Sound lags can make having a phone conversation tricky and frustrating. "Latency" is the industry term for a type of call quality issue that results in sound delays on calls. In these situations, callers often find themselves talking over each other due to the delay in audio delivery. It is caused by a variety of factors, most commonly:

• VoIP calls with low internet bandwidth
• Local network settings
• Multiple layers of forwarding
• Poor performing carrier

Troubleshooting Latency  
If we can replicate latency through our testing process, we can work on a fix. A member of Ruby’s Customer Happiness team can perform those tests with you to determine how much latency is present on your calls.

After tests are completed, Ruby’s support team will evaluate the results. If a trend of latency was flagged by Ruby’s carrier, we can escalate to them on your behalf. If not, we can help guide you in working with your own phone provider. Reach out to the Customer Happiness team here, or give us a call at 866-611-7829.

Escalating to Your Phone Provider 
Depending on the results of our testing and the type of phone service you use, your phone provider may be able to reduce latency. Open a ticket with your provider to find the solutions unique to your setup.

Here are a couple issues we commonly run into:

• If you forward a non-Ruby business line to Ruby, consider hosting your number directly with Ruby, as forwarding is an extra step in the path of a call and therefore adds latency. 
• If you answer on a cell phone:
  • Confirm that you have cellular data enabled and have good reception where you typically answer calls. 
  • Depending on your cell reception, test enabling or disabling WiFi calling.
  • Try power cycling your phone (turning it off, waiting at least a minute, turning it back on). 

If Your Provider Says “It’s on Ruby’s end.”
To prevent any issues with Ruby's service, Ruby uses multiple private, dedicated, connections, which means our calls don't go over the general internet. This allows us to have guaranteed quality of service, and zero compression on our calls. Our team has visibility into call metrics for calls within the last 7 days and can answer any questions you or your provider have. 

If you forward a non-Ruby business line to Ruby, it’s important to know that Ruby uses a trunk-to-trunk transfer, which means the inbound call from your number to Ruby stays active, even when we connect the caller to you. As such, both Ruby and your forwarding provider impact the full call flow.

If Your Provider Says “We can’t do anything.”
In the past, Ruby has successfully resolved sound delay issues in collaboration with our customers’ phone providers. The majority of our customers use our service successfully without delays.

We’re happy to help you perform a counting test and provide direction on working with your phone provider. Feel welcome to reach out to the Customer Happiness team here, or give us a call at 866-611-7829.