Low voice quality

This forum includes tips for maintaining the best audio quality possible with the Ooma System. If your Ooma system is having issues with dropped calls, static audio or echo, look here for assistance.
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ooma_trial2022
Posts:2
Joined:Tue Feb 01, 2022 7:12 pm
Low voice quality

Post by ooma_trial2022 » Tue Feb 01, 2022 8:44 pm

So I bought a Telo device today with the hope it can replace my conventional (cable provided) phone service. The device was easy to install but I immediately noticed that the voice quality is low. There's no stutter or static but voice is unclear and fuzzy, feels compressed and almost gated. Calls are still functional but noticeably degraded compared to a normal phone, even a mobile phone. I can live with a slight latency increase from the VOIP service, but the quality is in my opinion unnecessarily low. I suspect the codec they use but that's just speculation. I've spent some time doing side-by-side comparison using uLaw's test servers and results are consistently to Ooma's disadvantage.

My internet connection is 1Gbps, low jitter (1-3 ms across the US on fusionconnect quality test servers) so I am doubtful that there is a network related cause. I'm also using a corporate cloud softphone every day for work on this network, no issues.

Are my expectations too high regarding sound quality? Does anyone know of any tweaks that improve call sound? I've contacted Ooma's support a couple of times today with disappointing results but I will try them again with the hope that someone finally can give a straight answer. If my findings are typical, I must say that I'm surprised over all the online reviews that say "crystal clear", "great quality", but what's good for some might not be acceptable for others.

ooma_trial2022
Posts:2
Joined:Tue Feb 01, 2022 7:12 pm

Re: Low voice quality

Post by ooma_trial2022 » Wed Feb 02, 2022 6:15 am

Posting a reply to my own post after coming across information on this forum and on Ooma's support site. Hopefully helpful in case someone else is facing a similar experience.

The issue is related to codecs. By default Ooma uses a low bandwidth codec for all calls. This is to save network bandwidth. Ooma decided that low bandwidth is "good enough", and most users appear to accept what they get. Personally I don't accept fuzzy and muffled phone call quality. I'm sure there are users with low performing internet connections that will benefit, but Ooma themselves probably benefits the most by being able to squeeze more calls on their network. Even with stellar network performance, the sound quality will always suffer with a low bandwidth codec.

There are ways to change the codec though. By prepending dialed numbers with "star codes" (see https://support.ooma.com/home/star-code ... oma-device for details) you are able to specify which codec to use. That's nice but works only on outbound calls, and needs to be entered every time a call is placed. For both in- and outbound calls the change needs to be made permanent. Only Ooma support can do this for you. I don't know how willing they are to do this, and how permanent that change would be.
I contacted Ooma support yesterday but was not offered a solution. I did not specifically request a codec change (nor should I have to) but I'll try that today.

Robek
Posts:234
Joined:Thu Sep 26, 2019 6:56 pm

Re: Low voice quality

Post by Robek » Thu Feb 03, 2022 12:50 pm

I thought it was automatic now; Ooma only uses high bandwidth (HD Voice) when connecting two Telos that have "HD-capable" phones. It uses the low bandwidth analog phone network when connecting with outside parties. Unless it's high bandwidth from end to end, do the star codes really help?

Ooma's low bandwidth (PureVoice™) technology may be "better than landline" (an analog signal over a copper loop), but it only extends from Ooma to Telo. uLaw test servers are one thing, but how well does a cable phone or corporate softphone compare, when connecting with a party that uses the analog network?

KenJWC
Posts:2
Joined:Mon Apr 17, 2023 10:46 am

Re: Low voice quality

Post by KenJWC » Mon Apr 17, 2023 11:11 am

I've also been disappointed with the voice quality. It actually sounds worse than when making a cell-to-cell or cell-to-Xfinity VOIP call. I'm not sure of the cause. This is especially disappointing because Ooma seems to emphasize their voice quality.

I tried cell-to-Ooma, and also Skype-to-Ooma. The Skype-to-Ooma used a Skype dial-out. In both cases, audio quality was poor.

It's not an issue of dropouts, etc., but just sounds like low bit-rate codec. My Internet test results and call stats are attached. The MoS scores look decent.

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Robek
Posts:234
Joined:Thu Sep 26, 2019 6:56 pm

Re: Low voice quality

Post by Robek » Sat Apr 22, 2023 11:00 am

Ooma "HD Voice" only works for Ooma-to-Ooma calls, between HD-capable phones. For any other calls, "better than landline" does not mean better than digital. A cheap phone (on either end) can further degrade voice quality. Many cordless phones, for example, compress the signal between the base and handset.

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