Microsoft Teams / Zoom / Google Meet - periodic sound loss during the call/meeting - AX86u with Merlin 386.1

[Sky1111]

Folks,

Recently I started experiencing problems with Teams over wifi; basically during the conference call, I stop hearing the other party for few seconds, and then it resumes. And then it keeps repeating every few minutes (!), and with no visible drop of wifi connection
Anyone else having such problem?

Setup:

• 2x AX86u, with Merlin 386.1 in AIMesh config (Ethernet link)
• both iPhone and ThinkPad are connected to to the node on 5GHz at maximum connection speed (literally less than 1m away from the router)

UPDATE: turns out that this problem affects not only these 2 devices and Teams, but also all Zoom and Google Meet - my kid just confirmed that

I am looking at the system log, I do not see anything related to the MAC address of the affected devices or the node.

Thoughts?

 

[Sky1111]

Additional details:
- this only seem to impact only audio, no impact on presentation (I see the presenter moving cursor on his screen)
- interestingly, audio loss is NOT on all devices simultaneosly - for example, my meeting is statteing and I hear my kid's class uninterrupted

 

[KingBravery]

I'm using AX86U with two XT8 nodes and so far not having any interruption for Microsoft Teams or Zoom and even Google Meet.

Maybe your isp that create the problem.
OR
Your wifi or internet setting cause that problem.
OR
Might be certain region issue caused by server or routing problem

 

[juched]

So interesting... I have MS Teams issues this week with audio dropping but video continuing just fine. I can see lips moving, but cannot read them, so this is an issue

I also somehow thing this was a network issue, but I checked for an update and did got one, and haven't seen this now in a few days. Router was not rebooted since the weekend. So, maybe a MS Teams issue.

 

[Sky1111]

Interesting thing on my side that NO router setting change after I rolled back to Merlin 386.1 (from 1_2). And I never had this issue before.
And in all cases, devices are close to the router and have very strong signal... 5GHz.
Already power cycled the modem/routers, no improvement

 

[juched]

Are you still having this issue? For me in most cases I need to hang up and call back and then audio was back.

 

[Sky1111]

I am absolutely still having this issue and it is very annoying, as those are work meetings/calls. So I simply turn off wifi on my phone and use data for my Teams calls. But why I should be doing while I have 1Gbps internet?

 

[ppfoong]

What is your QoS setting?

Maybe you can put higher priority for video conferencing and e-learning.

 

[MarkyPancake]

Are you in the UK and on Virgin Media broadband by any chance? They seem to be suffering from higher congestion than normal with the lockdown and in turn this is impacting latency for many people, so perhaps that's the issue.

 

[ckennylin]

Folks,

Recently I started experiencing problems with Teams over wifi; basically during the conference call, I stop hearing the other party for few seconds, and then it resumes. And then it keeps repeating every few minutes (!), and with no visible drop of wifi connection
Anyone else having such problem?

Setup:

• 2x AX86u, with Merlin 386.1 in AIMesh config (Ethernet link)
• both iPhone and ThinkPad are connected to to the node on 5GHz at maximum connection speed (literally less than 1m away from the router)

UPDATE: turns out that this problem affects not only these 2 devices and Teams, but also all Zoom and Google Meet - my kid just confirmed that

I am looking at the system log, I do not see anything related to the MAC address of the affected devices or the node.

Thoughts?

When in doubt, roll back to Asus Stock or the last stable version, which is 384.19 and see if the problems exist.

Just came across an issue with 386.1_x and a direct connection to a Fios ONT which was fine under stock and 384.19.

 

[Sky1111]

Are you in the UK and on Virgin Media broadband by any chance? They seem to be suffering from higher congestion than normal with the lockdown and in turn this is impacting latency for many people, so perhaps that's the issue.

Canada, and yes it could be ISP problem, since there was no change on my side

 

[Sky1111]

What is your QoS setting?

Maybe you can put higher priority for video conferencing and e-learning.

That's a good idea! thanks, trying it now... will be back with update

 

[Sky1111]

QOS did not help. Let me reach out to Rogers...

 

[atkinsom]

QOS did not help. Let me reach out to Rogers...

OH boy if you got Rogers they've been having all kinds of issues this week which they won't admit to...my boss had to go to a neighbors with Bell Fibe to get into our corporate WebEx meetings this week. Good luck with Rogers they are a bunch of thieves!!! Bell is MAYBE one step above these colluding sharks!

 

[Sky1111]

OH boy if you got Rogers they've been having all kinds of issues this week which they won't admit to...my boss had to go to a neighbors with Bell Fibe to get into our corporate WebEx meetings this week. Good luck with Rogers they are a bunch of thieves!!! Bell is MAYBE one step above these colluding sharks!

I suspected that it would be Rogers... I had really bad experience with Bell back in the day (they could not get 50Mbps service working properly - infamous "sync no surf" issue), and while I managed to get reasonable deal from Rogers for 1Gbps service, Bell only offers 50Mbps for more money that I pay Rogers. And these two bandits made sure that any 3rd party ISP cannot offer anything close to their high tiers.

Anyway... I decided to update the FW 386.1 -> 386.1_2 -> 386.2 (latest - early March) Alpha with QOS enabled for communications, and if my conference calls continue to suffer on Monday, I will start formal complaint to Rogers.

