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You are here: Home / Computer Hardware / Magic Jack / Canadian Magic Jack Review

Jun 26, 2010 By Jared Heinrichs 20 Comments

Canadian Magic Jack Review

As you can tell the Setup of the Canadian Magicjack number went terribly! I did manage to keep a few screenshots.

Canadian Magic Jack Review (01)

Canadian Magic Jack Review (02)

The about is the screen for the magicjack. Magicjack works great once it is up and running. I find their software could be better.

ADS

Although I am sure they do this so they can SAY they don’t have Ads, I notice how the “Vanity numbers” ad stays on the screen longer then any other information. I’ve already bought the freaking device and I’ve paid Magicjack for my Canadian number. I can’t stand how they use the left side of the software phone to display upgrades for you. Here’s some of the “Ads” that come up on the left side of the software:

Canadian Magic Jack Review (03)

Contacts

Being mostly a soft-phone you’d think that the Magicjack could do better then a traditional phone. One thing I have always hated about most phones is if you have a large amount of contacts you can’t really search for them unless you have a smart phone. Magicjack provides no way of searching your contacts. In fact, Most cell phones allow you to make one contact and have multiple phone numbers to that one contact so you don’t need to make a contact look like:

  1. Friend 1 (Cell)
  2. Friend 1 (Work)
  3. Friend 1 (Home)

I’ve only entered 15 or so people and I’ve already had to make 29 contacts. Since you have to “eyeball” the contact to select them from a list.

Real Phone vs Headset

Since Magicjack is essentially a Soft-phone you don’t need a phone. I think I won’t be using a real phone most of the time with it. As you saw in a previous screen the window looks like a phone. You can just use plug in a headset with the computer and talk into it. This will work fine when MOST of your calls will be outbound. I think if you were getting a lot of inbound calls a real phone might work better unless you setup your magic jack to work like this:

Canadian Magic Jack Review (03)

As you see I’ve selected my headset to be used for both Talking and listening. For ringing I am using my computer speakers. If you aren’t going to be able to hear the computer speakers or won’t be near the computer then you will most likely need to use a telephone. To get to this screen of setting up the headset you want to switch to the headset first:

Go to the Menu button and then “Switch to headset”.

Canadian Magic Jack Review (04)

Once you switch Magicjack to headset then you have to cick on “Volume/Headset control”.

Canadian Magic Jack Review (05)

To switch back to the phone:

Canadian Magic Jack Review (05)

Switching back and forth between the headset and phone is easy and there is no delay. I am glad they don’t ask.. “Are you sure you want to switch to the phone/headset”.

Canadian Numbers

As you’ve seen in my previous post on the fiasco that was trying to get a Canadian number the one thing I was surprised to see was that I was given the choice of 3 different phone pools. I can’t remember what the numbers were. One of the pools had no free numbers left. The others had tons of numbers left. Because I have a Canadian number with the 204 area code on it I can be in Winnipeg, or Ottawa, Vancouver and anyone can call me FROM Winnipeg as a local number. Unfortunately if I was in Vancouver someone would still have to call long distance. So in essence the phone doesn’t care where you are, you’ve got a local number to where ever you selected the area code.

Issues

The one thing I REALLY wished about the Magicjack from a technology stand point is that it were to use port 80 for communication. Unfortunately because it doesn’t and uses more traditional VOIP protocols,if you are at work and if they have a locked things down on the firewall you won’t be able to use your Magicjack. Here’s an example:

A lot of businesses use ISA server for protecting incoming and outgoing traffic. You’re magic jack would not work unless you talked to your system admin. They would then have to some fooling around with the port rules on the server. If Magicjack were to use port 80, almost every corporation has port 80 open on their firewalls. This would let Magicjack easily work on more networks with one change.

