How can I improve the quality of calls using Zendesk Talk?

Question

How can I improve the quality of calls in Zendesk Talk? I got a message saying Your connection is unstable while on a phone call. How do I fix the network connection issues?

Answer 

Zendesk Talk has some requirements that need to be configured from your side. If those are not configured, quality issues may show up.

In general, most quality issues are due to non-configuration of the local network or not allowing real-time traffic like Zendesk Talk to have priority access and reserved bandwidth allocation.

When that happens, you will introduce jitter, latency, or packet loss.

These are the biggest contributors to voice quality issues in any VoIP network:

Latency	The time your voice data takes to arrive at the destination	Causes media delivery delays, callers may speak over the top of each other. Calls may break up.
Packet loss	Your voice data does not make it to the final destination	Causes gaps and cut-outs in media, callers may not hear the other side.
Jitter	Your voice data arrive at the destination out of order	Cause a ‘robotic’ distortion effect in media, or packet loss when overrunning the jitter buffer

If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms:

• Have your network team or IT team review Talk network requirements, where we explain what needs to be implemented in your local network.
• Configure your firewall so all Zendesk IPs are allowed.
• Once you receive confirmation that the network layer was configured by your technical team, follow the tips outlined in Preparing to use Zendesk Talk.

We recommend disabling the Wi-Fi connection from your computer and use a hardwired connection.
If you don't use a hardwired connection, external factors may affect your calls.