Manchas wrote:Right now, about one in five calls is normal. The rest of the time, the person on the other end hears me fine, but they sound like 5 people talking at once. It seems that this started after I installed an upgrade to MJ. I'd never had a problem before that, that I can remember. Could the upgrade be the problem? Is there any way to uninstall it? It doesn't appear in the computer's installed programs list.
Thanks.
Sounds like you're hearing far-end echo (from several points), and it sounds like this issue was triggered by the recent upgrade.
I'm not sure how the Ymax network handles echo cancellation. Since you are connecting from outside US, your internet connection -TO- the Ymax network (the part which is -not- Ymax), is what I would suspect is creating this echo.
The recent upgrade may be revealing specific timing issues created by several different network 'segments' (or 'hops' in packet-routing lingo), which may not be properly (timing-) synchronized. Analog-to-digital (and back again) conversions, usually employed to connect different networks, can also cause echo issues, I believe.
The 1 of 5 'good' calls you experience are possibly across a single-provider's contiguous connection, or possibly a series of properly timed /synchronized 'hops', or somehow resolved by the Ymax voice servers. I would also expect that your far-end party doesn't hear the echo because it is being managed by the Ymax network end of things.
It -could- be that prior to the upgrade, your previous mJ software /firmware was (somehow) able to compensate for those timing issues, which have probably been there all along.
It's also possible that something in the firmware upgrade caused your call routing to prefer a different path than before - one which used to be properly timed, and now is not.
And it's possible everything VoIP is radically different from what I learned in my landline telecom days, but your report sounds familiar enough this may apply. I could be totally wrong - I'm just learning VoIP over the last several months.
As far as reverting your firmware, I do not have a means to do this. There are some really bright folk here who might have stashed copies of firmware they could possibly make available to you. I would think reversion would be a simple matter of applying the prior firmware by running the appropriate 'upgrade.exe' file on your computer with the mJ connected.
I remember once digging into the mJ logs and found data which -might- point to which was your prior version... just a thought. I -am- saving the different firmware 'upgrades' from this point forward!
Hope this maybe helps explain the problem, though it certainly doesn't resolve your issues. Surely someone more mJ-knowledgeable than I will chime in...
In the meantime, if you would like to trace your internet routing to see potential bottlenecks between you and the Ymax network, you could download and run Visual Route [
http://visualroute.visualware.com/ ]. They offer a 15-day trial, as well as a freeware Lite Edition for non-corporate use. You can also run a quick test on their web page, testing connection between their servers and your computer. These tests should show you the hops (different networks) your internet connection traverses on it's way to US and the Ymax voice servers, illuminating possible sources of the echo issue.
UPDATE - just visited magicJack support web site...
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT WORK FOR MAGICJACK AND HAVE NO OFFICIAL INSIDE KNOWLEDGE THAT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WILL FIX OR HELP YOUR SITUATION IN ANY WAY. Since this information is posted on the magicJack support web page, I doubt it would cause any harm, however, I NOR
http://www.phoneservicesupport.com WILL BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY POTENTIAL DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER, magicJack DEVICE, OR YOUR magicJack PHONE SERVICE. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.
If you're feeling adventurous, and willing to try some stuff, you can download the following file and run it to see if it might help your situation.
Navigate your browser to the following web address:
[
http://www.magicjack.com/1/magicfix.asp ]
Look down list of issues, and click to expand:
"Blue Light is Not on/ I Cannot Click Telephone in Menu"
Click to expand "If that did not work, Click here"
The 2nd "Click here" link will let you download a file called mjrecover_setup.exe (choose Save instead of Run - this is how you can save 'upgrade' files to revert your firmware in the future).
After the file downloads, run it. It -might- get you back to your previous firmware level - I dunno. I don't know what this 'recover' file does, but I would think (from the name) that it might reinstall a firmware-backed-up copy of the previous software/ firmware, relieving you of the echo issue.
IF YOU ARE NOT A TECHNICALLY ADEPT INDIVIDUAL, I WOULD *DEFINITELY* RECOMMEND YOU -NOT- PERFORM THIS OPERATION, BUT INSTEAD, VISIT THE magicJack SUPPORT WEBSITE TO OBTAIN DIRECT ASSISTANCE FROM THEIR TECHNICAL SUPPORT PERSONNEL.
Post back with any developments - your feedback may help someone else!
Happy hacking!
.