VoIP Business Phones: Call Quality Troubleshooting

Poor VoIP call quality — choppy audio, echo, dropped calls, or one-way audio — is almost always caused by network issues. Here's how to troubleshoot. Before calling for help, note: - Is it affecting one phone or all phones? - Is it only on inbound calls, outbound calls, or both? - Is it constant or does it come and go at certain times of day? - Did it start after any changes (new internet service, new router, new equipment)? Step 1: Restart the phone Unplug the phone's power cable (or Ethernet cable if it's PoE-powered), wait 10 seconds, and plug back in. This resolves a surprising number of issues. Step 2: Check network load VoIP calls suffer when the internet connection is saturated. Check if large file downloads, video streaming, or cloud backups are running during call quality problems. Pause them and test a call. Step 3: Run a speed and quality test From a computer on the same network, run a test at ping.canopy.tools or ookla speedtest. Look specifically at: - Ping (latency) — should be under 150ms for good VoIP. Over 200ms causes noticeable delay. - Jitter — should be under 30ms. High jitter causes choppy audio. - Packet loss — should be 0%. Any packet loss directly causes dropped words and audio gaps. Step 4: Switch from Wi-Fi to wired VoIP phones should ideally be on a wired Ethernet connection, not Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi interference causes jitter. If a phone is currently wireless, try connecting it via Ethernet cable. Step 5: Check Quality of Service (QoS) settings Business-grade routers should have QoS configured to prioritize VoIP traffic over other network traffic. If QoS isn't enabled, a large file download can degrade all calls. Contact us to configure QoS on your router. Step 6: Check for interference Phones near microwaves, cordless handsets, or other radio equipment can experience audio issues. Try relocating if this is suspected. Step 7: Check firmware VoIP phone firmware should be kept up to date. Outdated firmware can cause compatibility issues with your phone system provider. Contact us to check and update firmware. Contact us for: - One-way audio (you can hear them but they can't hear you, or vice versa) — usually a NAT/firewall issue requiring configuration changes - Registration failures (phone shows "No Service" or "Unregistered") - Calls dropping after exactly 30 or 60 seconds — usually a router SIP ALG issue (we can disable it)