Vonage and Time Capsule

[CoMoMacUser]

I've been using Vonage for about six months, but recently the voice quality has declined. I can hear people fine, but they hear every other word from me. Typically the call starts out fine but then degrades after 10 minutes or so. Sometimes calling them back fixes the problem. Sometimes it doesn't.

I'm getting about 20 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up, with pings around 30-35 ms, so network speeds and quality didn't seem to be the culprit.

My first attempt to fix the problem is to switch my hardware configuration. I was using cable modem > Time Capsule > Vonage. I just switched to modem > Vonage > TC.

So far so good on the call quality, but now my TC light is flashing yellow. The TC is cabled to my iMac, and its Internet connection works fine. Ditto for my iPad and other devices that connect over Wi-Fi to the TC. Also, the Link light on my modem -- a Surfboard 6120 -- is now flashing orange.

Assuming that call quality remains fine, should I just ignore the flashing lights? Or is there another set up that will get the lights back to normal without compromising call quality?

Thanks.

 

[marc11]

I've been using Vonage for about six months, but recently the voice quality has declined. I can hear people fine, but they hear every other word from me. Typically the call starts out fine but then degrades after 10 minutes or so. Sometimes calling them back fixes the problem. Sometimes it doesn't.

I'm getting about 20 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up, with pings around 30-35 ms, so network speeds and quality didn't seem to be the culprit.

My first attempt to fix the problem is to switch my hardware configuration. I was using cable modem > Time Capsule > Vonage. I just switched to modem > Vonage > TC.

So far so good on the call quality, but now my TC light is flashing yellow. The TC is cabled to my iMac, and its Internet connection works fine. Ditto for my iPad and other devices that connect over Wi-Fi to the TC. Also, the Link light on my modem -- a Surfboard 6120 -- is now flashing orange.

Assuming that call quality remains fine, should I just ignore the flashing lights? Or is there another set up that will get the lights back to normal without compromising call quality?

Thanks.

Yeah I noticed that routers in general, not just the TC do not like going through the Vonage box, I think it has to to with the DHCP setting. If you open your Airport utility there will be an error message for the TC and it will instruct you on how to change the DHCP setting, the light will stop flashing and it will work fine.

 

[CoMoMacUser]

Thanks. I took AirPort Utility's configuration suggestion, and now its light is back to solid green. The modem's light is still flashing orange, so now I need to figure out how to correct that -- or just put a piece of tape over it.

 

[marc11]

Try to power cycle the modem and see if that solves it now that the router is updated.

 

[CoMoMacUser]

Try to power cycle the modem and see if that solves it now that the router is updated.

I tried that a couple of times yesterday, but the Link light still flashes amber. However, the modem's manual says that the flashing and color are normal for this configuration, so I guess I'm good to go.

Thanks for everyone's insights and suggestions.