How To

“Lucky You” upgrade… RIP

This portion of the site is dedicated to upgrading your existing mJ+ 2012, mJ+ 2014 or mJ Go to any new firmware. It’s a recipe for what used to be called the “Lucky You” upgrade. If you are trying to register, you probably need to visit these pages:

Otherwise, here is the recipe for the Lucky You upgrade for the magicJack 2012:

  1. Download the most recent copy of the magicJackSetup.exe (or .dmg) file.
  2. Rename the file magicJackSetup.<modification date>.exe (or .dmg as appropriate.
  3. For instance if you see that the windows file says 2012-02-13 on the sidebar to the right, label the file ‘magicJackSetup.2012-02-13.exe’. This will not change what the file does, nor will it change its md5 sum.
  4. Now that you have a copy of the most recent version, make sure your magicJack is installed and connected to your computer and run the setup file. You’ll see the ‘Lucky You’ firmware upgrade cue. Once that’s done, the software will reboot. Note the firmware version. In the case of the 2012-02-13 version, it should be ‘2.0.13’.
  5. Sign up for either the Windows or Mac update list. This list automatically sends out a new post telling subscribers whether a newer version of the update file has been created. Don’t worry – you’ll only get a notification if a new version is detected.
  6. Update 2014.07.22: Note that the “Lucky You” update is now simply the “magicJack” update. They’ve streamlined the interface and removed the cheesy slogans, but it still updates your device, none-the-less.

 

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72 Comments

    1. i have an android phone ourchased in china – the Le 1 Pro and as with all phones sold within china, it has no play store.
      however i have been running MJ version 3.7 on another no play store phone without any.problems, but am unable t load n use MJ, the same.or any other version on the Le1 Pro.
      any suggestins or advice ?
      thanks in advance

    1. I’m not sure what you mean by “adapter”. If you are talking about using a USB power hub instead of the existing USB adapter, it should work just as well as powering it from your computer without mJ+’s included wall wart. I know of no AC-powered USB hub made by Linksys.

    1. If you are using an android device, you’ll need to go to the play store and type in “magicJack”. If you are using an iOS device, you’ll need to go to the Apple app store and do the same. The name of the app is “Talk Free”. For some reason, it’s easier to find when you type in “magicJack”. See my post on the MagicJack App for Android. At the time of this reply, the Android app still doesn’t work on JellyBean 4.3. You’ll need 4.2 or below.

  1. I have followed the instructions but do not get the opportunity to register my new MagicJack Plus. What am I doing wrong? Debra

  2. I can only get my MJ+ 2014 to even get an IP assigned by the router by hooking (having already updated and registered it via USB) to the Xytel router/modem, login to the admin panel on my laptop, enable wifi, unplugging laptop RJ45 and when I login again the MJ now has an IP! And even though the red LED is still slow blinking it works (at least for outgoing calls). Then I can plug the laptop back in and have all the devices playing together.

    Anyone have any ideas? I sure would like it to work more reliably like my old USB only MJ.

    Cheers,

    1. Sasha,
      I’m unable to find any information on Xytel devices. From the way to talk about it, the device seems to have only one ethernet port, is that correct? Have you got a link to a manual? Since the device is already properly registered, you should be able to leave it connected directly to the ethernet port on your router/modem indefinitely to receive and make calls in British Columbia. I’m not sure I understand exactly what the problem is, but if you could clarify, perhaps we can figure it out.

      1. Hi Chris,

        Thanks for the fast response! The symptoms are that if there is a computer plugged into any of the 5 LAN ports on the router the MJ will NOT get an IP allocated to it. BUT… I found that if I enable WiFi, pull all the cables out, then plug in the MJ+ 2014 it WILL get an IP. Once it has an IP it works fine (I am only using it for outgoing anyway) and then I can put the laptop back online via the RJ45 cable, disable WIFI again and the MJ keeps on working.

        So as you said I will not touch anything and hope for the best. I am confused by why the router won’t give MJ+ an IP if there is something else already plugged in (FIRMWARE is up to date). I read that MJ+ works well with older routers but the newer ones give lots of “ERROR 2003”. I invested 4 hours into last night and hope it keeps working so I can get on with testing VOIP on my super slow net connection while still in the 30 day return window.

