# Will MagicJack Work on Dial-up?



## crackerdave (May 26, 2009)

Or is it only for cable and satellite?


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## Turkeypaw (May 26, 2009)

I believe it will only work on cable or satellite.


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## crackerdave (May 26, 2009)

Dang!


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## Cornelia_Hiker (May 26, 2009)

No, I believe it requires a high speed connection. Phone line DSL will do. But all digital real-time voice and video requires high speed.


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## jimbo4116 (May 26, 2009)

Cornelia_Hiker said:


> No, I believe it requires a high speed connection. Phone line DSL will do. But all digital real-time voice and video requires high speed.



What would be the point to put it on dial up. You would still have to pay the phone company for the incoming line and pay the dial up service.  Same with phone dsl. don't see the savings.

But maybe someone can explain that to me.


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## crackerdave (May 27, 2009)

jimbo4116 said:


> What would be the point to put it on dial up. You would still have to pay the phone company for the incoming line and pay the dial up service.  Same with phone dsl. don't see the savings.
> 
> But maybe someone can explain that to me.



AT&T= $40 a month,MagicJack = $20 a year. But,you're right - they[AT&T] still own the phone line.

I called Radio Shack and asked them if it would work on dial-up,and the man said"Not very well." He then proceeded to explain why in a language I don't speak."Technical jargon," I believe it's called.


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## 7Mag Hunter (May 27, 2009)

You have to have a DSL line....I have had one for about 6 mos,
and use it for LD only....
Was good investment for me...IF you travel, and hotel has DSL,
you just plug laptop/with Majicjack to DSL , use hotel phone 
and have free LD....


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## jimbo4116 (May 27, 2009)

7Mag Hunter said:


> You have to have a DSL line....I have had one for about 6 mos,
> and use it for LD only....
> Was good investment for me...IF you travel, and hotel has DSL,
> you just plug laptop/with Majicjack to DSL , use hotel phone
> and have free LD....



Then magic jack eliminates long distances charges and the monthly LD carrier charges?


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## 7Mag Hunter (May 27, 2009)

You can use it for local and LD calls...As long as you have DSL
on your computer/laptop you are good to go...
It is VOIP technology, and uses the DSL line you hook your computer to....You still have to have an inbound phone line in your
house to get DSL....Same technology as Vonage...Just cheaper..
Kinda confusing at first, but if you call long distance alot, it can
save you money...
I average 15+ hours per week long distance usage and have not
paid 1 penny in long distance charges in 6 months....
I do not use it for local calls or my primary house phone...Just
business and personal long distance....


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## Dixie Dawg (May 27, 2009)

You can't use MagicJack on a dial up... the speed is nowhere near fast enough to do it... just think how slow it is to get a GON page to load.

I have AT&T also, and you can get a DSL Only line from them for about the same or less than what you are paying for dial up.  Then you get your MagicJack for $20 a year... then you have fast internet plus cheap phone.  It's a win-win.

Plus, then you can watch those great YouTube clips people post


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## jimbo4116 (May 27, 2009)

A little off topic, but if I install magic jack and discontinue my ATT LD service(about $20 per month), what will be the effect on incoming LD service.

We are considering dropping the home phone service and going completely cellular.  We can get WIFI DSL service for the same price as the Windstream DSL.  

Home phone is down to about 30 percent of total phone useage in our house hold.

So, will the magic jack allow me to use the wifi dsl without a home phone to make long distance and local calls.

Just trying to cover all the bases.


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## Dixie Dawg (May 27, 2009)

jimbo4116 said:


> A little off topic, but if I install magic jack and discontinue my ATT LD service(about $20 per month), what will be the effect on incoming LD service.
> 
> We are considering dropping the home phone service and going completely cellular.  We can get WIFI DSL service for the same price as the Windstream DSL.
> 
> ...



I don't see why not.
You put the MagicJack in a USB port on your computer, then put the phone cord in it. the computer has to be on all the time to receive/send phone calls. So as long as you have an open USB port I don't see why it wouldn't work.


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## StriperAddict (May 27, 2009)

Thanks for the info Kerri.

I assume MJ also has voicemail for when your PC's off ?


One final, and a little off topic, what's the cheapest way to have High speed & cable, but without paying for a land line phone (so that you could use Majic Jack for ALL calls, and have a good deal on cable and High speed) ??  In other words, what vendor would yall recommend for HS & cable?


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## crackerdave (May 27, 2009)

Dixie Dawg said:


> You can't use MagicJack on a dial up... the speed is nowhere near fast enough to do it... just think how slow it is to get a GON page to load.
> 
> I have AT&T also, and you can get a DSL Only line from them for about the same or less than what you are paying for dial up.  Then you get your MagicJack for $20 a year... then you have fast internet plus cheap phone.  It's a win-win.
> 
> Plus, then you can watch those great YouTube clips people post



Makes a lot more sense than the Radio Shack guy did!

