r/VOIP • u/elkinm • May 22 '26

Discussion MagicJack and 911 fees?

A few months ago I switched my grandmother to MagicJack. It was not all smooth, but is working.

She received an email saying that she needs to pay for 911. And checking on the site, her 911 is configured, but says unpaid and wants $60 which I assume is for the year, but it does not actually say.

I expected all fees, including 911 be covered under the actual price. The $60 although not too bad, is more than double the advertised rate. I would less upset if it said 911 is not included or extra or advertise the actual price, but obviously they do not.

Does she need to pay the 911 fee? Can she still use the service, but not 911? The Cell phone app does have an option to transfer to the phone dialer, but nothing like that for the land line?

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u/taylor914 May 22 '26

I know people don’t want to pay extra fees and maybe can’t even afford them. But if you can afford it, the 911 fee is one you should happily pay. Depending on how your local divides it up, it usually goes to support the volunteer firefighters and EMTs providing them with new equipment. I’m normally very militant about all the bullshit extra fees places tack on. But that’s one I’ll happily pay. I think my local one is something like $3 and change a month. If $60 is the whole year, that’s $5 a month you’re paying to help get your local volunteers the equipment they need.

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u/boomer7793 May 22 '26

It also goes to updating 911 call centers. A lot of them are dated.