Dropped cals - any issues today?

**Mike_TV** · 06-09-2010 12:26 PM

I've had three dropped calls today where the call just dropped mid-conversation. All calls were outbound calls. Both lines blinked and few seconds later I was able to get a dial tone and redial the number in each case.

Any problems happening today? When this happens two or three times in one day is it better to check here on the forums or just go and open a ticket?

**sr98user** · 06-09-2010 12:59 PM

I made couple of short calls today without any problems. You should probably open a ticket.

**Mike_TV** · 06-09-2010 02:16 PM

Will open a ticket but in past experiences with my previous VOIP provider, if you can't replicate the problem on a consistent basis opening a ticket was kind of pointless.

**Russell** · 06-09-2010 08:05 PM

Originally Posted by Mike_TV

Will open a ticket but in past experiences with my previous VOIP provider, if you can't replicate the problem on a consistent basis opening a ticket was kind of pointless.

I tend to agree with you. And, yes, I've had more than one experience like yours in the past week and I believe one this morning. In one case (previous day) the RT31P2 went appeared to go through a reboot sequence.

**MisterEd** · 06-10-2010 05:27 AM

Was in the middle of a call yesterday and suddenly got a fast busy. It's happened before.

**VOIPoTim** · 06-10-2010 05:52 AM

There are no issues on our network. Any issues (including network issues) that would affect large number of users are posted on our Twitter at www.twitter.com/voipo

Typically issues like dropped calls are caused by intermittent network issues or a lack of QOS.

Basically if there is any delay or drop int he packets, the call will drop. There's just no way to prevent this. So if there is a tiny delay even along the way or there is a tiny delay caused by something downloading there is potential to drop the call.

If you've ever been browsing and it takes a few seconds longer for a page to load than normal, this is an example. If you've ever been watching a video clip online and it skips for a second or has to re-buffer, this is an example. In regular web browsing it's not as disruptive since it just delays things a second or so and you may not notice.

Unfortunately since this stuff happens commonly on the internet and are not as noticeable during browsing, but are in a VoIP call since it's less forgiving.

Having an occasional dropped call is just part of the nature of VoIP since it uses the internet. If you're having constant, chronic drops over a long period of time then that's the point you'd want to contact support.

**MisterEd** · 06-10-2010 08:54 AM

There has to be some difference between VOIPo and that other "V" provider. Never had any of these issues there for close to 2 years. Never dropped calls, never loss of audio, never 1 way calls and I call pretty much the same 4 or 5 numbers 90% of the time. I'm not writing this to be "spiteful" or crap on VOIPo but there must be something else at play relating to the VOIPo network vs. the other guy. Sure, I had an echo here and there on the other "V" but never the quantity of issues as I have experienced here in 6 months. I used the "same internet" on both services.

Yes VOIPo is less expensive but that shouldn't have anything to do with the quality of the phone service itself. If there was a disclaimer stating "VOIPo costs you less so expect more issues" when you sign up that would be another story. I didn't switch for the cost alone but that was a definite plus, I switched mainly for the features and more specifically for the call "routing" feature. I'd have no problem paying VOIPo more if that would resolve the sporadic network problems but I don't think the cost of service is the issue.

**usa2k** · 06-10-2010 09:15 AM

If calls end abrupt versus properly close, is that something that can be internally monitored at VOIPo? Just wondering?

I suppose some debug mode on a specific ATA could maybe get to the root issue if it happens often enough.

A network of a couple years ago is unlikely to be comparable to a network of today. Things are always changing ... bandwidth ... modems from DOCSYS 1 -> 2 -> 3 ... modem profiles ... routing across the Internet ... levels of customer traffic ... VoIP topologies ... servers ... DNS ... the best fair comparison is running both side-by-side, and that could have issues with NAT routing between the two devices to the Internet for some router/modem pairs also - as well as port forwarding would not be feasible, so the hardware must be a good fit.

