Troubleshooting audio quality for deskphones ============================================ RingCentral's voice service is VoIP-based, where all calls travel through your internet connection. The quality and stability of phone calls depend on your network configuration and internet bandwidth. Audio issues on deskphones can be caused by: * Faulty headset, headset or deskphone * Faulty cabling between deskphone and switch * Network configuration If you are having issues with call quality on the RingCentral app, go to [Troubleshooting audio issues in the RingCentral apps](https://support.ringcentral.com/article-v2/10505-Call-Quality-Resolve-Choppy-Dropped-Delayed-Garbled-Calls-RingCentral.html?brand=RC_US&product=RingEX&language=en_US ""). Minimum requirements -------------------- The minimum requirements for optimal call quality include: * A reliable internet connection with sufficient bandwidth to accommodate anticipated, concurrent calls. * When using a firewall or network security provider, allow the needed ports in and out of your network. * Set your router to prioritize voice-related traffic, and set a minimum guaranteed bandwidth for the prioritized traffic. * Make sure the bandwidth settings to your phone are set to High. For guidelines on how to set up your network, see [Network Requirements](https://support.ringcentral.com/article-v2/Network-requirements.html?brand=RingCentral&product=RingEX&language=en_US "") and [Quality of Service](https://support.ringcentral.com/article-v2/Quality-of-Service-Guidelines.html?brand=RingCentral&product=RingEX&language=en_US ""). Troubleshooting static/echoing ------------------------------ **Static or echoing while on a handset**: Causes of static: loose connections (phone/handset/wall jack), a malfunctioning handset or phone, or electromagnetic interference. Causes of echoing: network congestion, sound volume, use of speakerphone, or the microphone picking up sound bounced off the wall in an enclosed space To fix this issue: * Put a call on and off speaker and see if the issue persists. * Check the physical connection of your handset to and from the base and the Ethernet connection from that base to your network switch or wall jack. * Position cables away from sources of electromagnetic interference (for example, light fixtures, power supply, and monitors). **Other issues with echoing**: * Check if one or both parties in the call are on speakerphone. If this is the case: * Reduce the speaker volume or use the phone handset. * Check if the user is in an enclosed space and the speaker volume is set to moderate or high. If this is the case: * Move the deskphone out of the enclosed space, if possible. * Turn down the volume, if set to moderate or high. * Use another headset, use the handset, or use the speakerphone * Check if there is a delay in network performance. If this is the case: * Run a set of speed tests through speedtest.net to confirm the network performance. If there is a severe delay, contact your internet service provider or consider upgrading your service. Note: Desk phones provided by RingCentral are covered by warranty up to one year from the date of purchase. Troubleshooting dropped calls and choppy, delayed, or garbled audio ------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow these steps to troubleshoot dropped calls and choppy, delayed, or garbled audio. If everyone is experiencing the issue, there may be a problem with your network. Check the following: * Have you recently made changes to the audio settings on your device? * Have there been any recent changes to your network setup? * Have there been any recent changes to your local network? Look for changes such as: * A file server that has recently been added to your network. * A network switch, router, or firewall that has recently been added or changed. * A new Internet Service Provider (ISP). If you have made any changes to your network, work with your IT Team or ISP to revert the changes and re-test to see if this resolves the issue. ### Conduct a speed test * Go to [www.speedtest.net](https://www.speedtest.net ""). * Run three to four consecutive speed tests. * Check that the ping results, which indicate overall network delay, are under 60ms. (Normal ping values range between 5-48ms.) * Check that the download and upload speeds are at least 75-80% of the speed provisioned by your ISP and do not fluctuate more than 20%. If you're getting inconsistent results or your actual speed is 75-80% less than your provisioned speed, contact your IT department or Internet Service Provider. Note: Upload bandwidth is generally the limiting factor for a good quality voice service. Broadband internet upload speeds range from 1-10 Mbps, while fiber internet starts at 10 Mbps. A fiber internet connection is recommended for cloud-based voice service. Quality of Service (QoS) reports -------------------------------- To better understand how [latency](#latency ""), [packet loss](#packet-loss ""), and [jitter](#jitter "") impact call quality on your network, your IT department or network engineer can view the Quality of Service report in the Analytics Portal. To learn more about QoS reports, see [Navigating Quality of Service](https://support.ringcentral.com/article-v2/10674-Quality-of-Service-QoS-Reports-Tabs-Overview.html?brand=RC_US&product=RingEX&language=en_US ""). ### Set your Internet service provider router to prioritize voice-related traffic * Check that voice-related traffic has been prioritized on your router. * Set a minimum guaranteed bandwidth for this prioritized traffic on your router/firewall. * Disable Application Layer Gateway (ALG) and Intrusion detection/intrusion prevention system (IDS/IPS) that may affect the performance of voice-related traffic. Note: In most Small Office Home Office (SOHO) routers, these features are located in the router's QoS/Traffic Manager section. Consult the router's manufacturer for instructions on setting up the prioritization. ### Optimize your Enterprise Local Area Network (LAN) For information on how to optimize your Enterprise Local Area Network (LAN), see [Quality of Service](https://support.ringcentral.com/article-v2/Quality-of-Service-Guidelines.html?brand=RingCentral&product=RingEX&language=en_US ""). Factors impacting call quality ------------------------------ Because the sound of your voice is converted into thousands of packets, many factors can affect the packet transport, impacting the call quality. The most common factors that affect call quality are latency, jitter, and packet loss. ### Latency Also known as delay, latency of 150ms or less (one-way) or 300ms or less (round-trip) is generally acceptable. Longer latencies will delay but won't disable communications. However, both parties should be aware of potential communication delays. ### Jitter Jitter is the variation in time delay from when a signal is transmitted to when it's received over a network connection. Jitter should not be higher than 40ms to prevent robotic-sounding voice or choppy audio. ### Packet Loss Packet loss occurs when some packets are dropped by congested network routers or switches, or discarded by the jitter buffer. This may cause choppy or dropped audio during a conversation. To prevent voice signal outages, packet loss shouldn't exceed 1%. ### Link capacity Each link in the end-to-end path must have symmetric (bi-directional) capacity that is greater than the network traffic bandwidth generated by the maximum number of simultaneous voice and video calls. This expanded capacity must also exceed the bandwidth required for other types of non-real-time traffic and growth.