7 VoIP Troubleshooting Tips for Common Problems
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, which is a computer networking protocol like IP and supports transferring of voice packets to facilitate internet calling.
Businesses deploy VoIP services to ensure efficient
communication systems for internal and external purposes. Implementing a VoIP
phone system requires planning, active management, and monitoring.
Sometimes, you can experience various problems on a regular basis such as, choppy voices, echoes, low-quality audio, etc., due to multiple issues. However, getting the best performance out of your VoIP communication system is not difficult.
In this article, we will see common
problems you might face in your VoIP communication system and how you can try
to troubleshoot them on your own.
7 VoIP
Troubleshooting Tips For Common Problems
1. Bad audio quality
If you don’t have a stable and good
quality internet connection, then you can experience poor sound quality. You
might hear choppy audio due to low bandwidth.
The amount of maximum data sent over a
connection is called bandwidth. So, if you are having issues in your download
bandwidth, then you will not be able to hear the voice of the person on the
other side.
On the other hand, if the second person
cannot hear your voice, that means the upload bandwidth of your internet
connection is low.
Another source of this issue is if your
VoIP provider has used the wrong compression code, also known as a codec.
With proper codec, your VoIP provider
can offer satisfying call quality even on an internet connection with low
bandwidth.
Solutions:
Here are some solutions that you can
follow to troubleshoot this VoIP problem:
1. Test your bandwidth speed. There are many free websites online that you can use to check the speed of your internet.
2. Take a good quality internet connection from a reputable ISP.
3. Reduce network congestion by closing applications that are consuming more data.
4. Prioritize QoS for VoIP – Check router settings to prioritize QoS for VoIP. After that, your router will give more priority to your VoIP phone system as compared to other data.
2. Automatic call drop after X minutes
It is a common issue that might happen in a network with a high number of outbound calls. In this issue, VoIP calls disconnect automatically after X minutes.
Solutions:
Here are some common probable fixes that
you can try:
1. Check the firmware of your phone, whether it is up to date or not.
2. Check the UDP (User Datagram Protocol) timeout (amount of time a UDP connection stays active for a firewall or router). UDP traffic is faster than TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) as it doesn’t involve packet error checks. Hence, it becomes susceptible to firewalls to close the connection unexpectedly.
3. No sound is heard every time you call
If you do not hear any voice every time you call, then we have a solution for you. This issue might occur when the firewall is blocking the RTP (Real Time Transport Protocol) packets. To solve this issue, you check your firewall and look for ports blocking the flow of RTP packets. After identifying the ports, open them to ensure the flow of RTP packets. Connect with your VoIP service provider to get support.
4. Inbound calls going
to your voicemail
Are your incoming calls going to
voicemail without even ringing your phone once? If yes, then you should try
these probable VoIP fixes:
Solutions:
1. Check if your phone is configured with your VoIP
provider.
2. Also, see if your phone is on DND mode or not.
3. Reverify your call forwarding settings.
5. One VoIP phone is working, and other is not
If one of your VoIP phones is working and the other is not, then the chances are that the devices’ MAC address is not registered on your network, or there are some firmware issues with your device. In some cases, there might be issues with your VoIP phone as well.
Solutions:
1. Test your VoIP phones with a common network location and port. If one VoIP phone works and other does not, then there are issues with your VoIP phone, and you need to replace it.
2. If both VoIP phones work successfully, then there might be an issue of Ethernet drop. For that, you can connect with your VoIP service provider and see if there are any firmware updates.
3. If there are no firmware updates and the issue persists, then there are issues with your VoIP phone.
6. Echo
If you hear echoes during the VoIP
calls, then there are three probable causes – acoustic, electromagnetic
interference, and faulty equipment.
When the volume of your earpiece volume
is too loud, and it overpowers the mouthpiece, it causes an acoustic
echo.
Electromagnetic interference occurs when
you keep your VoIP equipment very close to each other. Furthermore, bad VoIP
hardware creates a bounce back from impedance variations.
Solutions:
1. Try a corded VoIP phone, instead of cordless VoIP phone.
2. Check your wiring cables – they should be dry and short.
3. Keep your router away from the desktop.
4. Replace old VoIP equipment with new quality hardware.
5. Turn down the volume of your speakers and see if it helps in reducing the echo.
7. Conversation Gaps
In VoIP, the jitter buffer is a shared
data area where voice packets are stored before transferring to the voice
processor. Jitter buffer transfers voice packets to the voice processor at
regular intervals of time.
Variations in arrival time of voice
packets is called jitter, and because of this, you hear conversation
gaps.
The purpose of the jitter buffer is to
delay the incoming of voice packets intentionally so that users hear a clear
voice with a stable connection.
Jitter can occur due to network
congestion or if your jitter buffer is not configured correctly.
There are two types of Jitter buffer.
1. Static jitter buffer – It is a hardware-based jitter that is configured by the manufacturer only.
2. Dynamic jitter buffer– It is a software-based jitter that can be reconfigured by your network administrator to adapt to the networks’ delay.
Final Thoughts
This article will help you in
troubleshooting some of the most common VoIP issues from a poor audio quality,
choppy voice, and conversation gaps.
Being able to troubleshoot VoIP phone system
problems means you can resolve VoIP problems quickly. However, some issues
require more technical expertise, and it is better to ask for support from your
VoIP provider.
Hence, you need to choose a VoIP
provider that offers 24×7 support so that your business experiences minimum
downtime.