MAGIC JACK advice requested

[frugal-one]

Just purchased the newest version of iMac (macOSMojave) and now the Magic Jack will call a number, you can hear the party but they can't hear you. Spent a few hours with MagicJack online. You now cannot talk with a person and nothing has been resolved. Hooked it up to the modem and can call out. All contacts have to be dialed manually... the contact list is gone. Anyone else have this problem or ideas how to remedy?

[JaneV2.0]

Is there a way to re-establish virtual cross-connects? I have no idea how Magic Jacks work, but that did the trick when I worked in telephony.

[ToomuchStuff]

What are you talking through? (computer, phone handset)

If computer, could you have your microphone, muted?

[jp1]

Or perhaps you have to manually go i to the microphone settings (maybe the sound settings) and change what device is used as the microphone.

[Alan]

Since it appears you've normally connected your MagicJack to your computer, and then updated the OS on the computer, you may need to re-install MagicJack software. I'm not certain but I believe when you plug in the MagicJack to your computers USB port your computer sees it as a remote drive. If you use your file manager to look at the drive you should see an 'autorun' file, or conversely, it may try to run when you plug the device into your computer. Try running that and see if it doesn't correct your problem.

It actually sounds to me like you need to update drivers to accommodate the OS upgrade and re-installing may take care of that for you.

[SteveinMN]

Alan is on the right track. There likely won't be an 'autorun' file (because Mac) but reinstalling the software may help. Make sure you have the latest version of MagicJack software from their site. Bonus points if the existing MagicJack software comes with an uninstaller (but then make sure you have any configuration information you need after you reinstall). You also can try unplugging the MagicJack connection from your computer, waiting a couple of minutes, and plugging it in again; that might force the system to recognize it.

And, btw, macOS Mojave recently has been replaced by macOS Catalina, but I do not recommend upgrading to it at this time unless you are willing to run what I consider to be beta software (this is not just an Apple thing; it seems to be the way of the software world). Catalina also deprecates 32-bit software, which can include older versions of software which you may not want to (or may not be able to) upgrade.

[frugal-one]

Thank you all. DH tried all kinds of things (some mentioned above) and it still does not work. Think MagicJack may be on the way out and no longer can keep up with technology??

[SteveinMN]

frugal-one, it's a little distressing that MagicJack support couldn't come up with anything. You might want to contact them again and see if you can get a different technician. I did see in my Web searching that, on the MagicJack support site, there was a specific entry about your very issue and it involved the customer not being able to "un-mute" your side of the conversation. When I clicked on the Web search link, however, MagicJack's site redirected that page to their support home page. I'd press MagicJack for an answer.

[frugal-one]

frugal-one, it's a little distressing that MagicJack support couldn't come up with anything. You might want to contact them again and see if you can get a different technician. I did see in my Web searching that, on the MagicJack support site, there was a specific entry about your very issue and it involved the customer not being able to "un-mute" your side of the conversation. When I clicked on the Web search link, however, MagicJack's site redirected that page to their support home page. I'd press MagicJack for an answer.

DH spent hours "talking" with them. You cannot get a person to talk to.... only chat on line. Guess we will go through the modem and dial the numbers. It still works but is a pain. I also checked the web search and came up with the same. I have a smart tracPhone and local phone where I can call anywhere too. I really have no need for a cell phone to be on all the time and have to mess around with charging it. That is why we don't rely on cell phones. I see the writing on the wall though. I may be made to carry a phone. sigh

[iris lilies]

I find cell phones annoying as to how often they have to be charged if they are to be used daily. I’m so used to using iPads that hold a charge for a long time. Every time I look at my cell phone it has run out of juice so that just reinforces me not using it because when I do need it has no power. I’ve learned to turn it off all the time now.

[SteveinMN]

I'll admit that I don't live on my phone as some people do. Very little video or music streaming, only a few dozen texts and maybe 20 calls a month, and the phone is on home Wi-Fi most of the time. But I get at least a day out of a charge on my "tiny" (iPhone SE) phone. Maybe some of it is that I don't use the phone intensively, but it does not sound like I'm alone on that level of usage. I do switch off most of the notifications and background updates and only a few apps are allowed to use cellular data. *shrug* Not telling anyone to carry a cell phone if they don't want to (and are OK with the ramifications); just saying that there are ways to improve battery life after installing apps the way they want to be installed.