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David Hecht avatar image
David Hecht asked kim commented

Resolving poor call quality issues?

Moved to RingCentral a month ago, using 2 lines on Android phones. Call quality is really bad, reminds me of VoIP in the 90s. Constantly cuts in and out, calls will drop if I don't sit perfectly still. When calls are ok, they are quiet. Seems the same on both wifi and 4G. Before we had Google Voice, which is also a VoIP system I believe, and call quality for that free service was considerably better! Opened a case a week ago and have not heard back. Anyone have suggestions for ways to improve call quality, other than changing companies again? Thanks.
call qualityqos
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mike avatar image
mike answered kim commented
Hi David,  I'm not sure if you need help with this but, this almost always boils down to the quality of the network you are connecting through.

This page is the best place to start troubleshooting.
VoIP QoS Frequently Asked Questions

Also, perform a   Bandwidth  and  QoS  test to determine the current download and upload speed of your Internet connection.
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kim avatar image kim commented ·
(Updated)
Verify Router/Firewall Ports:

On the router/firewall open these ports (to allow the following traffic inbound):

5060-6000 UDP and TCP (These ports allow the phones to register)

8000-8200 UDP only (These ports are used by the Softphones for message synchronization)

16384-65535 UDP only (These ports carry voice traffic - the RTP streams)

8801-8802 TCP only (These ports are for RC Meetings signaling)

Port 80 and 443 TCP only (These ports are used for initial phone provisioning)

Port 123 UDP only (This port allows NTP: date and time updates)

*** Note: It is very important that these ports are opened; otherwise, phones may experience registration, presence and provisioning issues. ***

 For security purposes, if your router is capable of ACLs (Access Control Lists) then you can lock these port ranges down so they only communicate with our server IP ranges as follows:  199.255.120.0/22 and 199.68.212.0/22

Disable SIP ALG on the Router or modem if set.

Disable smart packet detection a.k.a. stateful packet inspection a.k.a. deep packet inspection.

Set QoS on the router/firewall by setting Traffic Prioritization on the following port ranges:

(for traffic to and from 199.255.120.0/22 and 199.68.212.0/22 )

  • Prioritize 5060-6000 for both UDP and TCP
  • Prioritize 8801 and 8802 for TCP
  • Prioritize 16384-65535 on UDP

 

 

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Mike Bruns avatar image Mike Bruns commented ·
Hi Kim,

Question - I've never had to open ports or port-forward VOIP systems (including RingCentral), as virtually all environments have NAT setup that manages ports and the firewall.   As long as the client (phone) reaches out to the internet and initializes the connection, the router will manage the connection.

Are many of your customers having issues where they truly have to open ports or port-forward?  If so, what do their network environments look like?
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kim avatar image kim commented ·
Mike Bruns, 

RingCentral does have specific network configuration requirements that need to be setup prior to an account going "live".  These network requirements are received in Implementations when the account is initially setup. RingCentral's phones communicate through a proxy and registrar server for outbound & inbound signally.  These servers use a port range which is why we ask that our customers follow the above settings.   A phone can have internet but if the router/firewall is not configured to allow RingCentral to communication in/out, you may have registration audio and dropped calls.  QoS issues may be related to jitter and packet loss on the internal network or with your internet provider (ISP).

Kim 
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Larry Mandell avatar image
Larry Mandell answered mike commented
This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Internet latency issues. I have uneven call quality on my desk phone due to a poor internet connection which can't be fixed. If I have the call forwarded immediately to my iphone will I get better call quality, assuming I have a good cell signal?
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mike avatar image mike commented ·
Hi Larry, have you identified the actual problem yet, or is there a reason it can't be fixed as you stated above.  In my post above there are links to a Bandwidth and QoS test that you can run if you need help identifying the problem. 

Mike
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Larry Mandell avatar image Larry Mandell commented ·
Thanks for the quick response Mike.  Ive had AT&T out here 5 times and the primary issue is that I am so far away from the switch and DSL is my only option in my office building.  I have 3M down and .5 up.  On a call, the recipient can hear me clearly, I have problems hearing them.  I also have some latency issues where the delay, which is usually in the 70s can get up into the 4-900 range.  The big issue is that I get a time out error about every 17-19 pings.

 

I am trying to switch to DSL extreme to see if they can make it any better but I dont have much hope.  I dont use my desk phone very often and I would rather use it than my cell phone but

 

Ive been on the phone quite a bit with Ring Central support but it is the internet connection that is the cause.

 

That is the reason for my question.  If I switch the call to immediately go to my cell phone, bypassing the desk phone will I get better reception?

 

From: RingCentral [ mailto:noreply.ringcentral@getsatisfaction.com]

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mike avatar image mike commented ·
Thanks.. that make sense.  If you switch to your cell phone and use the mobile app, there are a couple possibilities.  If your cell phone is using a wifi signal on your local network, you'll likely have the same/poor results.  But if you connect on your phones data plan using the  3g/4g signal you might have some significant improvement. It will just depend on the health of that signal. 

Mike 
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Larry Mandell avatar image Larry Mandell commented ·
If i was using the app to answer calls your response does make sense.  But I am having the calls transferred from the business line directly to my cell phone which should be picking up the 4G signal.

Any other thoughts?
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mike avatar image mike commented ·
If the call is being forwarded to your cell phone, instead of using the mobile app, then everything will depend on the cell phone signal and the call would be off the RC system at that point. 

Mike
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Brandon Miller avatar image
Brandon Miller answered
This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Cisco SPA 525G phones get garbled.. I just set up my new wireless Cisco SPA 525G phones and they seem to have problems where the caller's voice gets garbled. Anyone else have this problem?  It seems to be more incoming calls than outgoing.
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cheryl12 avatar image
cheryl12 answered mike commented
This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Ever since we switched, my phone conversations has a few seconds delay on my end..... There is a delay when I am talking to the other person.  It is only a few seconds but is very disconcerning. How can I correct this?
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mike avatar image mike commented ·
This is generally an internet issue.  Take a look at my top post above and there are lings to a bandwidth and QOS tests.  These are a good place to start.
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Robert Netzly avatar image
Robert Netzly answered
This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Why is the voice quality for calls so bad?. I like Ring Central...but the call quality is super bad. Very frequently it is so bad that people cannot understand what I am saying as it cuts in and out and sounds "robotic". We've checked and it is definitely not our internet connection and it happens in all of our multiple offices with multiple users and their phones. This is a critical issue and should be fixed yesterday. This problem could force us to leave Ring Central for a different provider.
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RingCentral FAQ Account avatar image
RingCentral FAQ Account answered
This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled What are the factors affecting the quality of my VoIP calls?. What is causing my problems with call audio?
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