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Zoom and Unstable Internet
I’ve recently encountered a problem where I cannot receive Zoom audio and receive Internet Unstable messages. I have the RBR850 with 3 wired satellites and a 1GB fibre optic internet connection, uploa...
- After much frustration I have finally resolved the audio issues with Zoom, this follows extensive troubleshooting with the local support team, who have been excellent and even provided a complete replacement of new hardware with the problem continuing. The local support provided an advance load of firmware 4.6.7.5_2.1.7 and Zoom audio is now working normally regardless of Wifi, LAN,etc.
In addition to the pre-release firmware version from the above post, you should also take a look at the "Disable SIP ALG" setting in Advanced tab...Setup...WAN Setup.
I was encountering the same problem as you while testing an Orbi RBK752 given to me that used to be what my brother was using. When I received it I updated to the current production firmware release and when I saw the pre-release firmware I switched to it.
I thought all was well, speed matches my ISP plan, and YouTube & Roku video streaming is fine. Until I noticed that only in Zoom calls there were frequent "Unstable internet" notifications, cyclical audio freezes (several times a minute), and occasional video freezes.
I do not see the symptoms when I swapped out the Orbi with my regular Netgear R7450 router, that I've used since 2018, on the same 6 person group Zoom call.
I compared the settings and the big difference was the "Disable SIP ALG" WAN setting. So I unchecked "Disable SIP ALG" on the Orbi to match what my Netgear R7450 had and things have been fine with Zoom thru the Orbi for about 10 days now. Apparently the state of the SIP ALG setting can affect VOIP / video communications apps.
What FW version are you using?
I believe Disable SIP ALG is enabled by default in FW.
Patone407 wrote:
In addition to the pre-release firmware version from the above post, you should also take a look at the "Disable SIP ALG" setting in Advanced tab...Setup...WAN Setup.
I was encountering the same problem as you while testing an Orbi RBK752 given to me that used to be what my brother was using. When I received it I updated to the current production firmware release and when I saw the pre-release firmware I switched to it.
I thought all was well, speed matches my ISP plan, and YouTube & Roku video streaming is fine. Until I noticed that only in Zoom calls there were frequent "Unstable internet" notifications, cyclical audio freezes (several times a minute), and occasional video freezes.
I do not see the symptoms when I swapped out the Orbi with my regular Netgear R7450 router, that I've used since 2018, on the same 6 person group Zoom call.
I compared the settings and the big difference was the "Disable SIP ALG" WAN setting. So I unchecked "Disable SIP ALG" on the Orbi to match what my Netgear R7450 had and things have been fine with Zoom thru the Orbi for about 10 days now. Apparently the state of the SIP ALG setting can affect VOIP / video communications apps.
On my Orbi RBK752 I'm using v4.6.7.5 and I've done the hard reset switch and firmware reset to default setting when I received it from my brother before I did the firmware upgrades. The "Disable SIP ALG" setting being check-marked must be the default for this router.
I don't recall tinkering around with this setting in my R7450 since I have not changed any setting since 2018/2019 and I've been using Zoom with the router in 2020/2021. Since the setting was not check-marked I tried it on the Orbi and things are well with Zoom (desktop / PC version).
Zoom has frequent updates so I don't know if app optimizations makes it SIP ALG friendly. Have not yet tried other video call apps I use like Skype, Facetime since the switch to Orbi.
- Unfortunately I have run out of ideas on how to resolve this and I’m conjunction with the local support team have tried the following in incremental steps without any success: DNS settings updated to 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4 Router MAC Address set to ‘Use Computer MAC Address’ 2.4GHz Channel set to 1 and 5GHz Channel set to 48 Region confirmed as Hong Kong Deselected ‘Enable 20/40 MHz coexistence’ CTS/RTS Threshold set to 2347 Preamble mode set to ‘Short Preamble’ Set ‘Disable Port Scan and DoS Protection’ NAT Filtering set to ‘Open’ Disable SIP ALG - have tried both selected and unselected, currently unselected Have tried factory resets and new setup. If I plug a laptop directly into my modem the Zoom operates normally, however if I connect it via a LAN cable to the Orbi router or connect over WiFi, I have normal video and unusable audio on Zoom. The local agent has also just replaced my Orbi setup with a new set and the problem continues.
Yeah you've touched on just about all the major settings commonly adjusted for the Orbi.
The only option I see to try is to disable Wifi 6/AX capabilities (both 2.4 and 5 GHz) on the Orbi so it "dumbs down" to a Wifi 5 router, then maybe try the "Disable SIP ALG" settings again. The setting is under Basic tab...Wireless
I wish the Orbi allowed the option to segregate 2.4 & 5GHz signals so we can force the devices to connect to a particular one. 2.4GHz signal, although slower throughput than 5 GHz, are able to travel farther and penetrate walls better than 5ghz. I'm not used to the Orbi automagically determining/switching 2.4 vs 5 GHz with the same wifi SSID name, makes it more cumbersome in troubleshooting.