How to Troubleshoot Wi-Fi Video Calling

Due to the current situation in the world, we are making much more use of Wi-Fi calls and video calls than we normally do, and without a doubt, they will continue to be the protagonists for a very long period of time. That prominence brings a good part and a bad part. The good part, obviously, is that they allow us to connect with our families, friends and other relatives, and the bad part is undoubtedly the oversaturation of the networks due to the increase in use of this type of services. If you are going through the problems that we have described before, you want to solve it and save yourself these inconveniences also in the future, follow the advice that we have gathered with all the solutions to these problems that you can put into practice. This will not guarantee that you can establish communication in 100% of the cases, since there are problems that are not in our power to solve, but it is true that they will be of great help to us.

Make sure we have a good connection

Calls (audio only) do not consume as much bandwidth as video calls, and it is much easier for us to establish communication if we use this method, if on the contrary, we want to make use of the video call we have to take into account that we will consume a large bandwidth, which will increase along with the number of participants in said video call. This is the main reason why errors reach us, the more people there are, the more likely it is that the image of the participants will lose quality, suffer from freezes and even in some cases, the image cannot even be displayed. The Wi-Fi network will be saturated due to the large amount of data circulating on it.

Before ruling out any other problem, as a first step we have to make sure that our Wi-Fi connection is working correctly, so the first move is to know if our main connection reaches our router correctly from our operator.

Check download and upload speed

We will carry out some very simple tests that will tell us if we have a good enough connection to make a call or video call over Wi-Fi without problems. Actually, the “measurements” that we will do will be verifiable with the video call, since, when making use of much more bandwidth and more data movement (in short, more resources), if we are able to make a Wi-Fi video call we can make a Wi-Fi call without problems.

First we will make sure that we are connected to Wi-Fi , then we will try to load a web page through our browsers to see that they load quickly and that the page is displayed in full without problems, that will be a good indication . We can also access a streaming video service such as YouTube or Netflix, we will select any video with good definition and the detail that we must look at is the gray bar that is loading in front of the playback bar (the red one) , if that bar is rising quickly and constantly, it will be the perfect indicator that we have enough resources to make a Wi-Fi video call without problems.

It is clear that these examples are not very technical, more like walking around the house, and that we can do quickly and without many complications. If we want to get a little deeper into technical terrain, we will do a speed test . What this test should give us so that we can carry out the Wi-Fi video call will be upload and download values of at least 15 megabytes (this is the minimum value, with this we can communicate without problems, but it is possible that the video call will not have the maximum video quality you can access) and also the latency, if the latency is below 30ms it will be between the acceptable values , of course, and speaking of latency, the lower this value is much better for all communication.

Check WiFi coverage

If we do not obtain good results, we will resort to tools for the analysis of a Wi-Fi network. For example, applications such as Wi-Fi Analyzer will communicate the status of your network at the time of the scan, you will be able to see if you are on a saturated WiFi channel and if so, it will recommend a change to another that is less so (it will even tell you to which channel to change).

Let’s not forget the coverage either, the further we move away from the router, the less signal will reach us from it, it may be that where we try to make the call or video call Wi-Fi is an area not very conducive to them because it is too far from the router, if so, we will get closer to the router or we will use a device to boost the Wi-Fi network such as a repeater, a meshed Wi-Fi system or an access point.

If all these tests, especially the speed test and Wi-Fi saturation, have obtained a positive result and with acceptable values and we are still unable to make a call or video call, we will momentarily try to use them for mobile data, only as a test as we remember that our goal is to do them through Wi-Fi. Likewise, if the tests have gone well, even if we switch to mobile data, we will find the same problem. However, we will follow the path of the Wi-Fi connection and the problems it can give us.

Restart the router

If we continue with problems, we will now try the usual tricks, we will see if it may be the router’s fault . We can restart it and try again, but above all we must review its configuration. It is possible that if we have a very simple router like the one offered by the operators, we have problems that can be solved with a restart, normally a restart from time to time comes in handy, in fact a fairly good measure can be that all members of the video call restart their router before making the same. It is a good way to refresh the whole connection and for the devices to enter the call or video call as “fresh” as possible.

We always like to remember that the Wi-Fi standard that our router has is very important, since if we have a router that can manage all the Wi-Fi bands in the best possible way (that is, Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi). Fi 6E) we will be ensuring the fact that the Wi-Fi call or video call can be processed without problems.

If at this point, the pages load well, the videos on YouTube too, the result of the speed test gives us plenty of values, we are not far from the router, we have an efficient and well-configured router, but calls or video calls continue without be able to perform.

What is happening then?

At this point, the problem is most likely with the application that we are using. We have to bear in mind that most of these applications, if not all of them, are free, so they have a large influx among the public, it is possible that by making massive use by users of the same application , this is saturated and the service suffers the problems that we have been commenting on. Added to this is the increase in use due to the current situation, in which this type of communication has become essential and not only at the user level as we can think, small and medium-sized companies now also rely on this type of services to do more their work activity is sustainable and that they suffer as little as possible, which inadvertently helps to aggravate the problem of oversaturation.

