Community Chat

[Carolm]

I looked to see if this has been discussed and its been several years since somebody asked about Magic Jack.  I am thinking about cutting ties with AT&T and I know a couple of people with Magic Jacks.  Does anyone here have one, and what can you tell me about it.  Are they reliable?  Are they difficult to install.  Any information would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

[Pook]

Relatives of my SO have it and it is often not reliable and garbled.  We have straight talk and just use our WiFi for it for our vacation cottage and have never had any issues with it.  It's only $10 monthly. 

[SilleeMee]

Magic Jack charges an annual fee of around $30 plus you have required FCC fees and taxes every month. I own an Ooma which cost me $89 for the box and they don't charge a fee, I can keep my old number and I pay the FCC fee/taxes of about $5 per month. Ooma's sound quality is excellent and I have never had a problem with it cutting out or getting garbled.

With most, if not all, of these internet phone services you will pay a one-time fee to keep your same land line phone number. Ooma charged me $49 to port my old number. Otherwise a new number will be assigned to you at no additional cost. 

[Carolm]

@SilleeMee @Pook Thanks for your responses.  I will look into the companies you mentioned.  I am concerned about emergency services locating my residence if I switch from a landline, but, I just spent 1-3/4 hours on the phone with AT&T trying to get pricing for an internet/landline bundle (the agent finally quoted me $157 month) and I am so frustrated at this point I may switch to two tin cans and a string.  Why has life gotten so complicated?  Thanks again.

[teachergal]

We have Magic Jack.  You get what you pay for. It works most of the time, however, when it does work, it's a pain.  Our friends don't like to call us, so they facebook message us.  

[SilleeMee]

If I need to dial 911 with my Ooma service, my address is on file for emergency personnel to see. My address was automatically registered with the emergency services when I activated my Ooma service. The only time I cannot use my Ooma phone is when there is a power outage or if my internet connection has been interrupted. HTH @Carolm

[carolgeno]

I used to have Magic Jack and I was very disappointed.  Phone would not always ring when people were calling and also would disconnect calls.  I now have Comcast and have no problems at all.  I hope this helps.

[2blonde]

@Carolm  Just as a point of reference for you.......I have AT&T U-Verse bundled (everything).  Here's what I have to pay currently:

TV, U-200            $88.00 (+20 for 2 extra receivers, 3 total)

Phone                  $30.00 (I think it's 1,000 minutes, which I don't use)

Internet Basic 6    $47.00

With all the fees, the total comes to $210/mo

[viva923]

oh my gosh, one of the magazines I get and read just did a yah or nay for purchase on t.v. ads.

magic jack was reviewed. it did get a thumbs up but it also got a side review about sometimes people have a odd sound or feed back real bad when using magic jack.

[Carolm]

@2blonde - thanks for your info.  I, too, have uverse bundled with my internet, but I've always maintained a separate landline, a POTS line rather than VoiP, because of the issue of emergency services having difficulty locating residences when phone service is either cellphone or internet.  So my bill is a little more than yours. 

$200 plus a month is getting a little steep for me so I'm considering other options.