Articles in this section

Troubleshooting Calls

Avatar
Ambar Rodriguez
  • Updated
Follow

Introduction

The quality of a Voice over IP (VoIP) client call is heavily dependent on the environment that call is running in. From the device the client is running on, to the network characteristics and firewall/router configuration, a successful VoIP deployment requires careful consideration of the end to end experience. Our dialer is built with Twilio, so that resource offers a lot of useful best practices around resolving call quality issues.

 

If you're experiencing issues with our In-App Dialer there are several things that could be done. Below you'll find tips, suggestions, and instructions to troubleshoot different problems with our dialer.

 

This article contains the following sections:

 

Basic Troubleshooting

The steps include different instructions to perform over Chrome, elements from Windows that could block the dialer, and some hardware specifications to consider.

Chrome Troubleshooting

  • Double-check that only one instance of Apollo is open in Chrome.
  • When performing calls, many different tabs open at the same time could cause problems with the dialer. Please make sure to close the tabs from your browser before making calls.
  • Verify the version of your Chrome browser to make sure it’s up to date.
    1. Open Chrome and enter chrome://settings/help over the browser’s address bar.
    2. At the About section, it will confirm whether it’s at the last version or if it needs to be updated.
  • Clear your browser’s cache, since too much cache built can cause functionality issues and this will often fix intermittent issues with the dialer
    1. Over Chrome, click the Chrome menu icon at the right-hand upper corner on the browser toolbar, then go to the History menu and open History.
    2. On the left-hand side, click on Clear Browsing Data. This will redirect you to the Settings option.
    3. From there, we would recommend you to clear the Cookies and other site data and the Cached images and files. 
    4. Click on Clear Data to complete this. Then wait for the process to finish.
  • If Google Chrome is up-to-date and a hard refresh doesn't resolve the issue, try completely restarting it next. Make sure to save whatever work you are doing and first, and then quit/relaunch the browser.
  • Verify if there are any compatibility issues with other extensions installed on the browser since we have seen some compatibility issues with particular extensions. The reported list is currently:
    • Ghostery
    • Grammar.ly
    • CirrusInsights
    • Salesforce IQ
    • Outreach.io
    • Persist IQ

Unfortunately, in situations like this, there isn't anything that we can do to stop the interference. Our recommendation is to temporarily turn off or completely remove the interfering extension, whitelist the website you're having problems on (if the extension offers this functionality), or operate them in separate Chrome Profiles.

  • To test whether another extension is causing problems, try the following:
    1. Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions.
    2. Find the Apollo Extension on the list and click on Details.
    3. Scroll the page and find the option Allow in Incognito, to give the extension permission to run in incognito mode.
    4. Then open a new incognito window by pressing Ctrl+Shift+N.
    5. Login to Apollo first, then login to either Gmail or Salesforce to test whether the extension loads properly. If it does, then that could confirm a conflict with other extensions that need to be reviewed.

Windows/Network Troubleshooting

  • Windows Firewall. It could be recommended to disable the Windows Firewall using the instructions below:
    • Go to Control Panel and click on System and Security.
    • Open Windows Defender Firewall.
    • Click on Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off, on the left-hand side.
    • Select Turn off Windows Defender Firewall for Private Network Settings and Public Network Settings.
  • Antivirus. Verify that no Antivirus software is blocking Apollo and the dialer.
  • Firewall Configuration. Your firewall should allow outgoing UDP to the public internet from the browsers that will be using the dialer, and allow return traffic in response. If you are operating a restricted network that requires whitelisting of media IPs, our recommendation is to specify the region in your application. You can find our fixed range of IP addresses, and examples of how to specify your region in code at Twilio Client - Regions (Twilio Docs).
  • VPNs. When using a VPN, personal or corporate, it always checks all the computer’s traffic and could disrupt and interfere when making calls.
    • It is recommended to disconnect the VPN connection when making calls via Apollo.
    • The permanent solution would be to allow Apollo via the VPN, and this should be coordinated with our Engineering team and your IT team to verify which firewall rules need to be set up to allow the calls.

