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I have been having a problem with VOIP calling on a number of different services including Skype, GoToMeeting, Webex, and XLite Softphone. The problem is this: normal internet browsing causes these calls to breakup severely for about 10 seconds at a time. This makes VOIP almost unusable.

Some facts about this issue:

  • I'm using Mac OS 10.12
  • My ISP is Verizon Fios, with 150m up and down (which I can consistently verify with a speed test). I am the only person using this connection.
  • The problem occurs when I conduct a search using google chrome but NOT when I conduct a search using Firefox.
  • The problem occurs when first opening microsoft outlook, or sometimes when focusing the already open outlook window (so if someone on a voip call says "hey, did you see that email?" I'm out of luck).
  • The problem occurs when I conduct a search of my computer with Mac OS spotlight search.
  • The problem always occurs when doing the above described activities, it is not an intermittent problem.
  • My router supplies two Wifi networks, "My Network" and "My Network 5G." The problem occurs on both networks but it is MUCH, MUCH worse on "My Network 5G." It is completely debilitating on 5G, but without 5G I can tolerate the comparatively minor dips and cracks in call quality.
  • The problem does not occur on a hardwired connection.

Some video demonstrations of the problem:

Some things I have already tried, with no success:

  • Rebooted the computer and the router many, many times
  • Contacted my ISP, who tried at great length to help but couldn't
  • Replaced the physical router
  • Changing the "MTU" of my computer to 1498, 1492, 1472, and a few other values.
  • Changing the MTU of my router to all the same values named above
  • Putting my wifi on a channel that is not used by any other wifi in the building
  • Checked that QoS scheduling is enabled on my router for both wifi networks (it is).

Finally, here is a Wireless Diagnostics report for 1 minute of network traffic, during which time I was on a voip call and deliberately triggered the problem 3 times.

Any help would be appreciated, but to be quite honest, I currently feel pretty hopeless about this issue.

Matt Korostoff
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  • This seems like CPU/memory contention. Do you have limited RAM, so that lots of processes are swapped? – AFH Mar 09 '17 at 13:41
  • @AFH, I have 16GB of RAM on this computer. The issue persist even if the only programs open are skype and spotlight search. If the issue were memory contention, I would expect this issue to persist on all wifi networks, and also while hard wired. – Matt Korostoff Mar 13 '17 at 18:00
  • Questions: (1) You mention WiFi - does the problem occur if you connect to the router via cable? (2) Is your bandwidth 150 mbps? (3) Have you checked for packet loss? (4) Does the router have QoS Settings that are set? (5) Have you tried to use another DNS server, for example [google](https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/)? – harrymc Mar 13 '17 at 20:48
  • @harrmc replies: (1) As I wrote in the original post, no this does not occur on a hardwired connection, (2) Yes, my bandwidth is 150mbps, (3) Yes I have checked for packet loss by pinging google.com and then forcing the problem to occur. I get some request timeouts, but always 0.0% packet loss, (4) As I said in the original post, yes, my router as a simple on/off switch for QoS, it is set to on, (5) actually, I had not until this moment. I'm not sure if it did anything. It does seem like the issue occurs maybe a little less, but it definitely still occurs. – Matt Korostoff Mar 13 '17 at 21:50
  • It seems like you have bandwidth problems on wifi that get worse for the faster wifi network. Try to turn off QoS just in case; also to disable "My Network 5G" to reduce the amount of work that your router needs to do. If your router has logging or tracing capabilities, you might try to see if something is going on that you don't know about. When you say "Replaced the physical router" - was it with another router model? – harrymc Mar 13 '17 at 22:17
  • @harrymc I feel you have not understood this issue. I will not disable the 5G network. Connection quality of the 5G network was literally the whole problem I came here to solve! Disabling the 5G network would not improve anything, because the remaining 2.4G network has always worked. That would be like amputating an arm to cure a hangnail—sure the problem behavior is gone, but so is every non-problematic behavior. On your advice, I did try disabling QoS "just in case" which caused me to lose all internet access, including hard-wired, until I did a factory reset of the router. – Matt Korostoff Mar 13 '17 at 23:29
  • I got the impression from what you wrote that 5G was all but unusable - you should clarify that 5G is your goal in the post. In any case, something is very weird and fragile with your router if disabling QoS lost the internet. You haven't answered if you have tried another model router. From what you say the problem is clearly with wifi and can either be the router or your wifi adapter. Just to remark that at my home I returned the ISP's router and bought my own. – harrymc Mar 14 '17 at 07:16
  • Another remark for your current router: Reduce all router services you don't need (example Bluetooth if any). Ensure in QoS that VOIP has absolute priority. On the Mac you could also [delete all wifi profiles](http://www.tp-link.com/us/faq-286.html) and recreate. – harrymc Mar 14 '17 at 09:38
  • @harrymc what's there to clarify? My original post stated "The problem occurs on both networks but it is MUCH, MUCH worse on 'My Network 5G.' It is completely debilitating on 5G, but without 5G I can tolerate the comparatively minor dips and cracks in call quality." As to your question about the router model—my ISP (Verizon) requires I use the Fios Quantum Gateway router, so both the old and new ones were the same model. – Matt Korostoff Mar 14 '17 at 14:46
  • You are stuck with that router which I don't know (not in the US). Very last remark: 2.4GHz has better range than 5GHz - can this be the problem? – harrymc Mar 14 '17 at 15:17
  • @harrymc I have just right now tested by standing about 1 meter from the router. There was no improvement. – Matt Korostoff Mar 14 '17 at 15:43
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    Well, the ideas above are all I could contribute. Sorry not to have been more of help, and good luck. – harrymc Mar 14 '17 at 16:52
  • One really last idea: You could test if the problem is the router by getting a good wifi AP, connected via cable to the router, and turn off wifi on the router. – harrymc Mar 15 '17 at 05:57

2 Answers2

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Of the very many suggestions I outlined in the comments on the post, none has worked. But here are the bare facts on which I will base my last suggestion :

  • The Fios Quantum Gateway router is required by the ISP and cannot be replaced
  • This router is fragile, for example turning off QoS causes Internet to be lost
  • The problem is with 5GHz - there are only slight problems with 2.4GHz
  • There are no problems when connected via cable.

My theory is that the router's support for 5GHz WiFi is flaky, so I would suggest using another WiFi access point.

You could buy a good-quality WiFi access point that can be connected to the router by cable, and disable all WiFi networks on the router itself. The AP can be bought from a shop that allows returns, so in case this suggestion does not work, the AP can be refunded.

If this test does not solve the problem, then I would think that the problem is with the network adapter on your computer not handling well 5GHz (or with its driver).

harrymc
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  • Hi, I know it's been a while, but I finally did get around to testing out this theory. I put a high quality router between my computer and the verizon modem. It did not help. – Matt Korostoff Jul 03 '17 at 20:56
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It sounds like there are some network issues of some sort (obviously), which are usually not noticeable, but become apparent when under stress.

It looks like you've tried to fix the network side of things without success.

You could try to fix the traffic side of things.

You can set up local QoS restricting the bandwidth available to certain applications. I'd suggest working out your WiFi transmit bandwidth (check connection speed in your system tray for example, confirm with test file transfers), and then limit all browsers to use only 25% of it - so that Voip has free access to 75%-100% of it depending on browser traffic.

See https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/7426/bandwidth-shaper-or-bandwidth-controller-application-for-mac-os-x

If you're doing QoS on our PC, disable it on the router.

You could disable throttling when not using Voip.

Also, check your CPU usage during these times - just in case it is maxing out due to a dodgy network card/driver combo.

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