VoIP over Mobiles

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freakalad

231 posts

Master Geek

#27966 12-Nov-2008 17:21

Picked up on a discontinued discussion a while back; you can in fact get VoIP to work on you mobile handset, with a bit of tweaking. A couple of clients exits that may be able to help you achieve this, but the protocol may get blocked by you mobile service provider. Otherwise you may be able to manage it over a WiFi connection. Worth a try (goes back to when i was looking at VoIP & IM via mobiles)

* Fring
* iSkoot
* Gizmo/Gizmodo

there are a few others, but these are the ones of principal note

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Biddle Corp

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#177602 12-Nov-2008 17:24

The Nokia SIP stack works fine and offers far better integration.

Fring (and most others) are all only pretty average due to their servers typically being on the other side of the world and latency can be a real killer for VoIP.

freakalad

231 posts

Master Geek

#177605 12-Nov-2008 17:30

Good to know. Thanks

Dealt with the quite some time back, so my knowledge is a bit rusty. Originally I was only looking for a SIP client/"soft-phone" to make cheap international calls from my mobile, & mobile IM, and it was a really cool gimmic. (totally SLAUGHTERED my batterylife)

I suppose Android could raise the bar now, but I know many mobile service providers "frown upon" voip over their networks; should be interresting

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hasole

383 posts

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#177627 12-Nov-2008 19:26

my nokia e61 works great using 2talk. I only use the voda network if I'm not in 3g coverage.

I'm debating my next phone as i want hsdpa to use as a modem. looking at iphone, e71 maybe that android phone from PIL.

tonyhughes

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#177630 12-Nov-2008 19:42

Nokia SIP integration with the phone is awesome, just use it like you would normally. Beats the pants off any WinMo application I have come across. Plus full native phone contact list integration for dialling and CID, which is even better if your phone is syncing with Exchange.

mdf

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#178184 15-Nov-2008 22:11

I am currently experimenting with 2talk using a few different devices (VOIP is turning into a full time hobby at the moment - I have no desire to sign up to a $40 a month landline again). I've just tried installing it on a Nokia E60 using the in-built Nokia SIP client and wifi as a couple of others have described here. It works, but I'm certainly not getting the results that others have described.

Basically, it works (no dropped calls, always connects etc.), but the call quality is not that great. The dialling ring ring sounds as though it is dying, and then call quality (talking) is a bit up and down. This is mainly in relation to non-2talk numbers (dialling the voicemail on *55 seems to work fine?).

I've also got the 2talk softphone installed on a PC and a notebook, and the call quality for both is great.

Until a couple of months ago I was in the UK, and used the same phone and router (SpeedTouch 585v6) over there using a similar UK service (truphone - though truphone had a really straightforward installer that pretty much optimised itself). The connection for this was always great.

Back here, I've used Fring to connect to Skype (again to the same router); the connection was probably not quite so good, but certainly entirely acceptable

I thought it might have been wifi interference (this has been a problem before, but I thought I had got on top of it). But the notebook also connects over wifi to the same router without any problem (call quality using the notebook is great).

So I think (!?) I've managed to rule out problems with any of the equipment, so I can only guess it is something I have done with the settings. I've been through the 2talk instructions a couple of times, and definitely have the latest firmware installed, and all the settings they describe.

I know that call quality over VOIP can vary significantly depending on any particular connection, but I am confused as to why one call sounds so good then another call (same number, router etc.) 30 seconds later sounds so poor, just on a different device.

Any suggestions most appreciated.

sbiddle

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#178200 16-Nov-2008 09:28

First up the ringtone is generated by your phone, not the service. I don't know if the Nokia SIP ringtone has changed on newer handsets at all (I have an E65) but was just a plain tone.

The voice quality can also vary significantly depending on the codec you are using. With a provider like 2talk that supports numerous codecs you will probably find the phone is defaulting to ulaw which will have issues unless you have good QoS and bandwidth since it's using around 87kbps in each direction for a voice call. From memory the softphoneh uses G.729 by default which uses a lot less bandwidth.

There is a Nokia SIP VoIP settings application that allows you to edit the codec order on your phone which may be worth experimenting with.

coffeebaron

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#178234 16-Nov-2008 14:10

sbiddle:
There is a Nokia SIP VoIP settings application that allows you to edit the codec order on your phone which may be worth experimenting with.

Nokia SIP VoIP Settings

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mdf

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#178246 16-Nov-2008 15:37

Thanks for this guys, very helpful.

I've installed and had a play, and the call quality seems pretty good.

However, I still have a couple of lingering issues, but not sure whether this is my settings, or something else.

sbiddle:
First up the ringtone is generated by your phone, not the service. I don't know if the Nokia SIP ringtone has changed on newer handsets at all (I have an E65) but was just a plain tone.

