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Magic Jack and Garden Updates

Magic Jack

So far so good on the Magic Jack, I did have a problem with it though, it seemed that I could not call the 2 main people I wanted to call, my Dad and sister. For some reason it would not complete calls to local numbers (in the 817 area code for me), I discovered this is a known issue according to an unofficial forum for the Magic Jack. When I would try to call my Dad or sister, it would ring 5-8 times then I would hear a fast busy signal then a dial tone. I could call any other numbers outside the 817 area code, I could also call any cell phone (didn’t matter what area code). So I decided to contact MJ’s customer service, it’s all on line, I contacted a very nice cs person, I told him what the problem was and that I had already tried using the upgrade on their website (multiple times) and tried every USB port on my computer. I was afraid he would try to get me to do the upgrade again or make me go through some useless processes, I know the problem is on their end since the MJ works for other calls. He was very polite, asked me a few questions, got 3 phone numbers that will not work for me, then he said I would be getting an email in the next 24-48 hours about this matter. After that I went to the unofficial MJ forum, I posted a message about this to their tech section, I copied and pasted the transcript of the customer service contact, I asked if anyone else there had this problem and found a fix or a workaround.

I quickly received a reply from one of the members, he suggested using this format when I called, instead of calling 817284****, to call *678*17284****, IT WORKED! I was able to call my Dad directly, then I called my brother in law, I didn’t try my sister’s number, but I have no doubt it will work with her number too.

So even if MJ doesn’t have a fix, I have a workaround so I am happy. It seems that the * codes (*67 and such) do not work on MJ’s system, at least not the way they work on regular phones. I don’t care, as long as I can call who I want. :)

Garden

Woohoo! I got my garden planted yesterday! I took my packets of seeds and started on one corner, I walked around and dropped the entire packets on the spaces where I wanted to plant them, then I took each packet and planted the seeds. I got them all planted and watered. I can’t wait to see the little sprouts peeking up from the straw mulch, patients! Here is a list of what I have planted so far:

  • tomatoes
  • bell peppers
  • broccoli
  • 2 different lettuces
  • peas
  • corn
  • beans
  • summer squash
  • watermelon
  • malabar spinach
  • spinach
  • swiss chard
  • collards
  • carrots
  • beets
  • radishes

I plan on ordering a few other plants, purple okra and maybe some different tomatoes and such. The okra will grow very fast, it’s practically a weed!

Be sure to complete the poll if you haven’t yet, it’s on the upper right of the page, this way I’ll know what you want to see on this blog. :)

Thanks,
Wretha

4 Responses

  1. Magic Jack won’t work if you have a Cd or Dvd burner on your computer, and because I bought it thru Radio Shack instead of Online they won’t honor their Money Back Guarantee. Please spread the word… Most newer computers come with burners.

    1. Rich, I am sorry you had a bad experience with your Magic Jack, I’m glad you were able to return it with no hassles. I do have a DVD/CD burner on my computer and my Magic Jack works just fine, I also personally know 2 other people who use a Magic Jack on their computers, complete with DVD/CD burners and it works just fine for them, not counting all of other people on the unofficial Magic Jack forum, I have never heard anyone say that their MJ didn’t work because they have a DVD or CD burner on their computer, you are right, most everyone with a computer has a DVD or at least a CD burner, if this was an issue, I seriously doubt that they would be selling as many as they do.

      I would say that there was probably something going on with your setup, did you try it with a different computer? I know that the Magic Jack dongle/software creates extra drives on your computer, it acts like a CD drive and hard drive, there can also be issues with the USB part of it… How did you determine that was the reason?

      I’m sure you probably don’t want to deal with it again, but if you would, please go to the MJ forum and search around, ask if this has ever been a problem like this with anyone else, who knows, you might find a workaround for whatever the problem was. I trust what this forum has to say, they aren’t affiliated with the company, Magic Jack in any way.

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