MagicJack Tech Support

This is one for the nerds.  If you've ever been frustrated by technical support that seems to know less than you, you're going to be able to relate.  I just ended my technical support chat with MagicJack, an internet phone company.  The support chat ended when I was informed the chat had ended; this is prior to finishing our trouble-shooting.  Even though I think they were headed down the wrong path I learned what I needed to know and managed to make the changes on my own.

Please wait for a site operator to respond.

You are now chatting with 'Marianne'

Your Issue ID for this chat is XXXXXXXXXXXX

Marianne: Hello, how may I help you?

Trevor: My USB Magicjack is constantly giving me the "Error 1 - No network connection message" even when I know I have an internet connection.

Marianne: May I have your Magicjack phone number please.

Trevor: 316-XXX-XXXX

Marianne: Please wait while I check that for you

Marianne: May i know  what device do  you  have a problem  with? since   I have check it here  you have 1  mj plus  and 1 old  mj device  here  in your account

Trevor: MJ Plus.

Marianne: May I know where did you used to plugged in your mj plus device in the computer or to the wall?

Trevor: Not plugged into my computer.

Trevor: Its plugged directly into the wall for power and also to the internet.

(I was trying to keep things simple at this point and answer the question the support person was trying to ask. The plug "to the wall" doesn't really describe the device well.)

Marianne: May i know if  you  have a  router there?

Trevor: Yes, I have a router

Marianne: May i know the   router  brand  model   that you are using please?

Trevor: Router is an Apple Airport Extreme.

Marianne: I   need the  exact  model  please

Trevor: The device identifies itself as an "Airport Extreme 802.11n (2nd generation)"

Marianne: One moment please...

Marianne: This issue is fixable, please allow me to guide you, so we can trouble shoot on your computer

Marianne: Please plug in your magicjack plus   device now to your computer.

Trevor: OK

Marianne: Please click the link to download and run the magicJack upgrade:

Marianne: http://upgrades.magicjack.com/upgrade/magicJackSetup.dmg

Marianne: Please inform me if you see dial pad after you run the upgrade link.

(This was helpful.  I had forgot to try a firmware update and having the link handy is great.)

Trevor: Running the installer now.

Marianne: Okay

Trevor: I see the dialpad now.

Marianne: Please  check if  you see  “   stock symbol Call’ there?

(I saw something that said Stock Symbol:Call" so I answered "yes".  I think this was the correct answer.)

Trevor: Yes, I do.

(At this point I plugged in a phone and tried to make a test call to see if things were working.  They were.  The support person doesn't seem to want to check this right now so I keep playing along.)

Marianne: • Please click the MENU on your SoftPhone dial pad and choose "VOLUME/HEADSET CONTROL." then tell me if you can switch between telephone or headset/other

Trevor: Yes, I can check either of the two boxes ("Telephone" or "Headset/Other") and the settings in the window change.

Marianne: Please  set it to telephone there  

Trevor: Done

(I don't know how this is going to fix my the connect problems but, oh well.)

Marianne: . Please click Apple menu at the top-Left corner of the screen and choose"System Preferences." Then open "Sharing" Icon.

Trevor: Done

Marianne: The first section that appears is the "Services" settings, Please check the entries that says Internet Sharing, Web Sharing, Windows Sharing, File Sharing and XGrid Sharing.. And click Start if you have a start button...

Trevor: Done

(This is crazy.  None of these services are necessary for this device to work properly.  This is like saying you need to open your windows, tilt the rearview mirror all the way down, and sit in the passenger seat when you start your car.  I know this because my Magicjack used to work just fine even when it was never plugged into my computer.  By starting up all these services I am (marginally) decreasing the security of my computer.  This is time-wasting, unnecessary, and slightly scary.)

Trevor: How will settings on my computer affect the MJ when it is not going to be plugged into my computer during normal use?

(Yeah, so this is the my big complaint.  My Magicjack is the kind the plugs directly into the router rather than into a computer.  We established this at the beginning of the chat.  It doesn't seem like I should have to make any changes to my computer to get the device to work properly. )

Marianne: We are doing  fixes  now. Please    just  follow the  steps   I gave to  you  

("Fixes". Got it.  I guess I'm just going to undo everything after this chat.)

Trevor: OK

Marianne: 5. Please click on the "Firewall" tab.

Marianne: 6. Please check if it says "Firewall Off" or "Firewall On".

Marianne: 7. If it says "Firewall On" please click on the button "Stop"

Trevor: I see no "Firewall" tab in the Sharing Preferences.

(The reason I don't have a "Firewall" tab is because I'm not running Windows.  Somehow the support person copied and pasted the wrong script into the chat.  Didn't even bother to take the step numbers out of the document she's looking at.)

Marianne: Okay..

Marianne: Please click Apple menu at the top-right corner of the screen and choose "System Preferen

Marianne: I  mean for  "System Preferences."

Trevor: Done

Marianne: Please open Network then click on your active Network Connection (Example: airport, Ethernet) and tell me the IP address

Trevor: IP is 10.0.1.107

(Uhmm, I don't think the IP address for my computer is going to fix this because, as I've mentioned, the Magicjack is not normally plugged into my computer. This is fixing a problem that doesn't exist.)

Marianne: . Please open up the Finder on your Mac task Bar and click theApplications button near the left of the page.

Trevor: Done

Marianne: Please click the Utilities button near the right of the page and click theAirPort Admin Utility button near the right of the page.

Trevor: Done

Marianne: Please Select Apple Base Station from the Select Base Station list. >>> Click the Port Mapping button near the top of the page. >>> Then click the Add button near the right of the page.

Trevor: Done

(These instructions are awful but I have had enough experience with my router that I knew what needed to be done. I pity the less educated who must try to decipher these obtuse and misleading instructions.)

Marianne: Please type in 5060 on both Public and Private Ports, The type 10.0.1.107 _(use the IP address) for Private Address and click OK

Trevor: Done.

Marianne: Please click the Add button. again and type in 5070 on both Public and Private Ports, The type 10.0.1.107  (use the IP address for Private Address and click OK

Trevor: Done

Marianne: When you're finished, please click Update near the bottom of the screen to save your changes.

Trevor: Done

Marianne: Please restart your Magicjack device. Just unplug then replug it after 2min

Trevor: Waiting 2 min...

(2 minutes!  I have no idea why we would need to wait that long.)

Marianne: Okay

THIS CHAT HAS ENDED.

So, from this chat, I learned I needed to update the firmware on the MagicJack and what ports I needed to set up to forward to the MagicJack when its plugged into my router.  No explanation as to why it stopped working a few days ago.  For now, we're back up and running.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I don't recommend Magicjack.  Its cheap but you get what you pay for.  Since we hardly use this phone, its OK that it seems to hardly ever work.  I'm probably not going to renew after the first year.