Sporadic Sound Loss -- my side calling others

Posts: 34

Greetings all -- newbie subscriber here and been messing around with ongoing problem on calls.

My Problem: Periodically, the people I'm talking to do not hear my side of the phone conversation, but I can always hear them. It's as if I have muted my phone. It resolves itself but usually lasts for about 15 seconds.

My Setup:
Internet --> Cable Modem --> Motorola ATA --> Linksys WRT54GS Router --> PCs

Steps Taken towards Resolution:
a) Changed call quality to High (90) on Vonage web site.
b) Moved physical location of WRT54GS and Motorola ATA to as far apart as my ethernet cable linking them allows (6 feet) to reduce interference from WiFi signal.
c) Upgraded Firmware on Linksys WRT54GS to latest version (11/04).
d) Disabled Norton Internet Security (Firewall 'feature' blocking ports and that had to go.
e) Tested Cable Connection speed -- Upload averages 235 kbps, download 1680 kbps. (Comcast)
f) TestYourVoIP -- results summarized as follows (low MOS 1.0 to and 2.8 from , high MOS 4.3 to and 4.4 from).
*Total Test Runs 11
*Median MOS to All Test Points 4.2
*Median MOS from All Test Points 3.9

Steps not yet Taken (but read about on this site and others):
a) Change Motorola ATA to another device (Linksys seems well received)
b) Change architecture so that Cable --> Linksys Router --> Motorola ATA and enable QoS on router to manage bandwidth (not real clear on advantage of this approach).

I'd welcome your thoughts / suggestions on other possible corrections or recommendations on next steps to troubleshoot?

Much obliged,
chrisp

Posts: 227 · Vonage Forum Master Joined: Dec 10, 2004 Posts: 227

chrisp wrote:

Steps Taken towards Resolution:
d) Disabled Norton Internet Security (Firewall 'feature' blocking ports and that had to go.

Chrisp,
Unless you are making calls directly through your PC, you Norton Internet Security would not affect your Vonage. I would not recommend you remove your personal firewall on your pc. Just my .02 cents.

Posts: 227 · Vonage Forum Master Joined: Dec 10, 2004 Posts: 227

Chrisp,
Sorry for the second post but I hit submit before finishing my thought (and answering your request for help). While I have a PAP2 and don't have your setup to try any troubleshooting, does this happen multiple times in a phone conversation or just once per call? Does it only last for about 15 seconds? I have had this happen a couple of times but my conversation ended but did "reconnect" after 10-15 secs. This usually happened when I (without thinking) was intensely utilizing my BB connection while talking on the phone. As soon as I realized what was going on, I stopped my activity and the conversation "resumed."
If this is not the case with you, hopefully someone else with experience with this issue will reply. If not, send an email to dslreports@vonage.com and layout your issue for them. This email address seems to receive priority and they respond rather quickly.

Posts: 15 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Feb 21, 2004 Posts: 15

Hi - I have been having the exact same problem. It is intermittant and very hard to figure out when it's occurring. I have several machines on my home network with up to 5 running at once, but not all accessing the net at the same time. Also I have a different router - I have the Linksys RT with the Vonage phone package - and this also has Voice QoS.

I have not been able to fix the issue yet - here are the steps I've taken so far:

At first I thought it was my wireless connection. I disabled my Linksys WAP54 for two weeks. The problem still occurred.

I then thought that perhaps it was due to my 5.8Ghz phone. So, I stopped using it and got a good old AT&T wired phone. I STILL have the problem.

I would have thought that the Voice QoS that the Linksys router provides would solve the problem but no luck. I had it set to auto, 256, 80, 40, etc. I still have a problem.

I then ran packet checks for line loss etc from Broadbandreports.com. I didn't see anything that would lead me to believe that I was having a problem. I'm 4000 down / 384 up with Earthlink Cable so my speeds are right on the money. Maybe one error in the packet loss test, but since I'm not a networking guru maybe that's where the error lies. Not sure.

An email to Vonage tech support got me back a notice that "Your technical problem may have been due to recent system issues" (vague, a little) and a bunch of generic links to several FAQ pages. Not exactly stellar support.

If you resolve this issue PLEASE POST. I'll do the same. If I can't resolve this satisfactorily I'm dropping the service. It's unacceptable to lose outbound audio, especially when I'm trying to talk to clients or tech support or world leaders, etc. Mad

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 27, 2004 Posts: 7

just reading the forums and well i have posted this elsewhere in here but will post again..
since I use comcast also..
heres what i did...

I had the exact same problems and they got worse..
echo then cutouts and they got progressively worse..
I then read and read and read...
and then I used a friends new.. linksys wcg200 cablemodem/router/wirelessgateway..
to my rpt31p2 (they even stacked well on top of each other)
also i put new connections on my cable..
well he has Vonage too and it sounded perfect when he hooked up his wcg200 so all i can guess was that it was my old toshiba pcx1100u cable modem..
well since his worked i bought one and it worked perfect..
but you must make sure the cable operators properly register the modem as it has two mac addresses one for the cable modem part and one for the router part (you only need the modem part)
thats my two cents been good for a few weeks now..

if you have a friend with a cable modem borrow his!! try your Vonage on his ..i have read all over and found that a lot of cablem modems give Vonage headaches on comcast...this one seemed to work for me..its fairly new so i think i am the first to make comments about it..