Conclusion

I am happy with my Magicjack now that it is setup. Are there things that could be improved with their software? Definitely! I hope Magicjack starts listening to their clients a bit better. Without us the customer you would be nothing but a whole lot of debt. 😉

Filed Under: Magic Jack, Review

Comments

  1. gana says

    Aug 9, 2010 at 8:44 am

    what i have to do if i cant found ( Switch to headset )coz i want answer my calls from my telephone 🙁
    need help plz

  2. Jared Heinrichs says

    Aug 9, 2010 at 8:53 am

    At the top right side of the menu click – “Menu” button. It will say – “Switch to Telephone” if you have the “headset” selected. Make sure that you have a simple phone connected to your magic jack. I’ve seen where some people at work try to plug in their IP phone and wonder why it isn’t working.

    Hope that helps.

  3. stephen says

    Sep 3, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    Thanks for the excellent review.

    I am from Vancouver as well. Q: Were you able to get a 604 number or did you get only the 204?

    Is there a way to find out whether 604#s are available now before I purchase a magicjack?

    Many thanks

  4. Jared Heinrichs says

    Sep 3, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    I’d message their tech support. I got mine with 204. I actually live in Winnipeg.

  5. Jared Heinrichs says

    Sep 3, 2010 at 2:54 pm

    Here’s the link. In order to chat with a support person you first have to do search for something in their knowledge base. I know! Great customer service right 😉

    http://www.magicjack.com/techchat/

  6. K. Parke says

    Oct 28, 2010 at 9:22 am

    Works great and saved money on long distance calls, I think. I did pay for a 5 year subscribtion when I bought the Majic Jack but now however after one year they are asking me to renew??

  7. Jared Heinrichs says

    Oct 28, 2010 at 11:53 am

    Really? I am still on my first year with them and have not needed to get a subscription. I am sure if you talk to them and show them your recipe that everything should be ok.

  8. Rob says

    Mar 5, 2011 at 2:02 pm

    DO NOT GET MAJIC JACK!!! I got it with a 5 year subscription and after 3 weeks they deactivated my account. After chatting with 2 Indians for over an hour, they said I made more then 50 calls in 1 day, which is IMPOSSIBLE as I live alone and only use it for long distance since I have a cell phone with unlimited incoming and outgoing. Anyways they said to check my call log, when I did it was empty. Then a different Indian said I can’t see it since they already deactivated my account. I asked them to email it to me but thy would not. This basically gives them a blank check to cancel on people and need no proof. BUYER BEWARE

  9. KN says

    Mar 8, 2011 at 8:37 am

    With my previous laptop, I had Vista and now with this new laptop I have Windows 7. On my previous laptop, I was able to switch between telephone and headset. Now on my new laptop where I have Windows 7, I cannot select headset under the menu. Can someone pls tell me what I have to do to use the headset on my new laptop. Is there something I must do with the settings on new laptop. I have also updated magicJack. I have had magicJack for about 3 yrs now, paid for 5yr plan. Works great if I hook up phone line, but I want to be able to use the headset so I can talk from computer as I use to on previous computer. Would appreciate any help with this. Thanks KN Oshawa ON Canada

  10. Alas says

    Apr 14, 2011 at 7:21 am

    I have had a very very bad experience with Magic Jack. No wonder there is no physical address for them. I bought a MJ about a year ago, and it was time to renew, suddenly I was told that my account is under review.. Review for what ? They kept saying that it is still under review. One thing that I did was to cancel my Credit card I have on file to prevent them from taking money out of my pre-paid set up. I advise all Canadians to be very Vigillant and read more reviews before purchasing it, otherwise will be dissapointed. When you pay for five years, after few weeks, you will be told to renew again. It is a scam and be careful !!

  11. yvon caron says

    Apr 21, 2011 at 11:06 am

    BIG concern about MagicJack, I cannot renew for another year, i have been all day (20 Apr 2012) with 6 different agent chating and triyng to get the transaction without success i try 15 times, with 3 different credit card. that i used on the web to pay tigerdirect during the day without any problem.
    They don’t understand that message:
    log_id (44375527): ORA-20099: Auth Failed: 521 Error. The Orbital Gateway has received a badly formatted message. Field [AVS CITY] exceeded max length of [20]
    and they don’t know what to do, but but phone is out of service !!! no email to complain, no phone no to reach them !!!

