Let’s talk about Microsoft Teamscall quality issues.
Have you ever been on aTeams call and heardthegarbled robot voice orexperiencedchoppy video?
Or do you regularly get the dreaded message: “Your network is causing poor call quality”?
There are a few reasons why these thingsoccur.And none of them are down to Teams itself.
Let’s drill down into each scenario.
Packet loss &Microsoft Teamscall quality
The most common cause of poor Microsoft Teams call quality is packet loss.
When you make a Teams call, your audio, video, and screen sharing are sent over the network as streams of network "packets" - hundreds every minute.
If something on the network is bad, some of these packets may get lost along the way, or get delayed so much that they can't be used.
For example,a network switch or router may be failing, or a home workersharing the Wi-Fi with family who are streaming video or playingonlinegames.
Packet loss is usually expressed as a percentage of packets that don't reach their destination in time, or at all.
You may experience packet lossif a network is too busy (too many people trying to use a limited amount of bandwidth), network equipment is malfunctioning, or the signals used for Wi-Fi or 4G are poor.
Teams and Skype for Business record the average and maximum packet loss on a call, along with lots of other data.
This can be accessed by administratorsvia the Teams Admin Centerorinreporting softwarelike Nasstar’sTeamwork Analytics.
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What happens when we get packet loss?
Upon investigating theuser experience with packet loss,we rantestsusing a looped speed sample on one PC,making calls to a second PC behind a WAN emulator that could simulate packet loss for us.
How high does it go before you notice a problem?
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At low levels of packet loss, Teams is good at dealing with the issue.
The Team SILK codec uses techniques such asforward error correction(sending extra packets in case some get lost) andconcealinglost packets by smoothing over any gaps.
When you start to hear or see issues, this is when there isn't enough information arriving to reconstruct the stream.
Once that capability is used up,Teams can't fully hide the problem. This is when you start to hear audio artifactslikerobot voices andstart to miss words and meaning.
Of course, in the real world we don't get consistent packet loss. It tends to come in short bursts that can have 40% or more of packets lost for seconds at a time.
Microsoft Teams callskeep dropping
When your Microsoft Teams callsdrop, this could be down tosevere packet loss, causing thestream to stop completely.
On corporate networks, this can also be caused byincorrectfirewallconfiguration.
Iffirewallsdon’t identify Teams callscorrectly,they mayclassifyitassuspicious andstop the network stream.
This is particularly frustrating as people have to call again or re-join a meetingand lose time while they catch up again.
How to improve Teamscall quality
If you're making a Teams call and want to give yournetworkpackets the best chance:
- Use a wired network connection if you can
- If you're on Wi-Fi, don't stray too far from the access point (or at home, your broadband router)
- If you're at home, try to avoid any other heavy uses of your internet such as games console downloads or streaming video.
If you're a Teams admin:
- Use reporting software such as Nasstar's Teamwork AnalyticsCalls and Meetingsor Microsoft CQD to identify the poorest performing parts of your network, and the people having thegreatest number ofpoor calls.
- On your organisation's network, ensure there's enough bandwidth and try to have Teams call traffic take the shortest path out to the internet - local internet is better than centralised.
- Work with your network team to investigate problemareas, andconsider proactive support for those experiencing poor calls (even if they're at home).Understanding how they're trying to work with Teams,and suggesting simple changes can bring big improvements.
Microsoft Teams poor network quality
Whileaudio is most sensitive to network issues such as packet loss, it affects video too.
You may noticevideos freezing,becoming blocky orchoppy with Teams poor network quality.
Following the steps above will assist with both audio and Microsoft Teams poor video quality, but if you're still experiencing problems, these tips might help to improve Teams poor network quality:
- Make sure you're using the latest version of Teams. Most Windows or Mac desktop devices will update automatically, but worth checking in case you have to force an update.
- Turn off any custom or background blur in case it's interfering with the connection.
- Close any unused applications currently running on the same device as Teams.
- Check your devicemeets the minimum specifications outlined by Microsoft.
- Relaunch Microsoft Teams.
In the near future, the Satin codec will helpaudioquality and decrease instances of a Microsoft Teams poor network connection.
Future: Satin codec
A new audio codec is coming to Teams called Satin, an AI-powered codec designed for challenging network conditions such as mobile data networks or busy Wi-Fi, which can be prone to high packet loss.
Because it is so efficient at sending audio in fewer packets these can be duplicated if conditions are difficult, giving a better chance that lost packets can be replaced, without anyone noticing.
Microsoft365 network connectivitytest
You can check whether your network is fully optimised for audio and video calls using theMicrosoft 365 network connectivity test.
While it testsfor more than Teams, if you go intodetails,it showshow well your computer and networkconnectionperformed against the Teams service. Any red marks on this sectionwouldbe worth investigating–you may need to work withyourIT or network teams tofind out what the issue is.
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Conclusion
Teams is better than ever at dealing with packet loss on the network, and improvements are coming to help further.
It's always better to keep packet loss as low as possible, to give some contingency for when conditions are poor.
If you are responsible for the quality of Skype for Business or Teams calls, Nasstar can help.
Whether it's helping to plan for a future rollout, troubleshooting issues you have or using our reporting software to identify problem areas before end users complain, Teamwork Analytics helps across the board.
Start your 30-day free trial of Teamwork Analytics here.
