16 Jul 2009

How to Improve VoIP Call Quality

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choppycallIf you're starting a home or small office, chances are you might be considering using a VoIP service rather than getting another analog phone line. One main drawback in making VoIP calls compared with regular landline is the quality of the connection. VoIP call quality and reliability depends on a number of factors.

We sometimes get calls from our VoIP users asking for tips to improve their call quality. There are cases where connection and quality issues are beyond the users’ control, but on other cases, the call quality can be improved by going through the following checklist.

Here are some factors that affect VoIP quality and what you need to do about it:

1. Echo – It happens when you hear your own voice after you speak on the microphone. Echoes are caused by two phenomena. The first is an electrical echo, which the end user has no control over. The other one is an acoustic echo due to microphone pickup of audio output. To minimize acoustic echo, use a headset with microphone instead of using the built-in mic of your laptop or a standalone mic.

2. Latency - Also known as lag, latency occurs between the moment a voice packet is transmitted and the moment it reaches its destination. Check your latency by performing a “Ping” command under CMD. Go to Start -> Run -> Type “CMD” without quotes and then type Ping voip.onesuite.com. In the VoIP world, the advisable latency is 200ms or below. The higher the latency, the more the voice quality suffers. A high latency also leads to echoes. If your latency is much higher then ask your ISP to check the cause of high latency.

3. Bandwidth - Make sure you have enough bandwidth (At least 512kbps download speed and 128 kbps upload speed for OneSuite VoIP) to make a decent VoIP call. If you don't have enough bandwidth, then choppy calls, delays and break-ups can be expected. Perform a speed test to check Internet connection.

4. Applications - Programs that consume bandwidth (like virus definition updates) will also affect your VoIP calls. Don't download, update or browse video or picture sites because these will take away bandwidth from your calls.

5. RAM - Sometimes old PCs just don't have enough RAM (computer memory) to run a softphone to have a decent VoIP conversation, especially if multiple applications are running at the same time. Close unnecessary applications and upgrade your RAM if possible. These days, it is recommended to have at least 1GB of RAM in your computer.

28 comments

  • Comment Link odszkodowaniezawypadek Wednesday, 31 July 2013 04:13 posted by odszkodowaniezawypadek

    It's really a great and helpful piece of info. I'm happy that you just shared this useful information with
    us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.

  • Comment Link Stella, Penny Saver Wednesday, 19 June 2013 11:00 posted by Stella, Penny Saver

    Hi bhanu, Please contact your Internet provider for the bandwidth problem you are having. Thank you!

  • Comment Link bhanu Wednesday, 19 June 2013 10:45 posted by bhanu

    Hai i m facing low bandwidth and hard to hear can any one solve the problem

  • Comment Link Michael, Tech Guy Monday, 04 June 2012 04:31 posted by Michael, Tech Guy

    Hi Irfan,

    You might want to contact your Internet provider and see if they have plans for higher speed Internet.

    Also, check your firewall settings and see if there's anything affecting your VoIP call quality.

    Thanks!

  • Comment Link Irfan Ali Wednesday, 30 May 2012 20:00 posted by Irfan Ali

    How can i increase bandwidth in my laptop which has windows XP Home edition. Everythign with me works fine except VOIP calls, i hear the other end well but they cant hear me or with breaks at the times and i beleive its because of the bandwidth. Thanks

  • Comment Link Michael, Tech Guy Monday, 14 May 2012 09:54 posted by Michael, Tech Guy

    Hi Wayne,

    Glad we could be your help!

    A lot of times call lag is a result of individual network. Besides increasing your Internet speed, you might also consider double check your network/firewall settings and run serveral tests to see if the situation is improved.

    Thanks!

  • Comment Link Wayne Friday, 11 May 2012 00:13 posted by Wayne

    This has been the most informative information i've found on the subject of voip call quality ... i will try to use these suggestions to improve my voip communiation immediately.

    In regard to this subject i currently using brighthouse network dsl service with speed approximating 3.0 mps. Does anyone think that increasing that speed would do more to reduce call lag.

  • Comment Link Michael, Tech Guy Wednesday, 25 May 2011 02:02 posted by Michael, Tech Guy

    @ Slow Computer

    Thanks for the tip.

    Michael

  • Comment Link slow computer Tuesday, 24 May 2011 16:44 posted by slow computer

    The primary solution to these issues is system optimization.
    Unfortunately, Windows built-in tools are not efficient enough to fully optimize computer's performance. Therefore computer experts recommend installing specialized software to scan the system and fix all issues.

  • Comment Link Michael, tech guy Sunday, 10 October 2010 23:17 posted by Michael, tech guy

    @Valer

    I've tried SoliCall but can't seem to notice any difference. I must tell you though that I got a fast internet and pretty good PC. Maybe it will help those people using slower internet and old computers.

  • Comment Link Valer Thursday, 30 September 2010 07:28 posted by Valer

    Michael, in addition to trying different softphones, you can also use software products to monitor and improve call quality. Take a look at SoliCall's products. Some of them are free for private users and can help you improve audio quality.

