Trying to identify and troubleshoot dropped calls issues is a complex and one of the most annoying tasks for users. A wide range of problems should be considered from wrong wiring, interfering devices, network routers, insufficient bandwidth, poor internet connection, faulty hardware devices and more.
Types of dropped calls
Most common dropped calls issues happen without warning. Users can directly hear a busy signal followed by the call being dropped, the call can go directly into "dead air" and even if the audio is present on the line, the conversation can be choppy and very hard to continue the call.
📌 Busy signal - if a call goes immediately to a busy signal the issue may most likely be an Interference coming from another device taking control of the line and eventually ending the call
📌 Set time - if calls drop consistently after a specific amount of time, then the calls are disconnected and dropped due to a call queue setting. By default our system drops the calls after 360 seconds. These settings are introduced as a safe guard in avoiding indefinite billing times on calls that may not be a valid call
📌 Invalid connection - if calls don´t connect at all or drop very fast, it may be due to the system not establishing a good connection to sustain it. Reasons for which would be
network issues
insufficient bandwidth
elevanted latency on your internet connection
faulty router or modem
not using Google Chrome browser
google chrome browser not updated
using a wifi connection instead of hardwired
connection occupied by other team members streaming and downloading
📌 Complete dead audio - if you experience the loss of one way audio or both ways, this may indicate that the audio device may be broken. You may restart the station and make a sound test, change the headphone and station as a last resort
📌 Choppy calls - after connecting to a call you run into choppy or interrupted calls with temporary or no audio at all, it may indicate that you don´t have enough bandwidth to maintain the quality of the call
💡The recommended bandwidth per agent is of 1 Mbps Free Upload to avoid issues as dropped or choppy calls
Troubleshooting dropped calls
As previously discussed, dropped calls can happen due to a large number of issues. To be able to identify the exact problem, an indepth analysis is required.
Gather the information
Questions that you should ask include:
Are the calls dropping during an active conversation or only during periods of silence?
Is the issue happening on all users or a particular group/location/office?
The calls drop after the same period of time for all users?
Are the calls dropping when dialing a particluar area code or location?
Collecting the information from the above questions will be useful in pointing towards the source of the problem. It can uncover issues of configuration, hardware or software. The data has to be collected in the moments where issues occur; gathering network data when the calls are not dropping will result in a dead end with no useful information.
Most common issues that cause calls to drop are
1️⃣ using wifi or any other wireless technology
2️⃣ lead losing signal connection
3️⃣ operating on a browser other than Google Chrome
4️⃣ working on a open network connection
More complex problems can be spotted and solved by using packet capture and network analysis by your technical team.