Voice of Incoming Call Echos When Maximum Bandwith is Used

[John12]

Hello,

I'm using Linksys PAP2T as my ATA. I have ADSL and my maximum download speed is 5 megabits/second.

I notice when I'm downloading a file using maximum bandwidth and a call comes in, the voice of the person talking to me over the phone is in echo mode. Is this a common problem? How can I resolve the problem?


Thanks.

[TheHardy]

This may rate as a smart-ass answer ... and I mean no disrespect by it.

You self-identify that you are _AT_ max bandwidth on a download ... and the incoming call quality suffers. May I be so bold as to say, answer the call, PAUSE the download, continue the call to completion, and THEN resume the download?? If you are maxed and try to do more, ALL will suffer. Pause the download, have a good call, resume.

Over simplified? Probably ... giver a try ... can't squeeze 4 full-sized cars into one motorcycle parking stall!

[FONGO_mike]

TheHardy gave the best suggestion i could think of at the moment. The call requires space and if you are using 99% of the banddwidth to download something, it will have no "space" to make the call. In general, the higher speeds you have, the better the quality of the call (taking into consideration the ATA/phone, headset for your computer vs built in mic and speakers on your laptop.
Laptops tend to have an echo more then any other way simply because the built in microphone will pick up the sound from the speakers causing an "echo" effect. This could be solved by turning down the speakers (and testing to make sure you can still hear them while cutting out the echo) or by investing in a headset

[TheHardy]

I completely glossed over those issues, but Mike brings up another good point. I went right for the kill with the max-bandwidth thing.

I use a laptop (as stated) and even without a headset (which is the best way to maximize the quality of your call if you are using a softphone and not an ATA), I found just using head-PHONES so the PC-speakers were not causing an echo to the built-in mic was a workable solution. Obviously a full headset would be a better solution, but just headPHONES to take away the echo/reverb has helped me out immensely. I too multi-task. If I am placing calls out, I tend to do a quick reboot before that. If I am doing stuff and a call comes in, I try to shut down as much stuff that is hogging bandwidth too to max my quality. Anything CPU intensive I try to stop as well.

Just what I have done and seems to work.

[dibsmft]

The first concern is you upload speed, so, what upload speed do you have?
You really don't want to be doing downloads, uploads or anything else that uses bandwidth while using voip because voip needs unrestricted bandwidth in both directions. The audio packets are carried (in and out) in small packets via your defined RTP ports but they are not checked for accuracy or order. If enough bandwith is not available then packets may arrive in the wrong order, be lost altogether even a temporary disconnection of the call may seem to happen and the audio will be completely messed up or you may hear nothing but echo. The solution to this is stop everything else running on the network while you make your calls. Your router probably has QOS (Quality of service) settings that are designed to enable you to give priority to data incoming/outgoing on certain ports or of certain kinds. Check the manual for your modem router and see if you can set it up to give priority to voip packets. This should not spoil you downloads/uploads as that data is checked for accuracy, order and is not time sensitive as is voip.

[bridonca]

Hello,

I'm using Linksys PAP2T as my ATA. I have ADSL and my maximum download speed is 5 megabits/second.

I notice when I'm downloading a file using maximum bandwidth and a call comes in, the voice of the person talking to me over the phone is in echo mode. Is this a common problem? How can I resolve the problem?


Thanks.

This perplexes me. why would echo have anything to do with the max download speed? Try another phone, if you got one of those old style Bell phones, even better. Echo usually comes when the telephone receiver picks up audio from the telephone mic on the same telephone handset, either from your side or the other side of the conversation. There is also a chance the ATA volume setting is set too loud, but I would try to avoid playing around that, and work on that as a last resort.

[John12]

I only asked this question because my friend does subscribe to VOIP but his VOIP provider is Primus Canada. He has no problem with receiving calls when he is downloading a file using maximum bandwidth. The voice of the caller does not echo. Even the quality of the call is not affected. I have no expertise in the area of VOIP, this is why I'm asking. I only have expertise in medicine. Doctors don't care how technology works they just want to use it.

[OverDrive]

It is more than likely that primus already has Quality of Service (QoS) already setup on their ATA/Modem/Router giving VOIP traffic full priority over everything else. That is the only other way you can adjust your connection, by prioritizing packets of VOIP over everything else.

[John12]

How can I adjust the connection in my Linksys PAP2T to give first priority to VOIP and secondary priority to everything else?


Thanks.

[OverDrive]

How can I adjust the connection in my Linksys PAP2T to give first priority to VOIP and secondary priority to everything else?


Thanks.

This would be done at the router/gateway device. Most routers have an area in their configuration for QoS somewhere in the advanced menus. It's not an easy task to set them up. Google "Setup QoS" and your router's model number to try and help you get up and running.

[dibsmft]

It depends on the model of your router and there are lots of different D-Link ADSL Modem Routers. It the router is old then it may not have QOS but there may be some other adjustments you can make.

[desivibe]

set your upload speed to 15, i had dsl setup before and upload was set 15 and never had issue.

[TheHardy]

Regardless of QoS settings and other suggestions (which are all very valid and will work, if set correctly and if the hardware involved supports it), the _easiest_ way to correct this is to temporarily pause your downloads, finish your call,, then continue your download. How tough is this to understand? QoS settings try to do this in the background so that you do not have to manually do it, but by the end of the day it comes down to:

"Doctor, it hurts when I do THIS."
"Don't do THAT then!"

