Your video streams and calls ought to be fast and efficient as you work remotely, not the other way around. In this digital age, internet communications have become integral in virtually everything. However, it’s not always about that; there are far too many things you can do on the internet, and the last thing you’d want is to experience more frequent jitter.
An internet jitter can compromise your online activity. Besides, it wastes a massive chunk of your valuable time doing something that, suppose everything was operating optimally, you’d have rounded up in a few minutes. But what is a jitter? This article looks into network jitter and everything it entails, including how to fix jitter on any Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) provider.
What Exactly Is Jitter?
Information moves in data packets on the internet when you send your videos, images, audio, or text. These packets may exist in their thousands for every media you transmit through the internet as they bounce from server to server. These packets, therefore, assemble in every destination server and create the complete audio, video, or text you receive. However, sometimes a delay in transferring these packets may occur, eventually leading to jitter.
This phenomenon usually manifests as distortions and dally audios and videos. Numerous causes of jitter exist and can compromise your ability to communicate efficiently, stream, or send and receive files. Most people confuse latency with jitter, but the two are so varied. While jitter is a change in the time it takes a data packet to transmit through a network; latency is the aggregate amount of time it takes to do the same.
What Causes Jitter? (And What Does It Affect the Most?)
As with every problem, jitters occur for numerous reasons typical with networking. Jitters that occur minimally may not be disruptive, but if frequently happening, can be a nuisance. If you ever asked yourself, “what causes jitter?” or “what is jitter on speed test?” the scenarios below should offer an explanation.
Internet Speed and Network Performance
Internet speed has a far-reaching impact on how data packets are transmitted across a network. A fast internet speed is all you need for seamless streaming and video calling, but a much slower one can result in nagging jitters. A frail router or modem triggers these issues since such devices can’t enable more robust internet connections. Precisely, this problem is more typical with wireless connections than wired types. So perhaps, switching to Ethernet connectivity can offer a solution.
Get a non voip number from our app to verify your number.
Network Congestion
Sometimes, excessive network traffic can be the reason you encounter high jitter. Undoubtedly, you’ve already experienced traffic jamming when perhaps countable devices were simultaneously wirelessly accessing the internet via a similar router. It happens even in a more significant capacity when mobile network providers must handle numerous connections across an expansive geographical setting. However, it would help if you only concluded that network congestion is the issue when you’ve already tested it for other reasons.
Your Voice Over Internet Protocol (Voip) Provider
It helps to pick your VoIP (or UCaaS) provider wisely since not all types can guarantee seamless services. Some VoIP software doesn’t offer HD video and audio as you think, or their capability might be somewhat short. It’s also possible that this issue occurs due to using obsolete VoIP software. Therefore, upgrading to the latest version might offer some much-needed help.
Generally, the problems resulting from high internet jitter include:
Echoing and Static in Video Calls – Most people prefer communicating over the internet using WiFi from routers. But first, is WiFi calling good as far as the occurrence of jitter is concerned? The answer is yes and no. WiFi calling can only be convenient when you don’t have to share your bandwidth with numerous other users. However, you’re more likely to invite excessive echoing and static in video and audio calling.
Dropped Calls – While numerous other issues like incorrect date settings and time result in dropped calls, jitter can be a viable cause. When the delay in sending and receiving data packages is enormous, there’s an incredible chance that your device will drop a call.
Choppy or Distorted Audios – A slow internet connection usually results in jitters, triggering choppy videos and distorted audios. That means your audios may not be as smooth as you expect them to be. There’s also a chance of possible tape and audio delays if your connection jitters.
What is the Acceptable Jitter in Networking?
WiFi jitter is expected and is typical for every internet connection across devices. However, inevitable fluctuations aren’t acceptable and can be a problem for your seamless connectivity. The minimum permissible change for a jitter should be around 30ms to avoid distortions or pixelated videos. It usually becomes a problem when it exceeds this time. Other factors tagging along with this minimally acceptable jitter include a packet loss of not more than 1 percent and latency of not more than 140 to 150 ms.
How to Fix Jitter On the Internet
As much as it is a headache to deal with jitter, you can still eliminate it and make your video conferencing pretty seamless. However, it can sometimes be immensely challenging to determine the cause of this problem, hence taking you through a trip of constant trial and error. Here’s how to reduce jitter through troubleshooting.
Use an Ethernet Cable
You probably fancy picking your video and audio calls without constraining yourself to a specific position, and rightly so. But how about doing that to kick away constant jitter? A cabled Ethernet connection offers incredible internet speeds, and you have less likelihood of experiencing potential jitter. Besides, dealing with this excessive bandwidth should be out of the equation in shared connections like WiFi, giving you the chance to enjoy your online activity. Internet connections through Ethernet cables typically have lower holdups, giving you the benefit of quick speeds for quick and seamless movement of data packs, hence minimal or no jitter.
Check Your Connection Quality
Your VoIP or UCaaS provider should offer tools to check your connectivity and determine its quality. Mainly, a subpar connection quality results in jitter, which can be annoying. Your internet service provider should guarantee a high-quality connection, depending on the package you cash in for. Cheap packages don’t offer the best internet speeds and are twice likely to result in jitter issues. However, some of these packages can provide seamless connections with minimized possibility of encountering jitters.
