It has been brought to my attention that it is very likely the updater files and the premise of knowing their specific age is not relevant or useful. The updater file (Windows or Mac version) is meant to check the existing version on your magicJack when it is plugged into your computer. If your version is not the most recent, the update file then downloads the latest version of the firmware on the fly. The firmware cannot be downloaded as a separate entity. There is no turning back to a previous version if the current version does not work.

This brings up a number of issues about the firmware.

Should the most recent firmware pass all inspections prior to being made public, but then fail due to unforeseen circumstances, causing the bulk of updated magicJacks to get bricked, there is no way to locally revert back to a previous version of the firmware.

No provision has been made to update the firmware from a local installer.

The magicJack plus firmware does not have a web server that would allow users to control aspects of the magicJack plus device through a local web page such the same we we control our routers. There could be great benefit to allowing this to happen for users.

photo credit: http://www.ehow.com/info_8366503_advantages-disadvantages-proprietary-operating-system.htmlThe reason the firmware binaries are not made available is likely because people will start hacking the device. One such example that has already happened is the GVJack App that changes magicJack into a Google Voice interface. Because the device is not hacking into the magicJack system but instead into Google Voice, it’s an excellent way to repurpose a magicJack usb device that is no longer under contract.

So that bring up the question: what to do with this site. I am going to repurpose it as a site that will ask the question of whether the magicJack is the right device for the proverbial ‘you’. I’ll make a check list of things to consider in making the jump from landline phone to voip. I may rename the website to something more all-encompassing.

Stay tuned!

Update: The firmware is actually in the setup file and not downloaded on the fly. Learn more here.

photo credit: ehow.com

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4 Comments

  1. I need your help. I reinstalled OSX 10.8.2, and I Iost Magicjack PC, and I cant find the file any longer. How can I reinstall the software on my Mac?

    1. Khalid,
      You should be able to download the magicJack for Mac fairly easily. On this site, click the ‘Download’ link in the horizontal menu. Then click the link for the Mac setup file. Install the file. Follow the prompts. You should be good to go.

  2. I found this on the magic jack site and it works perfectly for 10.8.3

    I HAVE THE SOLUTION!!! I have spent 5 hours on tech support and have gone through forums and no one has the answer for a mountain lion OS X10.8.3 solution. But I just did it and I am not even a computer nerd.

    Download the file upgrade.dmg. Plug in your magic jack plus, then open disc utility. Click the RESTORE tab. For the SOURCE line, find the upgrade.dmg file that you downloaded. For the destination source, drag the YMaxCorp MagicJack image from the left hand side of the screen to the destination box. Click the restore button. It will need a password to erase and search the drive, just go along with it. Eventually it will say that it restored the image successfully. Once that is done, double click the upgrade disc image file you downloaded, then run the setup program. It will run a quick upgrade but it worked for me and I had tried everything they were telling me to do and nothing else worked.

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