far so good. Note if you use a debit card to pay for this, they will charge you immediately. They can't hold it for 30 days like a credit card. ...more info
• Great Bargain... if it works
  The day after Christmas, I ordered AT&T phone and DSL service to switch away from Cox Communications. By Jan 5, I still had not even received a confirmation of my order.
  
  My brother uses the Magic Jack and has absolutely no trouble. It works as well as a regular land line. Therefore, I thought I would give it a try. So I ordered Magic Jack. On Jan 9, I received the Magic Jack. Incidently, I also received a DSL modem from AT&T on the same day! The DSL modem did me no good because AT&T had not connected my phone service. When I called AT&T, they told me my so-called free installation was going to cost me $250 to connect my phone line. I cancelled AT&T and decided to stick with my expensive cable Internet service from Cox.
  
  I plugged the Magic Jack into our home computer. The home computer is on a wireless network since there is no cable jack in the loft. The software downloaded and installed automatically. When it said it was ready to go, I picked up the phone and there was no dial tone. I found that I had to wait about 30 seconds for the connection to be made. I made a call and it sounded like a mobile phone with a week signal. The sound kept dropping out. I shut down any "unnecessary" programs, which helped but did not completely fix the problem.
  
  I think there were two problems with this approach. I am not sure which version of USB was on the desktop computer. It may have been too slow. Additionally, the wireless card may have also been the bottleneck.
  
  I decided to use my laptop. The Magic Jack behaved about the same using the laptop on wireless. Therefore, I disabled the wireless and connected the laptop directly to the router with a LAN cable. Intially, the Magic Jack worked perfectly under these conditions. The sound was good and the connection seemed strong. After being on the phone for about 10 minutes, it appears to disconnect. Twenty seconds later, it is reconnected. The call did not drop, but there was a period of silence. A few minutes later, it did it again but for 45 seconds. I ended the call and made another call. It did the same thing after about 5 minutes into the call.
  
  The price is so good, that I could probably have lived with this performance. However, it was extremely annoying to my wife. Therefore, we sent the Magic Jack back. Since we sent it out, today, I will update my review to see how they handle the return.
  
  If you are considering the Magic Jack, it is worth trying out. If it works for you, then you can save lots of money on your phone bill. If it does not work as well as expected, then you can decide if the reduced performance is acceptable with the lower price.
  
  The epilog on the AT&T issue: It turns out AT&T never connected my phone line. The Customer Service Rep had told me it was connected because she tested it. Therefore, she concluded the problem was with the wiring in our home. Today, Jan 16, 2009, the AT&T technician showed up to connect the phone line we cancelled 10 days earlier....more info
• Worst VOIP I've tried so far
  As a Sunrocket customer who got left for dead when they went belly up, i've been trying to find something that worked as well. Signed up for Vonnage and about 15 minutes later cancelled since I found powerphone, which worked, but their pricing model bothered me since they threw in so many fees that weren't part of the up front thing I signed up for. So tried this, and it worked intermittently for a while. I don't like having to have a computer running for this to plug into though, and while I stuck with it for a couple months (since i run a media center PC that is always running, so could use that) but found that the smallest thing could make it not work. I had a windows update that broke it - i could talk and be heard, but the ear piece no longer played any sound. And a few weeks ago when I started testing Windows 7 it's incompatible of course. Not a surprise or their fault, but just shows how much of a pain it is to have a phone that is so totally dependent on compatibility with a computer. And the inability to do things like disable voicemail so i could use my internal answering machine was frustrating. I did not like their support model either, just someone you chat with online, who has no real knowledge and just reads from a script. Have since purched an Ooma and am tossing the magic jack in the garbage....more info
• 100% BETTER WITH NEW SOFTWARE UPGRADE
  I bought my MJ April of 2008. It worked fine for a bit then I had all kinds of problems. I stuck with it because it is so cheap and I had gotten rid of my cell phone.
  
