4 Ways to Improve the Voice Quality of Your VoIP System

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Did you know that only 6% of Americans will use a landline phone by the end of this year? Or that the VoIP services market will grow to $140 billion by 2021? When it comes to VoIP, there’s certainly lots to shout about.

But what if people can’t hear you?

Static, hissing and other noises from a phone line can seriously damage business communications — and you could even lose clients in the process. Thankfully, there’s a solution.

Here are 4 tips for improving VoIP voice quality.

1. Buy a Better Headset

This one might sound obvious, but the number of VoIP users who communicate through poor-quality or broken headsets might surprise you. Some cheap headsets have poorly insulated cables inside them. As a result, you’ll experience sound problems.

Related: 5 Features of VoIP (And How to Use Them for Business)

Can’t hear the person on the other end of the line? It’s time to invest in a good-quality headset with properly insulated cables. These will cost you more than those cheap headsets you see online, but they are well worth the investment, especially if you communicate with business clients on a regular basis.

2. Reduce the Amount of Bandwidth You Use

The amount of bandwidth you use could be affecting the quality of your VoIP calls. If too many programs are running on your desktop or laptop at once, or you download a lot of files from the internet, you might notice a dramatic decrease in call quality.

Fixing this problem won’t take you long.

Using Windows? Head over to the Task Manager. On a Mac? Open up the Activity Monitor. From here, you can find out the programs that use the most bandwidth — close down and uninstall the ones you don’t need. You might also want to restrict certain programs from running in the background when you make VoIP calls. Again, just use the Task Manager or Activity Monitor on your computer.

Related: 5 Benefits of Cloud Mobility

3. Optimize Your Sound Settings

If you installed your VoIP software straight out of the box, you might still be using the program’s default audio settings. Experience poor call quality? Play around with volume levels and background silence detection tool, and see if this makes any difference. If a vendor customized your audio settings, now might be a good time to review them and make any necessary changes.

Additionally, check your VoIP software is up to date and that you have installed any recent program updates and security patches. Old, outdated software could be the root cause of your audio issues.

4. Check Your Internet Connection

A poor internet connection can result in muffled voices and distant echoes on the other end of the phone line. There are plenty of resources online that let you check your broadband speeds for free. These will measure your upload and download speeds and provide you with valuable information about your connection.

Related: Your Daily Dose of Fiber [Infographic]

Alternatively, you can delve into your computer’s network settings and see if you identify a problem. If you’re still having issues, contact an expert who can provide you with IT support. If all else fails, it might be time to change your internet service provider.

Follow the four tips on this list if you want to improve the quality of your VoIP calls. Making a few changes to your software or bandwidth settings, investing in a better headset or checking your internet connection could instantly solve your audio-related problems.