Poor Scout call quality

Aveamantium · Post by **Aveamantium** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:40 am

By the way the following is basically what I sent them...

I did a series of tests calls last night to test the scout call quality... Basically I called my work's voice mail and left several messages using different phone configurations. Note that I couldn't really hear the difference between the messages when listening to them remotely but after going through them this morning (directly) you can definitely tell the difference in voice quality between the calls made through the scout and the ones not.

The following is a list of the test calls and corresponding configuration and the resulting call quality (rated 1-5 with 5 being the best).

1) Call from the scout phone connected through the Line 2 house wiring [rating 2]

2) Call from the scout phone connected directly to the hub (no house wiring involved) [rating 3]

3) Call from the scout phone connected through the Line 2 house wiring (just another test similar to No. 1) [rating 3]

4) Call from another phone using the Line 1 house wiring connected to the hub (no scout) [rating 5]

5) Call from the phone that I normally have connected to the scout but this time have connected using the Line 1 house wiring (no scout) [rating 5]

6) Call from the scout phone connected through the Line 2 house wiring after re-tightening/punching down connections [rating 3.5].

Basically, from this I've ruled out the phones and I've ruled out the house wiring. Calls are great through the hub no matter what phone I'm using (even with using the house wiring). The scout phone calls seem to very in voice quality. There should be no reason that test 6 sounded better than test 2 but to me it did seem slightly improved.

Again, I'm comparing the quality between the hub and the scout when talking to a Land Line. I can't tell the difference in quality when the receiving phone is a cell. Consequently, it really isn't bad enough to not use the scout but again, I can definitely tell the difference in quality when the other end is a land line. Another observation is that the ooma end always sounds the same regardless if it is going through the scout or just the hub; again, it is only on the non-ooma side of the call that the quality is degraded (static). Not sure if this helps anyone, but it does (at least for me) narrow the issue down to the scout.

StigMX5 · Post by **StigMX5** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:50 am

When I emailed support, a couple days later they stated that there must be some interference in the wiring. They suggested that I hook up the Scout to the ooma system directly to see if there was static.

I finished the rewiring of my house and separating the ooma wall ports off on their own wires. I still hear static on the ooma scout calls, yet the hub is clear as a bell.

I am going to test the ooma as they suggested next and see if I can capture the voicemail calls and forward them as an attachment.

Aveamantium.. still no word from them regarding your info?

Aveamantium · Post by **Aveamantium** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 11:03 am

No, still no word (I think they are stumped)... At this point I'm convinced that this problem is inherent to the scout as too many people are experiencing the same exact problem. Maybe ooma had a bad run on scouts or there are just not enough people using them to truly see (or hear) the problem?

The only interference that I can think of would be the wireless signal from the router (and having the hub so close to the router). My hub sits about a foot from the router so I guess it could be a problem? But the house wiring is definitely not the problem (I connected the scout directly to the hub and still had the issue).

Anxious to see if you are able to make any headway on this issue!

Aveamantium · Post by **Aveamantium** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 11:14 am

Tonight I'll test my theory on router interference... Since I have my ooma hub in front of my router I'll just make a test call tonight with the router unplugged.

StigMX5 · Post by **StigMX5** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 11:18 am

Just finished the direct connect test to the hub vs the scout call. I can here the static in the scout call but it is not in the hub call.

I'll attach the two examples and reply back to support to see what they say.

Just curious, do you have any X10 devices on your power lines? I have them here though I doubt that would cause what I hear.

southsound · Post by **southsound** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 11:40 am

Aveamantium wrote:
The only interference that I can think of would be the wireless signal from the router (and having the hub so close to the router). My hub sits about a foot from the router so I guess it could be a problem? But the house wiring is definitely not the problem (I connected the scout directly to the hub and still had the issue).

Just a thought as you mentioned interference as being a possible cause. What about using a ferrite bead on several of the cables in case they are acting as an antenna to bring interference into the scout?

These little guys are pretty cheap and if they would work, great!

Here is one source - http://www.allelectronics.com/index.php ... rrite+bead

Aveamantium · Post by **Aveamantium** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 11:45 am

I'll have to give those a try southsound... The thing that continues to baffle me is that the problem (static voice) only seems to happen on the non-ooma side of the conversation. The scout side of the conversation sounds just like the hub. Now if it was interference wouldn't it occur on both sides of the call?

Aveamantium · Post by **Aveamantium** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 11:52 am

StigMX5 wrote:Just curious, do you have any X10 devices on your power lines? I have them here though I doubt that would cause what I hear.

Nope, I don't have anything like that on my power lines... By the way I did try connecting the scout directly to the wall socket (no surge protector) and still had the issue. I read somewhere that surge protectors actually create "noise" in the electrical current but I'm not too sure if this is true or not.

Let us know if you hear back from ooma CS!

scottlindner · Post by **scottlindner** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:14 pm

I have been considering using twisted pair between the hub and scout. All phone cord is not UTP. I don't know why I didn't think of that until now.

Scott

Aveamantium · Post by **Aveamantium** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 5:41 am

Well I did three test calls last night to see if the router was causing any interference. The first call was through the scout with the router running and for this go around the static wasn't all that bad, I'd give it a 4 out of 5. The second test was with the router unplugged and the quality was identical to the first test. The last test was again through the hub and it was the normal 5 out of 5 test.

Anyway, I think I can rule out the router as the possible culprit. I'll post back if I can think of any other things to try. If I get a chance I'll test those little filters that southsound pointed out.

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