        Running Windows 8 home basic with ADSL via TELUS using a ZYTEL VSG 1432 5 port modem/wifi enabled router.

        Thanks!

        1. Sasha, if your DHCP is properly enabled in the router admin settings, you’ll see “DHCP Server State” as “enable”. On page 132, part 8.3 of the Zytel manual for your modem/router, consider giving your magicJack a static IP. If you haven’t changed your router’s gateway IP, it will be 192.168.1.1. I usually give DHCP a range of 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.149 (50 IP’s) and then assign static IP’s below that. So I might assign the magicJack a static IP of 192.168.0.2. Static IP assignment usually helps with devices like print servers and magicJack plus. This ensures that after a power outage, your devices use the same IP’s when power comes back up. You could even give your laptop and other devices like iPads or android devices static IP’s too. This should stop any confusion your modem/router has in assigning IP’s.

          If your upload speed is below 128 megabits per second (Mbps) up, your friends may hear some jitter in your speech when you speak with them. It’s best not to be doing surfing on the web (especially not video) when your connection speeds are super low. Check out your true upload and download speeds at speedtest.net. I had 1500mbps up 128kbps down when I was on AT&T and had very few problems hearing or talking to others on the phone, even if my wife was listening to streaming radio from the local university.

          I’ve found that some UPS boxes cause the ERROR 2003 too. If your computer and modem/router on a UPS you should be fine. If you’ve also connected your magicJack on the same UPS box and you get ERROR 2003, try connecting the magicJack+ AC adapter directly into another wall socket without the UPS. It may make the ERROR 2003 go away. I had to try several different UPS boxes before I found one that didn’t give me the error.

          Best of luck.

  3. Thanks again for the ideas!

    Looking at the Xytel manual it says:

    On page 143:

    IP Pool Setup
    The ZyXEL Device is pre-configured with a pool of IP addresses for the DHCP clients (DHCP Pool).

    Do not assign static IP addresses from the DHCP pool to your LAN computers

    Huh?

    Anyway, I assigned a static IP in the IP range (router won’t let you set it outside), same results. If the laptop is online with WiFi off, no MJ (router sees it but won’t give it an IP). If I activate the WiFi and unplug the laptop for 15 seconds, BINGO MJ gets an IP (static or otherwise) and comes back online with alternating slow flashing green and red LED’s, blue solid.

    I tested the voice quality and even though my upload is clocking at .49mb/sec it seems tolerable for those on the other line.

    All devices are plugged direct. No UPS in use.

    I am stumped. :(

    I can’t change the router because it is my DSL modem as well and there is no other service provider so no cable option. Sigh. I guess I could add another switch between MJ and the router and have that give an IP to MJ or maybe somehow go to static IP’s with no DHCP but then when buddy comes over with his gadgets… It sucks that it works fine through the computer but fails with the direct connection to the router unless I jump through hoops. That was the whole point of buying a new expensive, fancy MJ! It was supposed to “just work” I pity all the grandma’s and non techies who bought one and got error 2003 right out the gate like I did/

    Cheers,

    1. Sasha,

      Perhaps we can reconfigure your DHCP Pool or as it is also called, your DHCP Range. DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Most devices get assigned a new IP every time they power up and/or connect. It can changed depending on what other devices have already been assigned an IP from within the DHCP Range for that day. Some devices, like the magicJack, do better if you can assign them a Static IP.

      On your Zytel, under Network Settings > Home Networking > LAN Setup, look for “IP Addressing Values”.
      This is the range of your DHCP-served addresses. It looks like your device automatically takes up the entire possible range: 192.168.1.2 through 192.168.1.254. While this may be the default for your zytel, it’s very unusual for a default setting. The zytel is your “gateway” and is assigned IP address 192.168.1.1 by default. That is typical.

