[Calvin413]

Just spent 3 hours on the phone w/CC at TMO. They are leaning to my ISP as the culprit, but I have also physically moved so I am not inclined to believe that is the problem.

I wish I could try the dd-wrt patch, but it does not appear to be available for my router.

I will continue to work with TMO and keep you informed.

[John Clark]

I'm leaning toward your cable modem or Comcast. Take your BB to a TMobile Hotspot there in Philly and see if it drops the call there. If it doesn't then you know it's your ISP or Cable Modem. You've been using the TMo router so that rules that out. Nothing left but Comcast or your modem.

[Calvin413]

John,

thanks for all of your assistance. This is my 3rd cable modem in my 2nd location, which again makes it highly unlikely, to me, that it would be both or either (but I could be wrong)!

I am truly puzzled with this one!

The whole "take it to a Hotspot" process, just is not scientific enough for me, besides I bought the "@Home" service for that purpose. I received all of my UMA capable equipment from TMO, and I would like some scientific troubleshooting to pinpoint my problem in "my home".

I'm not shooting the messenger, just ranting a little as it has been 10 months now of unresolved dropped calls and poor call quality. I spent 3 hours on the phone w/TMO CC b4 they were convinced to open a trouble ticket, and only then when I got my account mgr conferenced in!

It really does sound like the dd-wrt thing might help, but again it doesn't look like my "new" router is compatible.

[John Clark]

Wirelessly posted (BB 11020)

Calvin, taking it to a Tmo Hotspot is VERY scientific. If it works there then you KNoW its your router/isp. How hard is it to find a Starbucks and make a call on uma there and see if calls drop? This should have been suggested by Tmo CC, too. I'd say its probably an issue with Comcast.

[Calvin413]

ok John,

it has been suggested by TMO to go to Starbucks (I don't like the coffee), and you are probably right, so what do i say to Comcast??

[John Clark]

Wirelessly posted (BB 11020)

I don't even drink coffee. But it will tell you whether its an issue with your BB or account or whether its on your router/ISP side.

When you are doing your checks make sure that the call hands off from UMA to EDGE and from EDGE to uMA.

As far as what to say to Comcast, I have no idea.

[Calvin413]

I have Comcast telling me my connection is good for the past 11 days w/avg ping of 66ms. AT my request they are going to switch out my modem tomorrow, from the Arris to the Internet-only model.

The handoff from UMA to EDGE has never been smooth, and generally I hang up first. EDGE to UMA is not as bad, but again not 100%.

I'm gonna find a nearby hotspot and give it a try, but at this point that only leaves the TMO router.

I want you to be fully aware of my experience, so I will give it to you in detail:

9/07 - purchased the service and the 8320 handset
9/07 - began experiencing poor call quality and dropped calls; was using a Netgear SuperG Wireless Router that could not be upgraded so I purchased a newer model thinking that the firmware would not support the UMA protocol priority over data; no change
9/07 - purchased the TMO Router WRT54G-TM, no change.
10/07 - had Comcast Digital Voice Service cancelled and Comcast switched out the modem.
10/07 - had Comcast run a seperate line into my home for the Internet; no change
11/07 - switched handset(new 8230); no change
12/07 - changed SIM card per TMO; no change
3/08 - changed handset (new 8320); no change
4/08 - physically relocated(moved); no change still dropping calls and poor call quality sporadically.
4/08 - Arris modem is installed at the new location. relocated the router to optimize the signal; no change.
6/08 - new handset(my 4th); no change
7/08 - upgraded to the newer @Home service; installed new router(my 4th), bought 5.8GHz phone had bad call quality; replaced the phone with DECT6.0 phone; both the 8320 and the VOIP DECT6.0 handsets now have poor call quality and drop calls.
7/08- Comcast says there is no problem - pinging at 66ms and speed is

7/21/08 - Finally TMO has assigned a trouble ticket

[PhillyGuy]

I upgraded to 4.5 OS the other day. UMA seems much better. The handoff from Edge to UMA is pretty good. I have not tried BT with it yet, we'll see.

Calvin, I'm on Verizon FiOS using the TMO router as a separate network.

[Calvin413]

PG

FiOS is not an option for me at this location. Glad that 4.5 is working out for you too!!

[PhillyGuy]

Some people have had problems with the Verizon supplied router and UMA. I was on Comcast for years and had major problems with and Voip (Vonage and Skype). I don't know if it was just bad cable to the house or Comcast.

Since your problems have moved with you, maybe it's Comcast.

