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Quality Rating

Use CallPirates for Mobile Calls!

We're constantly making improvements to the quality of CallPirates and we highly recommend you use the latest version of CallPirates. Also, downloading latest drivers installed for your audio device can really help as well.

There are a few other things you can do to improve the quality of your calls.


Avoiding call echo

CallPirates has a built-in echo canceller which detects and reduces echo during calls. Ongoing echo problems may be caused by:

  • echo occurring from the audio device being used by the person you are calling. To improve call quality they should use a headset rather than loudspeakers. A headset reduces the level of acoustic echo that reaches the microphone.
  • using a webcam microphone; these are especially sensitive and pick up background noise and echo more easily.
  • using loudspeakers. We recommend a low level volume to reduce the chance of the microphone picking up any noise from loudspeakers and therefore creating echo.

Note: the performance of echo cancellation is affected by the level of background noise. Echo cancellation works better in low background noise environments.


Avoiding background noise

CallPirates has a built-in noise canceller which helps reduce the level of background noise. To avoid background noise you can:

  • try to find a quiet location to make CallPirates calls from.
  • move your microphone closer to your mouth and away from noise sources such as your computer's fan.
  • use CallPirates Certified headsets, handsets and webcams. Built-in microphones in computers and webcams are more prone to picking up background noise. We recommend you use a stand alone microphone instead.

One way sound

One way sound occurs when one party in a call cannot hear the other.

This may occur for a number of reasons:

Bad sound device settings:

  • If you cannot hear the person you are calling or vice versa your sound device settings may be configured incorrectly.
  • Check your microphone is not muted. Some microphones have buttons to mute/unmute.
  • Alternatively, the speaker volume of the person you are calling may be off or set too low. Both parties in the call need to check their device settings and verify they can hear other sounds made by their computers.
  • You may have incorrect sound mixer settings. Consult your soundcard manual or get more advice at CallPirates Sound Set Up Guide. (Please note: the soundcard used in our guide is serving only as an illustration, your computer does not have to have the same model for CallPirates to work.) Alternatively, review more information at Troubleshooter.
  • Finally, you can try disabling CallPirates's sound device auto adjustment. Do this within CallPirates by clicking Menu > Tools > Options > Sound Devices ? uncheck the box: Enable automated volume control. On the same screen check that the Audio In and Audio Out devices are set to the ones you actually use.

Low bandwidth internet:

  • One way sound can be caused by the caller having low internet bandwidth to outgoing destinations. For example, when using dial-up connections, satellite connections (that use dial-up or GPRS for upload) or low-priced ADSL packages.

Personal firewall software:

  • Some personal firewalls may block CallPirates's access to the internet. Due to the way such firewalls are designed, blocking usually occurs after you have upgraded CallPirates. This may result in you being unable to connect, inferior call quality or one-way sound. Check your personal firewall settings and allow CallPirates to make outgoing connections and accept incoming connections (sometimes called Act as server).

File sharing:

  • Uploading a file while using CallPirates can sometimes affect the quality of the call. It is advised to close all file sharing applications before calling.

Other people affecting the network:

  • If using CallPirates within a corporate network, one-way sound may be caused because someone else in the network is affecting internet connectivity. It is quite hard to determine this and in most of cases there is little than can be done. However, contacting your system administrator for further assistance is recommended.

Robotic sound / Words cut off / Delay

  • The main reason for robotic sound, dropouts in sentences and delay is bad network performance. This could be caused by both issues affecting you or the person you're calling. CallPirates is built to be adaptive and to provide the best call quality in all network conditions.
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