Another question for the help desk: VoIP related - Latency values
 

I recently installed a Magic Jack device for telephone service through my Internet.

Since day 1 - the audio output has been sketchy at best and on some days even non-existent.

It's only a 1 way problem as I can hear audio perfectly - only the outbound audio is the issue.

Using this speed test my values are:

Latency: 41 ms
DL: 28.1 Mbps
UL: 9.45 Mbps
0% Packet loss

The tech people over at Magic Jack are saying my Latency value is too high and that is causing the problem. They say the value should be under 25.

I contacted my ISP and they say there's nothing they can do to lower the latency - it's a byproduct of my computer and configurations.

I've swapped out phones and even replaced the Magic Jack and it didn't help.

I have tried both connection methods - again - no change:

https://www.magicjack.com/img/setup-...t-computer.jpg

https://www.magicjack.com/img/setup-with-computer.jpg

I was almost ready to try a different router but thought I'd run it by the brain trust to get some input, since this issue is way out of my technical skills.

My router is a Netgear model WNDR3400 (N600) and I don't have any wireless devices hooked up - just the Magic Jack for my phone.

TIA for any ideas or advice SmileWavy

Mebbe someone "still in the game" will offer more than an old dino....but there is a LOT that happens on your device at the NIC, TCP stack, etc. that could be the culprit....something misconfigured at the router/switch....

If none of that makes sense....good....yer not a geek Baz :)

Wait fer Scott or Steve or ????

My last corporate gig...5k VOIP conversions...I don't play dat no mo'....

T-Rex

Thanks, Keith. We have a good assortment of technical folks here so I'm betting someone will have info that can help.

I woulda gone google voice through an Obi.

Well, actually I did do that, I meant if'n I were you...

https://www.obitalk.com/info/googlevoice

I was looking at that earlier. I have no problem going to a different system at this point.

I'd still like to know about this latency thing though - and why I have poor or no audio output.

Thanks, Scott.

Latency is not a static thing.

Who / what server did you ping that got you that result?

Did you try others?

Is your PC wired to the router or wireless?

This is where I went for my speed test:

https://sourceforge.net/speedtest/

I did try another and it was similar.

Ethernet cable - no wireless.

Looks like this won't work if I want to keep my old landline number - I just did a check and got this message:

Back to square one.....

Try speedtest.net, run a couple of times using different servers.

My ping to them is roughly half what it was to sourceforge.

Check your TCP settings. Ethernet should be Full Duplex. If it's not you can' transmit/receive (talk/listen) simultaneously.

Meaning if not Full Duplex and the other end is noisy you'll never be able to be heard because you are stuck on receiving.

Have you tried testing with a service like SKYPE? It's VOIP.

Is / was this number from your cable provider? Like in part of a Triple Play /pacakge?

Google can't port cable numbers.

The way around that is you get a $10.00 prepaid phone card, slap it in a spare cell phone, port the number to that, wait a couple of days after the transfer is confirmed then port to google.

The number is now in Magic jack's hands, not my cable provider.

According to the webpage - I can't even do the in between T-mobile trick - there is just no service in my area....period.

I will check with speedtest.net but don't know how to do the rest of what you wrote....lol....

I used Skype a long time ago and it was OK. Looking for something else. Be nice to get my Magic Jack issue resolved. I wonder if it's my router.

15 ms on Speedtest.net.....less than half of what sourceforge had me at (41).

SKYPE was a question as it's also VOIP, if you had no issues there then it indicates the problem may be with MagicJack.

Turn off Auto Negotiate and set for Full Duplex.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/Rq08t.png

Is your area code 386?

Because google does distribute that area code.

AFAIK, only Alaska and Hawaii are geographic issues with google voice.

Just changed to Full Duplex and it didn't solve the problem.

The Skype I had was like 10 years and 2 computer systems ago - so not sure if that means anything.

I bought a new Magic Jack and the problem remained so can't be the device unless I have two bad ones in a row.

Weird, huh?

Yes 386, but the message I got said it didn't serve my area so just going by the webpage (see 4th paragraph down):

https://www.obitalk.com/info/tutorials/porttutorial

FWIW, I also punched in my cell phone number and got the same message about "no support in this area."

Don't worry about it, Scott - you've done enough. You have better things to do on a Sunday night. One way or another I'll get it figured out. Thanks for all your suggestions and effort! I'll post again if anything new comes up...