      Theoretically, you can have up to 253 devices connected to your router at any one time, but most people only have a few. We need to narrow the DHCP range. Change “Beginning IP Address” to 192.168.1.100. Change “Ending IP Address” to 192.168.1.149. Click “Apply”. This will give you a more typical range of 50 IP’s for the DHCP server to choose from. Everything outside the newly-assigned range is now available for Static IP’s. Typically, server-style devices like print-servers, file-servers and magicJack are assigned static IP’s below the DHCP range (192.168.1.2 through 192.168.1.99). You could leave your laptop, nook, etc., to just use the DHCP-assigned range if you please. You may need to reboot your computer if you can no longer see the internet or access the modem. Alternatively bring up the Command Prompt in Windows. Type in “ipconfig /release” and hit enter. Then type in “ipconfig /renew” and hit enter. This will ask the router to reassign a new IP from within the new DHCP server range. It’s a lot faster than rebooting.

      On your Zytel, go to Network Settings > Home Networking > Static DHCP. Click “Add new static lease”. In the dialog box that pops up, click “Active”. Type in the MAC Address from the back of your magicJack plus into the little fields provided. Put in an IP address of 192.168.1.2 for your magicJack. Or, you could use 192.168.1.7 if you like the number “7” and it’s easier to remember. You can use any other IP address so long as it is outside your new DHCP range. Click “Apply”. Since every networkable device has a unique MAC address, your router detects the MAC Address of your magicJack when it checks in with the router and automatically assigns it to “2” or “7” or whatever you told it to do.

      You may need to reboot your router and other devices together connected to your router in order for them to see the router again, but often when the router reboots, the other devices auto-reconfigure to accept a new IP from the router.

      I suspect that when you did the ‘enable wifi’ trick, you were triggering your router to release and renew IP’s for everything on your intranet, since the entire possible range was DHCP. Making the above changes should simplify your network and make it so that you never have to do the ‘enable wifi’ trick again. Your Zytel will automatically know what IP to assign to your magicJack plus.

      It’s encouraging to hear that even at such a low bandwidth you’re getting reasonable results with your magicJack.

    2. I found a fix by accident. I pluged a cheap 4 port switch into one of the lan ports of the zyxel router/switch. Then I plugged the MJ 2014 into the switch. Instantly got an IP and the system worked incoming and outgoing. Ocasionally it will loose dial tone and I just unplug the power to the external switch, wait 10 seconds and repower. Dial tone immediately.

      1. Terry, thanks for the input. Perhaps there is a firmware bug in the zytel modem/router combo that an external switch helps fix. Either that or there is a common firmware problem with the software being used by your ISP and Sasha’s to manage the modem/router that doesn’t like magicJack. At least for you, having a switch seems to enable the zytel to automatically assign the IP when you reassign the IP to the the magicJack. That’s a good thing. I hope you’re able to figure out why it’s intermittently losing its IP. Please let us know!

  4. Well Chris,

    You are a scholar and a gentleman! That’s for sure.

    I did as you suggested and assigned the default gateway to 192.168.1.1 and the IP Range to 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.150 gave MJ+ and the laptop static IP’s (MJ got 192.168.1.2 and laptop got 192.168.1.101). Still very similar results. Plug in MJ and it gives error 2003 but now when I unplug the RJ45 from the laptop for 10 seconds or so and then plug it back in MagicJack gets an IP. If I don’t to the plug unplug then no IP for MJ even though it is static and assigned. I guess that is progress of a sort. Now I guess a RJ45 manual switch would be faster than unplugging my laptop each time. I wonder if it is a glitch in the router or a setting somewhere… Anyway thank you VERY much for your time and for the basic networking lesson!

    1. Since you’ve made your DHCP range “.100” to “.150”, it probably would be better to either not assign a static IP to your laptop and allow the DHCP to assign it automatically, or assign a static IP to the laptop below “.100”. If you assign a static IP inside the DHCP range, it may be confusing the router.

      Consider assigning a static IP of the laptop to, let’s say “.10”. Do the “ipconfig /release”, “ipconfig /renew” thing in the command prompt or reboot the computer and the router. If your laptop’s IP stays at “.101” even after you reboot or renew, it’s possible that your laptop has it’s IP set manually in the networking configuration in the bowels of Windows. That is also very unusual and could be part of the reason why your router is confused. If your laptop accepts the new IP address 192.168.1.10 as set by the router, and your magicJack still does not automatically get the .02 address when you plug it in within ten or fifteen seconds, the problem is — as you suggest — either the router or the magicJack.

