Constant buzz and white noise for receipient

[raghuooma]

I got Ooma last week and it worked fine for couple of days. The recipient has constant buzz (static or white noise).. throughout the call. At home I can hear fine.

I called home today to test and it is pretty bad. In fact the buzz starts much before the phone is lifted at home. Until the phone is picked up, you can here this buzz between the rings.

I don't think it is a network issue. My cable internet has more than 1Mbps upload. I am not using a scout or a landline.

Current set up :
modem ---> router ---> ooma hub ---> Phone

Anything I could try? I don't think it is network.

Edit : This seems like Ooma network problem. It is always there even when the device is disconnected and voice mail picks up the call.

thanks,
Raghu.

[raghuooma]

Just to clarify, the caller can hear the buzz even when when the phone is not lifted... especially noticeable between the rings.

I guess it only gets worse after I pick up the phone.

[raghuooma]

One more interesting thing that points to Ooma servers for the fault :

this buzz and white noise exists even when I set the device to go to voice mail directly (i.e. "to message" button is red). So my deice or network are not involved at all. Interestingly, the woman's message asking the caller to leave a message does not have this static, the buzz starts right after the voice prompt.

If some one at Ooma wants to listen to to the buzz, please let me know and I will give the number to call.

Raghu.

[raghuooma]

It is not clear if this is Ooma issue or some other inherent problem (telephony experts could pitch in) or is common to all IP phones.

cell phone to ooma has this noise on cell phone
cell phone to another cell phone is clear
my work phone (IP phone I think) to ooma is clear
my work phone to cell phone has this noise on both sides

I need to do the same test with a land line.

So whats going on ?

[Dennis P]

I called your number and I can hear a low volume "hiss" in the background. Is this what you are referring to? IP gateways will generally insert something called "comfort noise", which is designed to simulate an analog connection (because people freak out when there is absolutely no noise on the line, they think the line is dead or the phone call disconnected). Your number appears to either have an aggressive setting for that, or possibly there is something wrong with the configuration of that port. Since you are still on your Premier trial, do you want to try picking a different phone number, preferably in a different area code and see if the problem is just tied to that number?

[raghuooma]

I called your number and I can hear a low volume "hiss" in the background. Is this what you are referring to?

Yes, pretty much. 'hiss' would make it sound smooth. but it sounds like low volume white noise.

IP gateways will generally insert something called "comfort noise", which is designed to simulate an analog connection

Thats too bad.. now analog lines (like the one I used till recently) does not have that. Does Ooma's IP gateway do the same? I hope you decide to disable it.. at least calls to non-voip phones would be clear.

Your number appears to either have an aggressive setting for that, or possibly there is something wrong with the configuration of that port.

Could you clarify a bit more on this? Is it a per-phone number setting?. I would like to remove it completely for my number. What does "that port" refer to in your comment?

Switching to a different number in the same area code would be ok, if that makes a difference.. in that case, I am curious what changes.

do other users notice this too?

thanks,
Raghu.

[Dennis P]

We don't own that IP gateway (our partner does), so do not control the configuration of it. Comfort noise normally would not be configured on a per-port or per-number basis, so my first suspicion would be that the problem is elsewhere, possibly at the trunk or channel level, likely before it hits the gateway (which would make it even more difficult to narrow down and fix).

Let's start with testing a different phone number. A different number will travel through a different path in the phone network and may avoid whatever it is that is injecting the noise you are hearing.

[raghuooma]

Hi Dennis,

I added a nearby area code number and the "(dis)comfort noise" is noticeably less. But still noticeable, but much better, one has to try to listen to the noise.

What are my options now? I already gave my primary number to a few friends. Is it possible to close that number and make Ooma fwd the users to new number (AT&T does that when I disconnect my landline).

As such, I think Ooma should have a say in quality of their partners. Is it possible that route to my new number also degrades say a month later?

btw, does "premium trial" automatically disconnect after the trial period? I am very light user and I don't need premium.

thanks,
Raghu.

[Dennis P]

The customer service folks can help you change your number. Just tell them there was noticeable static on your previous one. We have no capability to forward your old number to the new one, so you will have to inform your friends. The Premier service will automatically expire at the end of your trial unless you choose to subscribe.