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Troubleshooting
Call Quality Issues
Audio Latency

Audio Latency

Audio latency is a delay between when someone speaks and when the other party hears it. Even a short delay makes conversation awkward: people talk over each other, pause too long, or repeat themselves because they think they weren’t heard. Latency is usually caused by the network performance of either the agent or the other party, but it can also come from the headset in use, particularly a Bluetooth or wireless one.

If the delay happens before the call connects, such as a long pause before ringing, see Post Dial Delay instead. This article covers delay in the audio during a conversation.

Symptoms

  • There’s a noticeable pause between when you speak and when the other party responds
  • You and the other party frequently talk over each other
  • The delay is consistent throughout the call, rather than cutting in and out
  • The issue affects one side of the call or both

Causes

  • Network performance: High latency, congestion, or an unstable connection on your network or the other party’s network delays audio packets in transit.
  • Wi-Fi quality: A weak or crowded Wi-Fi connection adds delay compared to a wired connection.
  • Bluetooth or wireless headsets: Wireless headsets add processing and transmission time, and can add noticeable delay on top of the network.
  • The other party’s service provider: If the delay only happens when calling certain people, the cause may be their carrier or phone service provider rather than your connection.

Troubleshooting Steps

  1. Disconnect your headset and make a test call. Unplug or disconnect your headset, including any Bluetooth or wireless device, and place a test call using your computer’s built-in microphone and speakers. If the delay goes away, the headset is the cause. Try a wired headset connected directly to your computer.

  2. Identify who is affected. Find out which side of the call is reporting the delay: you (the caller), the person you’re calling (the callee), or both. A delay on only one side points to that person’s headset or network.

  3. Check how widespread the issue is. Note whether the delay affects all of your calls or only calls to a specific phone number.

    • All calls: The cause is most likely your headset or your network. Continue to the next step.
    • Only certain numbers: The cause is likely the other party’s service provider. Report the affected calls so our team can investigate.

  4. Run a network test. If you can reproduce the delay reliably, test your network and check its performance. See Running Network Tests and Interpreting Results.

  5. Improve your connection. If the test shows poor results:

    • Switch from Wi-Fi to a wired Ethernet connection, or move closer to your router.
    • Disable VPNs or proxies, which can reroute audio and add delay.
    • Pause large downloads, streaming, or cloud backups during calls.
    • Try a different network, such as a mobile hotspot, to find out whether the problem is specific to your office or home network.

Getting Help

If the delay continues after you’ve tried the steps above:

  1. Submit a Call Report for each affected call. Submit at least three if you can, and choose Call Quality as the issue category.
  2. Include whether the delay was on your side, the other party’s side, or both, and whether it happens on all calls or only calls to specific numbers.
  3. Contact our Support Team and include your network test results.