The Majic Jack, scam?

cornbread · Jan 31, 2009

This thing has been all over TV as of late. I personally find it to good to be true, but my folks are thinking of trying it out, although I told them not to. Anyone have any experience on this product?

http://www.magicjack.com/9/index.asp

hank123 · Jan 31, 2009

my old man has it. He has 2 of them and loves it.

IKIKUINTHENUTZ · Jan 31, 2009

It's legit product, my friend uses it for his home

Kalivos · Jan 31, 2009

I work for a voip company that shall remain nameless in this...

Magicjack works for people that use it as it should be used. The advertisements are a bit annoying, trying to return the product and get a refund is a pain, and unlike most voip services, your computer does need to be on and working for you to use it. Generally speaking though, calls within the US never really seem to be an issue. It's a good deal for now. But I don't trust companies that have or previously have had an F rating with the BBB.

nd4spdbh2 · Jan 31, 2009

wonder what protocols it uses... couldnt u just use a comp mic and speakers over the same protocol.... seems something like skype for the dumb.

EmAn · Jan 31, 2009

My friend has one and loves it. I have not noticed any issues with it when using it or being called from it.

madhatter256 · Jan 31, 2009

Can you use it to call people on regular phones, too?

mattgmann · Jan 31, 2009

I use one for a home phone. It gets the job done for the price. It stays connected to my file server, and runs my home phones. It doesn't like when the bandwith is restricted i.e. other programs downloading. Other than that, it works generally well. For $20/yr service for a phone with no long distance charges, it's a steal. Also, it's ok for travel too. You can take it anywhere with you, and your number and stored data travels with you.

yes, you can call regular phones with it. It works just like a regular phone.

I would NOT recommend this as a primary phone, as it is internet connection dependent. Also, from time to time the connection is bad. Since my GF and I both have cell phones though, it is great as a home phone. And best of all....it's freaking cheap. I bought a few and sent with some guys from my old unit when they went back to Iraq, and that worked out well too.

Exiler · Feb 3, 2009

well, I do not have this product, but do a quick google check with the words:
majic jack complaint

There is a whole lot of people complaining about it, everything from slowing down, connection issues, no real tech support, no way to return the item, no phone number to call, instead of the 30 days trial, they actually charge you immediately.....list goes on.

Also, there is positives about it too, so I guess, its up to you to decide which side to choose. No product is ever perfect for everyone.

As from the posts above me, all of them seems to have quite a good experiences from it, there are posts online from people buying it 2009 and complaining about it, so go figure.

Kalivos · Feb 3, 2009

If it exists to be complained about, it shall be complained about.

Aynjell · Feb 3, 2009

It's a VOIP product. After seeing the advertisement I can beleive it delivers on what it claims, but I don't like the companies that have that myricle cure sales pitch approach.

Enablingwolf · Feb 3, 2009

I read this article. It made me not want it. Not sure how up and up the article is.

http://broadband-nation.blogspot.com/2008/10/real-problems-with-magic-jack-is-majic.html

Which I looked up the one spyware like claim...
http://www.scribd.com/doc/5447043/magicJack-TOS
Section 10 -11
I simply can't agree to them parts. So I would not use the device. Even though it is a legit thing. You should fully read the service agreement beforehand. Some users may not like what the things does and how information is used. Some may not mind one bit.

hinderpits · Feb 3, 2009

i have several friends who are more than happy with the magic jack, and they are starting to retail it all over in major stores-its a legitimate product

The Wicker Man · Feb 3, 2009

I was thinking of getting this, the monitoring surfing patterns wouldn't have been a problem, I would have put it in one of my crunchers, but snooping on calls, thats another issue all together.....

Enablingwolf · Feb 3, 2009

The Wicker Man said:
I was thinking of getting this, the monitoring surfing patterns wouldn't have been a problem, I would have put it in one of my crunchers, but snooping on calls, thats another issue all together.....

How I was looking at it. Plus how they word termination of service.. How I take it. If they want. It gets cut off and your out any money you paid. The use of the "at it's sole discretion" "but not limited to" makes me sort of leery.

I do give credit for not making the ToS hard to read. It is pretty plain wording. Though if read fully, sounds rather crappy for the end user in general.

Neuromancer · Feb 3, 2009

I assume the box uses your POTS to call a VOIP service which then handles your long distance calls? So basically you are just adding another switch or two to the phone call?

My Dad picked one up a little while ago and is happy with his service AFAIK... (my isster keeps bringing it up)

Enablingwolf · Feb 3, 2009

From what I gather. You install it on your machine. It creates two new drives and uses that. It should not be using POTS at all. Then you would need a RJ-11modem hooked to your machine translating the POTS/VOIP signal. It does have the RJ-11/14 connection for the phone headset though.

I would consider it more like Skype with hardware than a POTS product. Jabber is a close product. Except it doesn't use a Jabber phone headset unit. You use your existing phone hardware. It is not like Vonage.

If the ToS was't kind of bad IMO. I would be all over this product.

Neuromancer · Feb 3, 2009

Enablingwolf said:
From what I gather. You install it on your machine. It creates two new drives and uses that. It should not be using POTS at all. Then you would need a RJ-11modem hooked to your machine translating the POTS/VOIP signal. It does have the RJ-11/14 connection for the phone headset though.

I would consider it more like Skype with hardware than a POTS product. Jabber is a close product. Except it doesn't use a Jabber phone headset unit. You use your existing phone hardware. It is not like Vonage.

If the ToS was't kind of bad IMO. I would be all over this product.

Oh yeah. I was thinking of the one that plugs into your phone jack not the one that plugs into your PC

burningcpu · Feb 3, 2009

I received a majik jack for Christmas. I would not buy one, and I have hesitated using the one I have.

Besides the scumy TOS, I don't like the way the program installs. It installs more like spyware than a legitimate program. It doesn't add an entry to your add/remove program listing, nor to the start/programs listing. I mean, look at the crap you have to go through to remove it:

1) Unplug the Magic Jack device from your computer. This should remove the virtual devices that MagicJack installs:

1. Disk Drive: YMax MagicJack USB Device
2. CD Drive: YMax MagicJack USB Device
3. USB: TigerJet USB Composite Device
4. USB: Generic USB Hub
5. USB: USB Mass Storage Device

Don't ever plug it back in again.

2) Delete the "mjusbsp" directory from the following location: C:\Documents and Settings\[YourUserProfileName]\Application Data

3) Delete any MagicJack directories from the following location: C:\Documents and Settings\[YourUserProfileName]\Local Settings\Application Data

4) Delete any desktop icons

5a) Clean up your registry using a registry cleaning tool. I highly recommend TuneUp Utilities 2008. Among many other features, it will keep your registry sparkling clean.

5b) Clean up your registry manually. Use regedit to locate the HKEY Current User > Talk4Free entries and Delete the Talk4Free Key and all Subkeys.

6) Reboot and you should be all set.

source: http://www.ooine.com/index.cfm/2008/3/15/How-to-uninstall-Magic-Jack

Also note, that the program will pop up every time you receive or make a phone call. This means that whatever you are doing will be minimized and this (totally unnecessary, besides showing you an ad) screen will replace it. It sucks if you are gaming or watching a movie.

Also, I don't trust the company. They seem slimey. Who's to say there isn't an exploit hidden in the code?

cornbread · Feb 3, 2009

My dad bought one anyway :/. Oh well, if something fishy comes out of it he's on his own. He's one of these infomercial freaks, thinks they are all deals for the customer. And he doesn't realize this day and age about stolen identities and such.

The Majic Jack, scam?

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