My luck with different VoIP providers and Cable providers, modems, and my router choices have always been remarkably good. I am looking at moving in the Fall and I hope my luck will continue, but I will only know when I put it to the test.

**VOIPoTim** · 06-10-2010 09:21 AM

Originally Posted by MisterEd

There has to be some difference between VOIPo and that other "V" provider. Never had any of these issues there for close to 2 years. Never dropped calls, never loss of audio, never 1 way calls and I call pretty much the same 4 or 5 numbers 90% of the time. I'm not writing this to be "spiteful" or crap on VOIPo but there must be something else at play relating to the VOIPo network vs. the other guy. Sure, I had an echo here and there on the other "V" but never the quantity of issues as I have experienced here in 6 months. I used the "same internet" on both services.

Yes VOIPo is less expensive but that shouldn't have anything to do with the quality of the phone service itself. If there was a disclaimer stating "VOIPo costs you less so expect more issues" when you sign up that would be another story. I didn't switch for the cost alone but that was a definite plus, I switched mainly for the features and more specifically for the call "routing" feature. I'd have no problem paying VOIPo more if that would resolve the sporadic network problems but I don't think the cost of service is the issue.

I understand that you're saying you've had a lot of problems with VOIPo, but it's definitely not the case that VOIPo users have constant issues.

Less than 2% of users have ever contacted support and our support levels are extremely low over the last few months. The majority of users have virtually no issues outside of occasional hiccups due to the nature of VoIP. In the rare cases were a user does have a lot issues, they are constant and ongoing and will never be fully resolved.

While it's normal to see occasional dropped calls, etc with any VoIP service as I explained above, your post makes it sound like you're having constant issues. If you have constant issues with our service, then it's not for you.

There are virtually no standards in designing VoIP networks so all providers have networks that are very very different. Different services also work better for different people depending on their internet connection and the path it takes to the provider, the path to the media gateways used (typically not operated by the provider), the home networking gear, etc.

If you're having that many problems, it may be best to find another provider that works better for you. There may be some kind of underlying issue (like the connection to us) that makes VOIPo not work well for you. If you decide to go this route, we can arrange for a prorated refund of any unused time (just contact me about this).

We hate to lose a customer, but if you really are having that many issues, it may be best to find another provider because it's just not normal for VOIPo.

While Vonage worked well for you, there are many people that report the same issues you're reporting experiencing on VOIPo at Vonage. All networks work differently for different people and there's not likely going to ever be a way to design one where it works for everyone given all the variables involved. It's just one of the downsides of VoIP. What works well for one person may not for another if they have different variables (different router, ISP, etc) in the mix.

**MisterEd** · 06-10-2010 11:24 AM

I'm not having "that many" issues just a lot of issues that I never had before and am trying to understand the reasons. They aren't constant but they are intermittent enough to be annoying. It's also possible that some people are more tolerant than others when it comes to these issues.

While it may (or may not) be true, I just can't accept the fact that it's "the nature of VOIP." Occasional "audio problems" (echos, garbled calls etc) I can understand being "the nature of VOIP" but not what gets described as network issues where the problem is caused by "the downstream provider" or a database problem etc. Those issues aren't internet related or the "nature of VOIP."

As VOIPo grows and becomes more of a mainstream company where people just want telephone service like they're used to you will find they will become even less tolerant than those of us with some understanding and technical knowledge. I have no idea how many subs VOIPo has but I experienced a company that grew from 250,000 to almost 2,000,000 in less than 2 years from the inside and I can assure you (and as I'm sure you know) that the tolerance level drops as the number of "joe six-packs" sign up. They don't care about the nature of the internet or voip or forwarding ports. They just want phone service.

I appreciate your interest but unless your firing me I'm going to stick it out.

Please don't take it personally when I post a message stating I have had an issue or confirm an issue someone else has had as being similar to mine. For the most part people don't log on to these types of forums just to say "everything is hunky dory." "That's the nature of a support board."