Outgoing upstream voice problems caused by WiFi Router + DECT 6 being too close

[howardc64]

Due to some furniture rearrangement, I ended up with with my 5th gen Apple Extreme Airport router (Dual band 3x3 MIMO) and Panasonic DECT 6.0 basestation about 1+ feet apart.

Outgoing voice would have really weird intermittent problems. Lots of drops that make voice sound crackled. Sometimes going blank all together. Incoming had no problems at all and always perfectly clear. Below are my debugging trials

- When I use google hangout app on a smartphone over wifi to my router with the same googlevoice account on the Obi, it worked perfect.

- Ran all kinds of test to check ping, up/down speed/jitter etc.. everything looked fine.

- I had a OOMA that was exhibiting the same problem installed both before or behind the router.

These ruled out ISP + googlevoice infrastructure as problems. It also likely ruled out router/QoS unless the ethernet connection somehow behaves worse than the wifi connection. OOMA installed before the router also would suggest router isn't the issue.

So there is only 1 piece of equipment left and that is the DECT 6 system. Plugged in a corded phone and all problems went away.

Googled "dect phone wifi router" and this following link showed up

http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/brians-brain/4398954/Debugging-DECT--Wi-Fi-has-a-derogatory-effect

So I moved DECT 6 base station to about 10+ feet away and all problems went away.

This it not an OBI problem per say. However, VOIP involving a wifi router and DECT 6 phones are common these days. Given ethernet and telephone wire lengths, they might often end up next to each other and we end up chasing what we think are network service issues as digital voice problems all sounds the same

Hope this helps someone battling outgoing voice problems.

[MurrayB]

Thanks - This is good info. Sometimes (frequently) we chase our tails unnecessarily. I thought that DECT 6.0 did not interfere with the 802.11n standard. 

[howardc64]

I thought that DECT 6.0 did not interfere with the 802.11n standard. 

Yes, thats exactly what I thought as well which is why I didn't chase the interference issue until the very end. The 2nd to last comment on the link seem to explain the problem.

I googled around for DECT 6 and wifi interference. I don't know that its pervasive but quite common.

[FormerYooper]

OMGosh ... I can't thank you enough posting this solution!  Have been having the exact same problem
and for days have been troubleshooting this issue.  Woke up this morning & there was your post.  Works like a charm!  Again, can't thank you enough!  Everyone is so wonderful & knowledgeable & willing to post their solutions on this forum!  Bless you!

[drgeoff]

DECT can interfere with satellite TV. The DECT fequencies are within the band of signals that come from the LNB down the coaxial cable.  That signal is very weak compared to the DECT one. If you get no or blocky/corrupted pictures on some channels try moving any DECT gear away from the downlead and the satellite receiver.

Wi-fi, both 2.4 and 5 GHz versions, does not use frequencies in the range the satellite receiver is tuning.

[howardc64]

OMGosh ... I can't thank you enough posting this solution!  Have been having the exact same problem
and for days have been troubleshooting this issue.  Woke up this morning & there was your post.  Works like a charm!  Again, can't thank you enough!  Everyone is so wonderful & knowledgeable & willing to post their solutions on this forum!  Bless you!

Glad it help you. Since I have an OOMA also, I decided to post this solution to their support forum as well. Guess what is the name of a big long discussion thread : "Calls keep on cutting out - people can't hear me". I'm betting quite a few DECT/Wifi proximity interference issues.

Again, this problem shows up as outbound voices choppiness and cutouts.