  I am glad I stayed the course. With the latest software upgrade (fall 2008?) my service has been flawless. The customer support is still a pain in the neck, but I don't have to "chat" with them anymore because the MJ is solid!...more info
• magicJack rip-off
  magicJack - No More Phone Bills - Free Local & Long Distance Calls!if i had a choice of having a magicJack or no phone service at all, i'd first have to ask, whats the difference? My magicJack is more problem than its worth. I have broadband internet and a new computer and purchased the a/c powered hub and still have problems. i chatted with 2 different customer care agents and by the time i did everything they told me to do, i had to crash my computer entirely and redownload everything. i lost alot of my files as well. where do i start, listing all the problems? on at least 3 occassions, i picked up the phone to dial and there was a conversation going on in spanish. like a party line. when i can make a call, the person on the other end cant hear me or i cant hear them. or i get disconnected during the call. allot of times, the call wont even connect at all. then theres allot of static when talking. Ive missed several important calls because the static was so bad they hung up on me and i wasnt able to call back. then, the damn thing crashes and reboots itself every 30 minutes all day long. i have begun dreading making phone calls at all because with each use, i never know what to expect. I have to keep minutes on my pay as you go cell phone just in case i need to make a call and the magicjack wont work. The main reason for buying the magicJack was because it was costing me a fortune in pay as you go minutes. the only good thing about the magicjack was it downloaded. and then it took longer than the 2 or 3 minutes it claims it takes. it took almost 10 minutes to download. i turn my computer off at night and every morning when i boot it up, the magicJack icon on my computer says, lucky you for having magicJack. i resent that message because its almost as if its sarcastically mocking me. yeah lucky me. FOOLISH WOMAN. i wouldnt recommend this product to my worse enemy. I did to a good friend and he has his own set of problems with his magicJack. This product should be called magic rip off. ...more info
• Beware - will want to assign you some weird area code
  I clearly checked on their website to see if my area code was available before I purchased this. Unfortunately, when I went online to register, my area code was not available. Wanted to give me some area code in timbuktu. Spoke with customer service, they said its not available. Now what do I do?...more info
• It works... what else do you want for $20 a year
  I bought 2 of them to speak to my family in Brazil. My grandma has one of them and she learned how to work it (at 70-years-old) so it can't be that hard. We talk all the time and all our international calls are $20 a year... what else could I want? She actually connected a wireless phone to it instead of the cheesy little thing that comes with it and now she can walk around the house when we talk. I think it's great....more info
• Great!
  The only drawback to this product is that you have to keep the computer on for it to work but I knew that when I purchased it so I am using my old desktop and keeping it on all the time with no monitor. This is especially good for someone like me where everyone in the household has cell phones and we rarely use a house phone. I love the product and have recommended it to several people. You have to have cable internet and not DSL to run this product. DSL is too slow....more info
• Magic Jack
  It's nice to see some common sense users of this product for a change. The only issue with this device is IGNORANCE. After reading hundreds of I love it and I hate it posts, I've come to a few conclusions.
  
  1: Never buy ANY free 30day trial on ANYTHING!!! Get MJ from QVC, Circuit City etc... Then you have a hassle free return. ALL 30 DAY FREE TRIAL AND GIVE US YOU'RE CREDIT CARD NUMBER Company's will set on your money and give you the runaround, duh. Your and every other sucker's money is letting them make interest off it. They ALL will bite you in the azz with the fine print. DON'T DO IT!
  
  2: For the people that think that thing that comes out after you press the button on the front of the computer is an automated cup holder, you're too stupid to use this product. Hell, they probably have trouble operating a light switch and flushing the toilet. If you are a 1 on the (1 - 10) Tech Savvy Scale, save us the drudge of reading your negative post and don't even think about getting this product. It's way, way, way over your head. Go play with the light switch or something. MJ is a startup company running on a shoestring. It's $40 dollars! It's $40 dollars! It's $40 dollars! It's $40 dollars! It's $40 dollars! What do you expect them to do, send a tech to your house? Come on people get real. If you can't make it work then return it to Circuit City or QVC etc... Oh, you did the 30day free trial thing? DUH... you deserve the hassle. Just don't bore us with your post.
  
