VOIP sounds quality terrible

bcmf

People,
I have Digiweb wireless b/b with their own supplied router (with pcmia slot).I got this is with a view to getting rid of eircom which I did.I dont use it but my wife uses it mostly to fone Scotland and UK mobiles.
We are with Blueface and are using an old Siemens Gigaset DECT handset.
The problem is that the sound quality is dreadful and more often then not have to end the fone call prematurley.
Any suggestions what to upgrade to improve the quality.We need to keep the pcmia slot as a cuople of computers use the connection.
The sound does not improve if the fone is the only thing using the router.

probe

bcmf wrote: »

People,
I have Digiweb wireless b/b with their own supplied router (with pcmia slot).I got this is with a view to getting rid of eircom which I did.I dont use it but my wife uses it mostly to fone Scotland and UK mobiles.
We are with Blueface and are using an old Siemens Gigaset DECT handset.
The problem is that the sound quality is dreadful and more often then not have to end the fone call prematurley.
Any suggestions what to upgrade to improve the quality.We need to keep the pcmia slot as a cuople of computers use the connection.
The sound does not improve if the fone is the only thing using the router.

VoIP should sound better than a regular phone - if you get each link in the chain right. The most probable cause is your internet connection. Ask your VoIP provider if they can provide you with software to test your broadband performance. 90% chance it is a crappy broadband provider. Wireless "broadband" is particularly suspicious.

When you say an "old Siemens Gigaset" handset - are you using an ATA to connect it to Ethernet or does your DECT base have its own Ethernet jack? If you are using an ATA, plug a regular known working corded phone into the ATA and make some test calls. This will indicate if there is a problem with the gigaset.

The job is really to isolate and test each element of your system independantly until you have discovered the culprit. You could also download Skype and call echo123 from your pc and record a sample message to play back to yourself. You will get good sound quality with this - unless you have a poor internet connection.

Finally perhaps the mobile phones she is calling in GB have poor coverage, or your calls are being routed all over the world to save a few cents per minute on the outrageous mobile termination rates. Try calling landline numbers in that country and see if the quality problems persist. Do the called parties also have VoIP? If so, you should find out their SIP addresses (its like an email address) - and call the SIP addresses cutting out several links in the chain and giving you free calls.

.probe

guigui

You can try this application to test your broadband :
http://myvoipspeed.visualware.com/

bcmf

Ok did a test as above and came back with the result being good ie that I should be able to make good quality phone calls and have good quality tv.

The phone is a Siemens Gigaset 4010 classic which is plugged directly into Dovado WRG Router (supplied by Digiweb).

I am thinking maybe th ephone is too "old"

matrim

Can you try setting up a VoIP softclient on your pc and calling from that? Do a test on that and then a test on the siemens. If the pc is fine and the siemens is bad, it would be a good indication that it's possibly the phone.

probe

bcmf wrote: »

The phone is a Siemens Gigaset 4010 classic which is plugged directly into Dovado WRG Router (supplied by Digiweb).

I am thinking maybe th ephone is too "old"

If you have a gigaset 4010 plugged DIRECTLY into your router, I don't understand how you can be using Blueface? The 4010 is not an IP phone - it has to be plugged into an RJ11 (standard analog phone socket).

Is there not an ATA between the gigaset and the ethernet port on the router?

If there is an RJ11 socket on your Digiweb router, is this not connecting you to Digiweb's VoIP service? i.e. Nothing to do with Blueface. Digiweb advertise a "free" phone service with their wireless broadband. Their call charges are not exactly free!

Or have you reconfigured the box supplied by Digiweb to use Blueface instead?

.probe

bcmf

probe wrote: »

If you have a gigaset 4010 plugged DIRECTLY into your router, I don't understand how you can be using Blueface? The 4010 is not an IP phone - it has to be plugged into an RJ11 (standard analog phone socket).

Is there not an ATA between the gigaset and the ethernet port on the router?

If there is an RJ11 socket on your Digiweb router, is this not connecting you to Digiweb's VoIP service? i.e. Nothing to do with Blueface. Digiweb advertise a "free" phone service with their wireless broadband. Their call charges are not exactly free!

Or have you reconfigured the box supplied by Digiweb to use Blueface instead?

.probe

The router has 2 phone ports.The phone is plugged directly into this.
When we signed up from adsl to wireless all we got was a pcmia card but as one of the laptops didnt have a slot for this Digiweb then sent us the router.
We never used the Digiweb fone service.
As far as I am aware no reconfiguring was done on the router.

bcmf

So.What I really need to do is get an ATA adaptor and plug the fone into the adaptor and then the adaptor into the router!!!! Yeah? No?

probe

bcmf wrote: »

The router has 2 phone ports.The phone is plugged directly into this.
When we signed up from adsl to wireless all we got was a pcmia card but as one of the laptops didnt have a slot for this Digiweb then sent us the router.
We never used the Digiweb fone service.
As far as I am aware no reconfiguring was done on the router.

So to clarify the net position, digiweb sent you a router which has two phone ports (RJ11 sockets) intended for a phone to be plugged into them. You plugged in your Siemens DECT RJ11 plug into one of these ports. The "dial tone" you are getting is therefore from the Digiweb phone service. Looking at digiweb's website, their phone service is free http://www.digiweb.ie/home/metro/ there is nothing extra to do to get it. So the appalling phone call quality you are receiving appears to be coming from Digiweb's phone service.

How could blueface have anything to do with your phone service? You don't have an IP capable phone device, and you haven't altered the settings in the digiweb's box to point to Blueface's SIP set-up (which you probably couldn't do because Digiweb wouldn't like that - they might not even be using SIP in their router box).

