Breaking up is hard to do
January 5, 2016 2:12 PM   Subscribe

My phone service is VOIP through Comcast/Xfinity and, for the most part, I'm satisfied with it. But I keep having a recurring and troubling problem with the other person breaking up after about one hour; usually more than an hour, sometimes a little less. Can anything be done?

Ordinarily, I would treat the interference as a none-too-subtle indication that I've been on the phone too long, but I work from home and I often conduct lengthy phone interviews in which I really need to be able to pick up every word and nuance.

The modem/router I'm using is leased from Comcast, and my phone is a Panasonic cordless DECT6.0. While I'm on these long calls, I'm not using my computer (which is connected to the modem via ethernet), nor any wireless devices. Sometimes Mr. DrGail is using his laptop, but I haven't noticed that making any difference. Even when the other person is breaking up badly, they report being able to hear me just fine. In case it matters, I am usually the one who initiates these calls.

Can anyone tell me why this is happening and, more important, what I can do about it? A call to Comcast yielded a reset of my modem which (unsurprisingly) didn't improve matters. I'm willing to invest in a new modem/router or a new phone system, if that's what it would take.
posted by DrGail to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)
 
Unfortunately, it's hard to say what the issue is with the information provided. Usually when we see voice problems like this (I work for a VoIP provider), we run tests on the circuit, grab calls from our voice servers, and sometimes end up having to add equipment to the customer site for testing.

(I'm not sure what your comfort level is with respect to VoIP, so forgive me if I go into too much detail...)

But in general, it sounds like an issue with either QoS (so, the Comcast router isn't prioritizing voice traffic correctly), or packet loss (traffic being dropped somewhere between your router and Comcast's voice servers). You may be able to identify packet loss by running a traceroute and/or ping when you experience the issue (I would run it to Google, initially, and if there's no loss, try to find the endpoint for your voice service and run it to that)--then you can go to Comcast and point out the issue.

For QoS, I suspect you're at the mercy of Comcast... I know for business installs they used to (and may still) put in Edgemarcs, which are pretty good at managing QoS, but I don't have any experience with the Cisco routers I've seen around, and I suspect they'll be reluctant to allow you to use your own SIP-enabled router.

Another phone system would allow you to more easily track down issues like this, assuming the provider doesn't simply say it's the ISP's fault to avoid blame... Depending on your location, I may can provide recommendations for service. (We provide service almost exclusively to businesses in GA, but I know of good providers in other parts of the south east.)

Hopefully this helps! If not, or if you need more information, I can go into more depth, or provide some relevant links (I'm on my phone right now, otherwise I would go ahead and include them).
posted by kethonna at 3:34 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]


Since you are leasing the modem/router from Comcast, that's the first thing I'd suggest. It's a "free" solution.
posted by kuanes at 5:06 AM on January 6, 2016


Even when the other person is breaking up badly, they report being able to hear me just fine. In case it matters, I am usually the one who initiates these calls.

This is a really good clue here - because of the way VoIP works, the transmit and receive sides of the call are independent streams. In this case, you're transmitting fine but not receiving correctly. And when calls "break up" without being "garbled" (subjective terms, I know) then that's usually packet loss.

You say this happens after an hour. Does it happen talking to the same person or different people? Is it always right at an hour?

The key to troubleshooting ANY VoIP quality issue is determining the constants vs. the variables.

Can you reproduce this?
posted by Thistledown at 10:05 AM on January 6, 2016


Could it possibly be the cordless phone itself? Is it a base unit only, or a multi-unit set with a base and a couple auxiliary chargers? I had a similar problem with one phone out of a multi-unit set, and it was because the phone was not charging properly in its cradle -- calls would consistently start to break up after roughly the same amount of time. (At first it was about an hour, but eventually the time started reducing.) I considered getting a new battery but ended up just getting a new set of phones instead, and the problem disappeared. Just another line of inquiry to check out...
posted by alyxstarr at 12:36 PM on January 8, 2016


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