The customer has reported an issue with static or noise on the line: clicks, fuzz, pops or other unwanted sounds, either for one user or both.
Most often times, static is a manifestation due to issues on the physical layer, however, there are cases where static can be caused by the carrier as well.

Additional Troubleshooting and Next Steps

Information to gather from the customer:

Circumstances of the call–Think in terms of Who, What, When, Where and How:
1. Who: The parties involved, usually an Originating Party who called out to a Terminating Party
  1. Originating Party (calling number):
  2. Terminating Party (called number):
  3. Direction of issue: Is the noise heard by only one party (just the caller? just the callee?) or do both sides hear it?
  4. Scope of the issue: How many users are experiencing static/noise?
    1. Single user
      1. If remote, investigate physical layer and packet loss on network
      2. If in office, investigate physical layer
    2. Multiple users - Investigate packet loss on Edgewater and the physical layer with the equipment on site (switch, router, cables, etc.)
    3. All users
      1. Site-wide - Investigate packet loss on Edgewater and the physical layer with the equipment on site (switch, router, cables, etc.)
      2. Enterprise-wide - If in different locations, there could be an issue on the server or back end
2. What: The context of the call. Inbound? Outbound? Internal? External? Is it only certain kinds of calls, or is it all calls?
  1. Direction (Outbound vs. Inbound): Is the static/noise only on outbound calls, inbound calls, or both?
  2. Endpoint: Method of placing and receiving call
    1. Deskphone:
      1. Manufacturer: Polycom, Yealink, Cisco or other?
      2. Primary Device or SCA?
      3. Hotel/Open Seating host
    2. Remote Office
    3. Softphone
      1. UC-One
      2. Skype
      3. Teams
    4. Cell phone - If a cell phone is involved, poor audio quality could be due to the cellular network.
  3. Application: Was any call tracking application in use?
    1. Unity
    2. ECS
    3. Call center
    4. Receptionist
  4. Any additional details pertinent to the call (Was the user transferred or put on hold?)
    - Any error messages on the phone or application?
    - Headset?
3. When: Was this a one-time occurrence, intermittent or persistent with every call? Try to get a specific call example.
  1. Date:
  2. Time (including time zone):
  3. When did the issue start?
    1. Today at a specific time
    2. Previous day
    3. Does this happen at a certain time of day?
      - If at certain times, could be due to call volume (connection bandwidth) or network issues (network saturation or QoS issues)
      - Any unusual weather conditions such as rain or electrical storms? Could indicate bad wiring or electrostatic discharge (ESD)
    4. Has never worked since implementation
  4. Does the static/noise start after a certain period of time, such as after ten minutes? Does the issue occur only on longer calls? If so, and the user's remote, this could indicate an issue with Stateful Inspection on the local network's firewall. Provide firewall guide
  5. Frequency
    1. Every call?
      1. Check for packet loss
      2. If none, investigate physical layer
    2. Intermittent?
      - Get call example and check for packet loss
    3. Can it be replicated?
      1. On user's end?
      2. On our end?
4. Where: Location of each party.
  1. Remote or in an office behind an Edgewater? (Ask the user, "Are you in the office or remote/at home?")
    - Check phone in OCOM to see what IP address it's registering from. If the IP can't be found in Nagios, it's probably remote.
  2. Does Evolve own the numbers involved or are they off-platform numbers owned by another carrier? (Some troubleshooting may be necessary to determine this)
5. How: How was the call initiated?
  1. Direct call: Originating Party dialed Terminating Party directly
  2. Queued call: The call was presented to the Terminating Party through a call center.
  3. Transfer: The Originating Party reached a Terminating Party, then was transferred to a secondary Terminating Party.
Obtain a call example - Call Examples must be from within the past 24 hours so that if needed they can be investigated with underlying carriers.
- Caller:
- Callee:
- Time/Date (including Time Zone):
- Call Example Verbiage:

To facilitate troubleshooting the reported issue, a call example is required.

Please provide us with a specific, recent call example (from within the last 24 hours) of the reported issue, so we can verify its routing and quality.

Please include the following information:

Caller number:
Callee number:
Date and time (including time zone):
Issue description:

**************************Your ticket is now being placed on a HOLD status pending the requested information.

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Troubleshooting

Find the call example in OCOM and document the call example and PCAP in the ticket
1. OCOM
  1. Search by the offnet number. This is the best way to make sure you get all the legs of a call. Can search under "User Tracking" or "Calls."
  2. Calls from a softphone like UC-One or ECS will show as inbound.
  3. Is there any packet loss or jitter?
    1. If so, identify the source
      1. Carrier: Open a ticket with the offending carrier for investigation regardless of packet loss or not.
      2. Local network:
        If in the office, is there packet loss on the WAN connection of the Gateway/Edgewater?
        If we manage the circuit, open a ticket with the carrier
        If customer manages circuit, advise them to contact their ISP and close the ticket.
    2. If there is no packet loss on the call example, investigate local/physical layer.
      1. If using headset, try with handset and speakerphone
      2. Replace ethernet cable with a known working ethernet cable
      3. Move phone to a known-good location
      4. Are the ethernet cables running near fluorescent lighting or anything else that might cause electrical interference? For example, is the ethernet cable taped together with other types of cables?
      5. Make sure cell phone isn't too close to a headset base
    3. If this is occurring for multiple for users:
      1. Check the local switch? Is the CPU overutilized? (show cpu utilization)
      2. Replace cable from Switchport to Edgewater.
      3. Replace cable from ISP to Edgewater.
    4. If a recap is needed on how to analyze a call example, please refer to this page:

Additional Troubleshooting Steps

Not all static/noise is caused by the carrier. Sometimes it's due to local equipment or wiring. Some troubleshooting may be necessary to isolate the source of the issue:

Try to replicate the issue.
Remove variables.
- If using a headset, try speaker and handset
Move the phone to another, known-good port. If in the office, and no packet loss is showing on the Edgewater or carrier, it's possible there may be an issue with the cable, port or switch.
For customers that have dedicated call recording servers, we can pull their recordings and listen to locate the choppy audio (Note: Don't mention this to the customer, though. This is just a troubleshooting step on our side) - List of customers that have dedicated servers: Orecx Call Recording Server List
Based on the originating source of packet loss, your next steps may vary:
1. Client Side
  1. Check for circuit errors, dropped packets
    1. If circuit is EIP responsibility, then open a ticket with the circuit provider
    2. If circuit is client responsibility, tell the customer they need to open a ticket with their ISP/WAN provider
  2. If circuit is clean,
    1. If Evolve owned or managed CPE, check equipment (CPU utilization, physical connections)
    2. If not Evolve owned or managed equipment, request customer to have their IT staff review
2. PSTN Side - Open ticket with Carrier
3. Evolve IP network - Document findings and elevate the ticket to the next Tier.
When to send to Tier 2:
1. Chronic, replicatable issues for which the client pushes back that the issue's on us or they don't believe the issue is from off our platform
2. Issues that can't be resolved with Tier 1 resources (always present issue in the group chat and check with team leads before elevating to Tier 2)
3. If the customer's listed on Orecx Call Recording Server List, you can mention this to Tier 2, that recordings can be pulled, but again, don't mention this to the customer.

See also:

Call Quality

Call Quality Troubleshooting: Choppy or Static

Documenting Call Examples in JSD

What is Jitter?