Switching to VoIP can be an easier decision for any business. After all, who does not need to have an effective and efficient system at a low cost? Even though deploying VoIP phone system doesn’t take a lot of time, but you still can run into issues. Even if the initial set up if trouble-free, you can bet that some problems are bound to crop up later.
Therefore, it can always be useful to monitor the VoIP system. If you know how to identify and fix basic issues, you can prevent such problems from becoming massive headaches down the line. A VoIP service provider is responsible for providing services. However, you must know how you can troubleshoot less common problems on your network.
Implement VoIP Phone Troubleshooting Checklists
Despite the real issue, your business must have a procedure to bug reports. You have to document the steps required to address different aspects. For example, who should users contact if the VoIP phones aren’t working? What is the growth process if problems can’t be fixed at a specific level? When must you approach the provider?
A checklist is a common means to implement VoIP troubleshooting procedures. You have to ensure that there shouldn’t be any confusion about the next step. Check if your VoIP provider has any resources on VoIP phone issues. Now we are going to discuss some of the most common VoIP service issues.
The Most Common VoIP Issues
While VoIP phone technology has indeed come a long way since its launch, a lot of businesses still struggle to fix common VoIP issues. You need to consider the issue of audio quality. The majority of reputable VoIP providers Uk guarantee HD audio on par with traditional landline systems. Yet businesses struggle to get high-quality calls. You might be surprised to know that fixing majority VoIP phone issues just take a few basic steps.
A few of the most common VoIP phone issues fall into one of the following categories:
- Hardware and cables
- Internet and network connectivity
- Audio quality
Hardware and Cables
This may appear to be a fundamental step, but one of the first things you need to check is the hardware. If you start facing issues suddenly with your IP business phones, then make sure that all the cables are correctly connected. Frayed wires or loose connections can cause problems. However, simultaneously you need to go through every network equipment such as a router, models, switches, and SBCs. You have to ensure whether they are configured and working correctly. You can at least reset network hardware once to ensure it is not the source of the issue. Every equipment and hardware must have the latest patches as well. At times an issue that you face can easily be solved by applying the latest firmware update from the provider.
• Computers and Smartphones
The majority of businesses utilize a combination of laptops, computers, and smartphones for phone calls. You have to ensure that all these devices are functioning correctly. If only a handful of users face issues, it might come down to a particular device that they use.
• Softphone Apps
VoIP service providers have softphone apps for users to make phone calls from their computers. You can also download VoIP phone apps for the majority of operating systems out there. Just ensure that you get the latest version of the app that you use. The old version is most probably to have security issues, bugs, and other issues.
Internet and Network Connectivity
Keep in mind that all VoIP telephone services depend on the internet to function properly. This means that the connection between your business and the ISP plays an essential role. In case the connection goes down, or if your ISP faces technical issues, then your phone will suffer as well. The majority of businesses find that having a second broadband connection as a backup is a good policy.
• Power
It is easy to forget that the VoIP hardware requires power too. Unlike traditional phone landlines, VoIP services can’t draw power from the wall outlet. Hence, in case of a power outage, your phones will stop working as well. Again, connecting your VoIP phone to a backup energy source is a good policy.
• Quality of Services (QoS)
QoS is one way to prioritize audio phone calls on your network. Whenever you set up QoS properly, the digital audio packets are tagged automatically. If a digital audio packet is struggling with other types of data, the router will allow the audio call through. This is exceptionally significant for real-time communication like voice and video calls.
• Bandwidth
What will happen if your network doesn’t have enough bandwidth for all the data traffic? A few businesses make the mistake of not analyzing their network traffic before switching to hosted PBX phone services. In case your network already struggles with an existing, then it won’t cope with audio phone calls as well. It might well be time to upgrade to a better connection or to switch to a different channel altogether (fiber instead of DSL etc.)
Audio Quality
Even though VoIP phone technology is quite mature, a lot of businesses continue to struggle with the audio quality. What does poor quality of audio look like? The symptoms generally take one or more of the following forms:
- Sound distortion like strange noises
- Missing words and sounds
- Talking over each other since no one knows when the other person starts or stops talking
- The delay between one user speaking and the other hearing them
Imagine if your staff is talking to your customers while struggling with these problems. How can you expect your employees to be productive if their tools do not work properly? Things such as latency, packet loss, and jitter can compromise the audio quality significantly. Therefore, it is significant to set up QoS on all your VoIP services hardware.
If packet loss and latency are within acceptable limits, and you still experience quality problems, it might be time to check with your provider. You need to find out the codecs that they utilize for the VoIP services. Several codecs compromise quality for speed and vice versa. You have to decide which is more significant for your business’s requirements.
Remember, VoIP phone troubleshooting can take some work and time. However, if you catch it early enough, then you will be good to go. If you are looking into VoIP services, then ensure to check out Modern Voice Over IP System as they are one of the Best VoIP providers for business.
DepositPhotos – VoIP