If you want to start using your Blueface account for the first time (!) I would suggest that you avoid an ATA and get Blueface's Siemens IP DECT phone system. You will probably be able to use your old DECT handsets as well by registering them on the new DECT IP box - giving you several extensions for your house, without having to throw them away. This will give the best sound quality because it avoids a digital to analog to digital conversion of the voice signals involved with using an ATA in between.

While I have no experience of Digiweb's phone service, many carriers do things to skimp on costs - particularly in relation to the cost of calls to mobile networks, and it comes across in the area of sound quality. If your wife spends a considerable period of time on the phone to the same people, the best solution - assuming they have broadband - is for them to sign up for a VoIP provider too, and call them free using their SIP address from your blueface account.

.probe

bcmf

Thanks probe.
There is a lot there in your reply.
We do not have a landline anymore hence the wireless.I will get in touch with both Blueface and Digiweb (I dont think Digiweb do voip!?!) and get it sorted from there.
Thanks again.

probe

bcmf wrote: »

Thanks probe.
There is a lot there in your reply.
We do not have a landline anymore hence the wireless.I will get in touch with both Blueface and Digiweb (I dont think Digiweb do voip!?!) and get it sorted from there.
Thanks again.

Digiweb do provide a phone service. That the thing you plugged your gigaset into on their router box! http://www.digiweb.ie/home/metro/

How else did your wife make phone calls to GB ? A gigaset PSTN phone plugged into their router box won't use Blueface - it has to be in IP phone (or an ATA) to use Blueface or any other VoIP provider.

When you get a VoIP phone, you have to enter your service provider's sip registration, your account ID and password. There is no provision to do that in an ordinary phone like the Gigaset 4010 - it is designed to be plugged into an eircom landline. Or plugged into your digiweb phone line as you did. The same line that gave you the awful call quality!!!!!

Presumably you have a user Id and password for your blueface account. If you check the calls made on the account, there will be none! Look at your digiweb bill, and you should see call charges for the calls to Scotland etc. Unless there is something about your set-up that you haven't told us here.

Be sure you have a free Ethernet (RJ45) network port on your digiweb box to plug your new Siemens gigaset base station into. If you don't have a free port, get a netgear switch (cost about €19) - which will allow you to plug up to four new devices into one network port on your router.

.probe

bcmf

probe wrote: »

Digiweb do provide a phone service. That the thing you plugged your gigaset into on their router box! http://www.digiweb.ie/home/metro/

How else did your wife make phone calls to GB ? A gigaset PSTN phone plugged into their router box won't use Blueface - it has to be in IP phone (or an ATA) to use Blueface or any other VoIP provider.

When you get a VoIP phone, you have to enter your service provider's sip registration, your account ID and password. There is no provision to do that in an ordinary phone like the Gigaset 4010 - it is designed to be plugged into an eircom landline. Or plugged into your digiweb phone line as you did. The same line that gave you the awful call quality!!!!!


On Sat we plugged a dedicated voip fone into the main computer set up the sip,registration to Blueface etc.My wife then rang me and then her sis in Scotland.The sound was atrocious.the calls then showed upon her Blueface account





Presumably you have a user Id and password for your blueface account. If you check the calls made on the account, there will be none! Look at your digiweb bill, and you should see call charges for the calls to Scotland etc. Unless there is something about your set-up that you haven't told us here.



Here is a "copy" from my last Digiweb bill.
"No call usage recorded"
On my wifes Blueface a/c all calls made are there.
All we did when we got the router was plug the Gigaset into the router.She already had a Blueface account and was using it through our Linksys router and "landline" broadband.





Be sure you have a free Ethernet (RJ45) network port on your digiweb box to plug your new Siemens gigaset base station into. If you don't have a free port, get a netgear switch (cost about €19) - which will allow you to plug up to four new devices into one network port on your router.

.probe

Will be in touch withBlueface on Mon and try and figure what is going on.

bcmf

ok.so.
Blueface ran a test and basically came back and said that the wireless signal wasnt strong enough to hold a voip call.
Right I am off to the "wielress" section to see if there is any wa y of boosting my wireless signal.

DublinWriter

bcmf wrote: »

ok.so.
Blueface ran a test and basically came back and said that the wireless signal wasnt strong enough to hold a voip call.
Right I am off to the "wielress" section to see if there is any wa y of boosting my wireless signal.

Huh? That sounds like complete BS to me.

The bandwidth used by VOIP is relatively small compared to everything else you'd normally get up to on your connection. Have your browser speeds been slow too?

bcmf

Actually DublinWriter now that you say it they speed of the web on my computer has become slow to v slow recently.But the voip has more or less always on wireless been crad.Since I got the wireless I have always known that it would be slower then DSL b/b.I (perhaps ignorantly) put the slowness down to atmospheric conditions as Mobile pphone signals can vary wildly out this way as well (Balbriggan area).

probe

DublinWriter wrote: »

Huh? That sounds like complete BS to me.

The bandwidth used by VOIP is relatively small compared to everything else you'd normally get up to on your connection. Have your browser speeds been slow too?

99% of the sound quality problems with VoIP come from a poor internet connection. It was the first thing I suggested - get your VoIP provider to run a test with you.

Wireless "broadband" connections are subject to all sorts of problems, because the signal is bouncing around free space, bouncing off buildings and mountains and subject to interference from other radio sources. Wireline broadband (DSL, cable, fibre to the home) does not suffer these problems. The latter obviously are not perfect unless they are properly installed end to end - but they are nowhere as flaky for VoIP as wireless is.

.probe

bcmf

Thanks probe.Am gonna look at viable alts.Maybe I will just have to get my fone line back to have decent www and voip.