The Importance of Troubleshooting:
There are certain things as people we make assumptions of and in most occasions it can save us time and trouble. Unfortunately, applying these assumptions to technology isn’t a good idea and it’s also not logical.
Who can really say that they know completely what their computer is doing right at this moment? What you can see is just on the surface level, you may see that you’ve opened up a website using Internet Explorer and there are animations and video on the page that displays. What you might NOT see is that the computer is regulating the speed of your internal fans to make sure that the system doesn’t overheat, or that it is accessing RAM while the CPU processes a huge file or it loads up your browser and then access RAM segments that are slightly faulty.
There are a lot of things that make up a computer and a lot of processes occurring every second. What might appear to be working on the surface level, might be inoperable from a processing, application and/or network level.
For these reasons, a good troubleshooting procedure has been put in place in order to identify what causes these issues.
Generally issues are easy to identify by simply applying a process of elimination.
How to eliminate your computer as the possible cause:
Proving that it’s not your computer can be as simple as just trying another computer. If the issue is still happening on the other computer then we can say that the issue can be attributed to other causes.
Just make sure that you close the softphone on your computer when you test the softphone on the other computer. Simultaneous logins (logins from two separate sources) can cause unusual anomalies.
If after testing on the other computer the issue goes away. Then it is likely that you have something on your computer which is preventing the softphone to operate normally. In this instance you may need to get support from your Computer Technician.
How to eliminate your internet connection or network equipment as possible causes:
This includes your internet service, modem and/or router, hubs and switches, wifi routers and finally network cables.
It might not be so easy to just replace your equipment(s), but by taking your computer (if you are using a soft phone) or your phone to another location with an internet connection that is using different equipment, you then have the ability to eliminate the possibility that it’s your network equipment that is causing the issue.
If after testing from a different location and you find that it operates as it should. Then you can pinpoint the culprit somewhere in your local area network. This begins the process of working out which one of your device or devices are faulty.
How to eliminate the power supply:
All electronic devices require a power source of some kind. What you may not know is that these devices (IP Phones, routers, switches etc...) require stable power in order to operate properly, whereby the power source must be able to deliver a close enough constant power supply of current and voltage. In other words, the power source must not fluctuate in current and/or voltage too much.
Even constant small fluctuations in power can render the devices intermittently in-operable. Therefore it is important to eliminate the possibility that it’s the power source which is causing havoc to your phone system. Take the following steps to troubleshoot as the last resort:
NB: device(s) refers to not only your IP Phone, but to your modem, modem/routers and switches that you maybe using:
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