Posts: 15 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Feb 21, 2004 Posts: 15

Thanks for bringing up the whole modem issue, dodo39. I think you hit the nail on the head. I DO have the Toshiba PCX1000 and it is apparently an ancient piece of junk worthy of door stop status. Following your lead, I did some research and it yielded some very interesting results:

The Toshiba PCX1000 has a major problem with packet loss - look here:
http://www.cablemodemhelp.com/pcx1000.htm

Later models allow you to access the modem using an IP to check signal strength etc, but the PCX1000 doesn't. As a workaround I found this:
http://www.broadbandreports.com/faq/2815

Here's a link on these forums discussing packet loss and modems:
http://www.vonage-forum.com/ftopic1132-20.html

I'm going to try to a) wrangle a new modem out of Earthlink (Time Warner NYC) and then when they tell me that I can go to hell I'll b) get one from NewEgg or something. It's a great reason to buy new hardware. Very Happy

If I get this resolved with a new modem I'll post after a few weeks of testing. It seems to me that after checking my cordless phone, wireless router, speed testing on BroadBandReports.com, swapping out my switch/hub, and generally going OUT OF MY MIND that it's a modem problem is the next logical performance issue.

cheers,

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 27, 2004 Posts: 7

just a fyi I went to bb and got the new unit I thought what the heck thirty day return policy...
also it seems every cable modem I reviewed had issues..
motorola's and toshibas and others it all depends in the end on which works best for you "and you local isp provider"
the only way you can be sure is by a bit of trial and error but I definately know my toshiba was a piece of junk...
hope it works out well for you would be interested in the outcome Smile

mines working so well the wife even forgives Vonage for there ummm long waiting times lol...
And the fact that she was going to strangle me for trying this computer telephone stuff!!

Posts: 34 · Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 10:29 am Post subject:

Thanks all for your replies!

STILL having the issue, and I've been on tech support with both Vonage and Comcast.

Pulled a 'Homer Simpson' and originally downloaded only the freeware version of Ping Plotter; replaced that with the shareware version and running a history now... what I'm seeing is a spike about every minute where my packet loss runs anywhere from 10 % to 70%. I'm no Network Professional, but even to me that appears to be my issue. =)

So, moving ahead with the packet loss culprit, my Toshiba PCX1100 suddenly looks very guilty indeed.

Dodo39 seems to have corrected this with the Linksys WCG200, which I wish I would have seen 6 months ago before I bought the WRT54GS. For a basic wired cable modem, any one else have success by eliminating the Toshiba PCX1100?

Here's a link from Comcast on supported modems - http://www.comcast.com/Support/Corp1/FAQ/FaqDetail_2427.html

Anyone have any luck with a non-wireless modem? Considering Motorola SB5100 after a few reviews.

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Jan 02, 2005 Posts: 3

I have the same problem.

My Setup:
Internet --> Cable Modem Toshiba PCX2000 --> Linksys RT31P2 --> Computer (iMac)

It took me three weeks to get dial tone, because my ISP block some ports. They charge me $10 a month to open those ports getting static IP address Rolling Eyes

Now when I call I can hear just fine, but most convesations go like this: Hello...Hellow...HELLO..."click"

I e-mail them with the information and my Setup. they ask me to run some test with some Windows software. i wonder if they read all my e-mail, because I told them I'm using an iMac OS X 10.3.7 Confused

Posts: 227 · Vonage Forum Master Joined: Dec 10, 2004 Posts: 227

chrisp wrote:

Thanks all for your replies!

STILL having the issue, and I've been on tech support with both Vonage and Comcast.

Pulled a 'Homer Simpson' and originally downloaded only the freeware version of Ping Plotter; replaced that with the shareware version and running a history now... what I'm seeing is a spike about every minute where my packet loss runs anywhere from 10 % to 70%. I'm no Network Professional, but even to me that appears to be my issue. =)

So, moving ahead with the packet loss culprit, my Toshiba PCX1100 suddenly looks very guilty indeed.

Dodo39 seems to have corrected this with the Linksys WCG200, which I wish I would have seen 6 months ago before I bought the WRT54GS. For a basic wired cable modem, any one else have success by eliminating the Toshiba PCX1100?

Here's a link from Comcast on supported modems - http://www.comcast.com/Support/Corp1/FAQ/FaqDetail_2427.html

Anyone have any luck with a non-wireless modem? Considering Motorola SB5100 after a few reviews.

I know this probably isn't helpful, but I'm in the N.East using Comcast, Vonage, and the Toshiba PCX1100u cable modem without issues. Did Comcast in your area make any recent changes (if they'll even tell you)? Could still very well be your modem.