How To Troubleshoot Voip With A Laptop

There are many ways to use VoIP, and this is by design since it works on the principles

of the Internet whose selling point is the flexibility it provides. Most consumers however are exposed to VoIP through their PCs or laptops when they try and voice chat online through Skype or Google talk. It doesn't require any specialized equipment beyond a basic connection to the Internet and a microphone/headphone set. In this article, we see how to troubleshoot problems you may have with using VoIP with your laptop.

In the first scenario, lets assume you're using a service such as Google talk or Skype. These services are fairly robust and most of the time the problem is something simple like your microphone not working or the sound volume not being high enough. If you're on windows, you can test whether or not the microphone works by going to the control panel, selecting "Sound" and clicking the microphone tab. When you speak into it, you will be able to see the bars move up and down if all is well.

Skype also provides a basic testing service to see whether your voice is reaching Skype's servers. On each user's contact list there is one called "Echo123." Double click on this user and you will be asked to speak into the microphone which will then play back to you after a while. If you can hear your own voice, then your VoIP system is working properly.

In the second scenario, you can be using an SIP based system for making VoIP calls. This can be a bit more tricky to troubleshoot since there are lots of different software programs you can use, but for most of them, the key configuration will be the VoIP server address. This address will be either an IP number or a name which is given to you by your VoIP provider. The server's job is to accept your calls, route it to the correct recipient via the SIP protocol and then get back to you. It's one of the most important components of the entire VoIP system.

Internet speed shouldn't be a problem for most people since the bandwidth requirements for basic VoIP are very low. If you're subscribed to the VoIP service as part of your business, you should ask the IT staff how to set it up and install the necessary software and configure it before hand.

by: Andrew Wiggin

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