“Consumers need and desperately desire to save money and control their monthly expenses,” said Gerald Vento, CEO of VocalTec in a recent release. Our company [magicJack] delivers on both with the magicJack EXPRESS; low cost phone service and the flexibility to pay-as-you-go. And with the new companion App for iOS, our customers can turn any Wi-Fi or 4G device into a cellular phone with unlimited talk and text at no additional charge.”
What is magicJack Phone Service?
magicJack is an ultra cheap VoIP phone service that costs just $35 per year or $99.75 for 5 years. The service is run through several small adapters (Plus dongle, 2014 Plus, magicJack GO and now the all-new MJ EXPRESS) that connect to your regular home phone service on one end and to an Ethernet port on your router or modem on the other end. The original version actually connects directly to any USB drive on your computer. For more information on magicJack check out our complete review of the companies services.
Once setup these various adapters use your high speed internet connection to connect calls to your landline, using either a new phone number that’s assigned to you or your old landline number from your previous provider. This way you can keep the old home phone number you’ve had for years and years and cut your phone bill from $50 per month or more to only $35 per year. That would be a savings of at the least $565 per year!
Fortunately this phone service does far more than simply save money on current service. It comes with all of the modern day conveniences and features that you get with your traditional landline phone company and it also allows you to connect your VoIP service through your smartphone, tablet and even directly to your computer via the softphone application! This means that even when you’re on the go, you can set up your service so that it will sync up with all of your mobile devices (smartphone and tablet included). Once it’s synced up, you can receive calls when you’re you have a data connection or high speed internet from anywhere in the world without paying any extra international calling or long-distance fees.
What Is The magicJack Express?
At the moment VocalTec offers two different products for those looking to set up VoIP service for their home or business, the magicJackGO and now the magicJackEXPRESS. The EXPRESS is their newest release and in my review I found that it comes in at a cost of just $39.95 for the adapter and features a myriad of amenities including three months of unlimited local and long distance calling in addition to much more. Looking to learn more about what this service can offer? Read my review about the features, pros, and cons of the new adapter below.
Image 1: The new adapter looks eerily similar to the older GO
After the first 3 months users can ‘re-up’ for just $35 for a full year or $99.75 for 5 years. It also comes with a fully functioning free iOS and Android app that allows consumer to users access their home phone from anywhere in the world that they have a Wi-Fi or 4G connected smartphone or tablet. This app is called magic App and provides all of the features that you get when at home with your device but simply through an app on your smartphone. It also allows you to call any other magicJack number worldwide completely free!!! Even better, the app also now comes with free texting to any US mobile number.
MagicJack Express Features
- Call forwarding and call waiting
- Caller ID and voicemail
- Pay as you go in lieu of billing
- Easy to take the jack anywhere including international locations
- Includes adapter, Ethernet cord, USB extension, instructions, and the jack itself
- Free companion App application available for Apple and Android devices
- Free calling from MJ number to MJ number
- Free texting to any US mobile number
- Free international calling to other MJ numbers
- Ultra affordable international calling rates to most countries
Image 2: Upclose look at the new MJ adapter
Pros Of The MJ Express
- No dropped calls – you’ll find that if you have the appropriate internet speeds for the service then VoIP calling with the new device leaves you with crystal clear phone calls both dialed and received.
- Excellent for small businesses – if you’re a small business owner looking to cut costs without cutting functionality, then Business VoIP with MJ is definitely the route to take. This VoIP ensures that you can have your business phone answered anywhere even when you’re not at your office or shop meaning a customer never goes unanswered if they call in!
- Affordability – in addition to getting three months of free service included, you’ll end up paying just $3 a month for unlimited calls afterwards. It can also be renewed on an annual basis for even less than $3 per month. When you think about how expensive smartphone minutes are, especially if you’re calling internationally, you’ll end up saving a small fortune on a monthly basis without missing out on important calls with friends and family.
- New or old number option – you can get a new phone number assigned to you or you can use that old landline number that you’ve been using for years. While a new number is free, you only have to pay a one-time fee of $10 to switch your old phone number over to this new service.
- Excellent for those who travel – if you’re used to traveling for business or pleasure, then you’ll be happy to know you can take your service with you! It’s so portable and allows you to call back home wherever you are as long as you are able to connect to high speed internet.
- Free faxing – The EXPRESS offers free magicJack faxing with no tricky steps, gimmicks, or hacks. Just hook your device to your fax machine and you can begin faxing right away.
- Expansion of available area codes – With the release of this new ATA device the company has expanded the available area codes. For a complete list see our table that lists all magicJack area codes.
Cons Of The MJ Express
- Setup – installing the adapter itself is relatively easy when using their installation site mjreg.com, but setting it up can be a bit more difficult especially if you are using a pre-existing phone number. While the instructions are somewhat helpful for the installation, you’ll find that the responsive customer service team for the company is able to answer questions any questions you may have during the process thanks to the 247 live chat help available on their website.
- Not much different than MJ GO – Perhaps I are missing something but I don’t see any differences (expect the color of the usb dongle) when comparing magic Jack GO to magic Jack EXPRESS besides the color new device is $20 cheaper and comes with 3 months of service instead of a full year. “Do the math” on it (the company’s new slogan) and you save about $22 after taxes and fees upfront but you get 9 months less service. Then you would have to renew with a yearly plan ($35/year) and that extra 9 months is still costing you about $27. Either way you’re paying a few dollars more for the new product. I actually find it insulting to current users that they are parading around their new “Do The Math” campaign and have come out with a smoke and mirrors options in an attempt to sell more adapters to users that already have the GO. Perhaps I’m 100% wrong and there are improvements to the new device but if there are I haven’t found them and the official site doesn’t point them out. In fact, you can see the chart below that I duplicated from their site that ot doesn’t point out any differences except the length of time you that you get free service with the purchase! I also searched all over the web for magicJack EXPRESS vs. magicJack GO facts and I couldn’t find anything. Nothing from bloggers and nothing from the company itself. If I’m wrong please correct me with a comment and I will take this whole paragraph down and include the differences.