  3: Paranoid people get up in the morning; check the weather etc... on Internet. Hello! Your ISP tracked what you did and the Weather web cookie and all the other cookies did they're thing. Picked up your Cell phone and made a call, Hello! Your phone service tracked and logged your call, they also knew you were home because of the built in tracking system. Got in your car and stopped at intersection, got your picture taken by traffic cam. Somebody knows where you were at the time of day. Stopped to get gas, restaurant, shopping swiped your credit card, God only knows how many people got this information on what you bought. Went to work and your employer tracked every keystroke, oh and don't forget to smile for the candid camera. I looked your name up in the White pages and Goggled Earth your address, WOW! You got a really nice house dude. Maybe I'll pay you a visit and spy on you. You think MJ gives a rip about the above information? They just want to know local information so they can push you the latest add special from the local pizza place. Unless you live in a cave, get a life because this is your life, you're just too stupid to recognize it and all the bitching in the world is not going to change it. Install this on an old Pc, stick in the closet, plug in a wireless phone and forget about it. Now it's out of site and out of mind. Just like all the above listed things you ignore every day.
  
  4: This DOSE NOT and SHOULD NOT replace you're your phone system. Analyze what it can and cannot do for you. If it makes business sense then get it. If not, DON'T slam this product because it doesn't meet your needs. This device saves me and millions of people like me lots of money.
  
  5: Read 1 - 4....more info
• Barely works
  I wrote a very long review, which completely justified my two star review and included a technical description of the problem I discovered. I decided not to post it. Instead, I'll give you the highlights.
  
  I thought this was a great idea. Little box the size of a cigarette lighter that would expose a telephone connection - or let you have access to the phone system from your laptop. No premium phone calls allowed unless you prepay - so it is safe to put the phone where anyone can use it.
  
  I plugged it in - and it didn't work. Called support, and they refused to believe that the problem could be at their end. Their diagnosis would have had them believe that the problem was at my end - and it would have had me believe it was well - except that I know better, because I'm a retired IT tech and have diagnostic tools that most people do not have. I ran packet traces and did other advanced diagnosis stuff, proved to anyone who was capable of understanding the technical issues (which a L2 disgnostic person should be capable of if they are providing fix-it support to people) that the problem was at their end and had to call in twice before I could find someone in their high level tech support who actually would believe that they had a problem and who would take a problem report. The first guy acted like he really could not even understand what I was driving at, the second guy understood that I had eliminated all possibilities other than they were broken - and I was able to show him the data in the packet that had misled their application.
  
  The mistake they made is well known in the industry - you can find papers describing it and software packages that try and address it, which makes me think that the support software was written by some kids in a college class rather than by professionals - or they would have known the problem and not tried to short-cut it.
  
  They made other errors of the same sort: Their outlook interface is one way (they don't add the outlook contacts to the contact list in the package, they just add a button to the outlook contact screen) and they don't select the default sound devices when you change configuration from the telephone line to the computer's mic and speakers (nor do they select the devices you configured last time - they throw away the whole config and pick the first devices in the list, which are almost never the correct ones). This means that you can't hear the phone ring and andwer it from the computer - you have to reconfigure three sub-devices, which means that the person who called you has given up and hung up by the time you can say hello.
  
  Now it will probably work for most people in a simple home configuration. But anything out of the ordinary is likely to trip up this poorly programed device. So the dream of being able to carry it with you so that you can have a conversation from wi-fi hot spots is doomed to failure, I think. You might get lucky. You might not - even at places that have well designed commercial setups.
  
  If you want to give this to a teenager so that they can make endless phone calls, fine. (But not too long - if they use more than 20 times the average, and lots of these will not be used, you have exceeded their unlimited plan and they will cancel your service, with no refund). Don't think you can depend on it for home use, and the quality is not good enough for business, there were dropouts and breaks on a line where Vonage is perfect.
  
  This device requires a working computer to support it - you can't talk to tech support while they have you reboot your computer, for example, because rebooting the computer drops the conversation. So, well, it might be correctly priced at $20/year.
  