      Two additoinal possibilities:
      1. If you don’t have a UPS, the problem could be the wiring inside your surge protector. Again, try plugging the magicJack into a different socket on a different wall without the surge protector or a different model surge protector. I know it sounds crazy, but magicJack has weird wiring needs. Feedback from some other poorly-filtered electrical device plugged in somewhere near the magicJack can make the 2003 error occur.

      2. If number one above doesn’t work, you can try your magicJack on a neighbor’s router. If it doesn’t accept an IP automatically there either, it’s probably the magicJack. If it does, the problem may be your Zytel modem/router.

  5. why in the hell does magicjack say you dont need a computer when you do! TO REGISTER-YOU DO. I HOPE THIS IS LAST TIME I’ll deal with mj.

    1. I know! It’s kind of a fairy tale – nice to believe, but not really true. Some people use the browser on their smart phones or the tablets, but technically a smart phone or tablet is also just a tiny computer.

  6. my MJ connected to internet wireless without laptop but phone no work , tell me what matter please !

    1. Peter,
      Perhaps I’m confused. As far as I know there is no way to connect magicJack via wifi as of this post. A cordless phone, sure. Wifi? No. Perhaps you could clarify your question?

  7. I bought the mj and plugged in to my surface tablet. It did not work. I called the number given by mj and got little help. I now have it connected to my wifi router directly and the phone has a dial tone. My question is, how do I know if it is working? I mean if I make a international call will I be charged by my company AT&T? I id not see any registration box or whatever.

    1. Hi Samuel,

      The magicJack should be compatible with Windows 8, according to Windows. IF you did not get the automated setup like what is shown in this post, you probably still need to register and activate your device. Any time you connect your device to a windows machine, it should automatically boot into the magicJack app that accompanies the setup/install, as seen in the video accompanying the post.

      The only way to make international calls on the magicJack is to buy international minutes. There are also blocked exchanges in the US for which you will have to buy minutes, so if you have relatives in a remote rural area with a small local phone company, chances are you may face the need for buying minutes to call exchanges blocked by magicJack. Most calls throughout the US and Canada are free, but not all. Conference calls (such as gotomeeting phone-in numbers, etc.) are also blocked by magicJack and require minutes.

      If you have not registered your device, you will get about a day of free calling out. If you don’t know your number, that’s a good clue that you have not activated your device. You should have no trouble since you live in San Francisco.

      Good luck!

  8. I just installed my Majick J. I cannot her the voice of the person I am calling and viceversa.
    Could you specify Imput and output settings??
    So far very frustrating.

    1. Constanza,
      There are no settings on a magicJack plus. Once it’s activated and registered, all that is necessary is to plug it into the AC adapter, ethernet and a phone. It should work automatically.

  9. Do I I have to plug myself to a telephone line? I understood I could be wi-fi only
    thanks

    1. Constanza, I’m not clear if you are using the magicJack plus or the Talk Free App. If you are using an app, you must load it onto a compatible cell phone or tablet. In either case you must either activate your app and register your app or your device.

  10. New update

    Latest Versions
    Windows

    2014-05-01

    hash: b9f7d5e5100af290e92d0ef96a31341a
    Macintosh

    2014-05-01

    hash: d4577add8a5b1b34f2e10d8adbdd5063

    Last checked: 2014-05-02

    1. Hi Stephan,
      This is really wierd.
      I’m looking at the cron reports for those days.
      I’m not seeing that the hashes have changed, yet the latest version says it has changed.
      Hmmm…
      I’ll have to look into this.
      Thanks for bringing it up!

      Chris

  11. Hi!!! I have old style silver magicjack that wos not ever registered – what can i do to use it now?

    1. Hi Roman. If you have a real desire to tinker with it until it works, who knows? Many things are possible.
      Pros:

      • It’s never been registered/activated.
      • It’s silver.
      • You might get up to a year of service if that was what the package originally included when you or your benefactor bought it.

