PhonePower: Echo Heard By Person Receiving Call (Intermittent Issue)

[dwhitejazz]

We have a frustrating problem and I'm hoping the solution is just to "tweak" some parameter(s) in Expert Mode.

We have two PhonePower accounts configured on a single Obi202 device.  Sometimes, when we make a call the receiving party complains that they can hear our voice echoing in the background.  We never experience this problem on our end (i.e we hear the other person clearly with no echo).

This problem is intermittent and therefore it's hard to determine what the scenario(s) are where the problem occurs.  It appears to only happen when we initiate the call and the person we are calling is not using a cell phone (i.e. they are also using VOIP or perhaps a land-line).

Any help is appreciated.  With issues like this, it is very hard to pinpoint the problem: Obi202 settings, home router settings, PhonePower issue, etc.

Thank you.

[hodag]

Is this party very far away, as in overseas? 

This used to happen a lot back in the days when a lot of communications went via satellite or microwave, but since most have transitioned to fiber optics this is rare.  The cause is the radio wave going up to the satellite was partially reflecting off the E layer of the ionosphere (about 75 miles above earth) and the primary wave reflected off a geosynchronous satellite (about 22,000 miles above earth).  The reflection off the E layer arrives faster than the reflection off the satellite because of the extra time it takes to travel 22,000 miles up and another 22,000 miles down. 

This introduces a delay of about 0.25 seconds, enough for the human ear to detect an echo.  Since the atmospheric ionization on your side of the call might be different than on their side, only one party hears the echo.  This is especially true if it is morning on your side and the sun is shining brightly and charging up the ionosphere, while the receiver is in the place where the sun is fading later in the day.  As the sun fades the ions dissipate and the layers of the ionosphere recombine.

That does not help your problem, but that is a possible explanation.

[Noel_C]

I'm having the same problem with Google voice through an obi200, Have you found a solution?

[HDFLucky]

Gain (or loss) on transit trunks can vary. The fact it's intermittent suggests you are right on "the edge" of overdriving, which can cause echo to be heard. Try reducing Physical Interfaces > PHONE x "ChannelRxGain" by 3dB (i.e., if it is zero now, set it to -3).

[sfshank]

I had an echo problem using the OBi302 and OBi202 with PhonePower in which the other party heard echo when on a cell phone. I tried two ISP's: Comcast 50 Mbps and U-verse 24 Mbps. After many tech support calls to PP, I solved the problem only by cancelling the service. Now I switched to the Google Voice, which also has the exact same problem, but at least GV is completely free. We use it selectively ... for faxing and calling landlines.

Where is OBi tech support on this ... remarkably silent so far.

[Shale]

This problem is intermittent and therefore it's hard to determine what the scenario(s) are where the problem occurs.  It appears to only happen when we initiate the call and the person we are calling is not using a cell phone (i.e. they are also using VOIP or perhaps a land-line).

I cannot imagine anything going on with the OBi or your router that would affect only calls that you make to landlines but not to cellphones.