About a year later, someone called me on their new magicJack; the call wasn't dropped and the clarity was great. Out from the drawer came my magicJack. The difference was astounding; what a difference a year made! They had finally perfected their service - well, mostly perfected (more later).
The original magicJack was plugged into a computer. This meant that if the computer was shut off, the phone service was lost. This didn't thrill me, but since everyone in the house had their own cell phone, it wasn't a big deal.
Next came the magicJack Plus. It was time to renew my service, so I ordered the Plus. The magicJack Plus plugs into a router or modem instead of a computer. If the modem or router stays on, the magicJack Plus stays on.
While waiting for this one to arrive I thought about how many people told me they "back feed" their house generators so that they feed their entire house. Hmmm... could I do this with my new magicJack Plus? If I only need to plug this into my router and not my computer, can I back feed my magicJack Plus somehow to feed my entire house? Could I plug it into the router, but instead of plugging a phone into it, could I plug it into the jack where my land line phone service enters my house and feed the entire house through my phone jacks? I had to admit this might be a tough project to get my cord from point A to point B! This sounded like it might work! When my Plus arrived, I decided to try one last thing before having to fish telephone cords.
It turned out to be even simpler than I thought; I simply took the phone jack plug on the magicJack and plugged it into the nearby telephone wall jack. It worked! I was surprised it was easier than I thought. I had never heard of being able to do this and am surprised the company doesn't advertise that it can be done. When I plug a telephone into any wall jack in my house, I now get magicJack phone service.
My complaints with magicJack:
1. When I make a call, there is a delay when the phone is answered on the other end. Because I don't hear the greeting, I always have to question where I've called. I've learned to just use my cell phone, if I'm making a business call that has a real receptionist.
2. Occasionally it just doesn't work, which is not a big deal. I unplug it from the electrical power for a few seconds, plug it back in and it always works (so far so good anyway).
3. If magicJack are charged by a telephone company, they pass a fee along. I have two friends who live in the same telephone company district who I can not call for free with the magicJack. I bypass that by just using a telephone calling card.
Overall, I would recommend a MagicJack.