      Cons:

      • You live in Kiev, Urkaine. Unless you visit the US/Canada, it will be hard to register/activate.
      • It requires a USB connection with a computer on all the time.
      • It’s fairly useless to leave it connected to anything other than a thin client you can leave on and forget about or a desktop that stays on all the time. This is not a easily manageable device for a laptop you tote to school or office regularly.

      If it doesn’t work you could always use it as a USB-to-phone connection for another VoIP provider since the tigerJet USB driver should still work regardless of what software you connect to it. If you get it to work, I’d love to know if you are able to use the magicFeatures plugin for magicJack. If it’s not worth your while, maybe you could recycle it. Best of luck!

  12. Wow, I don’t know how I missed this site! You do MJ users a great service, Chris — thanks for all the great info.

    I’ve had the MJ+ 2012 since that year and after some fine tuning of settings (static IP/DMZ, sticking with the Feb. 2012ish firmware, and recently changed to a higher quality power adapter), it’s been working great for that time.

    However, an infrequent yet recurring issue is that calls will drop from time to time. The issue was worse when I had a newer firmware in 2012 (hence downgrading to the February one), but still the issue rears its ugly head at unexpected times. Is there anything else I can do to mitigate this or is it simply unavoidable to a certain extent? My ISP provides a 6 mbps DSL connection and our router (actually a TP-Link W8961ND modem/router) is in good shape and gets nightly reboots to refresh the connection, so I’d say our network is in good health.

    Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, and let me know if I can provide further details. Again, thanks for the great site!!

    1. Marc,
      It sounds like you’ve got it covered. Like you, from time to time, the call drops or goes into voice mail before expected. For myself, I can tell no difference between before and after the latest firmware update and the previous. I’ve got 60/4 bandwidth, ~9ms ping, confirmed by speedtest.net, and I have about the same problems as you, so it may not be about ISP or speed. A lot of times, the people I’m calling are on cell phones, and cell phone calls also tend to drop on a fairly random basis because they lose connection with the local cell tower. The problem may be a combination of flakiness from magicJack’s proprietary VoIP, the whims of some small phone companies who block magicJack calls and cell phones that are at the end of their cell-tower range. I wish I had a “magicFix” for us all. If you find one, please drop by and let me know!

      Cheers,

      Chris

  13. Does anyone know of a fix for the Magic Jack Go? I recently lost my internet connection due to an invalid IP address (have no idea why that happened) and I had to contact Magic Jack to restart the Magic Jack. They did a reset on their end and it worked fine (both when it was plugged into the computer and the wall outlet). For some reason, after a second reset on Magic Jack’s side, it not longer works when plugged into the wall outlet (no dial tone when plugged into the wall). Magic Jack techs have said it could be that the power adapter has failed or the ethernet hub I use is not receiving the signal from the unit when plugged into the wall. Has anyone had this happen to them, and would you know of a fix for this? Thanks

    1. First — make sure you can reach common places on the internet: Youtube, Google, Facebook, etc. If you can, you’ve got an internet connection. Second — make sure your magicJack is properly connected. At the very end of the video on this linked post, you should find the example of how to connect an activated mJ Go to your router and AC adapter. Next — Log into your account at my.magicJack.com. Pull down from “Call Features” to “Advanced”. At the bottom under “Static Configuration”, make sure you have “Use DHCP” checked. If this is unchecked, and you have a lot of numbers under “Static Configuration”, chances are, it may be the wrong set of numbers. If you’re going to set a static IP, it really should be set on your router locally. If you don’t know enough about how to do this, you’re much better off allowing your router’s DHCP figure it out for you. Check “Use DHCP” and Save your configuration on my.magicJack.com. Reboot your router. Reboot your magicJack. Plug in everything the way it was. Your magicJack should now be working. If this proves not to be the problem or wasn’t the reason for the problem in the first place, you may have to re-contact magicJack chat support and ask them to check their STUN server settings for your particular device. You can’t do this, but they can. Once again, reboot the router, then reboot your magicJack. By now, it should work.

      Best of luck and Happy New Year!

