Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Almost Free Phone Service w/ Magic Jack - Update

MagicJack
Well, as you probably remember, I decided to try the 30 day trial to Magic Jack and give you a heads up on what my thoughts were on the program. You can click here to read my original post.

And, here is my personal review...I LOVE it! I am officially a permanent Magic Jack customer.

First, read this post on how I originally saved on my unlimited phone service and high speed DSL. I have been more than pleased to be paying just over $40 for all the features and internet. I couldn't even find a better deal with any of the VOIPs, such as Vonage, etc.

But, then, I hear about Magic Jack. It was very interesting to me, because I could get my phone bill even lower. Of course, I am always interested in that.

What is the deal? Magic Jack is $39.95 the first year ( after your 30 day free trial ) and $20 a year after that. A YEAR! That was just making my head spin. Seriously, how could this thing be any good, I thought.

So, as you know, I ordered it. It came in the mail, and in all honesty, it is kind of cheap looking.
So, I am still thinking...hmmm..right! But, I had read some good reviews, so why not try.

I hooked it up to my computer and then plugged my cordless phone into it. It was very fast and very easy. It assigned me a new phone number ( you can't take your old ), and I immediately began calling people and then giving them the number so they would use it for the next 30 days. I wanted to give it a valid testing!

The reception was very clear..if not clearer than my land line. It was amazing. I would have never known I was using something different. Of the whole time I have been testing it, only 3 times has it given me any issues. And, at that, they were very minor.

For example, I called my in laws and they couldn't hear me at all and hung up. I immediately called them back and talked for 20 minutes with no problems. This happens to me about once a week. Everytime, I was able to call right back and it was fine.

Besides that, there were no real problems. The reception is wonderful.

What are the other pitfalls?

  • Your computer has to be on. Luckily, ours is on most of the day anyway, so it is fine for us.

  • You have to get a new number...can't transfer your current number.

Someone else mentioned advertisements, but I had no experience with any nor did any of my callers.

What are the upsides?

  • Almost free phone service.
  • Free long distance
  • Free features

So, I had to think. Was having the call not go through every so often worth the cost savings? Absolutely! Basically, if someone said, "Carrie, I will give you $240 to redial that call. " OKay, I say!

For me...and this is coming off basically a $40 phone bill, I will be saving approx $20 a month. This breaks down to $240 a year in savings. Even if this company does not make it and goes out of business someday, I will have more than saved money on it.

If you have a higher phone bill, this is an even greater savings for you.

Also, I have heard others mention they can get DSL for much less than I, which is $25. So, if your DSL or High Speed bill is lower...you are saving even more money than me.

Also, I opted to keep my old phone, too.

When I called my phone provider, the price for DSL was $30. Ugh! Not much less than what I was paying for all the bells and whistles.

But, if I agreed to keep my phone for incoming calls only, they would lower the total bill to $25. So, I get to keep my old phones ( I have wall phones, etc ) hooked up with the old number ( in case I forget to give anyone the new number ) and it will accept incoming calls. And, it will also be available for 911 calls out. Why would I pay more for less? Crazy! Of course, I took the $25 plan.

And, I will have my Magic Jack ( so all my cordless phones will be hooked up to that ) for all the phone calls I make. And, people can also call me on that line, as well.

So, my total bill each month is now $25 ( plus the one time $20 a year fee...$39.95 the first year ) and that will include DSL High Speed internet, unlimited long distance to the US and Canada, voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, etc. It also does have a 911 service, too, and it is portable. So, if you go on vacation and you have your laptop with you...take the Magic Jack. You can plug the hotel phone or bring a phone to plug in and you can make phone calls for free!!

My advice? Lower your phone bill. This is money in your pocket.

I would recommend giving Magic Jack a try for Free for 30 days. It is no obligation, and the worst that could happen? You don't like it and you return it. As in all offers, please remember to put your 30 day cancellation date on your email calendar, your planner and on your cell phone calendar. That way, you won't forget to cancel if you don't like it.

Click here to try it.

If you don't want to give Magic Jack a try, PLEASE click here to read my post on how I got my land line phone bill lowered. It can take you a mere portion of time to save hundreds upon hundreds of dollars over the next year.

Why give that money to someone else? Keep it for yourself! You deserve it! :-)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you know how this works if you have a fax machine? The fax machine goes through my regular phone line with a distinctive ring.

Carrie @ Moneysavingmethods.com said...

You know, that is a very good question.

My fax machine is attached to my speaker phone. I tried the speaker phone,and it was fine. But, I never even thought to try the fax machine part of it.

If you want to email me, I could hook the fax machine back up later, if you want to try and fax me something.

I will let you know if it works.

Evelyn said...

Can you use the phone if someone is on the computer?

Carrie @ Moneysavingmethods.com said...

Hi Evelyn,

Yes, absolutely. I talk on the phone and work on my computer all at the same time.

Let me know what you think of it. I will be curious for feedback from others.

Also, could be a great cost saver for your daughter. Although, I would recommend still having a cell phone. The only thing I don't like about it, is if the computer is off, then the phone is off.

So, I feel people do need to have an alternate means to get a hold of you ( hence a cell, or my incoming wall phone ).

But, for $20 a year...it is a great way to make long distance calls and not have to buy a cell phone with a large "minutes" package...which can get pricey.

Anonymous said...

Nice blog. We were using Magic Jack for a week or so. Even when it was working, there was at least a 30-60 second delay on outgoing calls, as well as incoming... you answer the phone and hear nothing (on the callers end it is still ringing, even though you have picked up). Then it just stopped working altogether. Customer care does not really ‘care’. Check out this great site www.pissedconsumer.com for other complaints about the company.

 
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