Video chat apps freezing/reconnecting?

[oldbrownhat]

For years, my gf & I used Skype (even before MS took it over) and it worked well. With its demise in May, we switched to MS Teams, and that, too has worked pretty well. However in the last few days, we have been getting frequent "reconnecting..." messages to the extent that a video calls have been impossible. These have mostly been at her end; I can hear her when this happens but she can't hear or see me. If we switch off both our cameras it's OK. So we tried Facetime. Same problem. (My neighbour said she had had some "freezing" problems with FT as well and she's on a fiber conection.) Last night we signed up for SIgnal. Same problem.

So it seems to be platform/application-independent and affects both Mac desltop & iPhone and Windows systems. It's as if it's buffering when using video. Both of us are on decent cable connections and she streams Netflix, BritBox etc. and I stream YouTube occasionally so it isn't a basic connection speed problem. A friend uses WhatsApp but he hasn't used it recently for video so can't comment. My gf has a Zoom tutorial this afternoon so we'll see if that is similarly affected. If so, that's going to more than an inconvenience as it's for a university biology course prior to an exam.

Anyone else had this problem lately?

 

[Tom S.]

Are you using a computer or tablet/phone? A computer hardwired to the modem is the most trouble free way to video chat. WiFi connected devices are prone to outside interference, especially if you have a boat load of WiFi devices all vying for the same bandwidth. WiFi also degrades rapidly the further from the modem you get.

 

[oldbrownhat]

Are you using a computer or tablet/phone? A computer hardwired to the modem is the most trouble free way to video chat. WiFi connected devices are prone to outside interference, especially if you have a boat load of WiFi devices all vying for the same bandwidth. WiFi also degrades rapidly the further from the modem you get.

Understood. We're using both our iPhones and laptops (Mac & PC) via wifi. But we've never had a problem with connectivity until about 3 days ago, so I doubt it has anything to do with wifi vs. hardwired. (I haven't used hardwirred for years.) The only problem previously has been if she is out in the garden (about 25' from her usual spot on the patio) where her wifi mesh unit may struggle a bit. Inside, we're both less than 20' from the router. And no other devices have been added to compete for bandwidth. Both of us stream online via wifi as well, although not at the same time as our video chats. I've even had Time Machine doing a backup during a chat and it rarerly had any effect. I just watched a 20-minute YouTube concert clip this morning with no problems.

So the bafflement continues

 

[LVSteve]

Have either of you suffered any software updates lately?

You could be suffering from WiFi interference if a neighbor has installed some new gear or some thieves have salted the neighborhood with jammers to take out security cameras. Yes, this is a thing.

I believe you and your girl are in different countries. Maybe the NSA buffering is not transparent.

 

[jeffrefrig]

I think it has something to do with the summer solstice and solar flares. In a couple weeks the days will be getting shorter!
Yee haw!

 

[oldbrownhat]

I think it has something to do with the summer solstice and solar flares. In a couple weeks the days will be getting shorter!
Yee haw!

At this point, that's as good a hypothesis as any

@LV Steve: Yes, we are on either side of 49, about 50 miles apart. Software updates...usually guaranteed to mess things up! But no, not as far as I know, at least not in the last week. And we both have stable, reliable neighbours so I think they can be discounted. Now the NSA, OTOH....

The truth IS out there... somewhere....