Debugging squelchy or broken audio

Connectivity links between a computer, router and the Internet

Cleanfeed relies on stable connectivity between your device, your router and your Internet service provider (ISP). Unlike streaming services where data can buffer and timing isn’t critical; Cleanfeed is the opposite. Speed isn’t a major factor, but having a reliable connection will ensure the best (glitch free) results.

We recommend that the studio diagnoses issues with their connection before moving to diagnosing a guest connection.

Whilst WiFi can be good for the most part, it can from time to time be a cause of small audible dropouts. The most common connectivity issue we encounter are studios or guests that have poor WiFi.

Connection link between a computer and router, using Wifi

If you are using Wifi and are encountering dropouts and interruptions, we recommend:

• Using Ethernet. This is the best remedy to WiFi issues. There is no chance of network disruption when using a physical cable.
• Get closer to your WiFi router. The closer you are, the best chance your device has of not dropping data (packet loss). Some devices may show full signal, however this may be misleading in some cases.
• Don’t use extenders. Go to the main Internet router to rule out any issues with your extender. Extenders are also prone to adding latency to connections.

For best results, an Ethernet cable between your computer and your router is highly recommended. This rules out WiFi problems altogether.

Sometimes the connection link between the router and the ISP may be degraded or congested.

Cleanfeed works best with copper, cable or fibre Internet connections. Some satellite and rural 3G or 4G networks may be unreliable due to the time that data has to travel (high latency).

If you are cabled directly to your router, or have had good service in the past, but now experience issues with your connection on Cleanfeed; the issue could be the router provided by your ISP.

We recommend:

• Rebooting your router. This sounds obvious, but updates and other items can be resolved by this simple step.
• Remove some devices. Some routers may not be able to cope with many devices connected all at once.
• Upgraded your router recently? In some instances your ISP may have changed some settings on your new router, which may need adjusting. You will have to contact your ISP for more help. This may be firewall related.

In some rare instances your ISP may have congestion on their network or problems with data loss. If you have followed the suggestions above for both yourself and your guest/co-host, we recommend contacting your ISP for more help.

Some Internet networks (asynchronous) suffer when there is too much activity if someone is uploading a lot of data. This can stall communication can disrupt your Cleanfeed experience.

Either as the studio or guest, we recommend:

• Stopping large uploads. If you are uploading a large file, this can saturate your upload capability and increase latency on your network.
• Pausing sync services. Such as Google Drive or Dropbox, ensuring sync services are paused all computers on the same network will help ensure your upload path is clear and has the lowest latency.

Using a VPN is not recommended. VPN’s cause increases in latency and can disrupt your session connection.