Extremely loud white noise

Posts: 25 · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:14 pm Post subject: Extremely loud white noise

I have been experiencing extremely loud white noise when making call. Granted this could be my wireless 5.4ghz phones but it used to not be that loud. Any ideas?

Posts: 3198 · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 4:11 pm Post subject:

some people have had success isolating wiring to fix that type of problem.

Posts: 25 · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 4:42 pm Post subject:

I thought this is a known problem with the Linksys WRT54GP2

Firmware Version 1.30.01
Voice Version 3.1.6

Any ideas? I can definitely trace the wiring but I am not convinced that is the problem

Posts: 3198 · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 5:08 pm Post subject:

there were a ton of posts on it a while ago, particularly the rt31p2 since it was the more popular of the two. search for white noise and you'll find them. if you want to save time, the answers are too close/faulty wiring or replace the unit. I've never heard of one develop the issue though, they were all that way out of the box.
I'm sure someone will chime in with "the rtp300/wrtp54g are so quiet you can hear a pin drop, get one today!!!"

Posts: 25 · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 12:28 pm Post subject:

I just had Vonage tech support move the jack to port 2 and reduce the input/output gain on the device which did not solve the problem. The tech insists that maybe my wiring is the problem. I am not 100% sure about that but obviously I am going to investigate when I have the time. I do have an old Motorola ATA that I could put back in the picture but then I have a routing problem being I have a server connected to my router that I access from outside of my house. Any ideas?

Posts: 233 · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 2:13 pm Post subject:

Have you taken a plain $20 phone (non-wireless) and plugged it directly into the adapter? Even better a good old fashioned AT&T 2500 phone? That will isolate the 5.8 gHz system for you. If you still have the noice then you have an adapter issue.

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 2:45 pm Post subject:

Hmm. Posts complaining of new sounds in previously-working connections.

Winter coming on, so people will start using new devices like electric heaters, etc.

Coincidence?

Wink

Seriously, I'm not trying to make fun of anyone - just making a point.

The first step in isolating a noise is to get yourself a $5 wired phone, like one of the old AT&T Trimlines, and use a short, decent quality phone cable to plug that directly into your Vonage Voip adapter.

If you keep having noise, then it's most likely the adapter. Noise isn't likely to creep in from the IP side - that would be a dropped connection. Noise is hard to sneak into the digital side. It COULD be a strong interference generator near your Voip adapter, but moving the adapter 5-6 feet in various directions should isolate that out fast.

If the noise stops, then you have a fault in your wiring or your site gear. Your telco wires are too close to an EMI (electromagnetic interference) generator. Excellent sources of EMI are electric motors, electric heaters, and electric thingamajiggies in general. EMI *LOVES* unshielded cable, and guess what phone cable is? Wink

The other possibility is EMI interfering with a cordless phone signal. This is even easier to have than EMI on phone wiring, especially with analog phones.

And remember, if it wasn't there before and it is now, then something has changed. If you are using something now that you didn't last week, then turn it off and see if the problem goes away.

If, at the end of it, the noise still happens when using a simple phone connected directly to a Voip adapter that is a good distance from any EMI sources, then you probably have a defective adapter. But doing this first can also save a lot of time having Vonage run you through these steps and waiting on hold calling back after each one. Wink

Posts: 25 · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:19 pm Post subject:

I have actually done all that. I have even been on the phone with Vonage tech in the past to address the issue with no resolution. I do believe it is a defective adapter being my wireless connection drops to the point I need to reboot the router to get it to sync with my wireless card. I have had nothing but problems with this adapter. This problem isn't new I just gave up trying to resolve it and decided to give it another try. I am going to check some of my wiring to see if that will solve the issue but I am not sure it will.

Thanks,

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:51 pm Post subject:

mjmellin wrote:

I have actually done all that. I have even been on the phone with Vonage tech in the past to address the issue with no resolution. I do believe it is a defective adapter being my wireless connection drops to the point I need to reboot the router to get it to sync with my wireless card. I have had nothing but problems with this adapter. This problem isn't new I just gave up trying to resolve it and decided to give it another try. I am going to check some of my wiring to see if that will solve the issue but I am not sure it will.

Thanks,

OK, apologies for repeating the obvious then. Wink

If you've plugged a "dumb" phone straight into the adapter and you're still getting noise, then it's the adapter or your connection.

Have you tried www.testmyvoip.com to see about your connection quality? Apologies if you've already been there, too.

Obviously, since Vonage pushes firmware, you should be at the latest release. Just to be on the safe side, though, you might want to check your firmware levels against what the tech says you should have.

Also, in the connectivity arena, do you know a friend with broadband from a different provider than yours? If you can plug your unit into their internet connection and test it there, and you still get white noise, then you have a 100%, rock solid case for replacement, at least in my opinion as a guy who doesn't have to actually provide said replacement. Wink