  12. kathy says

    Jun 7, 2011 at 8:54 pm

    I would like to purchase a MJ for out going long distance calls only, would you happen to know if I still need to pay extra for a Canadian phone number?

  13. Jared Heinrichs says

    Jun 7, 2011 at 8:58 pm

    No I don’t believe you would. When you call someone it would most likely be an American number of some kind. Kind of like Google Talk.

  14. ali says

    Jun 24, 2011 at 8:13 pm

    Do NOT buy their free trial!!! Such a rip off…I tried it and had awful service!! When I tried to return it but since I live in Canada and they only provide a P.O. Box address and my postal service went on strike, I had no choice but to get ripped off for the $55 fee! I tried everything to get it back to them and asked for an alternate address but they wouldn’t provide anything…so anyways, I got screwed, but I want others to be very AWARE!! DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO MAGICJACK…WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!!

  15. ali says

    Jun 24, 2011 at 8:15 pm

    FYI…a canadian number costs you an extra $10…which is stupid considering our dollar is stronger!! My advice…stay away from MagicJack…I may have gotten screwed, but I don’t want anyone else to!!

  16. Charles Holly says

    Sep 18, 2011 at 9:40 am

    Can’t adjust the number of rings before going to Magic Jack voice mailbox. No support.

  17. JJ says

    Sep 25, 2011 at 8:29 pm

    I’m so glad I read all the reviews from the Canadian customers. I am in BC and was thinking of checking out the free MJ trial and I’m very thankful to all of you who warned the Canadian customers. Thanks and I’m really sorry you got scammed. I’ll stick with Skype. All the best to all of you.

  18. Gary says

    Oct 9, 2011 at 7:25 pm

    I had a US Magic Jack when I used to live in NY…When I moved to Toronto, I had Bell Canada Home Phone. Have been with them for several years..I was paying $55 for the most Basic Home phone service…Decided to get MJ with Canadian #..Bought a new Computer…ever since I have been so happy about my decision..Only a few things that nag me..My son, who does professional Music recording with this comp. has a sound card put on it..This somehow interferes with calls I get…Sometimes the conversation is relayed to the comp speakers…Sounds like PA announcement..At times it is muted..No sound at all…At times there is heavy echo…Takes about 20 minutes each time this happens to tweak the Audio devices on the control panel…Annoying..But worth the savings…However, if you give your Credit card #, like a petty thief, they unashamedly bilk money…They mailed my USB device to CA(California). I told them you have to send it to ON(Ontario)…Their chat sucks..I had to call my credit card company to dispute the charges..And got my money back…Thats the only way you can get your money from MJ…Wow!!!!!

  19. sue says

    Feb 11, 2012 at 1:13 pm

    I did think about purchasing a MJ. After reading more negative reviews then possitive ones im deffinetly not purchasing one. For all the people who have had trouble with MJ im terribly sorry to here u did. For those u have had trouble money wise or even cant reach anyone in their office i would suggest to contact Fraud Department in your city, why I say that I have had a similar situation & contacted the Fraud Department got them involved.

  20. Ryan says

    Feb 15, 2012 at 9:14 am

    I just tryed to set up a number an a 5 year term for Burlington, ON. and something on there end went wrong as I was issed a US number on a 1 year term. Dealing with the online chat support was a waste of 2hrs of my life and when I found a number for Magic Jack online they were not willing to deal with me at all. They kept saying that I needed to go online and talk to the tech support. I explained that they were unable to help me and I wanted this resolved by them they hung up on me. This is the first time I have been hung up on by a company. Needless to say, anybody want to buy a Magic Jack cheep?

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