Calls cutting out

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Jan 06, 2007 Posts: 7

Detailed Results: testyourvoip.com #2
MOS Analysis FROM Boston To You
Media Quality:
MOS: 4.4 / 5.0 (Best with G.711 is 4.4)
Degradation Sources:
Codec: 0.57 96.8%
Latency: 0.00 0.0%
Packet Discards: 0.02 3.2%
Packet Loss: 0.00 0.0%
Codec G.711 (PCM at 64kbps,20ms RTP payload,80kbps IP BW)
Round-Trip Latency: 117 ms
Packet Discards: 0.1%
Packet Loss: 0.0%
Loss Periods:
Min: 20 ms
Avg: 20 ms
Max: 20 ms
Random Loss
Jitter:
Min: 0 ms
Avg: 0 ms
Max: 20 ms
Signaling Quality
Post-Pickup Delay: 104 ms
Call Setup Time: 99 ms
Media Delay: 137 ms

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Jan 06, 2007 Posts: 7

Detailed Results: Vonage Voip Speed Test

Speed test statistics
---------------------
Download speed: 5069120 bps
Upload speed: 368400 bps
Quality of service: 71 %
Download test type: socket
Upload test type: socket
Maximum download pause: 56 ms
Average download pause: 4 ms
Minimum round trip time to server: 39 ms
Average round trip time to server: 99 ms

Voip test statistics
--------------------
Jitter: you --> server: 7.9 ms
Jitter: server --> you: 8.5 ms
Packet loss: you --> server: 0.0 %
Packet loss: server --> you: 0.0 %
Packet discards: 0.0 %
Packets out of order: 0.0 %
Number of supported Voip lines: 6
Estimated MOS score: 3.9

Posts: 208 · Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:19 am Post subject:

if calls are going in and out, it sounds like it's an outbound only problem, right? so you're not hearing anything bad when they speak? do you have a computer on the network? turn it off and retest. does it still exist?

if so turn the pc back on and run a ping test over a long period of time or download pingplotter, check your quality of your internet connection. hear a break in the audio conversation? run to the pc and check and see if something's up with the internet...

Vonage will only be as good as your isp. i'm on comcast too, and again, if comcast has lousy service one day, then so will my phone

and if the problem goes away when the pc is off, there's probably a program running on the pc that's uploading/downloading stuff. if you have kids, it's a good chance they're using a program to download or even upload music, and i know some computer games like world of warcraft have a peer-to-peer file transfer downloader that also interferes with audio because it is an upload

basically to sum it up, your voice speaking is more or less just an uploaded file, and stuff you hear is a download. exceed the maximum bandwidth your ISP gives you, and you're going to get choppy audio

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Jan 09, 2007 Posts: 1

I had lots of problems with calls cutting out on both of my Vonage lines. I also had issues with outgoing faxes that would not connect and send properly. After months of frustration and trying everything you can imagine, including multiple calls to Vonage tech support, calls to my ISP tech support, QoS configuration, etc. I finally just bought a new phone adapter device to replace my old Vonage router/adapter. I purchased and installed the PAP2 phone adapter and ALL of my problems went away instantly. I have not had one problem now in over two months. The PAP2 is very simple and now I don't have to deal with configuring multiple routers on my home network.

mp6365 wrote:

Everyone I talk to complains that my calls keep cutting in and out. I have ripped apart my home network thinking that it was an interference issue. Im now down to my Vonage router (RTP300) my cable modem (Comcast) and a corded phone with no change. Ive adjusted the bandwith saver setting to its minimum setting and now Im out of ideas. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Posts: 9 · New Forum Member Joined: Oct 17, 2005 Posts: 9

I had the tried everything, port forwarding, MTU timing, Qos, etc. Nothing worked. If you have an extremely busy home network or several computers and use a P2P or online gaming this is what worked for me.

This is an Email I sent to Vonage customer svc to advise them of the fix I found.

http://www.amazon.com/Hawking-Technology-HBB1-Broadband-Booster/dp/B0009PLO0Q/sr=8-1/qid=1168037647/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-6694753-6421248?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

I like a lot of folks have been working with bad quality issues for a while with my router. I talked with a couple of folks at work that were also having issues and this item listed above seems to have solved all of our quality issues. No more messing with Qos, port forwarding and MTU settings. This thing is litterally plug and play.

On my network I have 360kbps of uplink speed but with multiple computers, online gaming and P2P programs the choppy audio was present especially with P2P such as Bittorrent, Azerus. This little $70 gadget works. As a stockholder in your company I would highly recommend that you list this for anyone having audio problems with outgoing voice.

The above item solved all of my audio quality items and seems to have also worked for my friends at work having issues with both Vonage and Skype.

Here is some of the comments concerning Voip and this broadband booster on the Amazon reviewer rating.

I've had the HBB1 for about a month now and it did more than just solve my problem! My Voip quality improved significantly even with all 3 computers simultaneously connected to the internet. It may not have "boosted" my uplink speed by 400% as advertised but it did what I needed it to do. It's cool when callers comment how clear we sound, especially for a free Voip service like Skype. I also noticed that my other internet applications run smoother. Set up was fool proof and literally took no more than 5 min to get it up and running. The bright blue LED confirms that the unit is connected correctly and packet management is working. Although no adjustment is necessary right out of the box, the GUI was a nice option to have as it shows your up/down stream speed, modem and router IP addresses and it gives you access to a few other manual adjustments. An average user wouldn't have to mess with it though.

For What its worth

Pete

Posts: 4777 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Aug 30, 2005 Posts: 4777

MP, your packet discards according to the testyourvoip results on the uplink are too high. Plug your computer directly in to the modem and repeat the test. If if stays high, you have and issue to discuss with your ISP.

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Jan 06, 2007 Posts: 7

I am going to try running these tests with my pc direct into my modem next. I dont have a busy network at all. I usually power up my laptop and check email and thats about it. Just to be sure I will shut my laptop down when this problem occurs but it never helps. Thats why I started adjusting the bandwidth saver on Vonage but no change. I am now down to either the router, modem or ISP. I wouldn't doubt if it was an ISP issue. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.