 

[Sky1111]

Update: I just wasted a couple of hours with ISP who -as expected - claimed that everything is good on my line and neighborhood, and they told me that CODA modem is past it's shelf life and I should consider moving to a new service to pay them more money (of course!)

Any ideas on how can I pinpoint the problem?

 

[juched]

I am also with Rogers. But the issue stopped for me last Wednesday or so. I have a

CODA-4582U​

 

[Datalink]

I'd argue with the idea that the 4582 is past its shelf life. The XB6 which is used for the Ignite TV service has two versions, the Arris TG-3482ER which uses the same Intel Puma 7 chipset, as does the 4582, with minor variation to add telephone service to the XB6. The other version is a Technicolor CGM4140COM which uses a Broadcom BCM-3390 chipset. The newer XB7 modem probably arrives in the same varieties, an Arris Intel Puma 7 and Technicolor BCM-3390, but, don't quote me on that one. Perhaps Arris has seen the light of day and is providing an XB7 with a Broadcom chipset. There's no good reason to switch to the Ignite TV service, other than for the purpose of upselling in an attempt to solve a problem for which there should be an easy resolution. Solve the problem instead of upselling the customers. Grrrrr.......

In any event, log into the 4582 and have a look at the STATUS .... DOCSIS WAN tab. Look at the bottom OFDM/OFDMA Overview section. If it shows that you have an OFDMA channel enabled, which is an upstream OFDMA channel, then you have problems. Rogers has been slowly enabling the OFDMA channel across the network. An unforeseen issue cropped up with the 4582 modems, with issues just as you have described, that is loss of upstream audio and video. As a result, Rogers has disabled OFDMA on some 4582 modems in affected areas. They are completely radio silent on the issue, so, no one outside of Rogers knows if this is a hardware issue, network noise issue, or an issue with the neighbourhood node or CMTS. Rogers is investigating the issue, but, there's been no word on this at all.

Beyond that, you could simply copy the signal data, from the Downstream Overview line, all the way to the bottom right hand corner of the OFDM/OFDMA Overview and post it here or on the Rogers Forum. That table will copy all in one go, which enables you to post it in forum. There's always the possibility of cable signal issues affecting the upstream data.

Are you running any other services such as a Nextbox for tv or a Home Phone which has its own modem?

Edit: Fwiw, I also use the Hitron CODA-4582 in Bridge mode with an 86U behind it. We've never had the OFDMA channel enabled, so, haven't seen any of these issues so far. Rogers needs to sort this out pretty quickly, or come to the conclusion that its time to switch all 4582 users to a Broadcom modem. That will be a little expensive, abandoning all of the 4582 modems at the same time.

 

[juched]

I'd argue with the idea that the 4582 is past its shelf life. The XB6 which is used for the Ignite TV service has two versions, the Arris TG-3482ER which uses the same Intel Puma 7 chipset, as does the 4582, with minor variation to add telephone service to the XB6. The other version is a Technicolor CGM4140COM which uses a Broadcom BCM-3390 chipset. The newer XB7 modem probably arrives in the same varieties, an Arris Intel Puma 7 and Technicolor BCM-3390, but, don't quote me on that one. Perhaps Arris has seen the light of day and is providing an XB7 with a Broadcom chipset. There's no good reason to switch to the Ignite TV service, other than for the purpose of upselling in an attempt to solve a problem for which there should be an easy resolution. Solve the problem instead of upselling the customers. Grrrrr.......

In any event, log into the 4582 and have a look at the STATUS .... DOCSIS WAN tab. Look at the bottom OFDM/OFDMA Overview section. If it shows that you have an OFDMA channel enabled, which is an upstream OFDMA channel, then you have problems. Rogers has been slowly enabling the OFDMA channel across the network. An unforeseen issue cropped up, with issues just as you have described, that is loss of upstream audio and video. As a result, Rogers has disabled OFDMA on some 4582 modems in affected areas. They are completely radio silent on the issue, so, no one outside of Rogers knows if this is a hardware issue, network noise issue, or an issue with the neighbourhood node or CMTS. Rogers is investigating the issue, but, there's been no word on this at all.

Beyond that, you could simply copy the signal data, from the Downstream Overview line, all the way to the bottom right hand corner of the OFDM/OFDMA Overview and post it here or on the Rogers Forum. That table will copy all in one go, which enables you to post it in forum. There's always the possibility of cable signal issues affecting the upstream data.

Are you running any other services such as a Nextbox for tv or a Home Phone which has its own modem?

Interesting. Both of mine show disabled in that section but also the issue has stopped for me.

 

[Datalink]

That probably means that Rogers has disabled the OFDMA channels on your modem (in your area, or on your specific neighbourhood node). Other customers who have seen their OFDMA channel disabled have reported that the problems have stopped.

Here are two of the relevant threads from the Rogers forum:

Internet Keeps Dropping

Hey there. sorry if this has been posted before, but I haven't found anything like my case on the community. I'm trying to get this sorted out, as I need a stable connection to be able to work, as I often need to do remote logins and video conferences. For the last 2 or 3 weeks I have been...

communityforums.rogers.com

Archived - Rogers Community

Rogers Community Forums

communityforums.rogers.com