So,I gather that Magic Jack requires high speed internet service.They sure don't tell you that on the TV commercial,unless there's some very fine print or a little munchkin-voiced guy talking low and fast at the end of the commercial.


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## kevozz (May 28, 2009)

It may be difficult to use over a satellite connection due to the latency (several seconds of delay).

I like my MagicJack.  It consistently has a slight popping sound though.



StriperAddict said:


> Thanks for the info Kerri.
> 
> I assume MJ also has voicemail for when your PC's off ?
> 
> ...



Comcast has some specials.  Right now i'm on $19.99 per month for a year and a special rate for digital cable for 6 months.  BellSouth starts around $33 a month for just DSL.


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## StriperAddict (May 28, 2009)

crackerdave said:


> unless there's some very fine print or a little *midget* - munchkin-voiced guy talking low and fast at the end of the commercial.


 
*Fixed it...*  sorry, I needed the bucks from that TV spot 



kevozz said:


> Comcast has some specials. Right now i'm on $19.99 per month for a year and a special rate for digital cable for 6 months. BellSouth starts around $33 a month for just DSL.


 
Thanks.  Now I gotta sell the Mrs.


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## Hunt Em Up (May 30, 2009)

Look into AT&T Uverse.. You don't need the home phone line.. It all runs off the DSL.. Then just hook in Magic Jack.


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## crackerdave (May 31, 2009)

Hunt Em Up said:


> Look into AT&T Uverse.. You don't need the home phone line.. It all runs off the DSL.. Then just hook in Magic Jack.



Thanks,but I'm through with AT&T forever - I don't like the way they treat their customers.


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## biggsteve (May 31, 2009)

my windstream TOTAL bill is around $40.  that's for the dsl.  i use vonage as a land line.  that's $30 incl tax.  no actual phone line BUT, if you need it, it's there for $1 a minute.


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## crackerdave (May 31, 2009)

biggsteve said:


> my windstream TOTAL bill is around $40.  that's for the dsl.  i use vonage as a land line.  that's $30 incl tax.  no actual phone line BUT, if you need it, it's there for $1 a minute.



$1 a minute???? Are they crazy?


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## Fletch_W (Jun 8, 2009)

How would this work for a small business? If you had 10 employees and one phone number for the business, will magic jack work with a phone switch like nortel or cisco or something? If you just use the pricey cisco ip phones and switch, can you really never pay long distance? I have been told that you will still incur a charge through a pbx somewhere, if you are calling someone who is not on voip. Anyone know?


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## nwgahunter (Jun 15, 2009)

Hunt Em Up said:


> Look into AT&T Uverse.. You don't need the home phone line.. It all runs off the DSL.. Then just hook in Magic Jack.



I just heard the other day that at&t is dropping their DSL voice products(VOIP). They aren't making any money.


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## nwgahunter (Jun 15, 2009)

*Pretty sure no is the answer on that.*



Fletch_W said:


> How would this work for a small business? If you had 10 employees and one phone number for the business, will magic jack work with a phone switch like nortel or cisco or something? If you just use the pricey cisco ip phones and switch, can you really never pay long distance? I have been told that you will still incur a charge through a pbx somewhere, if you are calling someone who is not on voip. Anyone know?



You can however purchase a hosted PBX business solution. A company called packet8 has a solution. They charge per phone per month in your office and they are all connected like a PBX. You have voicemail, etc. If your internet or power goes down you are out of business with the phones until it comes back up. You can get a Power Over Ethernet switch for your phones that will power them and a good battery backup that will hold for a while but not for hours.  There website is www.8x8.com


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## Fletch_W (Jun 15, 2009)

nwgahunter said:


> You can however purchase a hosted PBX business solution. A company called packet8 has a solution. They charge per phone per month in your office and they are all connected like a PBX. You have voicemail, etc. If your internet or power goes down you are out of business with the phones until it comes back up. You can get a Power Over Ethernet switch for your phones that will power them and a good battery backup that will hold for a while but not for hours.  There website is www.8x8.com




And there's no long distance charges?


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## BIGABOW (Jun 15, 2009)

kevozz said:


> I like my MagicJack.  It consistently has a slight popping sound though.



That and when you call someone 1 in 5 calls make you sound like you are in ***** and the person on the other end cant hear you, we them at my old R.E. Company I found that I was more Frustrated with it than it would be worth for me.


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## nwgahunter (Jun 16, 2009)

Fletch_W said:


> And there's no long distance charges?



If I am not mistaken it depends on the plan you get. I'd give them a call.


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## fishybzness (Jun 22, 2009)

Fletch:
If you already have a PBX or Cisco router, you have probably invested too much to make this worth your while.
If you are VOIP ready, the killer is still having someone host your DID (local numbers) and making your switch work like it does today.

I work for Sprint and have customers that run their VoIP solutions over our EVDO network as back up for offices larger than that or exclusively for smaller.
Our new 4G WiMax network would definately do what you want. However getting free LD for all users, you would have to go to a specialty solution. Send me a PM if you want more info. This is what I do for a living...I can hook you up.


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