      Chris

      1. This may be the key to the problem I’m having. Since setting up the Static IP on the MagicJack website, my router keeps saying DHCP is being used to assign the IP to the MJ. I was wondering why it never changed to saying Static was being used (as with all the devices I have which allow Static to be used are acknowledged as such by the router) despite doing everything correctly with the simple instructions. I’ll contact MJ and see if they will check the STUN server.

        The point of having a static IP inside the MJ is that the device will determine the IP address, not the router. I don’t agree that “Use DHCP” should be checked, otherwise, what is the point?
        You don’t want your router to determine the IP address, else it’s not being truly setup as static.
        With static, you don’t need the router’s help to assign it, which is exactly what DHCP is about.

        Only that one point of disagreement, but otherwise I think you’re on to the answer regarding the STUN server.

        It should not be made that difficult to force the MJ to determine the IP you want it to use, with no prior configuration to the router needed.

        1. Glad the STUN server turned out to be the answer.

          Each router doles out a local IP to every device connected to it, WiFi or Ethernet. For instance, if I have an assignable range of 50 IP’s between 100 and 149, my router will assign the first thing that connects to it to 192.168.1.100. If my router reboots due to power failure, without assigning internal IP’s manually, my devices will randomly get assigned by the router. Most modern routers will allow you to choose a specific internal IP for any specified MAC ID. I assign the IP of the magicJack to a range outside the DHCP range, like 192.168.0.10. That way, if I need to diagnose something, I always know what IP my normal devices are landing on. This is especially useful if you have to port-forward, but frankly it’s become less and less necessary as modern routers are more cleverly designed.

  14. MagicJack Plus 2012, Plus 2014, or Magicjack Go?

    I would like to hear from people who have either owned all three or at least two different versions. Which do you prefer and why?

    My experience:
    My MJ Plus 2012 expired so I bought a Go. The calls with the Plus were fine (I would’ve liked higher volume but calls were clear.) The Go was terrible! Almost every call (90%) was crackly/staticky.
    I took the Go back for a refund. (But a friend got a Go and it works great.)

    Thanks for any input advice!

    1. bloo,

      I have owned all three. The Go is just a mJ+ 2012 repackaged with a metro-style exterior. The guts haven’t really changed. In other words, they’ve reverted the tech away from the extreme gewgaws found on the mj+ 2014. I found my mJ+ 2014 to be slightly less reliable with slightly lower sound quality than the mJ+ 2012 or the Go. The Go sounds just like the mj+ 2012. I might do a sound study to check it out. If your Go was crackly, you might simply have gotten a lemon device. That happens sometimes. I’m glad you were able to return it. Go to a different store so you can try it from a different manufacture lot. It might make a world of difference.

      Incidentally, you can now re-activate your mj+ 2014. Just log in as usual. Go to the phones tab. You should see your mJ+ 2014 available to reactivate.

      Best of luck!

      Chris

      1. Hi Chris,
        Thank you SO much for your quick and informative reply. I could not find a definitive answer elsewhere!
        Our Walmart still has a MJ Plus 2012 model for $15 cheaper than the Go so I think I will get that. (Am wanting the new number and account.)
        Thanks again!
        bloo

  15. Chris,
    Help! I have a MJ Go that works fine when plugged into the USB on the computer, but does not work (error “check internet connection”) when plugged into Belkin b74 router. I suspect LAN settings or similar as it seems the MJ is not recognized by the router. I’ve read through your previous posts, but I’m a little tech-challenged when it comes to making these changes….can you help? I’ve spent HOURS with the Live chat help, only to have them just hang up w/o fixings things…..very frustrating!

    1. You’re not crazy. A few people have had problems connecting to some routers directly. If you have a switch, or a friend can loan you a switch, try plugging in the switch to the router and the magicJack to the switch. Sometimes that’s all it takes. If you can’t do that, try plugging in the magicJack device from a different wall jack than your router. In my case, I found that some UPS boxes actually don’t work with magicJack. I actually returned two UPS boxes until I found one that wouldn’t kill my magicJack connection. So there are a couple possibilities: router incompatibilities and UPS incompatibilities. Please let me know how it turns out (or has already turned out). Best of luck.

