magicApp Calling & Messaging

Review by eFreeware

If you want a second phone number on the handset you already carry, magicApp is built for exactly that. The developer's pitch is a US number in any available area code that lives alongside your regular line, so work calls, client messages or a number you hand out while traveling do not have to share the same digits as your personal life. You keep your SIM where it is and switch between the two numbers as needed.

The app has been on Google Play since August 2012 and sits at a 4.2 average from more than 211,000 ratings, with over 10 million installs. It is free to download, carries no ads, and offers in-app purchases. That combination is unusual enough in this category to be worth noting before anything else.

What you actually get with a magicApp number

The core of the service is a US number you pick with an area code that is available, paired with unlimited calling to the United States and Canada. Texting works to any 10-digit US number, and the person on the other end does not need the app to receive your messages. For a second line meant to handle ordinary calls and texts, that covers the basics without asking anything of the people you contact.

Around the number itself, the developer lists the features you would expect from a phone service: caller ID, voicemail, call blocking, the ability to block anonymous callers and call forwarding. Caller ID is drawn from your phone's contact list, so an incoming call shows a name you recognize rather than a bare string of digits. Calls between magicJack customers are unlimited worldwide.

The switching between your magicApp number and your regular number is described as quick and easy, which matters more than it sounds. A second line is only useful if placing a call on it does not feel like a chore, and the design intent here is clearly to make the two numbers feel interchangeable on one device.

Calling over Wi-Fi when you are abroad

The travel angle is the strongest part of the offer. Because calls can go over Wi-Fi, someone outside the US can place calls without running up roaming charges, provided they have a Wi-Fi connection to work with. If your reason for wanting a US number is staying reachable on American numbers while overseas, this is the feature that does the heavy lifting.

For existing magicJack device customers there is a second path. You sign in with the email and password linked to your magicJack account, and when someone dials your magicJack number, your phone rings alongside the home device, so stepping out does not mean losing the call. Those customers can also text any US mobile number through the app, and the recipients do not need to install anything.

International calling beyond the included destinations runs on credits you buy separately, which the developer presents as a way to get lower rates on those calls. Treat that as a separate budget line rather than part of the flat service, and check current rates before relying on it for regular overseas dialing.

The limits written into the fine print

Unlimited is not quite unlimited in the ordinary sense. The developer ties unlimited calling and texting to normal, non-excessive use and says a combination of factors decides where that line falls, including how your usage compares with the average magicJack user, how many different numbers you call, calls forwarded, minutes used and texts sent or received. Someone running a small business line through the app could plausibly bump into that ceiling in a way a household user never would.

There are also specific exclusions. Calls to Alaska and to the Yukon and Northwest Territories are not part of unlimited calling, nor are calls to non-8YY calling cards, conference platforms or chat lines, which carry additional fees. There is no international texting, and some US mobile numbers may not receive texts. If texting abroad or reaching a conference bridge is central to how you work, those gaps matter.

On the device side, the app needs Android 5.0 or higher. The download is free, there are no ads, and in-app purchases exist.

A second line for freelancers, expats and magicJack households

The people I would expect to get the most from this are those who need a US number that is not their main one. Freelancers and small business owners who want a line they can publish, mute or forward without exposing their personal number fit the design well. So do Americans living or working abroad who want to keep taking calls on a US number over Wi-Fi.

Existing magicJack device owners are the other obvious group, since the app extends a service they already pay for onto the phone in their pocket, with simultaneous ringing and texting to US mobiles as the practical benefits. Anyone whose calling is mostly domestic and who is happy with a single number has less reason to bother, since the value here comes from having two lines rather than one better one.

The service is not aimed at people who need heavy international texting or who make a very high volume of calls, because the terms around excessive use and the exclusions in the fine print are written for ordinary household patterns. Read those terms before committing if your usage is anything but typical.

What to weigh before you sign up

The case for magicApp rests on three things: a US number you can choose by area code, unlimited calling to the US and Canada, and Wi-Fi calling that sidesteps roaming charges abroad. Add the absence of ads and the free calling between magicJack customers, and it is a tidy package for the price of a download plus whatever the number costs per month.

The case against is mostly about scope. International texting is out, some US texts may not arrive, Alaska and northern Canada are excluded from unlimited calling, and the unlimited label comes with a fair-use clause the developer defines broadly. None of that is unusual for this category, but each item is worth checking against your own habits rather than assuming the headline covers it.

The 4.2 average across a large body of ratings suggests the app generally does what it promises for the people who use it as intended.

A second number worth carrying for the right user

I would suggest magicApp to anyone who needs a US number separate from their main line and does not want to juggle a second device or swap SIM cards. The combination of unlimited US and Canada calling, texting to US numbers, caller ID, voicemail, blocking and forwarding covers the everyday work of a phone line, and the Wi-Fi calling makes it genuinely useful for people outside the country.

Existing magicJack customers should look at it almost as an extension of what they already have, given the simultaneous ringing and the ability to text US mobiles from the app. For everyone else, the deciding question is whether a second line is worth a monthly fee and the fine print that comes with it. If the answer is yes, this is a well-established option with a long track record; if you mainly need one number that works, your current line already does that.

What's new in version 5.3.19-9f6d56e

Bug fixes and Stability improvements