Call Quality Issues (Distortion, Echo, Delay)
Let's examine a situation where calls seem to go through, but having a conversation is difficult. The connection exists, but the enjoyment is zero: sound is distorted, delayed, or behaves as if the speaker is talking underwater.
How the Issue Appears
Agents usually describe this very generally, but with vivid details:
- "Telephony is working poorly"
- "The sound is crackling, gurgling, croaking, quacking"
- "They can't hear me well"
- "I can't hear the client well"
Sometimes it's a constant problem, sometimes it happens "every other call." In any case, the conversation becomes uncomfortable and tiring.
Clarifying the Picture
To understand where the problem is coming from, ask a few simple questions:
— What headphones are being used?
— How is the computer connected to the internet?
— Is the network or the computer itself overloaded?
— Can you show the call statistics?
These questions help determine whether the sound distortion is related to devices, network, or system load.
What Is Visible in Logs
If you check the logs, nothing "critical" appears to be happening at first glance:
- The call connects successfully — incoming or outgoing.
- All SIP events complete correctly.
- Diagnostic information and call statistics are available.
But in these statistics, an important detail becomes noticeable — key metric values are outside the normal range.
This is precisely what manifests as echo, delays, and "croaking" during the conversation.
How to Diagnose
First, confirm the problem itself:
Call connects → Connection is unstable or distorted → Audio quality is poor on one or both sides.
Then, check the call statistics.
If metrics exceed normal values — the cause of the sound issues becomes obvious.
Common Causes
In practice, two sources of the problem appear most frequently.
On the agent's computer side, this could be weak hardware, a wireless network connection, or an analog headset with a 3.5 mm jack.
On the network side — overloaded infrastructure or a saturated network channel on the agent's computer, when movie downloads or operating system updates are running simultaneously.
What to Do
In such cases, first try switching from Wi-Fi to a wired connection.
- Check the network load.
- Check the agent's computer load.
- Contact a system administrator or provider to verify network conditions if needed.
Special attention should be paid to the headset — replacing an analog headset with a USB one often immediately improves sound quality.
Key Point
If the connection exists but the sound is "croaking," delayed, or echoing — the problem is almost always in the environment or connection conditions, not in the call itself.
Call statistics usually directly show why the conversation sounds poor.