VoIP · Review

MagicJack - Not so Magical

Doug Knox · · Restored archive post · Edited by Muhd Radhi Wahab
Restored from the windows-now.com archive. This post was originally published by Doug Knox on 24 May 2010. It is reproduced faithfully for its historical and reference value, with the original author and date credited. A present-day editor's note follows the original text. If you are the author and would like this amended or removed, contact us.

I recently decided to see if I could "cut the cord" on my home wireline and go with MagicJack.  It had received pretty good reviews, been around for a while and, for the price, looked like something I should check out. 

Sadly, I was very disappointed.  The call quality was good, when it was there.  But when it wasn't, it was a bad as a bad cellular connection.   And then, after one or two successful calls, it would start acting up.  I'd pick up the phone, dial a number and after the first three digits, I'd get another dial tone.   Once this occurred, I would be unable to make any calls until I rebooted the PC.  Nothing in their FAQ or troubleshooting literature addressed this and I just gave up on it, put the USB device away and cancelled the service.  

I'll have to give this one a big thumbs down.

Editor's note — present-day context

The version of MagicJack reviewed here was the original PC-tethered model: a small USB dongle that plugged a standard phone into your computer and routed calls over the internet, which is why a flaky connection or a locked-up PC broke dialling. In the years since, the product line moved away from that design toward standalone devices that plug straight into a router, plus a smartphone app. We have left Doug's 2010 account exactly as written.

Frequently asked

What problem did the author have with MagicJack?

After one or two successful calls it would start acting up: picking up the phone and dialling a number produced a second dial tone after the first three digits, and no further calls could be made until the PC was rebooted.

What was the author's overall verdict on MagicJack?

A big thumbs down. Call quality was good when it worked, but the reliability problems went unaddressed in the FAQ and troubleshooting literature, so he put the USB device away and cancelled the service.