Voice Quality Issues

Before You Begin

If you are having trouble with volume levels, follow these guidelines:

Related Topics


Problem       The other party sounds too loud.

Solution      


Problem       The other party reports that you sound too loud.

Solution      


Problem       The other party sounds too quiet.

Solution      


Problem       The other party reports that you sound too quiet.

Solution      


Problem       The other party sounds muffled.

Solution      

Related Topics


Problem       The other party reports that you sound muffled.

Solution      


Problem       The other party sounds distant or unnatural.

Solution       If you are using a headset, make sure that Cisco IP Communicator is operating in headset mode and not in speakerphone mode. (The Headset button should be lit.)


Problem       The other party reports that you sound distant or unnatural.

Solution       Enable Optimize for Low Bandwidth (right-click > Preferences > Audio tab).

Related Topics


Problem       The voice of the other party is disrupted by unintended silences or sounds jittery.

Solution      

Note     You might hear occasional pops, clicks, or broken audio when the network is experiencing congestion or data traffic problems.


Problem       Background noise is making it difficult to hear the voice of the speaker.

Solution       Ask the speaker to:

If in a conference call, ask other participants to mute their phones if they are not speaking.


Problem       You hear echo.

Solution      


Problem       The other party hears echo.

Solution      


Problem       The other party cannot hear you at all (but you can hear him/her).

Solution      


Problem       The other party can hear you, but you cannot hear any audio.

Solution      


Problem       Simultaneous speaking fails.

Solution       Make sure that you are using a full-duplex sound card.


Problem       You cannot hear any audio, not even a dial tone.

Solution      


Problem       Voice quality is degraded when IP Communicator is used while Windows is starting up.

Solution       Verify that Windows has completed its startup process and that no other applications are still loading before using IP Communicator.


Problem       Voice quality is degraded when workstation physical memory becomes low.

Solution       IP Communicator is recommended to operate with approximately 60MB of available physical memory - this is different from minimum required workstation memory as other applications will be consuming workstation memory. By ensuring other applications - including the operating system - have left enough available memory for IP Communicator will reduce sound distortions based on low-available RAM conditions. If you are experiencing this condition, you may want to close some applications when running IP Communicator or increase the RAM in your PC.


Problem       Voice quality is degraded when using IP Communicator with other applications that consume available bandwidth.

Solution       Minimize the use of applications that consume large amounts of bandwidth (examples: applications that transfer large files, send or receive video, perform "screen sharing" operations, etc.) while on an active call.


Problem       Voice quality is degraded when the laptop is physically moved.

Solution       Some computer manufacturers have introduced a feature called "HDD Protection" which prevents damage to the computer's hard drive when the laptop experiences movement. This feature may also temporarily affect applications which are currently running on the workstation. Recommendation is to not physically move a computer enabled with this feature while on an active call.



Copyright © 2009, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.