Caller ID and call blocking with MagicJack: yes, there are some easy and free solutions
When I go through the stats and look at Google search terms for my blog, one of the top keyword phrases I see is “how to use MagicJack with call blocking or caller ID.” And I have good news and bad news. Officially, MagicJack has caller ID and no call blocking. But there are some clever free tricks that you can easily do to have those features.
Since Caller ID is the easiest, let’s do it first. MagicJack essentially keeps a log of all incoming (and outgoing) calls. And basically you just need to label the numbers. Once the numbers are tagged every time you get a call from the number again you will be able to identify the caller. So there you have “Caller ID”. It’s easy, but a bit like a bump. I think what people really want is the ability to identify “unknown people”. Guess what? If the person calling you has chosen to hide their number, you won’t be able to see it anyway. So let’s go back to square one, no matter what phone service you use.
But I understand where all this leads; Receiving calls from unknown people makes you want something to block them. And again, the “regular” phone companies don’t provide this service as much as they used to. I remember back in the 90’s you could get call blocking and then the phone companies seemed to have stopped offering it and started giving a “if the caller is harassing you, fill out a police report, send it to us and we’ll block the number” solution. “. I don’t know why, but the phone companies just wouldn’t do it, or if they didn’t do it without a substantial fee. Internet-based phone companies like MagicJack and Vonage also don’t offer the service. I was with Vonage for a full five years and no matter how much we complained, they just didn’t.
To the rescue come a couple of Internet solutions. The best solution to block calls is and (at the same time) It is not available. It used to be called Grand Central. They give you a phone number and you link it to all of your personal phone numbers. The phone number you are given acts as your first line of defense; you can then block incoming calls, redirect them to your number of choice, or send them to voicemail. Again, it’s free. But it is currently being rebuilt as “Google Voice”. I strongly urge MagicJack users, and really everyone, to sign up for a Google Alert to let you know when the service is back up and running. In March 2009 they announced that they were almost ready. And coupled with a service like MagicJack that costs only $20 a year (or a dollar a month if you use it like I do) it’s the most powerful and affordable phone/voicemail/text combo you can get.
Until Google Voice is available, I recommend you get free software called “PhoneTray”. It will work with your computer’s modem to act as a first-line defense against incoming calls. Among the many functions that you can do for free, you can also block calls. So in just a few minutes you can have a system that will give you a lot of peace of mind.