How To Optimize Your Router For VoIP
7 min read
It’s rather bizarre to consider it’s a bit odd to think that VoIP was once thought to be a high-tech’. The dramatic increase in use by both households and businesses as well as the massive growth in providers to meet demands has been able to see Voice over IP go mainstream within a relatively short period of time.
However, VoIP can seem high-tech, if you don’t know how to modify the settings of your router or troubleshoot. Making sure that you router VoIP equipment, as well as software all work together is crucial to ensure that calls don’t suffer from high frequency jitter, and also have excellent quality.
So let’s examine the most common VoIP issues, and then how you can improve the performance of your DrayTek router to resolve them.
Why Am I Experiencing Poor Quality VoIP Calls?
Are you disappointed by the fact that your VoIP system doesn’t function according to your expectations? Yes, of course you feel that way. When you purchase a gadget and software, you’re hoping it to function as promised. The good thing is that it does. Just set the DrayTek router correctly to enjoy the best quality call possible.
Many VoIP users are experiencing the same quality issues and aren’t sure how to fix them. problems like:
- Lagging
- Calls dropped
- Absent calls
- Noise distortions
However, the reason your system isn’t performing might have nothing to have to do with your VoIP equipment or software. In most cases it’s the configuration of your router that is the cause of these issues, instead of the line or the VoIP device.
If you’re looking to enjoy the best quality in your calls outbound or inbound There is no requirement to rush to purchase the latest router or VoIP device. There are some adjustments that you can make to your router in order to make it more efficient to support VoIP, at no additional cost. You can guarantee unobstructed, clear voice calls by properly configuring your router.
Before I go over how you can do it Here’s the info that you require to accomplish it. We suggest you use all of the DrayTek router models to use VoIP: Vigor 2760Vn, Vigor 2860Vn plus, Vigor 2830Vn Vigor 2830Vn-plus. Our instruction is based on these model series of routers.
Information Needed to Optimize Your DrayTek Router
To make your router more efficient You’ll require some details provided by your provider of VoIP. In the event that you do not have these available, go to the website of your provider to see whether the information is available. If not there, get in touch with your provider to ask for:
- Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) details. The provider will provide UDP, the user’s datagram protocol (UDP) and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).
- SIP port numbers.
- Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) port numbers. These are essential for audio during VoIP calls.
- The service Provider’s PBX IP address. It’s worth trying but don’t be too surprised by your VoIP provider refusing to grant you this.
With these facts in mind You can begin optimizing your router to support VoIP calls. Here’s how.
Ideal Router Configuration Settings for High-Quality & Reliable VoIP on Your DrayTek Router
There are two essential actions to consider before you begin experimenting with your router’s settings. The first is to take photos of each setting prior to making a modify it in case you have to reset things back to the way they were configuration.
Make sure that you’ve setup you VoIP devices in the right location in the network. A network operates similarly to an order of pecking. The devices that are at the top in the chain enjoy greater privileges in terms of greater data or bandwidth.
This is why it is important to ensure that your VoIP device must be at the top of the line of devices that make up your network. This will help you to avoid a lot of potential problems with your calls.
Let’s get to the configuration settings are required to be checked.
What to Do: 3 Ways to Optimize Your DrayTek Router for VoIP
The following information is what you are likely to see when using one of the previously mentioned DrayTek Vigor router series. There are slight variations due to the fact that each router has slightly different functions. However you are likely to be able to locate the right router by following these guidelines and applying some logical thinking.
1. Sign in to the Router / Access the Router
For this, you’ll require the router’s IP address for the LAN. It’s in the user’s manual. If you’re not sure of your default IP address for your router is, you might have to connect with the manufacturer, or speak to us.
Finding the IP address of your router it isn’t difficult and you don’t require any calls. Make an easy Google search to find the most popular IP addresses of DrayTek Vigor routers and you’ll find numerous resources that provide information on IP addresses for nearly all DrayTek router available. Most router manufacturers employ generic IP addresses like 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.0.1. However, the majority of DrayTek Vigor routers are equipped with an IP address that is default of 192.168.1.1. If this doesn’t be working, there’s an online tool to determine your current router’s IP address.
Once you have your IP address, type your URL into the bar, and press enter. The login page for your router will show up at the top of your display.
Now, you need to enter the username you created and your password to gain an access point to your router’s management panel. If you’ve not changed your username and password previously your standard username and password must appear to be “admin”. If you notice that your router’s username as well as password isstill “admin”, you must change it to protect yourself.
2. Disable SIP Application Layer Gateway (ALG)
To accomplish this do this, take these steps:
Select the menu located on the left hand side of your screen within your Vigor user interface. Select the option NAT.
Click on ALG.
Scroll down to “Enable ALG” and uncheck the box. This will turn off the feature.
Click OK/save.
What’s the reason? The SIP ALG feature can be quite annoying even though its primary goal was to fix NAT related issues with VoIP. To keep things simple and your calls smooth and uninterrupted, you should disable this feature.
3. Prioritize Data for Voice Calls by Setting Up a Virtual LAN (VLAN ).
To accomplish this do this, comply with these instructions:
Select the menu on the left hand side of the screen, and then select the LAN option.
Select VLAN from the menu.
Check “Enable VLAN Configuration”.
What is it? VLAN lets you segregate regular data from voice. If you are having an VoIP call that is coming out or in and you require bandwidth priority for the specific calls. This is done by turning on VLAN. VLAN splits physically connected devices into multiple virtual connections. In turn, devices connected to the network don’t need to fight for bandwidth and data.
It is likely that your VoIP service provider needs provide the necessary information to input in order you can establish VLANs by selecting different port users on LAN and subnets. You can also enable VLAN tags and then enter the IDs of each.
The Perks of Buying a DrayTek Vigor Router
One of the benefits of purchasing the DrayTek Vigor router to use for VoIP is the fact that it has the standard features that make optimization of the router a “piece of cake”. For instance, there’s no requirement to set up port forwarding to SIP traffic to eliminate NAT related problems.
It is also not necessary to set aside bandwidth in order for VoIP calls using the QoS (Quality of Service) settings similar to what you’d be required to do with other router models and brands. This is due to the fact that DrayTek routers DrayTek series includes Vigor routers automatically reserve bandwidth to support VoIP calls. They also detect VoIP traffic and place it in the most efficient QoS priority.
Additionally there isn’t an need to establish an DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) on your DrayTek router.
Before Buying a New Router, Try to Optimize it for VoIP First
If calls aren’t in line with the standard, many users decide to upgrade their equipment or router. But they could end up spending their money instead of having more simple solutions available without having to deal with an additional VoIP pricing costs. Modifying the settings on your DrayTek Vigor router’s configuration settings can resolve the most frequently encountered issues with call.
Check out the suggestions for optimization above, prior to deciding to ditch your router to purchase another one. When the settings for your router have been changed, you’ll see a change immediately. If you don’t, it could be other issues to be considered. Then, you should think about the possibility of replacing or upgrading your router to get rid of any communication barriers.
About Author
