topic Re: 'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why? in Archived Posts

'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why?

The_Polygon — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 10:20:51 GMT

I have a 4G compatible unlocked mifi device (TP-Link M7350 model) in which I use an EE sim.

The EE coverage is good for everything except Microsoft Teams audio and video calls; mid-call, the video and audio start buffering and usually end up losing connection. It didn't happen that often with Skype.

Confusingly, it doesn't happen every single time, sometimes, I can go through an entire call without being cut off. Why does this happen?

Re: 'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why?

Leanne_T — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 12:16:59 GMT

Hi there @The_Polygon

Thanks for coming to the community.

Do you have any other devices connected when this happens?

Are you using a VPN?

Thanks 🙂

Leanne.

Re: 'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why?

bristolian — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 12:25:29 GMT

Hi @The_Polygon

By means of an "instinctive" response, I'd be minded to say this could be related to your data speeds at the time.

Skype may not be needing the same speed as Teams does, or perhaps your speeds are lower when you're using Teams.

What sort of data speeds are you achieving, and do these vary?

Under "bandwidth requirements", this Microsoft help article is worth a read.

Re: 'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why?

The_Polygon — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 14:16:30 GMT

(a) I'm not using a VPN when I make Teams calls. Should I? Would it help?

(b) How can I find out what speeds I'm achieving? Do I check the TP-Link screen to find this out? Does it have to be in mbps? And, isn't the speed dependent on the EE network?

Also, just wanted to say that I'm using the EE PAYG data SIM, £30 pack for 60 GB for 30 days.

Re: 'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why?

The_Polygon — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 14:18:26 GMT

No other devices are being used except the laptop on which the Teams calls take place. I have a choice of using the office VPN, or not, they leave it up to me to decide.

Re: 'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why?

bristolian — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 14:32:01 GMT

@The_Polygon wrote:

(b) How can I find out what speeds I'm achieving? Do I check the TP-Link screen to find this out? Does it have to be in mbps? And, isn't the speed dependent on the EE network?

Use any decent speedtest site - many people use speedtest.net but there are others.

You're trying to test what data speeds you are getting from your EE mobile device, and whether those speeds could be causing an issue with usage of the Teams service.

Re: 'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why?

The_Polygon — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 15:28:14 GMT

Thanks. Just checked and got 45.8 mbps upload and 14.6 mbps upload on the speed test website you suggested. Which suggests that I have more than enough speed for the video and audio calls to not drop.

But they do...

So, my question might be:

Is it EE's 4G coverage in my town (which is always showing on the coverage checker as top-notch!), is it my mi-fi device, or is it the result of too many people trying to use Teams all over the world?

Thank you, you've been helpful.

Re: 'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why?

The_Polygon — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 15:38:07 GMT

Hi, again. I've read other posts on here. These seem to suggest that the best speeds are reserved for pay monthly customers, not PAYG customers. Is this true?

Re: 'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why?

bristolian — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 16:02:00 GMT

@The_Polygon wrote:

Thanks. Just checked and got 45.8 mbps upload and 14.6 mbps upload on the speed test website you suggested. Which suggests that I have more than enough speed for the video and audio calls to not drop.

Do you mean 45.8Mb/s download & 14.6Mb/s upload?

If so, then I'm confident there is no speed capping involved, and those speeds should be plenty sufficient to run video calls.

My next line of thought would be whether these problems running Teams calls are permanent 24x7, or variable and more prevalent at certain times or days? Also whether your device (is this a PC?) has any other background processes running that could be the cause?

Re: 'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why?

The_Polygon — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 16:11:20 GMT

Sorry, yes, 45.8 mbps download.

No, it does not buffer / drop calls all the time. It does it at random times of the day, and some days, works very well from the start to the end of the call.

That is what puzzles me. It's not as if it happens between 3-4 pm or any such time, just very randomly.

No, no other processes running in the background of the PC. Should I move to a contract? Is it happening because the PAYG users are less "valuable"?

Re: 'Mifi' (mobile wifi) device using EE sim-Teams calls buffering or cut off - why?

Leanne_T — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 09:01:21 GMT

Hi @The_Polygon

Thanks for coming back to us.

I would suggest when this happens reporting this on our EE Coverage and Network Status Checker and select 'I have a problem', we will get this looked into and let you know if there are any problems in the area that could be causing this

Thanks.

Leanne.