For all this, and because we believe that it is good to have backup applications, we are going to give you a few alternative applications to make Wi-Fi video calls (although obviously they can also do it for mobile data if necessary) to which you can resort if your favorite application it fails, or is not available at the time you need it. We will give you a brief explanation of how to carry out the call or video call with each of them so that you can use them without problems as soon as possible.

Most of the applications that we will show you were designed to make video calls, but they can make normal calls without problems since at the time of communication they will all ask us if we want to make communication with video or without it, as well as being able to select other options such as hands-free communication or multi-call.

Communication platforms

• Zoom . It has been one of the most used from its very beginnings, being one of the first and most common options, that is its advantage and its problem, being one of the most used it is also one of those that before are saturated by excessive use. Zoom is capable of managing meetings of up to 100 people in the free account version. It has a version for Android devices and also for iOS devices. Very easy to use, we will register and we can start using it in minutes, it only asks us for an email and we validate it. Calls can be made in real time from Zoom user to Zoom user or also in meeting mode by setting a date and time. To join the call is as easy as entering the meeting number in the “join” section and the password if the creator of the room has entered it. They can also invite us by mail and by a URL link.
• Google Meet . As its name indicates it is owned by Google, it is convenient to have it at hand since it is very stable and does not usually cause problems, it does not have as much influx as Zoom, another reason to praise its stability. It is valid for meetings of up to 100 people. It has a version for Android and for iOS. The steps for its use are the same as those of Zoom, registration and mail validation, meetings by call and by summons. We emphasize that the meeting schedule will appear in Google Calendar and therefore, in the Gmail calendar, so we will also have access to automatic alerts.
• Jitsi Meet . It is an alternative video calling platform whose appeal lies in the fact that it does not have a limit of participants for calls or video calls, it will be the server that hosts the one that establishes the limit which will normally be high since it is not usually the first option when choosing a service of this type so the servers are usually quite free. It is one of the best alternatives to consider if the other platforms fail. You can download it for Android and iOS. This service, apart from the advantages of the aforementioned, has the option of creating rooms that are always open (passwords can be assigned of course) in which you can enter and exit whenever you want and establish communication with those who are in she admitting both the use of video and only audio.
• Google Duo . Application that comes standard in most Google devices, is the flag of this type of services for Android devices for this fact, it creates stable and reliable communication for a maximum of 32 participants. If your device does not have it installed as standard, you can download it without problems from the Google Play Store and even if it is from Google, it also has its version for iOS. With a super simple and intuitive interface, Google Duo can select the recipient of the call or video call from the device’s own phonebook and carry out communication without further complications.
• Houseparty . This platform is not designed for such massive meetings as the previous ones, but precisely for that reason it gains a lot in the field of stability and reliability, with a limit of eight participants, its communications do not usually fall into error. Houseparty is not only designed to communicate by call or video call, it includes some games that we can play while the communication is taking place, it is designed much more for recreational use than for communication itself, it is an interesting alternative to talk with friends and family. It has a version available for Android and also for iOS. We will only need an email to register which we will have to validate. We will pass the link of the created meeting to whoever we want to join and communication will be established immediately. Simple interface with buttons to activate or deactivate audio and video, as well as call and hang up.

Applications with option to call and video call

Apart from the purely dedicated video calling platforms, the most popular messaging apps also offer this service. We will find applications that allow us to integrate from eight participants to 50 depending on the application. We give you a small list of the most used so that you can take them into account when making a call or video call over Wi-Fi.

• WhatsApp Messenger , the instant messaging application par excellence, owned by Facebook which you can download from the Google Play Store, is a free communication application that only requires having the phone number of the person with whom we want to maintain contact. We can exchange messages, files, calls and video calls.
• Messenger , owned by Facebook, an application in disuse due to the acquisition of WhatsApp Messenger, you can download it from the Google Play Store, it is a free communication application that only requires having the phone number of the person with whom we want to maintain contact. We can exchange messages, files, calls and video calls.
• Skype , owned by Skype, the giant of video communication applications, can be downloaded from the Google Play Store, it is a free communication application that only requires having the email of the person with whom we want to maintain contact. We can exchange messages, files, calls and video calls.
• LINE , owned by LINE Corporation, you can download it from the Google Play Store, it is a free communication application that only requires having the email or telephone number of the person with whom we want to maintain contact. We can exchange messages, files, calls and video calls.
• Signal , owned by the Signal Foundation, can be found in the Google Play Store, it is a free communication application that only requires having the email address of the person with whom we want to maintain contact. We can exchange messages, files, calls and video calls.

With everything that we have explained to you, there is a small inevitable possibility that it does not allow us to connect correctly, if so, we will be facing a problem that is beyond our control, perhaps a peak in traffic on this type of services, but if everything is correct with the infrastructures that we can enjoy today, it is practically impossible for us not to establish communication. If we follow the steps that we have given you, we can solve the most common problems in this type of communication so that we can carry them out without problems.