My dialling tones (i.e. you dial a number, the you hear a ring ring you hear while waiting for the other person to pick up - I'm talking about the "ring ring" - not sure what the correct term for this is but lets go with "ring ring") still sound very sick.

I was pretty sure that the "ring ring" was generated by the network you were dialling? When you dial internationally, some places have different "ring rings" e.g. NZ is two shorter rings, Switzerland is one long ring.

Second problem I have had is that I have been dialling my parent's home phone to test what the call quality is like (they are conveniently away). They have a telecom line with the call minder answering machine service thing. When you dial this, you get a telecom robot that says something to the effect of "Thank you for calling. Please hold the line." then it plays the greeting you record yourself. Like the "ring ring", the Telecom robot sounds very sick, like there is a lot of interference or something. But then (bizarrely?) the recorded greeting is fine.

I am therefore wondering if the telecom network doesn't play nicely with 2talk/voip? I only seem to have problems with the "ring ring" and an automated telecom service? (this may have been the problem all along and I didn't even need the Nokia VOIP settings tool?)

Has anyone else experienced similar problems? Its really not a big deal, as the call quality seems to be excellent now - a sick "ring ring" probably won't bother me (much).

Incidentally, the Nokia site states that the SIP VoIP setting application is only compatible with Nokia VoIP release 2.2, 2.3, or 3.0.

According to this http://www.forum.nokia.com/main/resources/technologies/voice_over_IP/voip_support_in_nokia_devices.html, a Nokia E60 only has revision 1.0. Taking a punt, I was able to install the 2.x version and it certainly seems to run fine, nothwithstanding it is not officially supported. I have upgraded the firmware to the most recent version (3.0633.09.04), but it is not obvious whether this also updated the VoIP implementation.

mdf

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#178247 16-Nov-2008 15:56

Actually, I've just realised that it can't be a telecom issue, as the ring ring and the call minder robot both sound find using the 2talk service from a notebook or a pc, its just from the nokia that it sounds wierd.

sbiddle

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#178248 16-Nov-2008 16:39

Try this version of the SIP VoIP settings

http://www.forum.nokia.com/info/sw.nokia.com/id/d2d27e6c-bd52-4534-9aa6-19e606b80709/SIP_VoIP_Settings_v1_0_en.zip.html

coffeebaron

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#178279 16-Nov-2008 20:47

mdf: Actually, I've just realised that it can't be a telecom issue, as the ring ring and the call minder robot both sound find using the 2talk service from a notebook or a pc, its just from the nokia that it sounds wierd.

Use the SIP settings to lock the codec to a single codec only, and make your way through them all. 2talk tend to favour alaw (G711a) & G729, so try these two first.
Also make sure your are in clear range of you wireless network, and turn off any other PC / Laptop etc conected to your router. Once you've isolated codec's & other devices on your network, you can start reintroducing things.

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mdf

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#178491 17-Nov-2008 22:52

Okay... have tried both deleting all the other codecs except ALAW and G729, and turning off everything else on the network, but am still getting a ring ring that sounds like death!?

Thanks for your efforts guys, but unless someone has a brilliant suggestion, I might call it quits on this one for now. It works well enough that I can live with it. I am also getting a new router in a couple of weeks, so will see if that makes any kind of difference.

Thanks again.

Cheers, matty

coffeebaron

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#178583 18-Nov-2008 14:15

mdf: Okay... have tried both deleting all the other codecs except ALAW and G729, and turning off everything else on the network, but am still getting a ring ring that sounds like death!?

Cheers, matty

Did you try these one at a time? I.E. delete all except ALAW then delete all except G729?

Give that a go, and also let us know how you go when you get your new router.

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rphenix

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#179104 20-Nov-2008 15:55

Having experimented quite a bit here, I agree with others posts, forget the 3rd party apps they suck. Nokia E series all the way however even with lowering the transmit power to 4mw and doing other recommended power saving tricks on the Nokia the battery life is attrocious when using SIP/wifi on the phone.

During my research I found a few weird phones overseas I hadnt heard of their names that did the whole gsm/wifi combination with SIP support but wasnt willing to lay down the $$ for a brand I havent heard of I do wonder what their battery life would be like however.

mdf

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#179290 21-Nov-2008 21:43

coffeebaron:
Did you try these one at a time? I.E. delete all except ALAW then delete all except G729?

Give that a go, and also let us know how you go when you get your new router.

Yup, have deleted all except G729 - still worked, but the ring ring still sounded awful.

Deleting all except ALAW meant it didn't work at all.

So I guess 2talk is definitely in the G729 camp.

Will try playing some more with this when the new router arrives. Curse international shipping!

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