??? Too tough to understand? There are indeed times when you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

[dibsmft]

The problem really is that while the download speed may be very good the upload speed is pathetic. When I had 1.5 Gbits/s down I had 600 Mbits/sec upload (more than enough for two voip calls if nothing else is using the network) now I have 7 Gbits/s down and I still have about 600 Mbits/sec upload so its not much better for voip. If you have QOS or can manage the bandwith available to the phone then try using it otherwise try to reduce the demand on the upload bandwith. If you are using torrents reduce the upload bandwidth you allow and I guess if you are using cloud computing or gaming then stop it while making calls. I hope to see this problem go away when we get the fibre optic internet as the upload and download speeds are the same (Aliant offer 15 Gbits/sec up and down even for the slowest).

[mjbad2]

Regardless of QoS settings and other suggestions (which are all very valid and will work, if set correctly and if the hardware involved supports it), the _easiest_ way to correct this is to temporarily pause your downloads, finish your call,, then continue your download. How tough is this to understand? QoS settings try to do this in the background so that you do not have to manually do it, but by the end of the day it comes down to:

"Doctor, it hurts when I do THIS."
"Don't do THAT then!"

??? Too tough to understand? There are indeed times when you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

I have problem with my shoulder. Tendon problems or muscle tear. I tell Doctor I cant lift my hand above shoulder.
Don't Do WAS not the answer.
He asked me to do exercise so the new muscle will will be stretched properly.

You want to be jack*ss then go ahead.

FPL is having problem lately with echo and delays. Its been for few months now. Since we use cell most of the time we dont complain.
I thought it was router and replaced it. Enabled QOS. But still quality is not good. There is something going on last month or two.

Yes it was too bad to understand at all. Next time you dont like replies dont post or should I say be d*uche.

[TheHardy]

I have problem with my shoulder. Tendon problems or muscle tear. I tell Doctor I cant lift my hand above shoulder.
Don't Do WAS not the answer.
He asked me to do exercise so the new muscle will will be stretched properly.

You want to be jackas then go ahead.

FPL is having problem lately with echo and delays. Its been for few months now. Since we use cell most of the time we dont complain.
I thought it was router and replaced it. Enabled QOS. But still quality is not good. There is something going on last month or two.

Yes it was too bad to understand at all. Next time you dont like replies dont post or should I say be d**che.

I am sorry that you took offense to my reply -- however, the OP had stated that he was experiencing the problem under conditions which would seem to be pushing the envelope of what the router/connection/etc can handle and still sort things out to a decent quality -- THAT was the main point that I was referring to. By no means was I trying to be a smart-ass with my reply -- has I wished to do that, there are far more effective ways of doing that.

Now, having echo and delays under normal circumstances when there is not a lot of OTHER traffic in and out from OTHER tasks, THAT is another issue altogether!

And lastly -- if you want to call me a jack*ss and a d**che, then there is the PM option to do that with -- no need to do that in the forum in an open thread -- if I have offended you THAT deeply, then let's discuss THAT in private, shall we? Thanks -- let's keep the thread on topic, and you can flame me and berate me PERSONALLY all you want in private!

[FONGO_kris]

Well, I've done my best to sensor this while still keeping the integrity of the users opinions intact... Oxymoron for a conversation of so many expletives; still, it may not be perfect, but at least I feel better about it.

Now, I suggest what TheHardy says to be fact, and if a personal quarrel is fired up on the board, PM's are a good place to write your frustration with as many expletives as you desire. That being said, users do have the full right AND responsibility to report behavior not conducive to an environment such as this which does include private messages. Though we do not intercept or review them at all, it is too easy to forward to the nearest Moderator or Administrator of your choosing.

A lot of the threads on here are riddled with sarcasms and smart-somethingratherish remarks simply because most people here identify that with technology you've got to take a lot of the woes with a grain of salt. Considering that 3D rendering (ie. Quake) was but a twinkle in a programmers eye before 1994 and today it's a multi-billion dollar market, the same can be said for a lot of today's proving technology including VOIP, and even technology that's been around forever (I believe fluorescent lights still contain carcinogens, and have been around for 155 and some-odd years) has it's ups and downs. Quite frankly if it's broken today, it'll most likely be fixed tomorrow (or some timeframe like that...).

If I may actually contribute to the post now, the title seems to shed some light on it in itself. If your bandwidth is maxing out, your voice quality will surely be horrible; so, what is causing your bandwidth to max itself out? The ole "turn everything off and then slowly turn everything back on one device at a time" seems to have been working for quite some time - I would suggest that.

[TheHardy]

Thanks for weighing in Kris --- I apologize if I contributed to your censorring nightmare, it was not my intention to do so; by the same token, I was unsure of mjbad2 would read a PM from me, so I chose to reply via the forum -- but also took pains to make sure I kept it "G"-rated.

That said (and off topic), I wish that the "editted by" thing would pop up for moderator edits too ...

Back to the solution: I read it the same way you read it and based my answer on that as well ... if that is not what the OP intended, or incorrectly informed us, then I am willing to take a shot at another solution too.

[FONGO_kris]

The 'edited by' box is there for me to fill out, alas I seem to forget to fill it in most times... Should appear now.

You're welcome.

[TheHardy]

The 'edited by' box is there for me to fill out, alas I seem to forget to fill it in most times... Should appear now.

You're welcome.

hehehe THANKS. I wasn't saying "DO IT" ... just that when users edit their own posts it pops up -- I didn't know it was a mod-option too!

Not that in this thread it makes a difference, but in some cases, it can throw the content ... maintains integrity when you can tell who messed with what you THOUGHT you wrote!