  • Comment Link Michael, tech guy Wednesday, 04 August 2010 22:36 posted by Michael, tech guy

    @Matthew Elvey

    You can try other free softphones like Zoiper, SJphone or X-lite, all three free softphones have Mac version. Check out the links below on how to download and set up your Onesuite account on these softphones.

    http://blog.onesuite.com/?p=409
    http://blog.onesuite.com/?p=431
    http://blog.onesuite.com/?p=389

    If you want to test the quality of Onesuite VoIP calls without spending a dime then please call our Toll Free support number 1-866-4178483 and your call will be free. Or you can always call any number in the US and the charge is only 2.5c per minute, you can try it for 2 minutes and only get charge 5c.

    Regards,

    Zaldy

  • Comment Link Matthew Elvey Saturday, 31 July 2010 02:27 posted by Matthew Elvey

    Glad to see this blog. I have been a customer since before onesuite first announced VoIP (with one, Windows-only VoIP client supported) and I tried to get things working on a Mac, with no success. Is there a way to try out the service without paying for a month first? I'd like to see what quality I can get, as I'm behind 2 firewalls and on Wi-Fi.

    A test account that only allowed calls to a test phone # would do the trick. (Or allow only 1-minute calls, or whatever...)

    BTW, you don't mention that a hard line provides better VoIP quality than Wi-Fi, especially if the wireless connection is not over a short distance.

  • Comment Link Michael, tech guy Friday, 09 October 2009 21:25 posted by Michael, tech guy

    @Lucien

    Hi Lucien,

    When making calls through VoIP, you need to allocate your internet connection to your call and this can be done through QOS or Quality Of Service. Depending on your internet bandwidth, some computers if not all will suffer slow connection when having VOIP calls. This is actually better than having your VoIP call suffer.

    Hope this helps.

    Michael

  • Comment Link Lucien Wednesday, 07 October 2009 01:51 posted by Lucien

    When I am calling with the VOIP phone, other computers using thesame internet connection suffer of no connectin. how can i avoid calls to affect browsing on other computers?

  • Comment Link Michael, tech guy Monday, 05 October 2009 15:47 posted by Michael, tech guy

    @yoyo

    Hi again Yoyo,

    The four alternative softphones (http://blog.onesuite.com/?p=431" rel="nofollow">Zoiper, http://blog.onesuite.com/?p=409" rel="nofollow">SJphone, http://blog.onesuite.com/?p=389" rel="nofollow">X-Lite, http://blog.onesuite.com/?p=418" rel="nofollow">Pangolin) all work with Windows XP and Windows vista. I have all of them installed on my work PC running on XP and also on my own laptop with Vista. All are also available in Linux and Mac except for Pangolin which is available only in Windows (2000, XP, Vista, 7)

    Regarding your caller id question, Onesuite made changes this year and your actual phone number will show up on the destination number unless you make a request to block your number from showing up.

    We do have the last number redial feature. You can place another call without hanging up and redial the access number. To do so, please wait until the previous call is terminated, wait for 5 to 10 seconds, you will hear a prompt asking you for the destination number you wish to reach. To redial the last number just enter "99#".

    We will forward your comments about increasing online phone book capacity to our poduct and management team.

    Buying stocks from Onesuite isn't possible at the moment but we will keep everyone updated in our website if there will be a possiblity of any initial public offering.

    Regards,

    Michael

  • Comment Link yoyo Saturday, 03 October 2009 03:21 posted by yoyo

    But since you are here, some suggestions for onesuite.

    * Sending faxes, an option I suggested long time, is a bit expensive for me since I rarely send a fax.

    * Why does my number show as 000000001 when I call someone? Can't you route my phone number OR my onesuite number through? The 00000001 looks so shady, many people wouldn't even pick up if they didn't knew it was me.

    * 60 stored phone numbers for calling? Not much. Why not make it 200 or at least 99 if you want to keep it down to two digits.

    * The most annoying thing that you don't have (AFAIK): Recall the last number. Especially when you call abroad and have the number not stored at onesuite then you have to type it in again. Why not be able to type 00 for "redial last number"?

    * Is it possible to buy stocks from onesuite? ;-)

    Yoyo

  • Comment Link yoyo Saturday, 03 October 2009 03:10 posted by yoyo

    Hi Michael,

    I have not tried the other phones but I got ekiga under Linux to work with onesuite. Still, your provided software does not work unter windows. Not that it matters to me but you should be aware of this.

    Yoyo

  • Comment Link Michael, tech guy Friday, 04 September 2009 19:33 posted by Michael, tech guy

    @Yoyo: Thank you for your feedback. Can you please elaborate the problem you are having with OneSuite softphone? Also did you try using other free softphones like the newer version of SJphone that you can find here -> http://blog.onesuite.com/?p=409 or X-lite -> http://blog.onesuite.com/?p=389

    Give me an update maybe I can help.

    @Blaine: Hey glad to see you here. Distance can affect call quality as your voice packets travel (hops) to different routers across the internet. The more hops the voice packets travel, the more chance your latency goes up, which is bad for VoIP quality. Check the enumerated factors above and see if you can improve your VoIP call quality.

  • Comment Link Blaine Bullman Thursday, 03 September 2009 17:22 posted by Blaine Bullman

    Thanks for the tips. Sometimes my VOIP calls are just terrible and I was looking to find some way to improve the quality.Would distance affect call quality?

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