Home router is dropping calls on Vonage.
 

I am not sure if it is my home router (netgear) or it is router or if it is my cable modem but my Vonage calls keep getting dropped. It seems after 15 minutes of talking that it drops. Anybody have any clues?

We're having the same problem and also losing the Internet (Comcast). Up to now we've found it impossible to talk to a human being at Vonage.

Best guess is this is happening at busier times of day. For instance, evening in a home/apartment environment, or business hours in an office environment. Your voice packets are competing with millions of other peoples', and receive no priority. And, they really need that priority, being much more time sensitive.

As an IT Director, I wouldn't recommend depending upon voice over a public Internet at any price. I realize the above isn't very helpful, so let me throw in a little test to rule out the parts nearest to you.

First, find a path. Do this by opening a command prompt (in Windows 2000 or XP, Start, Run, type "cmd", and press Enter). Type:
tracert www.flyertalk.com
and press Enter. That'll show you the various routers (Internet traffic cops) your data passes through on the way to FlyerTalk. Pick one somewhere in the middle, and note the number. Let's say 206.71.65.42. You can then type:
ping 206.71.65.42
and press Enter. Note the time in milliseconds (ms). that's how long it takes for your data to reach that point. As a rule of thumb, anything over 90ms will start to become shaky for voice. However, these may go up and down. To run the test continuously, type:
ping -t 206.71.65.42
and press Enter. That'll keep going until you stop it. See if the times go up and down, or you start getting the dreaded asterisks (which mean nothing is getting there). If you do hit a problem area, try to isolate it. Do the same test with a closer (nearer to the beginning of the tracert test). Eventually, you'll be back to your cable modem (the first number in the tracert test)

Oh, and be considerate, after you've watched for a while, press <Ctrl>+<C> to stop the test. You don't want to continuously bombard some middleman with you data.

All that is hardly the "best" way of isolating the problem, but it's a relatively simple and free way to start the solution. Hope it helps a bit!

Not that this is usually relevant, but is your Netgear router a wireless router and are you using a cordless phone on the calls that are dropping?

The ping test is not all that applicable to VoIP--you need to determine true latency and jitter. Anything short of major packet loss is unlikely to cause the call to drop--it's more likely to sound like a crackling CB (this can change depending upon the codec used).

Have you configured the Netgear to open the ports that Vonage calls for? If not, I'd not be suprised if the NAT/PAT timeout on that Netgear is around 15 minutes.

You also might try going to the Vonage Forum at http://www.vonage-forum.com/forum1.html. It's not affiliated with Vonage, but there are some folks there who give excellent technical advise. There's also a VOiP speed test that can help you diagnose your problem by testing your up/download speeds, packet losses, etc., and help figure out what might be going on.

FYI, I'm using a Netgear WTG624 v.2 wireless router with a VTech IP 8100-2 wireless Vonage phone system and it's been rock solid.

I've been copperless for over two years now courtesy of Vonage. I don't know what your configuration is, but your best bet is to put the Vonage box in front of the router, e.g., cable box-to-Vonage box-to-wireless router.

That assumes he has a pass-thru Vonage box that does it own QOS. A router properly configured for QOS eliminates the need to do this (and believe me, it's much better with the proviso of decent hardware and enough know-how to pull it off).

Not necessarily. My set-up is: fiber to house --> Netgear Wireless WGT624 --> 4 wireless/1 wired computer plus VTech IP 8100-2 (Vonage phone). In fact Vonage recommends this set-up (with the phone adapter plugged into your router) if you already have a router in place.

iwebslinger and Fredd, sorry to hear your having phone troubles. I had a major headache with my phone for weeks when Verizon screwed up an install of someone else's line in my apartment building.

I've been investigating VoIP as an alternative, learned a lot from posting in this forum. I heard some good things about SunRocket- esp. on e911. A coworker who has it told me the service is great and very consistent.

I hope you're not using a free after rebate router ;)

-Vincent

When I installed Vonage over a year ago, the instructions specifically recommended putting the Vonage router before any other routers. I have yet to have a single problem.

They told me that as well; but I had nothing but trouble like that (using their original Motorola VOIP box), I now just have it plugged into my linksys, setup a static IP on the vonage box, and placed it in the DMZ of my router.

Who's your ISP? Is the broadband delivery via DSL or cable? I realize this is a longshot but have you tried doing unplugging the power from whatever's in the chain (router, ATA, hub, etc)? It is possible that your ISP is 'killing' connections over a certain time.

You might want to check out the CNET Review of Internet phones, especially section #3 on VOIP equipment. They seem to indicate that SunRocket has inconsistent call quality:

"The bottom line: If you're thinking about ditching your landline, SunRocket is a potential contender. A low price and lots of features are attractive, but the voice quality of your calls may vary."

There's also a good chart comparing various VOIP plans and features here.