People who use internet-based phone systems can experience call-quality issues for various reasons. Troubleshooting them can be challenging (but not impossible!). Your phone system's sound quality relies on your internet bandwidth (upload and download), internet quality (packet loss), and internal IT network (routers, switches, etc.).
To speed up the troubleshooting process, you'll want to know a few industry terms related to call quality.
Packets - Everything sent over the internet is transmitted as a "packet" of information (aka data). Packets are the pieces of data traveling through a network.
Bandwidth - Bandwidth is how many data packets you receive every second, while internet speed is how fast the packets are received or downloaded.
Latency - Also referred to as "lag," latency measures the amount of time it takes a packet of data to arrive at its destination. All VoIP systems and networks experience some latency. If there is a delay between speaking and the caller hearing what you said, you're experiencing latency.
Jitter - Jitter is related to latency, but not the same. It refers to the data packets being delivered to the destination at irregular intervals instead of consistently. Network jitter can lead to calls cutting in and out with missing or jumbled audio.
Quality of Service - Quality of Service (QoS), also known as
traffic shaping, is a method to prioritize voice packets over other data packets going through a router. It boosts the reliability and clarity of your phone calls.
There are a handful of options to improve call quality after successfully identifying the cause of degraded audio. It may be as easy as increasing your bandwidth by contacting your internet service provider. Or, it could require engaging your IT department or consultant to implement QoS in your router. Regardless of the solution, if you're experiencing any call-quality issues,
email the UpLync support team to identify the cause.