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Obi 200 killing wifi and poor voice quality

Started by Way77, April 15, 2018, 03:47:32 PM

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Way77

I have an Obi 200 using Google Voice on a ATT dsl line with 3-6Mb/sec download speed. Our wifi performance started slowlly degrading (Netgear 7550) with devices continually dropping, etc. We replaced the modem and now the second one is doing the same thing. The voice quality of calls is also degraded with echoes and interruptions to the point where I need to find an alternative. Is there an easy way to set the parameters so the OBI doesn't hog the bandwith. Could it be something else? Any help greatly appreciated.

SteveInWA

Try moving the OBi device at least a few feet away from the WiFi router, and don't put anything on top of, nor underneath your WiFi router.

GPz1100

While in a call, only about 80 kbps is being used in each direction (send/recv), so ~160 kbps.  This is minimal bandwidth by any measure. 

I'd run some speed tests to see what consistent the speeds are and what sort of latency your service experiences.  Generally provider provided gateways have crappy wifi.

SteveInWA

IF the residence's WiFi quality improves when the OBi is powered off, meaning that ALL other devices, such as laptops, TVs, tablets, etc. experience degraded performance, THEN this has nothing to do with the ISP.  In this case, the OBi device (or some other electronic device nearby the router) is causing the issue.

GPz1100

That's quite a leap.  I suppose it's possible for the obi to be causing RF interference but don't recall reading similar complaints.

My comment was in reference to the degraded voice quality.  While the obi200 does support a wifi connection via its usb port, the OP makes no mention of using such.  Based on the information presented it is presumed the obi device is hardwired.  As such, it wouldn't be influenced by poor wifi reception.  So... Either there are other factors at play or the obi device is defective by interfering with wifi and having deteriorated audio quality.

GIGO

We'll have to see what the OP's responses are.

SteveInWA

Neither the OP nor I said that the OBi is using WiFi to connect to the router.  The OP reports that WiFi connection quality suffers, not just that call quality is poor.  The OP posted:

Quote
Our wifi performance started slowlly degrading (Netgear 7550) with devices continually dropping, etc. We replaced the modem and now the second one is doing the same thing.

There is nothing associated with an OBi 200 that can "hog" bandwidth.  As you pointed out, VoIP calls use less than 100 kbps.  So, there is no reason to focus on speed tests.

Which suggests:  there is something causing WiFi communications to be degraded.  Powering off and physically removing the OBi from the close vicinity would be the definitive test to prove or disprove if the OBi is the source of the degradation.  We've learned from many years of end-user support, to not assume anything about the user's setup, nor their technical savvy.  Whilst you and I may know that stacking equipment on top of, or underneath, a WiFi router is a bad idea, I can't assume that the OP knows that.

Chances are, that the OP has some or all devices using 2.4GHz WiFi, which is vulnerable to interference from nearby microwave ovens, old-school 2.4Ghz cordless phones, baby monitors, etc.  The first thing to do is to eliminate possible sources of interference.

Way77

Thanks GP and Steve for your help. The Obi is hardwired (or haywired as the case may be) via ethernet port 2 on the router. The Obi is about a foot away on my desk. I also have a 27 imac slightly in front and to the right of the Obi and router. I have a regular wired phone on the desk also. We were trying Hulu this month and when I tried unplugging Obi from the router streaming Hulu on the TV improved.

My main problem is the Obi voice quality. At first it was crystal clear w the exact same location of all components. Now it is echoing and dropping. Almost everyone on the other end of calls says the call is dropping and they can't understand me. Not good. Would resetting the Obi be of any use? One other thing I get this IP fail error message when I check my router. Have no idea what that means.

Thanks!

GPz1100

#7
The fail message above is in reference to ipv6.  I don't think it has anything to do with your issues.  If you want, you can disable ipv6 functionality in the router config. This error message should go away.