Hardware Considerations

  • The Dialer uses a lot of CPU and memory than other features in the platform. Please verify your laptop performance when you're placing the calls. For your information, we recommend having a computer with at least 16GB of RAM.
  • Wireless headsets can lead to lots of “jitter”, which is essentially the latency (delay) between what you say and when it’s processed by the program. If possible, consider using a USB-based headset instead of a Wireless Bluetooth.

Suggestions for Specific Scenarios

Dialer Cannot Establish a Call

  1. Confirm that a network connection is currently available.
  2. Verify the Windows/Network Troubleshooting instructions from above. Windows Firewall should be disabled, your firewall configuration should allow the communication, and no antivirus software should be blocking the dialer.
  3. Review the javascript console for application errors.

Call Audio Cutting Out or Stops Transmitting

  1. Local network conditions have the biggest impact on voice quality. The dialer requires a high speed and low latency network connection. Verify your connection speed by testing it over https://www.speedtest.net/.
  2. Reduce network activity not related to VoIP or use a separate network for VoIP workstations.

Call Audio is Garbled

  1. Use a headset instead of built-in computer microphone.
  2. Reduce ambient noise such as nearby speakers or fans.
  3. Adjust the distance of the microphone from the mouth - too close can cause audio clipping.
  4. Adjust microphone levels in the computer’s sound settings.
  5. Ensure the computer has resources available to process a call and that CPU and RAM are not over-utilized.
  6. Close unneeded applications and browser tabs.
  7. Try disabling any antivirus software.

No Audio or One-Way Audio (Users Can't Hear the Other Person and Vice Versa)

  1. Confirm the hardware is correctly attached and ensure the correct microphone and speakers are selected in software settings.
  2. Check to ensure the microphone is not muted (some have a hardware mute button) and the speaker volume is turned up.
  3. Verify the Windows/Network Troubleshooting instructions from above. Windows Firewall should be disabled, your firewall configuration should allow the communication, and no antivirus software should be blocking the dialer.
  4. Visit http://networktest.twilio.com, and place a test call. Verify two-way audio.
  5. Try making a call via other browsers like Internet Explorer/Firefox/Safari.
  6. Verify your connection speed by testing it over https://www.speedtest.net/.
  7. Confirm that you have given Apollo permission to use your microphone.
    1. Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://settings/content/microphone.
    2. Verify that https://www.apollo.io:443 is listed over the Allow section.
    3. If https://www.apollo.io:443 isn't listed in either section, it means that you haven't given Apollo permission to your microphone yet. Follow these instructions to grant access to Apollo:
      1. Over chrome://settings/content/microphone, turn on the switch for Ask before accessing (recommended).mceclip1b.png
      2. Navigate to the Apollo app.
      3. Make a call using the app's dialer (it can be to yourself or a colleague).
      4. When you see a pop-up from Google requesting microphone access (shown below), click on Allow.

mceclip2b.png

Gathering Debugging Information

After all testing is done, if the dialer is still having trouble, please contact us through the (?) Support widget below or email support@apollo.io.

 

To speed up the troubleshooting process, it is always helpful if you send over any errors that appear in Google Chrome's JavaScript Console and to enable the Call Debugger over Apollo.

Google Chrome's JavaScript Console

  1. Over Chrome, while having the dialer open, use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + J.
  2. Attempt to make a call.
  3. Then, take a screenshot of what appears under the Console tab after refreshing the page.

mceclip0b.png

Enable Apollo Dialer Debugger

  1. Open https://app.apollo.io/.
  2. Go to the Settings option at the main menu, click on the You option, then go to the Voice tab.
  3. At the Debugger section, enable Show call connection errors. This helps Apollo Support identify your call issues but may be a little noisy.
  4. Then attempt to make a call and take a screenshot of the messages that show up on the dialer.

mceclip1c.png

 

Related Resources

 

Related articles

Comments

0 comments

Article is closed for comments.