Use A Robust Router
Your router might be the genesis of jitter issues, and the worst part is that you may not even realize it. So what router is best to outmaneuver this issue? Routers that prioritize data packets are ideal, and as such, they must be sufficiently robust. Finding such routers will require you to do proper due diligence on your internet service provider. Vulnerable routers don’t have the knack for eliminating jitter issues and can be a headache for your video conferencing, streaming, and audio calling. That’s because they may not have a high capacity bandwidth to handle numerous devices accessing the internet through its signals.
Prioritize Your Packets
Sometimes, giving your connection a turbo boost by prioritizing packets instead of others can help. Most VoIP providers offer their users a chance to prioritize specific traffic according to preferences or the tasks they want to undertake. So, it’d help if you chose a proficient provider who doesn’t only restrict you to only a few. Putting your data packet traffic ahead of everything else minimizes jitter, enabling you to stream your videos and make calls with less echoing, delays, or distortions.
Look into Your Device Frequency
Frequency is the number of times something may occur in a specific span. This definition applies in the networking world, measuring the processing speed as the rate of radio signals to receive and send communication signals. Your router’s standard frequency may be about 2.4GHz. But you have an incredible chance to experience jitter if your phone or computer operates at a higher frequency. The wise thing to do is to find a router that levels up to your devices’ frequencies. That way, experiencing jitters and nagging buffering would be minimal.
Try Using A Jitter Buffer
Jitter buffers are helpful devices installed in your VoIP system and minimize jitter issues, giving you a less interrupted online experience. These devices work more comprehensively, storing incoming data packets before releasing them to the receiver. Usually, they help buffer traffic for up to 180 to 200 seconds before they finally reach the receiver. Your transmission can sometimes be at fault, scattering your data packets. Therefore, a jitter buffer helps regroup and organize them to prevent distortions or delays. These devices also have the knack for making your audio calls more reliable. Hence, come in handy during your virtual corporate meetings or casual online communications.
Minimize Bandwidth Usage
While most jitter issues result from your ISP or router hardware, you may have to cut them slack. Household members can load your connection as they use the internet for online video streaming or gaming. That creates a mini jam, increasing the likelihood of getting jitter and uncalled buffering. Therefore, you can restrict their internet usage to help improve the speeds. An alternative solution should be finding a router that can handle such heavy bandwidth, so everyone gets a fair share of the internet.
Use a Non-VoIP Provider
Voice over Internet Protocol requires a consistent connection at both ends of the user experience. When on a VoIP call your internet connection needs to be strong, as does the connection of the person you are speaking to. This is demonstrated by comparing it to your mobile phone calls, or to landline phone calls. When you are using your landline, and calling another landline, how often do you miss words or sentences? Rarely. When using your mobile phone, unless you are driving through a tunnel or you are in a remote location, the call quality is good. When using VoIP, even from your home desk, sometimes your voice turns into a robot, or you miss entire sentences in the conversation. This comparison shows you the benefits of using a Non-VoIP provider.
Whilst VoIP is cheap, it is only effective with consistent and constant internet connections. People working at home might also have children downloading their movies, partners watching You Tube and people playing games online. All this traffic can affect the quality of the internet connection, the download speed, and the connectivity for your VoIP calls.
Using a Non-VoIP provider gives you the crystal-clear communications of mobile or landline calls and if this technology is on your mobile, you can take it anywhere. You are not tied to your desk or limited to your working space.
Conclusion
If you are regularly saying “Can you still hear me?” and “Are you still there?” on calls or you are sometimes talking to a Robotic voice, you are experiencing jitter. This jitter can affect your phone calls and can make customers or clients drop the call out of frustration. If the voice on the other end of the phone builds relationships and is a part of your brand, you need that voice to be clear, so your message is clear.
Using the internet for your communication, even in places with strong connections, has the occasional downtime problems. If you can de-bug your internet, prioritise voice data packets, minimize other uses on your internet line, and buy the best hardware you might have less jitter, but it will be there because you are using the internet.
Working in industries that cannot afford any downtime or missed words on calls means that jitter costs money. There are contracts that need to be verbally agreed to, there are transcription services that require 100% clarity on the recordings that they transcribe, in the financial industry, insurance, medical and many other industries, jitter can cause compliance problems and sales to be lost.
Jitter can be a business killer. If customers and clients are getting frustrated with the quality of your calls, they will simply stop speaking to you. You might have good live chat, messaging services or fast email response, but that does not replace a good phone conversation. If most business is conducted over the phone, especially in this remote working world we live in, your business needs to have the best possible phone connection and as you can see above, there are so many problems that can occur when using jittery phone solutions.
Using the best mobile telephone solution improves call quality and reduces jitter. Your customers are always happy to speak to you and that can lead to more sales, and up-selling products and services whilst in crystal clear communication. Complaints are resolved faster, your brand is protected, and your online reviews are more positive, all because you can clearly speak to people without that annoying jitter on the line.
Moving to a Mobile-Only solution removes jitter from your phone conversations and supports your business growth. When you can clearly hear and speak to your customers they are valued and respected, they are not frustrated, and they know that you are listening to their concerns.
Crystal clear communication creates contented customers.