  Two stars might be too high - but I can imagine worse, and it is not too expensive....more info
• Two weeks of patience, a lifetime of savings
  I have had my MJ for a year now. Got it after making the mistake of signing up for Comcast Digital phone (2 terrible months). I did have some trouble with connection but I don't remember why now as it has been so many months of perfect connection but the problems were quickly alleviated either by support or buying a working land phone. I was really impressed with Live Chat as they always answered quickly and knew their product-they are not supposed to be computer experts. Glad I didn't give up the first couple of weeks though. Last week I formatted the whole thing and fiddled around for ages because it would not recognize my usb ports all of a sudden. Blamed the latest MJ upgrade of course. Finally I thought that maybe it wasn't the jacks fault but instead the fault was with my computer (heavens no, I didn't realize that the MJ couldn't do everything for me- it's just a phone!). I did a simple windows restore (just restore to a previous date not a complete)and it worked perfectly again. The dog got a hold of the one I bought my daughter and chewed it up but it still worked fine. One thing that they don't tell you though is that you don't have to buy a MJ for each room or connect your phone to the computer, just plug your MJ from the computer into your wall jack (I bought a $2 thingy from the drug store to allow two phone connections in/out of one wall jack so I could plug my phone in as well)and it will travel throughout your phone line to provide service to all phone outlets (that's why I don't use Skype). I use a regular land phone, not a cordless so I cant say if that makes a difference. You must be connected to the internet for it to work but if your not it will still accept your messages from callers. You can afford to switch from dial-up to broadband with the money you save on your phone service. Be aware though that even although they claim that they will "soon" have the right to port your existing phone number to the MJ I don't believe it because it is not technology preventing them, it is the legal/licensing rights and the big guys (Quest,Comcast,Verizon, Vontage ect)that charge upwards of $24 a month for the same service have too much clout with the FCC to allow that.
  
  Pros: Yes it really works.
  Cons: Cannot keep your old number (I left my old phone on for a few months with a message that my number was being changed. Also there is a service that will allow you to keep your number while on the MJ for $10 a month)...more info
• Awful sound quality
  Save your money! All you can hear are the voices being cut off. Terrible, terrible sound quality. Beware....more info
• Throw in garbage and buy Ooma instead
  The sound quality is horrible, locks up almost every day, have to reboot PC. Have to leave PC running all the time (bad for environment and electric bill).
  
  I messed around with this for a few months. Then threw it in the garbage and bought Ooma. Do yourself a favor, and buy Ooma instead. Omma has landline quality sound, you don't have to leave PC running, it works 24x7 with no lockup or down time. Ooma has a higher one time purchase price, but then no fees going forward. Also you can port you existing phone number over to Ooma. Which is something you can't do with majicjack....more info
• Before you buy
  Before you buy this product be sure to check out all the so called corporations involved, i.e. CT Corporation System, YMAX Communication, Magicjack LP out of Delaware and the warehouse in West Palm, FL. Also check out product inventor Daniel Borislow. This will save you a lot of frustration, wallet hurt and heartache....more info
• NOT WHAT IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE
  Though the concept is unique and convenient, they have a LOT of bugs to work out. It took me a half-dozen tries, rebooting, unplugging the Magic Jack, etc., to get it installed.
  
  When you choose your area code and phone number, they don't mention that if you want to choose an area code and number so that family members/friends can call you long distance at no charge, that you have to choose the same prefix. If it isn't in their database, you're screwed.
  
  Calls are of better quality than I thought they'd be, but not what they should be. It goes in and out like a cell phone, and the person on the other end often sounds like they are stuttering. Sometimes the stuttering effect lasts for up to 30 seconds, and is quite annoying. I find myself CONSTANTLY saying, "pardon me", "I'm sorry I didn't hear you".
  
  Tonight I had several alerts in my e-mail that I had voicemails. I have been home all day/night and my phone never rang. It was sending all of my calls straight to voicemail and I didn't perform any task to make it do that. I had someone call me to test it, it went straight to voicemail but while my announcement was playing to my friend, my phone started ringing. I picked up and could hear him leaving a message. This thing is CRAP.
  
