Is it the Obi or the service that's poor?

[BigKetchup]

One thing I've been noticing is that maybe 15% of my calls will have the other side complain that I'm "cutting in and out.". Is this the Obi device or the service?  I'm thinking about buying a new Obi if that's the case or switching my service entirely if that's something that can't be corrected.  I nearly had a heart attack when the unemployment insurance called me and I was cutting in and out so he had to hang up and call me back.  I answered on my cell phone and it worked fine.

[drgeoff]

Probably neither the OBi device nor your Internet Telephony Service Provider. Often a network problem. Either your internal network or your connection to the public internet.

[Smee]

I had an issue last June that drove me crazy for months. My service on my OBI200 had been working fine and then one day, people started complaining that I was cutting out while on the phone with them. I rebooted my router, my Obi, my switches, etc.. Then I looked at my AT&T router and noticed that the firmware on the router was newer than I remembered it being so I called AT&T to complain. It was a complete waste of time. They sent me a new modem, but of course, in their wisdom they sent me the same model I had already. Then I remembered I had a much older modem squirreled away and hooked that up and presto, the issue disappeared. I called AT&T, but they couldn't care less and said it was an issue with my equipment. So, I went on eBay and purchased a newer modem, BGW210-700 and since that day, no more issues. I'm guessing that the newer firmware on the modem giving me issues enabled SIP ALG which is known to cause problems. There was no option to disable it and AT&T support is worthless and just doesn't care to acknowledge the issue.

[BigKetchup]

Thanks for sharing that but is there a way to rule that out?  I'm using a Motorola cable modem but not sure what specs to look for in the case that it is the modem that's causing it.  I've always had low latency and the problem is intermittent, not consistent.

[SteveInWA]

Thanks for sharing that but is there a way to rule that out?  I'm using a Motorola cable modem but not sure what specs to look for in the case that it is the modem that's causing it.  I've always had low latency and the problem is intermittent, not consistent.

Yes.  Take the OBiTALK device somewhere else (I realize this may be a problem, given COVID-19 restrictions).  If it works on some other person's residential ISP service, then it's your ISP at fault.

[BigKetchup]

The problem is that it's not frequent enough to rule out right away.  It may work great for weeks at my neighbor's house but it's that one phone call I randomly make that cuts out.

[SteveInWA]

That symptom is guaranteed to be caused by a network problem.  Although you may be paying for seemingly high-performance Internet service, it is experiencing periodic latency and/or jitter issues that degrade your connection.

[LTN1]

The problem is that it's not frequent enough to rule out right away.  It may work great for weeks at my neighbor's house but it's that one phone call I randomly make that cuts out.

You can use this site here to test your latency and jitter throughout the day: https://www.fusionconnect.com/speed-test-plus/

I typically have stable VoIP connections, especially when using GV and the OBi. The attached latency and jitter results will typically give good VoIP call experience. Let us know what your average numbers are as you get a chance to test it throughout the day.

[Aquaticjim]

How is the outgoing voice a network issue?  If the IP has latency or jitter, wouldn't the issue be on outgoing and incoming voice.  I have the same issue in that the person on the other end of the line tells me that about every 5th word is dropped.  However, I can hear the other person 100% of the communication.

[SteveInWA]

I don't know what LTN1 was getting at with that test; it's only a basic speed test, and not a very good one, at that, since it is reporting far slower speeds for me than other tests.

The only truly meaningful test of the quality of your ISP service at your location, is Visualware's BCS test.  It requires loading a small program on your computer, which simulates a VoIP connection between your machine and a test server.

https://www.visualware.com/bcs/index.html

[Lavarock7]

I had quality issues and dropouts. I then realized that I was using a flat LAN cable (which offered no shielding and was probably not twisted pairs but parallel wires). So try replacing any waire you can, just in case.

[Aquaticjim]

I am using the twisted pair/shielded cables.  I can use Google Voice, or MS TEAM on my computer with no issues.  The issue is with the OBi202 as a stand alone unit connected to the phone.