How can I troubleshoot Talk issues?

Question

How can I troubleshoot call issues with Zendesk Talk?

Answer

All web-based software can experience performance issues relating to the connections and environment in which it operates. Existing system or network connection issues may not be as noticeable during normal ticketing, but these issues can be much more pronounced with the additional demands of a telephony connection such as Zendesk Talk.

To help you deal with such issues, we have compiled a list of common troubleshooting steps to try first. This article includes: 

• Questions to think about before troubleshooting
• Troubleshooting problems with voice quality (delays, static, echoes, dropped calls)
• Additional Talk problems you may run into
  • Outbound call drops after two minutes. 
  • Calls drop every time you call into one of your numbers.
  • Receiving an EC# error
  • Zendesk Talk resetting to offline status

Questions to think about before troubleshooting

• Was Talk working previously and did it just stop working? Double-check if your company's IT team made recent changes to your network or laptop, installed new software or add-ons.
• Is the issue happening to other agents or just to you? If the issue only happens to you, take a look at your local settings and network. If you and others are all having issues, check with your IT team and networking team first, especially if you connect with a company-issued laptop.

Talk is not working
Resolve common wide-spread call issues.

Issues with Talk are usually related to network issues. A very common trend particularly in office connections is the blocking of ports or IP addresses. Have your network team ensuring that all the Talk network requirements are met. For more information, see this article: Talk network requirements.

There are other things to keep in mind:

• Check the Zendesk and Twilio status pages for any outages.
• Check the Agent leg quality issues report in Explore. The report assists you in determining the call quality of your team overall and specific agents. This way you can identify individuals who have Talk issues.

Troubleshooting problems with voice quality
Troubleshooting calls, delays, static, echoes, and dropped calls.

Consider the following when troubleshooting calls:

• Verify with your IT team if your Talk account is running through a VPN. If that is the case, ensure that traffic to Talk is not running through your company network. Your IT department can split-tunnel this or remove the Zendesk IP addresses from the VPN. 
  
  Note: Talk doesn't work with MPLS or VPN due to a service that runs in the background called GLL. This service decides on the best network path to run the call through. If you use a VPN or MPLS, the system doesn't give the true location of your agents and as such cannot route the call efficiently, potentially leading to latency and other call quality issues.
• Run the Twilio network test to ensure ports are open, speed is adequate, and that you're connecting to the right endpoint. Review the results with the help of this article: How do I use the Twilio network test to troubleshoot Talk agent calls?
  
• Plugin in a hard-wired ethernet cable to your router. Wi-fi works, but the ethernet connection tends to provide a more stable connection as other wireless devices can interfere with the signal making it unstable.
• Try a different browser to make sure the issue isn't browser-related.
• Plugin your headset to the computer with a 3.5 mm connection instead of using Bluetooth. USB is also better than Bluetooth. Other wireless devices and signals can degrade performance. To eliminate that the headset is the cause of the issue, connect your speakers to the computer, and make a test call.
• If you use gaming headsets, disable their special driver software. Occasionally browsers like Chrome don’t synchronize fast enough.
• Ensure a stable internet connection. If you passed the Twilio network test, but you're still having issues, your connection may be, in fact, unstable. You might still be dropping some packets or your connection works for a while and slows down. The IT or network team of your company has software that they can run over time to see how stable your internet connection is.  You can also do this yourself if you feel comfortable and your IT department allows it. 
  
  1. If you are at home, reboot your router.
  2. Run a ping test and verify if your connection is stable and not dropping packets over a 10-15 minute test especially when you have problems. Find below a short example of the test results.
• In addition to zendesk.com, try the Twilio client endpoints as well with a ping test:
  chunderw-vpc-gll.twilio.com
chunderw-gll.twilio.com

chunderw-vpc-gll-{region}.twilio.com
Where region is one of the following: au1, br1, de1, ie1, jp1, sg1, us1
  
  Ensure that the ms (milliseconds) ping time is adequate and not jumping all over the place in terms of speed. In most cases, you want ZERO packet loss. If you're even seeing 1% packet loss in 15 min this might be enough to affect your connection. Talk with your IT department or contact your ISP to help. 

Calls drop frequently
Resolve issues with outbound call dropping after two minutes or every time.

If calls drop after two minutes, check with your administrator as you may be in a trial. Talk trial accounts limit the call to two minutes.

If calls drop every time you call into one of your numbers and you have an IVR setup, create a custom greeting otherwise the system hangs up on you. If you have a greeting setup, occasionally a corrupt file can also cause similar behavior. Re-record and upload this file to fix this issue.

Receiving an EC# error
Understand and resolve this error message.

See the example of an EX# error below:

EC# errors are often caused by your network or router configuration. They represent an issue with Talk not having an adequate network connection. This can occur anywhere along with the network, but often they are the result of local network limitations, or from a computer that does not meet the minimum requirements to make the connection. Review the Talk network requirements. Ensure all ports are open. Also, verify the troubleshooting steps above.

If you are still experiencing EC# errors, contact the Zendesk support team and provide a screenshot of your firewall and router settings showing these open ports.

Zendesk Talk resetting to offline status
Resolve the call status issue.

Refreshing your page changes the status of your agent to unavailable in Talk. The agent needs to manually reset themselves to become available. Do not refresh your page in your browser when you wish to be available for calls.

If you are still unable to determine the cause of your quality issues, contact the Zendesk support team providing the information listed below.

• A screenshot of the information at Support Details from an agent who is experiencing quality issues.
• A ticket example where call quality was an issue.

For information about Talk billing, see the article: Zendesk Talk billing FAQ.

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