Are you getting the same audio results with the imac completely off (and unplugged from the power source and network)? Perhaps use a longer network cable (10' or longer) to connect the obi so it's further away from all the equipment and retest.

My money is still on either the internet connection or a defective obi (maybe bad cable between the obi/router).  Speed tests would show how consistent your connection is.  If speeds are all over jitter can be high which would affect audio quality. The new speedtest.net test doesn't show transient response.  Use windows task manager to view.  You want a steady line.  Here's a sample speed test (speed1) downloading (darker bars), and uploading (lighter bars). I throttled the service down to get a longer sample size.  This is on a wired connection.  

The 2nd pic (speed2) is while on a call with no other network activity using a softphone with simonics gateway.  Shows a relatively consistent 80 kbps in both directions.

Third pic (speed3) is measuring network traffic to/from the obi and the firewall while in a google voice call.  Shows similar consistent 80kbps.


Edit: Have you tried a different handset/phone?



SteveInWA

What is plugged into the OBi's phone jack?  Is it a standard wired telephone or a cordless telephone base station?  I hope you have not tried to connect the OBi's phone jack to your house's telephone wiring.

Perform this simple test: 


  • Connect your iMac to your router via an Ethernet cable, if it is not already connected that way.
  • Sign into your router, and turn OFF all WiFi.
  • Disconnect every single hardwired device from your router (including your computer), but leave the OBi's Ethernet cable connected.  So now, the only connections to the router are the input from your AT&T DSL, and the output to the OBi.
  • Make some calls, and evaluate the call quality.  The expectation is that it will be fine.
  • Unplug the OBi.  Plug in your computer.  I am guessing that your TV is connected via WiFi.  If so, then access the router's settings and turn on WiFi again.
  • Try streaming Hulu or YouTube or whatever service you have, on your TV.

If OBi calling works well with nothing else connected, but TV streaming is having problems, then call AT&T and tell them that your DSL service isn't able to handle streaming, and get them to troubleshoot it.  If TV streaming works well, without the OBi connected, but degrades when the OBi is connected and not on a call, then something is wrong with the OBi or it's configuration, but I am willing to bet that the OBi is not the culprit.

Way77

Hi GP and Steve,
GP, I will try those things you mentioned with the iMac. I don't have Windows tasl manager but using ATT speed test, speed has been consistent at 3 Mb/sec download.

Steve, the obi IS wired into the house so we can use the other phones, which is 1 office phone near obi, 1 cordless phone in living room, and 1 other regular phone in kitchen. From my research before doing that I didn't see a problem. If you can only use in 1 room that doesn't seem very useful. Do you think that's the problem?

SteveInWA

Please try the specific test I outlined in my last reply.

With regard to my question about your OBi being connected to your house wiring:  the reason I brought it up was that you mentioned earlier (I think) that you have a land line phone.  If that's the case, and that phone line is connected to your home's wiring, you could risk damaging the OBi by connecting it to a live phone line.  It's vital to only connect the OBi to a pair of phone wires that do not have any connection whatsoever to an external telephone service or DSL service.  DSL works by piggy-backing a high-frequency, modulated signal on top of the regular human-hearing range telephone circuit.  So, even if the wire pair in question has no dial tone, if it is carrying the DSL signal, don't connect the OBi to it.

Otherwise, yes, it's ok to connect the OBi to the house wiring.

Mooncalf2012

I know this is a year old thread, but have you tried using a DSL Filter/Splitter? One input is 'Phone' and has a low pass filter to filter out the higher frequencies used by 'DSL', and also filters crosstalk and noise between the two lines in the RJ11 cord. Filters, and DSL/Phone splitters are around $5. You will also find them in quantity at your local thrift shop in the electronics section for about a dollar. If a splitter was installed with your DSL, it may be defective, cheap, or has a bad or old capacitor. Buy a couple different kinds to test, some cheaper ones do not work well, and the really good ones are no longer made.