How does magicjack work internationally

Ask yourself: Do you have a home phone line? Should your answer be yes, then MagicJack unquestionably deserves your careful consideration. MagicJack is also an exceptional choice if you regularly make international calls. You can also choose from an assortment of other available options. Skype is another alternative, now offering end-to-end encryption.

However, this is a vastly different product, intended for other people. What is MagicJack? How does it work? Today, MagicJack offers two primary options, one product, and one enhanced service. How much does it cost?

How useful is MagicJack, really? How is the call quality? The best true wireless earbuds Which should you buy on Black Friday? How to set up Google Voice on your smartphone or computer. LTE vs. With Tesla bleeding money, Elon Musk initiates hardcore spending review. Best cheap Ring Video Doorbell deals for October Best cheap Amazon Echo deals for October In order to use Magic Jack outside of the US, you will need a high-speed internet connection, the Magic Jack software installed on your computer and, of course, you will need a phone connected to the Magic Jack port plugged into your computer in order to make the phone calls.

Now, keep in mind that you can make calls no matter where you are, but if you are looking to make calls to foreign countries, additional rates are going to apply. Although it may cost more to use your Magic Jack to call numbers in the foreign country where you currently reside, you can save a lot of money when placing and receiving calls with contacts in the United States and Canada.

This is great if you want to call your aunt in Cape May, or if your Edison answering service needs to patch a call to you while you are away. Perhaps you can have a friend or relative back home help you with this, or purchase one before leaving the country. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You may have spied MagicJack on a late night TV infomercial , home shopping network or even on the shelves of your local electronics or drug store.

Its ads make seemingly wild claims of drastically reducing your phone bill, but it may do just that. The earliest MagicJack required your computer to be on and connected to the Internet at all times in order to make and receive calls.

But the new version, the MagicJack Plus, can be connected directly to your router or modem and can be used without a computer as long as you have broadband Internet service. Landlines offered by traditional telephone companies can cost hundreds of dollars a year, even for just basic domestic service. Many VoIP services are considerably cheaper, often rolling in extra services like caller ID, call waiting and voice mail for the price of a perk-free landline.

MagicJack promises to be even cheaper than the other economical phone alternatives, with very low annual fees for unlimited calls to numbers all over the United States, some U. The device is also very portable, enabling you to make calls from home, from a hotel room and even from other countries -- provided you have a computer with broadband Internet connectivity, or access to the router or modem. You can use MagicJack to give yourself a second phone line, ditch the landline altogether or, on trips, save on roaming or international calling charges.

Read on to find out more about the device and phone service. MagicJack was invented by Dan Borislow and launched in late The newer MagicJack Plus has both of those plus an Ethernet port, and it incorporates its own motherboard, removing the need for a constant computer connection.

To use the original MagicJack, plug the device into your computer's USB port and it automatically installs software on your computer. Once setup and registration are complete, you plug a corded or cordless phone into the phone jack and you should be ready to make and receive calls.

You can even dispense with the physical phone and use the MagicJack soft-phone software phone to dial numbers via a virtual keypad on your screen and talk directly via your computer's speaker and microphone or an attached headset. This version requires that your computer stay on and awake constantly to make and receive calls.

If you turn off your computer or it goes to sleep, you can still get voicemail, and call forwarding will still work. To set up the new MagicJack Plus, you still need to plug it into a computer and go through several setup and registration steps. After that, you can either use it like the original -- via your computer -- or plug the device into your broadband modem or router via an Ethernet port the cable is included.

This arrangement will require you to connect a phone and to plug the device into an AC power adapter also included. The main advantage over the original is that your computer does not need to be present, let alone turned on all the time, for you to make and receive calls.

But as with original MagicJack, broadband is required. The original silver MagicJack is supported on all of the above except for Windows 8. Linux and non-Intel Mac users are currently out of luck with both versions. As of fall , your MagicJack Plus purchase comes with six months of service, which includes unlimited calls to numbers in the U. Virgin Islands and Canada. This holds true even if you are using the MagicJack abroad.

You can also call other MagicJack users for free anywhere in the world. You can make international calls with the device, but it requires purchasing pre-paid minutes. You can purchase a year or five years additional service during setup or at any time afterward.

The service also includes voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, directory assistance, conference calling and E service the VoIP version of traditional emergency service , which sends your address along with the call.

MagicJack's voicemail can be accessed via the software on your computer or by calling your phone number. You can also set up an e-mail address to have your voicemails delivered to your inbox as audio attachments. The software also saves contacts and call history logs.

MagicJack provides you with a free number, and you can select the area code and prefix, if available, and it doesn't have to be dependent upon your location. Initially, customers couldn't keep their own existing numbers, but now if you choose to do so, you can port your existing number, or pick a Canadian or vanity number, for additional annual fees. If you don't have a paid MagicJack account, it will assign a random outgoing number to you every time you use it.

You can also receive calls, although the caller will have to call a special number then enter your MagicJack app number. MagicJack provides VoIP service, which means you bypass traditional twisted-pair copper phone lines within your home. Rather than making analog calls like with traditional phone service, you are using hardware and software to convert your call into a digital signal and send it over the Internet. But your calls still have to hit a telephone service network's lines at some point.

That's where the MagicJack business model comes in handy. As a CLEC, it also gets its phone numbers for free and can resell to other phone service providers. It is a phone company as much as it is a provider of a VoIP device. But despite all advantages, MagicJack is not the only game in town. Next, find out how it compares to some other VoIP providers. One major difference between MagicJack and most other VoIP devices and services, besides its diminutive size, is that it's super cheap. Yes, that is annual, not monthly.

Most other VoIP services either have much more expensive upfront device costs or charge higher fees, usually on a monthly rather than annual basis, although MagicJack does have one very close competitor price-wise. If you want to make calls outside the U. With all of the VoIP choices, including MagicJack, you may be required to pay government fees and taxes, including monthly charges for E And any additional services you select will likely incur monthly or annual charges, so take care to research your options thoroughly.

VoIP service is also available through cable or phone companies that offer Internet service, and can often be fairly cheap with a package deal. To compare all the options to each other or to traditional phone service, you have to consider your calling area and phone number needs, and you have to factor in the cost of the required broadband Internet service. There are other communication alternatives such as Skype, which allows you to video or voice chat with other Skype users, but also has plans that allow you to call mobile and landline phones from software on your computer, tablet or mobile for various monthly or per-minute rates.

There's also Google Voice, which gives you a number and lets you have calls forwarded to any or all of your phones, and will send you transcribed voice mails, but the service depends upon you already having some sort of existing phone service. Various instant messaging programs and social networking sites also allow voice and video chat.

But they're arguably not the same as having a home phone line. The original MagicJack required you to leave your computer on all the time to make and receive calls, and didn't allow you to use your existing phone number. This was all fixed with the newer MagicJack Plus, but there are still some notable limitations.

Depending upon your wants and needs, they could range from minor annoyances to deal breakers.