      Chris

        1. It’s amazing that faxing technology hasn’t gone the way of the telegraph. Yet so many medical and legal firms continue using it because if the system isn’t broken, they won’t update. While faxing is not entirely beyond the capacity of magicJack devices, it can be tricky and slow. Fax basically uses high pitched analog sounds to create a digital image. The problem is, the frequencies used by faxing can sometimes conflict with the frequencies used by internet protocols. You’re sending a digital message using analog sound over a digital protocol. There’s bound to be confusion. Most people find it’s possible to fax perhaps one or two pages at a very low baud rate (9200kbp). I’m afraid you won’t be able to expect flawless faxing through your magicJack. Consider creating a pdf and sending your fax via an online digital faxing system.

          Best of luck!

          Chris

        2. Generally speaking, if you lower the baud rate on your fax, you should be able to use your fax on the Magic Jack without issues.
          I have been using Magic Jack as a cheap way to get an inexpensive “second line” with it’s own number for the fax for ages.
          HP fax machines / all in one machines allow this quite easily, and if you have good reliable high speed internet, it sometimes isn’t even required to drop the baud rate, or you may only have to drop to a medium speed, and not the lowest speed available.

          1. Thanks for the tips, Super Tech. As you suggest, with cable or fiber, it depends on the fidelity of the magicJack device, your broadband service’s bandwidth, your phone cables, and fax machine. Any one of these can be a weak link. For some, it’s going to be tricky. For others, less so. If you have ADSL, you also have the added problem of competing high-frequency signal on copper lines.

  16. Thank you very much for the very informative site. As I never reconnected my MJ to my PC since the day I received it a few years ago, I was not even aware that updates were available. Anyways, just finished updating it and it went like a charm, thanks to your detailed explanations.

    By any chance, do you know if there is way to change the date and time on the MJ? My new cordless phone gets its time set every time there is a new call with caller ID coming in and I keep getting the wrong time from my MJ (it’s actually one hour off, probably due to summer time). My phone does allow me to manually set the time, but it gets set to the wrong time next time someone calls.

    1. Phillipe,

      This device has a number of flaws. One of the big ones is that the device’s time is always set to Eastern Time. That also means your phone connected to any magicJack will automatically show Eastern time, even if you’re in Quebec where you probably want Maritime settings, or in Greenwich, England at Greenwich Time. There is no fix. If I could wave a magic wand, eh? But I haven’t been to Olivanders, and neither, apparently has magicJack. I wish I had a better answer, but I don’t.

      Yours in consolation,

      Chris

      1. Hi Chris,

        Your funny puns and humorous tone come as a consolation!

        One would think that a company with such an amazing little device would invest a little bit in R&D to make it even better and fix some flaws and limitations!

        Cheers,

        Philippe

        1. Phillippe,
          Thank you!
          I agree about investing in R&D.
          Perhaps in the coming year, they’ll think about creating a new device that addresses a lot of the problems of the Go and all the other previous versions.
          Best,
          Chris

  17. Just have a quick question and haven’t been able to find a definitive answer anywhere. Can you use any of the MJ’s with an ethernet powerline adapter? That is, can you plug the MJ into a ethernet powerline adapter instead of directly into the modem or computer? I am thinking of cancelling my landline service and getting MJ and my router is upstairs but our main phone is on the main level. I have had luck using powerline adapters for my dish receiver, etc and I think it would be a good solution for the MJ. Thanks.

    1. I have not tried it. I do not have PoE, so I am unable to give you a definitive answer. I do know that there are alot of PoE standards, and not all of them will have the same Watts/Volts/Amps. If you’re willing to give it a try, I’d like to know what the results are. If it fries your phone or your magicJack, let us know too!

      However, once you have cancelled your landline service it might be safer to disconnect the landline at the network interface device (NID, or phone box on the side of your house.) That way the power from the external land line won’t fry anything. Then connect your magicJack to the phone jack next to your router upstairs and keep your phone connected downstairs. Everything should work. Good luck!

