Magic Jack

-(Xyphox)-

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Sep 9, 2004
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Not sure if this the right thread or not but here's my question
My parents are thinking of getting magic jack,.........
I have heard lots of talk around the water cooler that its very unsecure and opens your network shares to the world. Does anyone have any experience with these?
Just how secure are they? And Most important are they worth getting??

Thanks,
 
They are funded by ads, so you will receive directed advertisements depending on who you call. Supposedly the software is difficult to remove from your PC, and IMO, most likely not quality software. Overall it is a just a big advertising scam.
 
I know a guy who has it and loves it.
If you read all the online reviews, you get a really mixed bag of people who love it, and people who hate it. Most of the haters have connection/ quality issues or complaints of bad support. I guess it's hit or miss........but I wouldn't personally try it unless I had a good internet connection.

Just grab a coffee, google Magicjack review, and start reading......there's lots to see.


BTW: You still actually using that dual pentium pro REDYOUCH? :)
 
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I know a couple people who have it, a co-worker and my in-laws.

The co-oworker travels a lot and loves it, she takes it with her everywhere.

The in-laws don't like it, it's a little flaky and will make occasionally make modem handshake sounding noises when you are on the phone. My father-in-law is convinced that it has significantly slowed down his internet connection too.
 
I've never used it personally but I do know several who use it.

Most have a dedicated computer for it as opposed to using it on their main computer. I'm guessing this allows the phone to function without having to view the ads?

I also know the software is very quirky, one person had to re-install the software each time it stopped working.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys,
This weekend i am going to sit down with some coffee and do some reading up on it,
Just wanted to know if anyone had any personal experiences good or bad.
 
My in-laws use it for their fax now. Takes a bit to jury-rig the ability to send/receive a fax but works like a champ. Saves a helluva lot of money over a second phone line specific for the fax as well which is why they switched.
 
No ads to see just a dialer menu with a reminder down the side that you can renew for 5 years. I just hated that the caller id would popup over games so it got put on a different box
 
Anyone try the nettalk TK6000?
https://www.tk6000.com/

i heard its excellent, totally self contained unit(so no PC required, plug it right into ethernet FTW), you can intercept the SIP neg. and attain SIP servers and credentials so you dont even have to use the device(CME, SIP phone, iphone, etc). Wonder if this thing has ads too? Im thinking about getting one
 
No ads to see just a dialer menu with a reminder down the side that you can renew for 5 years. I just hated that the caller id would popup over games so it got put on a different box

I configured it to run as a service for this reason. You can either do that, or set up a scheduled task to launch it as a different user and remove the startup items in your own profile. you do lose the interface for the software caller id that way though.

I have had very acceptable performance over cable modem (10/1.5 service) and on ATT UVerse (12/1.5 service).

Very cheap second line for incoming business call use or for cases where the wife and mother-in-law haven't talked to each other for a while, and you don't want to use a cell phone....

You can't put it in another profile or run it as a service if you want to use it as strictly a sofware phone using a mic and sound through your computer system though, you have to have the software interface accessible in your profile to answer calls that way (I use a Creative USB headset instead of plugging in a physical phone occasionally).
 
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$100 for that device... Or less than $3 a month for Skype unlimited in the US...
Hmmmm
 
$100 for that device... Or less than $3 a month for Skype unlimited in the US...
Hmmmm
1. The TK6000 is $100 for a lifetime subscription(probably more like 5 or so years)
2. Can you get SIP credentials with a standard skype account so you can BYOD?(asking honestly here, I have no idea if you can or not)
3.2.95 x 5 = $177
Hmmmm
 
Obviously Skype won't let you plug your own phone in...

I think it's been assumed to use Skype you've got the stuff to do it.

For the same price, you can use Skype three years- that's my point. And it's also something that's frequently updated and not subjected to any physical failures other than perhaps your mic or camera (if you use a camera).
 
My wife uses it all the time to work from home. We occasionally have to restart the software. Lets you plug in a real phone, which lets her work from the couch using a cordless.

I recently moved it to my WHS, working ok so far.
 
My sister has it. Sometimes she can't make or recieve calls and the sound quality isn't that great but honestly you can't beat it for that price.
 
2. Can you get SIP credentials with a standard skype account so you can BYOD?(asking honestly here, I have no idea if you can or not)

Nope - I don't think they use SIP - but there are quite a few 'Skype phone' type devices you can purchase. Annoyingly, pretty much every 'VoIP' device you can buy on the regular retail market in North America is tied to Skype.

I prefer to pay a couple bucks a month for a SIP DID (Skype charges $6 for this IIRC, and doesn't offer e911) and a $0.01/min for termination/origination (some providers do unlimited origination for a couple bucks more, but unlimited termination is pretty rare or relatively expensive ($20 or so)). But then I barely use my landline... If you're not using your phone a *lot* I'd just avoid these 'free' providers, buy an inexpensive ATA and get a SIP service. Or rather, I would avoid them as your primary phone service.

Edit: Oh, and among the 'free' services, Ooma seems to be the best reviewed, but it's even steeper at a $250 one-time buy in.
 
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