Working from Home with VoIP

A wired ethernet connection is strongly preferred over WiFi for desk phones. WiFi introduces jitter, packet loss, and interference from other devices — all of which degrade call quality. A simple ethernet cable from your router to your phone eliminates these problems entirely.

1. 1
   Connect an ethernet cable from your router or switch to the LAN port on your desk phone
2. 2
   If your desk is far from the router, use a powerline ethernet adapter or a long Cat5e/Cat6 cable
3. 3
   Avoid daisy-chaining through multiple switches or hubs

If a wired connection truly isn't an option, optimize your WiFi setup:

1. 1
   Use the 5GHz band instead of 2.4GHz — it has less interference and more bandwidth
2. 2
   Stay as close to your router as possible — walls and floors degrade signal significantly
3. 3
   Avoid placing your phone near microwaves, baby monitors, or other 2.4GHz devices
4. 4
   Consider a WiFi 6 router or mesh system for better performance

VoIP calls require relatively little bandwidth, but that bandwidth needs to be consistent and uninterrupted. Here are the minimum requirements:

These are minimums — if other people in your household are streaming video, gaming, or downloading large files, you'll need additional headroom.

Quality of Service (QoS) tells your router to prioritize VoIP traffic over other types of traffic like streaming or downloads. This prevents a family member's Netflix binge from causing your business call to drop.

1. 1
   Log in to your home router's admin page (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1)
2. 2
   Find the QoS or Traffic Management settings
3. 3
   Enable QoS and set VoIP/SIP traffic as the highest priority
4. 4
   If your router supports it, prioritize traffic on the ports used by your desk phone (UDP ports 5060 and 10000–20000)

Many home routers have a feature called SIP ALG (Application Layer Gateway) that attempts to "help" VoIP traffic but actually causes registration failures, one-way audio, and dropped calls. It should almost always be disabled.

1. 1
   Log in to your router's admin page
2. 2
   Search for SIP ALG, SIP Helper, or ALG settings
3. 3
   Disable it and save your changes
4. 4
   Reboot your router and phone

For detailed instructions specific to popular router brands, see SIP ALG: What is it and How to Disable It.

If you use a work VPN, it can interfere with VoIP call quality by routing voice traffic through a distant server, adding latency and jitter.

1. 1
   Test call quality with the VPN connected and disconnected — if quality improves without the VPN, the VPN is likely the issue
2. 2
   Ask your IT team about split tunneling — this routes only work traffic through the VPN while letting VoIP traffic go directly to the internet
3. 3
   If split tunneling isn't available, consider disconnecting the VPN during important calls

If you don't have a physical desk phone at home, SNAPmobile is the recommended softphone option. It runs on your computer or mobile device and connects to the same phone system as your office desk phone.

1. 1
   Download SNAPmobile from your app store or use the web version
2. 2
   Log in with your portal credentials
3. 3
   Use a quality USB headset for the best audio experience
4. 4
   Test a call before using it for business

Before your first business call from home, make a test call to verify everything is working:

1. 1
   Call a colleague or your own cell phone
2. 2
   Confirm audio is clear in both directions — no echo, no choppiness, no one-way audio
3. 3
   Test putting the call on hold and transferring
4. 4
   If anything sounds off, revisit the steps above

Use the test numbers provided by your provider to confirm that both inbound and outbound calls are routing correctly from your home setup.

See Numbers for Testing for a list of numbers you can use to verify your setup.

1. 1
   Place an outbound call to a test number and confirm it connects
2. 2
   Have someone call your extension to verify inbound calls ring correctly
3. 3
   Check that your caller ID displays properly on outbound calls