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4.7

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: May 24th, 2023

magicJack offers VoIP phone service through a phone jack adaptor. This little device gives each customer access to high-quality phone calls and conference calls, with the convenience of it all connected to your cell phone. MagicJack can replace your home phone or be used as a replacement for a business phone service.

Keep reading for pros and cons, plus MagicJack reviews from real users. 

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The Good

  • Trial Period
  • Service Options
  • magicJack App
  • Setup
  • Low Prices
  • Free Unlimited Calls to the United States and Canada

Trial Period

magicJack differs from a number of other mainstream VoIP providers because it charges a single price for the device and then offers free service for the first twelve months. After the intro phase, users are free to either continue using the VoIP adapter and renew their service for a low annual price or discontinue and pay nothing aside from the device's original cost. Customers also get a 30-day free trial with their initial purchase. If after the 30 days you decide you don't want it then you can return the device without charge.

Service Options

There are two service options you can choose from magicJackHOME or magicJack for Business.

magicJackHOME The magicJackHOME device will cost $49.99 and your initial purchase includes one free year of unlimited local and long distance calling to the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. This option includes the following:

  • caller ID
  • voicemail
  • call forwarding
  • call waiting
  • 411
  • conference calling 
  • calls can be forwarded to your cell phone using the magicApp

magicJack for Business The business plan starts at $75.00 a year per phone line and comes with a free desk phone. With an expansive list of features, some of the main ones include:

  • 3-way calling 
  • auto attendant
  • call transfer and call waiting
  • caller ID and caller ID blocking
  • conference bridge
  • E911 service
  • online call logs 
  • unlimited VoIP service to outgoing calls within the United States and Canada

magicJack PlusmagicJack Plus is a system that gives customer the flexibility to not have to keep their computers on to make calls, which saves consumers money by allowing them to use less electricity.

To install magicJack Plus, all you have to do is first plug it into your computer so you can register it for a magicJack Plus account and a telephone number. Then hook the magicJack plus into the device port to begin making calls.

MagicJack Plus also offers a few free features, such as free long distance and local calls within the United States, free incoming international calls, free call waiting and voicemail services, and a long list of phone numbers available to choose from.

The magicJack Plus solves a lot of the previous problems that were associated with the original magicJack and many of the customers report a better user experience with magicJack Plus, including better call quality. It is important, however, to note that the call quality will largely be impacted by your internet connection.

magicJack App

The magicJack App for iOS and Android is free and allows users to make calls from app-to-app or app-to-jack. With a companion device, incoming calls will appear on home phones, business phones and in the app. When logged into your magicJack account you can easily take your calls on the go and effortlessly switch between your standard phone and mobile devices. Number porting is available, so, with any plan, you can use your existing phone number or generate a new MagicJack number. The magicJack app can be downloaded on an iPhone, Android, or virtually any cell phone with internet capabilities.

Setup

There are two ways to install magicJack with a landline phone set: 

  • VoIP Phone Setup
  • VoIP Computer Setup

MagicJack offers a relatively seamless installation process. You can either set up your magicJack phone device to your computer or to your router.

To connect your cordless phone to your router:

  1. Plug your provided Ethernet cord into the port labeled “INTERNET.”
  2. Plug your phone into the port labeled “PHONE” on your magicJack.
  3. Connect the provided power adapter to your magicJack USB port.
  4. Plug your magicJack into a power outlet.
  5. Select, "click here to register."
  6. Follow the on screen registration process provided.

To connect your cordless phone to your computer:

  1. Plug your phone into the port labeled “PHONE” on your magicJack. [OPTIONAL]
  2. Connect the provided USB port extension to your magicJack.
  3. Plug your magicJack into a USB port on your computer.
  4. Press "start magicJack."
  5. Select, "click here to register."
  6. Follow the on screen registration process provided.

Low Prices

After the free period is over, customers can choose to either renew or cancel. To continue using the MagicJack VoIP service there are two renew options; $39.00 for one year or $89.00 for three years. Customers may also use prepaid credits to place international calls starting at $10.00. If you are making a Jack-to-Jack or App-to-App international call, it is completely free. The cost is fairly inexpensive — magicJack's prices are well below most of the other VOIP service providers we have reviewed.

Free Unlimited Calls to the United States and Canada

A major benefit of magicJack service is that users anywhere in the world can make free unlimited calls to anywhere in the United States and Canada. Users can also make free calls between any two magicJack devices.

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The Bad

  • Customer Service

Customer Service

One of the biggest complaints about magicJack's platform is the lack of person-to-person customer service. In answer to a lack of customer service or tech support for customers, they have a new paid magicJack Concierge service, which includes phone-based customer support and discounted device replacement.

Customers have the option to pay a fee of $11.99 per year, to talk with a customer service representative over a live chat on the magicJack website, or refer to a list of Frequently Asked Questions. This may create additional confusion for users who don't have tech experience or who have unique situations and their question isn't answered on the FAQ page.

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The Bottom Line

magicJack offers a low-cost VoIP service for home and business use. This can be attributed to the ease of access with their simple VoIP adapter. While it may not be ideal to attach an adapter to every single phone within a large corporation, it is perfect for residential VoIP locations and small business owners. This is definitely a VoIP provider worth looking into. 

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Star Rating

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3.0

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47 Reviews

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30%

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13%

2 grade

6%

1 grade

36%

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mark walther Houston, TX

I've been a MJ user for many years. I was paying $58 plus for my land line and AT&T gave my number to someone else and still charged me $8 a month for porting my number for over two years. Finally found out my customers kept getting some Spanish speaking people and would not give me back the number I had been paying for years. I already paid for AT&T for internet so the 5 year plan on MJ was great. I renewed it again for five years a couple of years ago but now they keep demanding I have to renew again or lose my number. MJ was great until the founder died. Now customer service demands a $1 for a chat and $46 a month to chat after that at "mymagicjack.com". The company has no clue anymore and I still have three more years to go on the plan I already paid for. There is no customer service anymore. Whoever the kids are running this company now have ruined a good service. I guess I'll have to lose my number again, and just use cell. I still have to pay AT&T $60 plus a month for internet with no phone. It was good while it lasted...Kind of like our government....

2 years ago

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A. Perdew Fullerton, CA

If you have ATT Uverse, a word of caution. Once I ported my phone number to MagicJack I could not get my landline (desk phone) to work with MJ. The MJ works great on my iphone and my desktop computer, but it is useless on my home phone. When I ported my phone number to MJ, ATT cancelled my home phone (landline) service. No way can I get MJ to work with my home phone. I thought that was the beauty of MJ. ATT has figured out how to get you on this. I call ATT they want to come to my home to do a NEW install on the home phone for a minimum of $99. Beware if you have ATT. MJ should advise potential customers what will happen if they have ATT or other phone companies that do this. I do get the calls that would have gone to my old landline number on my MJ app on my iphone. So all is not lost, just a major annoyance as my cell service is my home is not strong.

3 years ago

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Keith * Starlift* Albany, NY

The product is good, but customer service is poor. They sent me a brand new item, but when their tech support confirmed it was defective, they refused to help unless I paid to replace it...

3 years ago