[Calvin413]

Gonna do the Starbucks today for a few hours and we'll see if we get any dropped calls or poor call quality.

[monkeypaw]

Originally Posted by Calvin413

http://www.speedtest.net/result/299403434.png

Speed alone isn't the only consideration. Packets have to arrive kinda in order and at least in time to be put in order. So try a VOIP test that also measures "quality". Google and a bunch will come up. Here's one I've used before.

MySpeed VoIP connection test, VoIP test, test VoIP performance, test VoIP quality

There's a box in the middle that say "Click to start MySpeed".

There will be a report that rates the quality of the connection and tells what stuff is off. On Fios I get all green ratings. On Time Warner cable I used to sometimes get some yellow, but not enough problems to interfere with calls.

[John Clark]

All green for me!

[Calvin413]

QOS was questionable for me at 9%. Here is the text version of the results:

Speed test statistics
---------------------
Download speed: 9652792 bps
Upload speed: 1608160 bps
Quality of service: 9 %
Download test type: socket
Upload test type: socket
Maximum download pause: 244 ms
Average download pause: 2 ms
Minimum round trip time to server: 65 ms
Average round trip time to server: 70 ms

VoIP test statistics
--------------------
Jitter: you --> server: 0.3 ms
Jitter: server --> you: 1.3 ms
Packet loss: you --> server: 0.0 %
Packet loss: server --> you: 0.0 %
Packet discards: 0.0 %
Packets out of order: 0.0 %
Number of supported VoIP lines: 10
Estimated MOS score: 4.2

I also suspect that I have a very weak signal from the Router. What signal levels should I be seeing (in dB)?

[monkeypaw]

Originally Posted by Calvin413

QOS was questionable for me at 9%. Here is the text version of the results:

Speed test statistics I get
---------------------
Download speed: 9,652,792 bps
Upload speed: 1,608,160 bps
Quality of service: 9 %
Maximum download pause: 244 ms
Average download pause: 2 ms
Minimum round trip time to server: 65 ms
Average round trip time to server: 70 ms

I also suspect that I have a very weak signal from the Router. What signal levels should I be seeing (in dB)?

Sounds like it is the data stream causing problems. Looks like the stats in the "Speed" section are the ones out of line. I actually get worse "jitter" times, but I guess that's well within a liveable range.

I don't think the pausing and round trip times are fixable without your neighbors canceling their cable internet service, but that's just a guess. Well I guess you might be able to get a higher speed service from them.

Speed test statistics
---------------------
Download speed: 10,584,848 bps
Upload speed: 1,868,328 bps
Quality of service: 99 %
Maximum download pause: 31 ms
Average download pause: 1 ms
Minimum round trip time to server: 34 ms
Average round trip time to server: 34 ms

[John Clark]

Mine varys throughout the day but this is what it said just now:


Download speed: 4753160 bps
Upload speed: 1005120 bps
Quality of service: 95 %
Download test type: socket
Upload test type: socket
Maximum download pause: 34 ms
Average download pause: 2 ms
Minimum round trip time to server: 83 ms
Average round trip time to server: 84 ms

[Calvin413]

I upgraded to 16MBps today, and lost UMA completely.

My current test results:

Speed test statistics
---------------------
Download speed: 3930896 bps
Upload speed: 3227696 bps
Quality of service: 12 %
Download test type: socket
Upload test type: socket
Maximum download pause: 350 ms
Average download pause: 13 ms
Minimum round trip time to server: 68 ms
Average round trip time to server: 100 ms

VoIP test statistics
--------------------
Jitter: you --> server: 0.9 ms
Jitter: server --> you: 1.4 ms
Packet loss: you --> server: 0.0 %
Packet loss: server --> you: 0.0 %
Packet discards: 0.0 %
Packets out of order: 0.0 %
Number of supported VoIP lines: 20
Estimated MOS score: 4.2

Doesn't look any better with more speed!

Comcast will be onsite on Sunday to troubleshoot.

ALso, where should my router signal be arond in dBm. I am seeing numbers like -33 dBm within 3 feet of the router on my 8320.

[John Clark]

Your router signal is fine. It's pretty obvious it's your ISP.

[Calvin413]

Thanks!

[Calvin413]

TMO says that a QOS of 85% is needed to resolve the dropped calls and call quality issues.

Comcast may not be able to deliver just by the nature of the architecture, but they are due onsite here Sunday, and we'll keep you posted. I may have to do DSL, as FiOS is not available here, or worse, forgoe the H@H!!