MJ GO | MJ EXP
| Includes 3 Months of Service |  | |
| Includes 12 Months of Service | | |
| Unlimited Local & Long-Distance Calling to the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands | | |
| Unlimited Mobile Calling With the FREE magicApp | | |
| Choose a New U.S. or Canadian Phone Number | | |
| Port Your Old Existing Number That You’ve Had For Years (One Time $9.95 Fee) | | |
| Free Device-To-Device Calling Worldwide | | |
| Free Conference Calling Via Call-in Number | | |
| Free Caller ID, 411, Call Waiting, Voicemail and Call Forwarding | | |
| Special E911 Service | | |
| No Contracts EVER | | |
Image 3: The Go vs. The Express
Final thoughts on the New Device
Despite it’s lack of differences from the new and old adapters, the new one is very affordable and that truly gives you the functionality and ease of use you’d expect in this day and age. Instead of paying exorbitant amounts on combined bills for your smartphone and landline, you can use the same number for both and answer it via VoIP and the internet wherever you are in the world. While you do need high speed internet to use this device, and you may find the setup somewhat troublesome if you’re not exactly tech-savvy, the company goes above and beyond for its customers by providing you incredible value for your money.
Overall, the new dongle is an exceptional option for home owners and small business owners alike but in this case you might as well go with the GO since it’s a slightly better deal (unless you really want a white colored device). The bottom line is their phone service is a price and quality leader in the VoIP industry and irregardless you should have a magicJack and service no matter what if you still have a home phone or you’re just wasting your hard earned money. VoIP calling is no longer the future of communication – it’s the present. Let magicJack connect you to your friends, family, and associates with unlimited minutes for less than $3 a month!
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I have been with MagicJack since the beginning and must say it is overall a cost saver once you drop your expensive land-line. Unfortunately, at a cost or compromise in quality and reliability. Firstly the system never works well on Wi-Fi with computers as promised - neither the earlier 'Plus' or 'Go' models and I have tested them both on different routers and computers to confirm this. I have upgraded to the MagicJack Go and unless plugged into a router the performance is undependable using the USB to computer configuration - how sad. Any promises or suggestions that you can use this for a 'real' business is a stretch since your clients/customers would think you have money issues. Also, I have tried the MagicJack Android App on several android cell phones and although it does 'basically' work it is also unreliable and delivers poor quality with scratchy sound and many dropped calls and other issues and is basically a novelty. How long must I wait for a better 'App' or a better dongle? How many more dongles must I pay for? Another experience was the performance did improve greatly when I updated from MagicJack Plus to MagicJack Go and after much complaining to them about bad service with the earlier 'Plus' it turned out that their earlier generation dongles (The Plus series) had performance issues that they lied to their customer's about - I have other friends I have referred to the service at that time and they had the same problems and issues I observed and experienced - notice how they dropped support of the 'Plus' series!?! Again, I had to pay for the 'Go' unit to resolve or improve their defects and problems. With all the 'beta' testing and customer loyalty I have been rewarded with mediocre service and relatively poor quality...did I really save much? They owe dedicated customers immediate and free replacements of these device over time as long as we remain subscribed and they need to be more honest about performance claims and not mislead their clients. If you think you are having problems with your MagicJack it is most likely the device and they will never replace it for no cost....either get a new one ...or better yet....perhaps "run for the hills".
Bought M J Express hooked it up got the service on within a few minutes.
Was able make in and out bound calls. Had my number ported. Suggest if you want M J as you line provider do NOT try to use it on UVERSE. I have a cable internet provider 10X faster then UVERSE. Works well but if you have any issues (I had very little), the customer support via chat helped me. Been with M J from Aug 2016 till now. Had my number ported.I love the voice mail since I can retrieve my messages via remote. I have read complaints about M J but maybe their internet service was too slow? I think most complaints are folks using Internet that is too slow!
I was advised by Magic Jack to replace my 2 old Magic jack devices. They charged me $37.68 with delivery and tax each.
I activated both devices in early July, I have never received a phone call since then. The phone will not ring and out going calls are dropped almost every call.
Spent hours troubleshooting with Technician doing test but could never get the ringer to work. The Technician said he'd make notes to my account.
No suggested solution.
The good news is I changed ring time to 5 sec and my message "This is our names and magic jack is not working please leave a message.
Only people we want to talk to leave a message. so it's a great phone call screen-er.
Useless for phone calls
By the way the old magic jack devices worked great before replaced.
The old version of magicjack was very good but magic jack needed so ''called'' improvements so express has been introduced and my phones are dropping constantly, improvement? I think not.
We love the magicJack EXPRESS! The call quality is better than our old regular phone. It was a snap to install. I didn't want to pay the little extra to bring our old phone number across but in retrospect, probably should have done it. The only negative I've come across this far is that when dialing a local number, you have to dial 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX the area code not just the number. A small price to pay. I highly recommend it!
I live in northern Louisiana. I have been a Magic Jack customer for almost 3 years using the Plus, Plus 2014 and now the EXPRESS device. I love it. I have not had any problems whatsoever. I just bought 2 of the new devices for relatives!!! The cost savings can't be beat for a full service home phone. I tell and will continue to tell all of my friends about it!!