Audio quality troubleshooting guide

Clear and reliable audio depends on three elements working together: your software, your hardware, and your network connection. When any of these are misconfigured or unstable, you may experience issues such as broken audio, echo, or dropped sound. This guide explains how to check your Aircall setup and provides practical steps to improve call quality.

Common audio symptoms

You may encounter one or more of the following during calls:

• No sound: the call rings and is answered, but there is no audio from the start.
• Dropped sound: audio is lost during the call and does not resume for one or more parties.
• Broken audio: voices sound muffled, delayed, or cut in and out.
• Static or hum: persistent background noise such as humming, buzzing, or crackling.
• Echo: one or more participants hear their audio repeated back.

Audio latency

Audio latency occurs when there is a delay between when sound is transmitted and when it is received. This is often linked to network packet latency.

Steps to reduce audio latency

1. Enable UDP throughput to ensure faster data transmission.
2. Connect to the nearest Aircall media server to minimize transmission distance.
3. Ensure sufficient network bandwidth for stable performance.
4. Avoid VPN routing when using Aircall, as it can introduce unnecessary delays.

Tip: Low packet latency and a stable network connection are key to minimizing audio delay.

Muffled or quiet audio

Muffled or quiet sound can result from issues with hardware, software, or network reliability.

Note: Audio packets contain the exact sound captured by the device. Any distortion or loss at the hardware or network level directly affects the audio you hear.

Audio stuttering

Audio stuttering typically results from high jitter or packet loss on the network. These conditions can cause interruptions or gaps during calls.

Steps to fix audio stuttering

1. Improve overall network quality by prioritizing VoIP traffic and reducing congestion.
2. Monitor for packet loss or high jitter and adjust network equipment settings if necessary.
3. Use a wired Ethernet connection instead of Wi-Fi for greater stability.

Important:
• A stable and reliable network connection is essential for continuous, high-quality Aircall audio.
• By following these steps and regularly reviewing your setup, you can significantly improve call quality and maintain smooth, clear communication.

Tip:
• If you are hearing echoey or distant audio when using Aircall, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Microphone in Google Chrome, and set the default microphone to the same headset or mic selected in Aircall Workspace.
• If Chrome and Aircall don’t match, Chrome may fall back to the laptop’s built-in mic, causing poor sound. Matching the defaults in both places usually resolves the issue.

Check your Aircall app settings

Whether you use the Desktop app or the Web app, review the following points to ensure the best possible Aircall experience.

Verify audio input and output

Steps:

1. Open the Aircall Workspace > Audio settings.
2. Confirm that your input and output devices are selected correctly.
3. Check that the device name appears when connected via USB.
4. If you are using a Bluetooth headset that includes a USB dongle, ensure you use the dongle instead of your computer’s native Bluetooth.
5. Avoid using AirPods since they may switch to other devices automatically and disconnect from Aircall.
6. Confirm that the input and output meters show volume activity before placing calls.

Review additional audio options

In the same Audio menu, you will find:

• Automatic levels: automatically adjusts input and output.
• Advanced sound processing: cancels echo, normalizes the Bluetooth codec, and applies an equalizer.
• Remote controls: enables headset command support for compatible models.

Use a headset

Using a dedicated headset generally provides higher volume, clearer audio, and reduced background noise compared to your device’s built-in microphone or speakers.

Test and optimize your network

Aircall VoIP performance is highly dependent on your network. In the Aircall Workspace under Quality settings, you can run Network diagnostics. Review the displayed values.

Note: All values must be displayed. If any appear as NaN, your network may be blocking required traffic.

If values such as jitter, packet loss, latency, or round trip time are poor, you may need to check the stability of your connection. If you cannot improve the connection, consider lowering the Audio rate in the settings.

Adjust roaming settings

Roaming determines your first connection point to the Aircall cloud.

Steps:

1. Open Quality settings.
2. Locate the Roaming option, which is set to Dynamic by default.
3. Try selecting the nearest available location manually.
4. Run Network diagnostics again and compare which server provides the best results, particularly for round trip time.

Confirm number configuration in the Aircall Dashboard

Ensure your Aircall administrator verifies that your user account is correctly assigned to the appropriate lines.

Steps:

1. Ask your Admin to open the Aircall Dashboard.
2. Check the call distribution for the number you use.
3. Confirm you are listed and that the ringing time is long enough for you to answer.
4. If custom audio files are used in the distribution, ensure the encoding meets Aircall’s requirements.

For details on audio file encoding, refer to Audio Files Requirements and Recommendations.

Key factors affecting call quality

Troubleshooting tips

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