Bad call quality makes everyone miserable—especially when your team’s scattered across time zones and home offices. If your crew relies on Aircall to talk to customers or each other, but you keep hearing complaints about dropped calls, robot voices, or weird silences, you’re not alone. The good news: most call quality headaches have a fix. The bad news: you’ll need to do a little detective work to pin down the cause.
Whether you're the tech-savvy team lead, the unofficial IT person, or just someone tired of saying “Sorry, you cut out there,” this guide is for you.
Step 1: Figure Out If It’s Aircall or Something Else
Before you start tweaking settings, make sure Aircall’s actually the problem. Sometimes, the app gets blamed for issues outside its control.
- Check Aircall’s status page: Is there a known outage or degraded performance? (Google “Aircall status page.”)
- Ask around: Are all users affected, or just a few? If it’s everyone, it could be a bigger Aircall issue. If it’s just Bob in Boise, it’s probably local.
- Compare with other apps: Are people also having trouble with Zoom, Teams, or regular phone calls? If yes, it’s likely a network or device issue.
Pro tip: Keep a quick log of when and how the issues happen. Patterns (like every Monday at 9am) can help you track down the real culprit.
Step 2: Nail Down Where and When the Problem Happens
Distributed teams mean lots of variables: home Wi-Fi, office Ethernet, VPNs, you name it. Getting specific about the “where” and “when” saves a ton of time.
- Location: Is it always the same office or region? Just remote workers?
- Device: Are the problems on desktop, mobile, or both?
- Network: Does the problem happen on both Wi-Fi and wired connections?
- Time: Is call quality worse at certain times? (Peak hours, bad weather, etc.)
Ask affected users for screenshots, error messages, or recordings if possible. The more details, the better.
Step 3: Check the Obvious—Internet Connection
Most call quality issues boil down to bad internet. VoIP (what Aircall uses) is picky about speed and stability.
- Speed: Each call needs at least 100kbps up and down, but more is always better.
- Stability: Jitter (inconsistent data flow) and packet loss (missing chunks of data) ruin calls.
- Test: Use speedtest.net and ping test tools. Look for:
- Download/upload speeds above 5 Mbps
- Ping below 100ms
- Jitter below 30ms
- Packet loss: 0% is ideal; anything above 1% is a problem
What works: Wired (Ethernet) connections are way more reliable than Wi-Fi. If someone’s calling from a coffee shop or on hotel Wi-Fi, all bets are off.
What doesn’t: “Reboot your router” sometimes helps, but it’s not magic. If the internet is flaky, no software will save your calls.
Step 4: Get the Local Setup Right
Even with solid internet, bad hardware or software setups can tank call quality.
- Headsets: Cheap USB headsets beat fancy Bluetooth earbuds for reliability. Echo and feedback often come from using laptop speakers and mics.
- Background apps: Close anything hogging bandwidth (Dropbox, streaming, big downloads).
- VPNs and firewalls: These can mess with VoIP traffic. Try disconnecting VPNs or whitelisting Aircall’s domains/IPs.
- Browser/app updates: Make sure Aircall and your browser (if you’re using the web app) are up to date.
- Operating system: Outdated drivers or OS versions can cause audio glitches.
Ignore: The myth that “Macs are always better for calls.” Both Mac and Windows can work fine—what matters is hardware, updates, and network.
Step 5: Dig Into Aircall Settings
If everything else checks out, it’s time to look at Aircall settings.
- Audio devices: In Aircall’s audio settings, double-check that the right mic and speakers are selected.
- Call quality monitoring: Use Aircall’s built-in call quality stats (if available) to see if the app is reporting issues like high latency or packet loss.
- Browser permissions: If you’re using Aircall’s web app, make sure your browser has permission to use the microphone.
- Extensions/add-ons: Sometimes browser extensions mess with audio. Try disabling them or using Aircall in “Incognito” mode.
- App version: If you’re using the desktop app, check for updates. Bugs do get fixed—eventually.
Pro tip: Have users test calls with the Aircall mobile app on cellular data. If calls are fine there, the problem’s likely on the computer or network.
Step 6: Deal With Distributed Team Headaches
Remote teams bring extra wrinkles:
- Home networks: Many folks have “good enough” internet for Netflix, but not for crystal-clear calls. Offer a small stipend for Ethernet adapters or better routers—it’s often worth it.
- Different ISPs: Some internet providers (especially in rural areas) just don’t play nice with VoIP. There’s not much you can do except encourage people to call in from somewhere with better service or use their mobile data as a backup.
- Time zones: If issues always happen during certain hours, it might be local congestion. Ask users to try calls outside peak times as a test.
- Shared spaces: Lots of people in the same house or co-working space will kill bandwidth.
What works: Encourage a “test call” habit. Have people make a quick call to a teammate or a test line before customer calls—better to find issues early.
Step 7: When to Escalate to Aircall Support
If you’ve ruled out user error, network issues, and hardware, it’s time to get Aircall’s help.
- Gather evidence: Call logs, times, error messages, call quality stats, and network test results.
- Describe the troubleshooting steps you’ve tried: Saves everyone time.
- Push for specifics: Some support reps will send you generic advice. If you’re sure you’ve covered the basics, ask for logs, backend checks, or escalation.
What doesn’t work: Just saying, “It’s broken, please fix.” The more details and data you give, the faster you’ll get a real answer.
Common Red Herrings (Stuff That Won’t Help)
- Switching browsers constantly: Unless you have an ancient browser, this rarely fixes call quality.
- Turning off antivirus: Security software usually isn’t the problem.
- Blaming Aircall for everything: A lot of call quality issues are upstream—bad networks, old gear, or even issues with the person you’re calling.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Keep Iterating
Call quality issues can be maddening, but most come down to a handful of fixable problems: bad internet, bad hardware, or bad settings. For distributed teams, standardizing the basics—good headsets, wired connections, and regular test calls—solves most headaches. Don’t overcomplicate things. Work through the checklist, keep notes, and don’t be afraid to push back if you’re getting boilerplate answers. Fix what you can, document what you can’t, and move on. Your team (and your sanity) will thank you.