  I needed to contact customer service for assistance. I'm sorry to be mean, but these techs are MORONS. The first woman wouldn't even address my question. She went off on some other track that had nothing to do with the problems I was experiencing, then said she had to transfer me to a tech of a higher level. That was a waste of time, too. I was unable to get any help of any kind....just the run-around from some very poorly trained and unknowledgeable people.
  
  I've had my Magic Jack (which isn't so magical) for two days and am very disappointed. I will be returning it. Though, as I mentioned, it's a great concept (if it would only work correctly and consistently) and would save hundreds of dollars per year in monthly phone bills and long distance, I'm not sure it's even worth it.
  
  They advertise that they don't charge your credit card until your 30 days trial is up. What they DON'T tell you until you receive a confirmation e-mail after you've paid, is that they charge you immediately if you use a debit card.
  
  Obviously, I do NOT recommend this product....more info
• It really does work
  I was a skeptic, to say the least. It sounds too good to be true. Odd. It is one thing that isn't too good to be true. It works. It was easy enough for me to install. I dumped land line service. 911 works in my area, if it is needed. The sound quality is fine. I have had no problems that I was not able to fix. When I had sound issues, I went to the web site and read the Q&A. I won't go to tech support most of the time. It comes with an extension cord that I found is pretty much useless, for my OS. I also found it works better in some USB ports over others. I just had to play around with it to find the best ports, mine has 5 built in plus a USB hub of 4 more I added....more info
• You Get What You Pay For
  I bought magicJack because I get bad cell phone service where I live. The local phone company is also very bad, I cannot call two towns over without it being "long distance." I saw magicJack on TV and decided to give it a try. After four months with it, I am not surprised by the service. It is not bad for quick calls, but it can be annoying on longer calls. It really is only slightly better than my bad cell phone service. You sometimes go through a few seconds where you cannot hear the person you are talking to, and they sometimes cannot hear you. I have a brand new top of the line computer with good internet, but if you try to do anything online while using magicJack, you can forget about hearing your phone call. The call breaks up like crazy. Is magicJack the best product on the planet? No. Is it worth $39? I'd say yes, if you have no other alternatives....more info
• OUTSTANDING !
  Don't listen to the complainers, whiners and technically challenged. This little miracle is fantastic. I've tried Vonage and ATT CallVantage which were disasters. Magicjack needs to have a pc with a broadband connection powered on to use it. So what. A few hundred watts for a desktop or 35 watts for, maybe, an old notebook as a dedicated magicjack server.
  
  It DID NOT install on an old ASUS P3 clone. I think it was a basic chipset incompatibility. It DID install, flawlessly and easily, on the following: an Asus 400 MHz P2, a Compaq Prosignia 142 Notebook, 300 Mhz MMX P2, 128 MB Ram, a Compaq iPAQ Celeron ~ 800 Mhz, 256 MB Ram, and a P4 3 GHz Abit Raid w/2 GB Rambus Ram.
  
  You get it going on your fastest PC or Notebook. Easy. It writes your new Magicjack phone number to the Magicjack ROM, I suspect. Then you can just plug it into any other broadband PC and power it up. That's it! Several minutes go by, it automatically, and I mean automatically, downloads the executable by itself, gets the MJ up and running, and displays the active screen. You just use your phone normally from them on.
  
  I simply didn't expect something as seamless as the Magicjack after Vonage and CallVantage. People complain there's no phone help available. Well, if you can't get it installed it's because your HW or SW is messed up. PERIOD. Then just return it.
  
  BTW, you need Windows XP SP3 to make it work. It wouldn't install on the Prosignia notebook until I upgraded to SP3. Then it installed but there were gaps in the conversations. But no gaps with the Celeron and the P4 machines. 400 MHz is marginal. Try to install on an old P4 if possible... something with ~1 GHz or more, but this isn't engraved in stone... depends on the machine. You do need some processing power, but not too much. Enjoy.
  
  PS: If you get marginal performance out of the Magicjack it's probably because your BB connection is marginal OR your HW is too slow....more info