Fix MagicJack No Sound Problem

Recently, after using magicJack for my personal home phone service for more than 2 years without issue, suddenly it has no sound. I can hear a dial-tone and dial a number, but after that nothing. I can't hear the call ringing, but I can see from the magicjack softphone on my computer that the call is ringing and connects, remaining connected until I hang up, or the other party hangs up. But I can't hear a thing. My phone rings when I receive a call, but when I answer, again no sound.

So, what do I do?

One thing that has been noted repeatedly in magic jack reviews, is that the company does not provide customer service by phone. They maintain a searchable knowledgebase of frequently asked questions, and a live chat help service.

I've read complaints about the customer service, but you get what you pay for. At 20 bucks A YEAR you really can't expect a $12 AN HOUR customer service rep. In my opinion magicJack is a tremendous value and I've been extremely pleased with mine.

So I do what I always do when I have a technical problem, go to Google. It took a while, but the answer was there. Hopefully this post saves you the 4 hours of frustration I experienced in resolving my magic jack no sound problem.

The Fix: It turns out the problem was with my router. Odd, because I have had this particular router for about 3 months, and been using it with magicJack to make and receive calls without issue throughout this time. What I learned while researching the problem, is that some routers do not recognize that magicJack should be allowed to communicate over the Internet when sending and receiving call data, which is essential for the device to function properly.

The fix to this problem takes just a few minutes, requiring only that you Set-up Port Forwarding for magicJack. The only caveat is that you will need to repeat these steps whenever you restart your magic jack, or the computer the magicjack is connected to. A minor inconvenience for unlimited local and long distance phone service for just 20 bucks a year. Plus it takes just a few minutes once you know how.

Set-up Port Forwarding for magicJack

    

In order for your magicjack usb Internet phone device to function properly, especially if you are experiencing the magicjack no sound problem, you may have to set up port forwarding for magicjack on your router. This is a somewhat technical procedure, but should take you just a few minutes following the instructions in this post.

First, download TCPview for Windows from Microsoft's website. They include instructions on the download page for using the program. The download is a .zip file. Basically, all you have to do is extract the program folder, and run TCPview by double-clicking the Tcpview program icon. TCPView allows you to see which ports on your computer magicJack is using to send and receive data. I've included a sample screenshot from TCPView below with my personal magicJack service running.

My personal experience is that you will only need to configure port forwarding to allow traffic on the highest port shown, in this case 62457, in order for the magicjack to function properly. Now that you know which ports magicjack is using, you need to configure port forwarding on your router to allow magicJack to send and receive data over the Internet using these ports.

Setting up port forwarding takes only a few minutes, but the exact steps vary depending on the manufacturer and model of your router. So, if you do not know how to setup port forwarding on your router, consult your router documentation, or go to Google and search for your router brand and model number, including the words "set up port forwarding" in your search query.

Below are a couple of additional resources that may be helpful when configuring port forwarding for your router. These links open in a new browser window or tab depending upon which Internet browser you are using.

Find the IP Address of the Router on a Home Network

Find the IP Address of any Computer connected to a Home Network

Once you have correctly configured port forwarding on your router, you should have no further issue with your magicJack.

It's important to note that the UDP port magicJack uses to send and receive call data changes whenever the magicJack software, or the computer the magicJack is connected to, are restarted. So, you may need to repeat these steps whenever you restart your computer or your magicJack. A minor inconvenience for unlimited local and long distance phone service for 20 bucks a year. Plus it takes just a few minutes once you know how to set-up port forwarding for magicJack.