      1. The ethernet powerline adapter that Dave is asking about is not a PoE device. It is a device that simply uses the power lines in the house to as a conductor to send and receive data. It is used the HomePlug AV standard. You use two of them – one near the router and one in the other room you wish to operate your hard wired ethernet device (in this case, the MJ). Each of the two power line adapters has a RJ45 jack in it so you just connect the CAT5 cable from the router to one of the adapters and a cat5 cable from the other adapter to your MJ.
        I too, would like to know if this will work. Sounds like it might and it would be a nice solution for my installation, too.

        1. Walt — Thanks for correcting me. I suspect it would work, but the only thing for it is to give it a try. It may add to latency and concomitant delay.

  18. I want to know why I can not dial out on my phone, I can receive calls but can not make calls, what have I done wrong

    1. Is your device connected to your computer or is it connected to your router? If that’s the problem, it may be settings on your computer.

      Have you tried connecting your device to a friend’s router? If that works, the problem may be your router.

      I need a bit more information about how it’s set up before I can be more specific.

      Best,

      Chris

  19. I have a MJ EXPRESS.
    Is that newer than the MJ Plus?
    If so, where may I find the differences?
    Is there info on this site that is for the EXPRESS?
    Is there a manual anywhere so that I can tell exactly what the indicator lights on the EXPRESS mean?
    Thanks.

    1. Your magicJack Express is essentially the same as the magicJack Plus 2012 inside – just with a new white plastic case that allows store clerks to recognize it as the less-expensive 3-month lease “starter” model when they ring it up at the register. “Express” merely means that after three months, if you don’t like it, you can opt not to renew for another 12 months. If you decide not to renew, it’s just another no-longer-used-device in your office drawer. The magicJack Go is a repackaged magicJack Plus 2012 with a black case and a 12-month lease, so it’s a little more expensive than the Express. Inside, the magicJack plus 2012, Go and Express are essentially the same product with the same features. The magicJack Plus 2014 is an episode in marketing semi-failure that magicJack would probably prefer to sweep under the carpet, but the Plus 2014 is still a reasonable machine with the same general features as the Plus 2012, Go and Express. It just has a few other features that never got implemented.

  20. Is there a way I can turn off caller id on my magicjack plus. I do not always want someone to see my number when I am calling them.

    1. You could just leave the caller ID blank under caller ID name when logged in at my.magicJack.com, but they’ll still see your number. That’s a good thing. If you’re trying to hide your number, you’re going to get a lot of people not answering. Some phones services actually block anonymous calls, so you really don’t want that. It’s fairly moot anyway, because half the time, magicJack gives some random telephone number for others to see on their screen instead of your actual phone number, like they’re supposed to do.

  21. Hi there…very nice page with great info. I have the old silver MJ that I have used and I have a renewed 5 year plan on it. Can I upgrade to a better MJ and use what is left on my old plan? Some tell me they take your money and run, and make you buy up on the new hardware. Anyway, I can only use a WIFI connection on my main computer, and I have a wifi booster antenna for that. Is there a way to connect? It went fine, then I shut it down, and now it wants a computer IP address? Not sure what to do with that, use the static number somewhere like the fellow above? Any help would be great. I was hoping to use my cell phone and app to make calls, but I guess that is going to be a no go deal…darn!
    Cheers!

    1. All newer magicJacks use an Ethernet connector, connected directly to your router. If your router does not offer an extra Ethernet port, you will not be able to connect with a magicJack go or magicJack plus. There is no way to use WiFi to connect to your physical magicJack device.

      While it might be nice to use the magicApp on your phone, it’s probably better to buy the magicJack go and transfer your existing five-year contract to that. After activation and registration, you should have whatever remains on your five-year account, plus the amount you bought with the new magicJack go. Once that’s activated, you can plug leave it plugged into your computer if you don’t have an ethernet port on your router, or you can set up the magicApp to accept calls from the number assigned to your new magicJack go.

      I would not suggest leaving both magicJack go and the magicApp going at the same time in the same house. I’ve tried it and found it’s difficult to answer the phone from either the app or the go when they’re both running under the same router. It’s great to be able to answer the home phone from the app when you’re away from home though.

      Good luck!

      Chris

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