MJ is full of sheisse about "25ms" being a requirement for VoIP. Cisco advertises a max of 150ms, and even that's BS. And Latency isn't that big a deal by itself. WHat is a big deal is jitter (how much the latency is bouncing around) and bandwidth in both directions.

You should have plenty of bandwidth in both directions.

Latency is almost completely a function of distance. Latency is mostly (unless the network is heavily congested) a function of the speed of light (in glass which is lower than air) and the distance it has to go.

That's due to the distance thing. If you were able to pick and choose where you test to/from, and you chose Orlando or Tampa and then Atlanta, then Chicago, then Seattle or Anchorage, you'd see what I mean. latency is primarily distance (technically, how long the wire/fiber is).

Yeah, I thought that was BS about the latency thing myself. But since I'm not an 'expert' in this stuff - plus there had to be an explanation for my issue, I decided to pursue it as a legit possibility.

I'll figure something out. There has to be something obvious I am not seeing. :rolleyes:

That only reinforces that latency isn't the issue.

Thanks for chiming in, Steve - really appreciate it.

Steve is right that latency is fine, jitter is a big factor. Your bandwidth is fine, and so is packet loss. We do VoIP all over the world and even have some over 200 ms latency.

Are you trying to find cheap or replace traditional phone lines? Or both?

We resell RingCentral and cannot say enough good things about their offering and services.

Yeah, I didn't want to muddy the waters, but I've done VoIP over Satellite connections for oil rigs and ships in the Gulf of Mexico and all over the world at a previous company. That's latency in the 600-800 ms range. It's something that you have to get used to, because you have to pause for the 1/2 - 3/4 sec to give the other end a chance to talk. You could almost say "over" each time you were done talking. That's a fringe case and certainly not the norm.

My story on VOIP-

tried it at my office on the insistence of my network guy that it would make us more efficient and save money. well we had all manner of issues with it. at one point while diagnosing issues a third party says to my network guy 'we played back one of his conversations from the day in question and it sounded fine'.

yep.

they played back a conversation.

my network guys had no idea that could be done. no more VOIP here.

Latency could also be due to acks at the TCP or IP layers within the TCP stack itself OR on Baz's end exclusively and intermittent....unseen in "speed tests".... packet sizes, etc..

I am a systems/bit level guy....listen to SM....change course ;)

A "ping" test does NOT test TCP....a different protocol and handled totally different behind the curtain...not a test at all in many cases....experience....btdt.

Another idea popped in mehead....check any settings you "might" have control over....TTL and memory, packet sizes, etc. at the TCP layer....it just might "matter" for VOIP....never noticed on PPOT :)

...or reread SM's first post ;)

You might want better network guys.

Were you having other issues recently, dns maybe? You said hardwired, no wireless right? Are you sure you have good connections? Try a fresh cable on a different port of your router/gateway. Might not be the issue but physical layer stuff gets overlooked a lot. Same goes for the connection into the house to the router/gateway. Cheap/simple troubleshooting step.

I thought everyone was a network guy ;)

A few of the "best" I worked with...were gir.....err..ladi...errr....just damn good :).

Yes, DNS messed up. Got that resolved. Phone problems preceded that though, I think.

Agree with you VV - I'm going to pull everything and start from scratch to double-check all lines and connections.

Apparently my problem is solved.

Let me start by saying I was testing the audio output all this time by calling my cell phone to leave a voice mail. The cell phone was not "taking" a message - and that's why I thought I had no audio output.

Compounding things was I was having trouble with my audio output back before when my DNS specs were out of whack. So in my mind - this was just a continuation of the same problem.

Where I went wrong with my trouble shooting was assuming my cell phone not "taking" a voice mail was absolute proof of the malfunction.

So I decided before trying anything else, to call my oldest brother in Virginia this afternoon as a test and get feedback from an actual human being. To my surprise (and delight) he heard everything I said perfectly and we ended up having a 30 minute conversation.

I should have done this a long time ago - but just assumed my cell phone should take a voice mail if the audio output was working - and I still don't understand that part of it - but overall - it doesn't really matter.

Of course I feel stupid for all the time I wasted on trying to resolve a problem that was not really there - plus tying up others with a problem that was not really there.

I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger? <shrug>

So thanks to all who responded - it's greatly appreciated, as always! :)