Skype!Some days,its rubbish!!

[Guest moonraker1959]

Hi all,

Just wanted to whinge and hope someone might be able to offer some suggestions.Yesterday I texted my twin(she lives in Adelaide,I'm in the UK)to hook up with her on skype.We use it quite alot,but I had'nt spoken to her for a while due to both of us being on holiday,work and so on.So yesterday no sooner had I texted her,when she rang me on skype.Well.....I reckon we were on there for maybe 1.5 hrs and probably had 10 minutes if that of quality conversation.If it was'nt the picture freezing,it was the convo!Sooooo annoying!Had to keep cutting the convo to ask if she could still hear me,then I'd "freeze"and she'd have to then ask me the same,then a box kept coming up saying "The internet connection is too slow":arghh:After wasting so much time we decided to scrap talking,and when I ended my call,a skype box came up asking for feedback,which I answered with honesty!!!So...for all you regular skypers,is there anything I can do so this does'nt happen again?Just lately its been terrible and its such a shame because we really miss chatting.Ok we could ring our landlines but its not really the same without the webcam.Any ideas?Pleeeaaaasseeee lol

[snifter]

If you Skype using video at busy times (ie when its evening in Aus and morning here) it will often be slow. Also if either of you have sluggish internet connection it will cause it to break up more often. And the weather can stuff it up also on occasion.

 

We usually find its best out of peak hours. And then one of us will switch to voice only if its not working the other end for the person trying to see us on video.

 

Really good broadband connection for you both will help, but again, peak hours it will be slower as more people are using it.

[jtct]

We switch to MSN when the Skype connection is poor - its always been slightly better quality sound for us

[Guest moonraker1959]

Thanks for the support and suggestions!:cute:re using msn,is that just a chat/writing type thing like chatting on Facebook?Just seems when we signed up for skype last year,it was fine,could chat uninterrupted,picture never froze,and it was great to use,but just lately it seems its more trouble that its worth.Not sure about sis's internet speed but ours is quite fast.Is there anything on the skype webpage that I could maybe download to recify it or is it just so many people are using it now?So please people can you not use skype(lol)between 8.30am-10am uk time so me and twin can chat uniterrupted?Thankyou xx lol Just seemed so frustrating because Monday I wanted to give her the run down on the Jimmy Barnes gig we went to on the weekend(she's also a huge fan)and she probably got,what?30 seconds of what I said?Grrrrrr

[jtct]

re. MSN - We use Windows Live Messenger with the webcam so yes, we have sound and vision and we can type short messages and send /receive pictures at the same time too!

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

We spoke to the brother in law in Russia n sunday arvo and everything was good with our skype.

 

The time of day really does have an affect on speed and connection quality.

 

 

HG

[Guest Mitchell]

Try typing broadband speed test into google and testing at both ends. You'll soon see where the problem is. Broadband is sold as "up to 8mb" but that figure assumes you live next to the exchange, no-one else is on it, there's a following wind, etc. Some people think they have bought a fast service but it's actually rubbish. Some services like Adam here let you play with the speed so you can try turning it up but risk more drop outs or down so it's slower but rock steady.

[RockDr]

google talk I think sends lower resolution video, so doens't need as much bandwidth.

 

Sometimes hanging up and trying again in Skype can get you a better connection. Otherwise try turning video off.

[The Flinns]

We use http://www.voiptalk.org as our service provider (voiptalk to voiptalk is free) and http://www.counterpath.com/eyebeam.html as our softphone.

 

The service is fantastic and you can also make calls to landlines for pennies. £5 credit will usually last us 3 months!

[adelaidenow]

use the skype test call.

[mydearboy]

We use www.voiptalk.org as our service provider (voiptalk to voiptalk is free) and http://www.counterpath.com/eyebeam.html as our softphone.

 

The service is fantastic and you can also make calls to landlines for pennies. £5 credit will usually last us 3 months!

 

Hi we use skype most nights at peak time to the uk and dont have a problem at all, when we had dial up it was awful with dongle it was bad too, have you both got good broadband connections?

[adelaidenow]

If you do have issues, go off wi-fi and use a wired connection.

 

Hard-wired > wi-fi

[The Flinns]

Hi we use skype most nights at peak time to the uk and dont have a problem at all, when we had dial up it was awful with dongle it was bad too, have you both got good broadband connections?

 

We have Adam naked dsl and never have a problem. In fact it's just like they are just down the road with no lag whatsoever.

 

I even have an Aussie landline number set up to come through our voip service using a Linksys internet phone adapter which I bought cheap on ebay. Why pay for a landline when you don't really need one these days?

[mydearboy]

We have Adam naked dsl and never have a problem. In fact it's just like they are just down the road with no lag whatsoever.

 

I even have an Aussie landline number set up to come through our voip service using a Linksys internet phone adapter which I bought cheap on ebay. Why pay for a landline when you don't really need one these days?

 

Same set up here

[The Flinns]

Same set up here

 

Great minds think alike

[adelaidenow]

Great minds think alike

 

Why not get a UK skype number? I have (had) one and a skype phone. UK people can then call you as a local call.

[Guest Mitchell]

I'm with Adam and have naked dsl (that's a broadband service that's not on a phone line for non techies) with a VoIP phone. Not only is the quality of my line great it costs about 2 cents a min to call the UK

[The Flinns]

Why not get a UK skype number? I have (had) one and a skype phone. UK people can then call you as a local call.

 

People can phone me on a local number. I have a Bradford local number also so anyone can call me from the UK and pay local rates or even nothing if they are on an unlimited UK calls package. There are a lot better and cheaper alternatives to Skype out there you know and you don't have to waste money on a Skype phone either.

 

See Michelle and mydearboy's posts above.

[Guest moonraker1959]

Thankyou all for the suggestions,ironically this morning,twin rang me,and we spoke for just over an hour with NO interruptions(woo hooo)and no picture freezing!Some days are like that though,fantastic,and other days are truly awful.