How does magic jack works?

Answer 1

Magic Jack is a usb device that plugs into any Windows based/internet Equipped PC. The magic jack device uses an internet connection (in conjunction with a vast network of communication systems, some non internet based) to place and receive telephone calls. The use of the internet in this senario is what keeps the cost of the service so low... that said; you must also pay for/or have access to internet service to use this product.

When the device is plugged into said computer, the installation software is launched.

(either by autorun or by manually running the exe located on the mj usb drive)

When the installation is complete the user must choose settings and activate their magic jack to receive a number. Activation times very.

Upon successful activation, users can then plug any 'regular' phone set into the mj phone port and can start placing and receiving calls.

There is a cost to use the service: reffer to the magicjack.com website for details.

There is online support available, however, telephone support might be limited.

This product will experience performance degradation on pc's infected with spyware/malware/virus etc. It should be a given by now, that the better the internet connection, the better the user experience; so it would seem logical that one with dial-up might not get the same performance from this product as someone with docsis 2+ internet speeds. (thats fast enough for many voip connections at the same time)

This product appears to have significant advantages over its competitors, however, it also has its draw backs. The biggest however is the requirement to have a working/internet equipped windows based pc. The second is the lack of real telephone support reps. But common, look how little the service fees are.. what would they be paid with?

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Technical Overview

Conventional Land Based Telephones (LBT) use a traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to allow for transparent worldwide phone communications. Most current mobile (Cell) phones connect to a cellular network of base stations that are interconnected to the PSTN allowing seamless calls to and from LBT and Cell users. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a general term for a family of transmission technologies for delivery of voice communications over IP networks such as the Internet or other packet-switched networks. VoIP systems (Magic Jack, Skype, Vonage, etc.) also interface with PSTN allowing seamless voice communication to and from VoIP, LBT and Cell users.

Magic Jack Infrastructure

MagicJack has built its own network that covers "80 percent of the U.S. population" with its gateways and SBCs. By connecting most of a call's distance over the Internet between its own gear, MagicJack has superior call quality to other VoIP providers (or even PSTN calls routed over IP), who must traverse multiple equipment types and transports that can introduce latency and degrade calls.

By default, every MagicJack subscriber is allowed to select a US telephone number from a vast list of numbers in virtually every US Area code and can optionally pay a marginal additional fee for a Canadian telephone number.

Hence, regardless of where you are using your MagicJack in the world, you can make unlimited calls to any US & Canadian land, cell & VoIP number.

MagicJack Advantages

1. Low acquisition cost of $40 USD that includes 1 year of service. Subsequent service renewal is $20 USD per year or $70 USD for 5 years. Customer Service has been significantly improved since mid 2009.

2. Comes with free voice mail and simultaneously forwards each voice mail to your email account whereby the email has an audio MP3 file attachment.

3. If you don't mind leaving your PC on, you can use the MagicJack as your primary telephone for $1.70 USD per month. Even if you turn your PC off, missed calls will be recorded on your MagicJack's Voicemail. If you don't want to cancel your primary telephone service (land and/or cell), the MagicJack makes a great auxiliary telephone line at $1.70 USD per month.

4. Unlimited toll free calling to any land, cell or VoIP based telephone in North America regardless of where your Magic Jack is located. My son is on a one-year assignment in South Korea and calls me toll free each week by means of plugging his Magic Jack into his laptop.

5. Unlimited toll free calling to and from any MagicJack in the world. Apart from my son being able to call me on both my land and cell based telephones in North America (Canada & US), he can also place and receive toll free calls to and from one of his close friends (who also has a MagicJack) in Spain. For that matter, I can also call my son toll free given that I also have a MagicJack.

6. If you travel a lot, you can make unlimited toll free calls from most airports and hotels throughout the world.