With retirement age approaching I've been making plans to downsize and cut expenses. For home phone service I have Ooma, which is very good. I could keep that and not renew Premium next year which this year cost $133. There's also a monthly fee of about $6.50. I don't want to use a cell phone at home, when I'm home it's usually off. When I bought this house 37 years ago I installed phones all over the place connected to what is now a modified 1A2 system. With the cell phone I recently cut data down (which I rarely use) to 1 gig a month and saved about $10/mo.

I had magicJack for a while about 12 years ago. That version had to be plugged into a PC and I couldn't even get phone number in my are code. They seemed to have improved, reviews are surprisingly favorable on an electronics retailer's website. Of course, searching for reviews will uncover many that rate the service poorly. Some lacking features are no name with Caller ID. I don't get many calls these days, so that's not a big deal.

The cost of magicJack is considerably less than Ooma. I wonder has anyone here used it recently, and would it be recommended? I'd trust telecom reviews here more than anywhere else.

First of all, DM our Host. He can probably set you up with a low cost solution. If he can't, I'd go with Voip.ms (www.voip.ms) For about $3 a month, you can get a telephone number with E911 service. About $60 buys an Analog Terminal adapter (2 port Grandstream HT-812). Plug it into the internet, grab a phone number, and you now have 2 lines of dial tone...but you'll pay .9 cents per minute for all calls in and out, except toll-free.

Not a bad idea and it beats Ooma's $9.95 or whatever they're up to.

Carl

I use Magic jack and have no problems with it. It is MUCH better then when it first came out and no need for pc once its setup just connect it your network and phone.

Good to know. Yeah I've heard it's improved quite a bit.


Don't understand 'DM our Host'. I have a Grandstream 1 line ATA I'm not using, without looking I don't know the model number. Ooma comes out to $17+ change a month. Not bad what you get, I just no longer need all the features. I'll check out Voip.ms. Also keep getting ads all over the place for Voiply.com because I looked at them.

Thanks

I bought MagicJack a year ago and will not be renewing. Bought it specifically to use as a fax line. No dice...

Oops. TONER is the owner and sponsor of this board. His ad is in the upper left corner. If you click on member list and search for TONER, you will be directed to his profile and you can Direct Message him.

Yep, the Grandstream HT-x01 will work. The voip.ms wiki (under Devices see all) has specific instructions to interface the HT5/7/8 series products.

Carl

I couldn't find a member directory but saw TONER in the Top Posters section. Good to know the HT series will work, I have an HT-701. Thanks

I think I recall reading on the magicJack website that it wasn't recommended for faxing or other modem applications, like alarms.

I too am a fan of Magic Jack. Yes, they were terrible in the early days. Their high current demand ate USB ports up. I use two of them at home for additional test lines, plus I recommend them for customers (usually seniors) to use for fax. Understanding how to share a fax with a voice line seems to be too much technology for many. I installed them at both of my parents' homes for this purpose, and I use my second one for faxing as well with no issues. They absolutely, positively will NOT support modem communication though. I've tried all kinds of ATAs, etc. with no success. I retain a telco copper line on a 5ESS for that purpose.

Besides, for $40.00 per year, I just couldn't resist having a few 'extra' lines since I work from home so much these days.

Thanks for the information. Even though I'm paid up until next year with Ooma, for that price I may just buy one and test it out in the next few months. I have a 'Line 2' position on my modified 1A2 key system ready to go.

Yes re: telco lines on a 5ESS, where I work now we have a 5ESS which will be decommissioned at some point. It'll be a long process, but I recommended they keep at least some of it for faxes, alarm lines etc. as I've had the same experience with ATAs.

Had Magic Jack for many years at home. I got one for my mom a couple of years ago, but I heard that now she is having trouble. I don't know the issue since I have not been there. I was told that the tech support was not helpful.

The time is always EST. The caller ID always makes my phone and answering machine time wrong (I use an answering machine still). A caller ID name would be nice to have. Early on had trouble calling some pager numbers (Yes, I said pager). I don't know if it change

I would not use it for any alarm system. Just get the alarm CO to add a cellular communicator. All the ATAs seem to be less reliable for faxing than a POTS line. For healthcare, we still order POTS for fax machines.

I tried a magic jack years ago when they were new, and I was underwhelmed. Didn't provide disconnect supervision back then. Has that changed?

I may have read magicJack doesn't recommend using their product with an alarm system or fax. When I was in healthcare telecom until recently, faxing was a very frequent requirement. As typical, many service calls from machines that were connected to ATAs having trouble with faxes. Not so many with those still connected to analog ports on the PBX.


Don't know. Ooma (current system) does provide it. If I recall correctly, most if not all cable company's ATAs (typically Arris) don't provide disconnect supervision either. Had a few PBXs in the past where every month or so I'd have to pull a bridging clip on one of two lines that got stuck together. Probably on an after hours phone call where the caller chose an off site option. For my home use disconnect supervision isn't a requirement.

Yes, I had the first generation magicJack. I've heard the latest is at least acceptable. For the price and how often I use the home phone it's worth considering IMO, especially based on experiences I see here.