Comments on: Vonage vs. Magic Jack – one reader's opinion

By: Carol

Carol — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:21:47 +0000

I disagree with the reviewer. I subscribed to Vonage for over two years. While generally the quality was good, it was unreliable. There were enough service interruptions and other problems (line quality) that I finally gave up.

Initially MagicJack was not quite as good as Vonage; however, with a recent software upgrade, I believe they have truly closed the gap. I even got rid of my land lines because I was so confident in their service. And of course, you simply can't compare the price.

By: LeAnn

LeAnn — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:34:59 +0000

I've had Vonage for about 4 years and it is no different from having a landline except for the price which makes minor inconveniences worth it. By the inconveniences there is only one issue and even that is not a problem for me. That inconvenience is when your internet server is down for any reason(think: your phone service will only be as good as your internet service. If you are not happy with your internet provider, you will not like your phone service which go hand in hand.) but mainly power outages. No power, no service. But that is where my cell phone comes in. I think in this day and age most people have one and because I'm always trying to cut costs and don't use my cell phone often I have a prepaid cell phone plan and rely on my home phone for most of my calls. That saves me a lot of money. I have had very few issues that most people complain about. Here are some things I wonder about those who have complaints: Do they have high speed internet–think cable modem–NOT DSL…Do they have a local cable and internet provider as opposed to a national provider? I was told early on by Vonage that optimum service needs those requirements. After all, Vonage is a voip which stands for voice over internet protocol which means it relys on internet access and depending on the type of internet access is the quality you will receive. Vonage offers all the features that a traditional phone company offers but at a much lower cost. And the big plus for me is totally free long distance without paying a fee for it. No one I call or anyone who calls me can tell I have vonage unless I inform them. Even if my computer is turned off I can still make and receive calls. When I had Qwest I was charged about $70-90 a month for the same features and long distance I have now. Now I pay around $30.00 a month. Yes, I started out at $24.95 a month, but add in taxes and surcharges just like Qwest does and that is what you will get. No, I am not a Vonage representative–just a very happy customer. But like many people I like to save money so that is why my interest is piqued by MagicJack. Can anyone tell me if Vonage and MajicJack work the same way? Some have said that MajicJack unlike Vonage requires that you have your computer on. Is this true? What are the differences, if any? I am mainly interested in hearing from those who have had a happy experience with Vonage but switched over to MajicJack to cut costs.

By: David

David — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:44:30 +0000

People saying good things of Magic jack must work for the company here posting. Trust me everyone I used Magic Jack and call quality is so terrible and also who wants to have there computer on 24/7 just to get incoming calls? I switched to Vonage and yes this the best service and the call quality has been excellent. Now I do not even have to turn my computer on 24/7 just to get incoming calls. Vonage I trust more because they been in business longer than Magic Jack. sure Magic Jack is only $4.00 cheaper than Vonage has big deal few small dollars paying will not hurt but I prefer a reliable phone service rather than Magic Jack bad calls quality and have to leave my computer on just to get incoming calls. I guess you pay what you get.

By: rolanH

rolanH — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:41:04 +0000

I live in Philippines.. I really have no problem with my MagicJack.. good pc>>> good internet>> good magicjack.. good luck!

By: stacey

stacey — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:40:26 +0000

I have had my magic jack for several months now. At first I thought it was great, it was easy to install, and I was making my first phone call with it in a matter of minutes. It turns out though the longer I had it and the more I used it, the more frustrated I became with it. The people I talk to say they can barely hear me, well I figured I could deal with that. But then other problems surfaced. Sometimes my mj wouldnt work at all when people would try to call me and sometimes when I would try to make a phone call, it wouldnt work on my end either. I would have to hang up and try it a couple of times before it would work. Sometimes when I got a call or made one, there would be loud noises on the line and I would have to hang up and re-call which usually fixed the problem. I also noticed when my computer shut down due to power outages or updates I had an awful time getting mj up and running again, it was very frustrating. I also had to call customer support once and they had to walk me through reformating my mj and it helped at the time but the problems persist. To me, magic jack isnt really worth all the hassle Ive had with it. I have ordered Vonage and I hope it works much better. I do believe some people have no problems with mj but unfortunatly im not one of them. Hope this help those of you who are wondering about the magic jack, good luck!

By: michael sas

michael sas — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:20:46 +0000

MAGICJACK FOR 19.95 A YEAR HOW CAN YOU BEAT IT? I LOVE PEOPLE WHO RIP MAGICJACK APART. ITS LIKE SPENDING 200 DOLLARS A NIGHT VS 50 DOLLARS A NIGHT FOR A HOTEL ROOM AND COMPLAINING BECAUSE THE 50 DOLLAR ROOM ISNT AS FANCY. IVE HAD MAGICJACK FOR ALMOST 1 YEAR NOW. I REALLY HAVE NO COMPLAINTS.

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:21:55 +0000

I have to say, I have both the MagicJack and Vonage and I love them both. They both work absolutely perfectly. I don't understand why anyone says they have quality issues unless they have really bad internet service. The ONLY 3 reasons I don't get rid of Vonage is because I like the fact that Vonage allows you to have an incoming call simultaneously call up to 5 other numbers so if I'm out and about and want to the call to be answered on my cellphone or my wife's phone etc, it allows for that. The other reason is that MagicJack down't allow me to block my number for outgoing calls using *67 like other phones. And the third reason is that MagicJack doesn't allow me to port my phone number over to its service, so I have to get a new number (which is fine except that I have thousands of business cards with my Vonage number on it and if I get rid of the phone line, I need new business cards). So for now I keep both. But for those who don't care about all those issues (and that would be most people) MagicJack is DEFINITELY the way to go. True that the customer service is BRUTALLY BAD, but there should be no need for any customer service because it works perfectly all the time.

By: Hilda Smylie

Hilda Smylie — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:02:11 +0000

We have had Magic Jack at our beach house for over one year. We have Vonage at our main home and we are considering getting M.J. for that house also. Both are equally clear and easy to use. I also use M.J. to make calls to Europe and I have had no problems with the quality. I had friends in from England and we travelled to Vegas, Grand Canyon and Colorado. We took our laptops with us and the M.J. and my friends called home every day. We still had minutes left to use when they returned home and they only paid $5.00 total.Since we plan on retiring to the beach house we recently paid $59.95 for 5 years there.We bought inexpensive 6.0 dect phones ($39.95)for the beach house and we have road runner lite at both places.We have also delt with customer service twice and our problems were resolved quickly.I have recommende M.J. to all my friends and several have purchased it after seeing ours work.Love my M.J.

By: Leanne

Leanne — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:05:47 +0000

…"The other problem is Magic Jack does not have my area code as of yet so people wishing to call my on [Magic Jack] have to pay long distance, a bummer to be sure."

My mom lives in Alabama, us kids live in Michigan. She got the Magic Jack as her long distance phone. To save us from paying long distance, she got an area code for her Magic Jack that is the same as us in Michigan. NOT Alabama were she lives but where we live. So when we call her, the call is a local call. We don't pay long distance charges. (Magic Jack allows you to change your phone number one time without charge.)

Since my mom likes her Magic Jack, I went and bought one for myself as a back up to my cell phone. I have not had any problems with the Magic Jack and sound quality is good. (I do not have a land line.)

By: Rusty

Rusty — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:30:22 +0000

It was a rational choice for me. Magic jack gets the job done. Phone companies try to market these useless extra features. Vonage is 15 times more expensive. Is it 15 times the service? I didn't think so. Besides that, I would've only saved $4-5/month with Vonage (compared to phone company).