The native Twilio integration inside Uptics uses Voice over IP (VoIP). VoIP, in a nutshell, allows users to send and receive voice calls over the internet, rather than from a standard landline or mobile device.
VoIP advantages include, but are not limited to, the following: lower costs, supports multitasking, increased accessibility, complete portability, clearer voice quality, etc.
On the contrary, in using a VoIP connection there may also be instances in which you experience less than ideal quality of your VoIP connection. This article helps with the troubleshooting methods and steps to take, the information that is needed from you for these issues to be debugged on our end, and some common issues you may experience when using the calling feature inside of Uptics.
Troubleshooting Methods
Regardless of the exact issue(s) that you are experiencing, the next 2 sections of this article provide some initial steps you can take on your end to potentially help identify the issue(s). After conducting the steps below in both sections, please provide Uptics Support with the results if you are unable to correct the issue on your end directly.
Twilio Network Test
As an initial step in troubleshooting the issue(s) you are experiencing, we kindly request you to you run a Twilio Network Test by clicking on the link. The test will self-initiate after selecting the checkbox in the reCAPTCHA popout, and takes all but 30-60 seconds to run.
Once you have run this test and it has finished, please use Ctrl+A on your keyboard to select all of the results on the page from both the left and right sections of the test, and send them over to Uptics Support at [email protected], or via the Chat Widget inside of Uptics.
We will use the Diagnostics and the Log Output to determine the next steps in troubleshooting the issue(s) you are experiencing.
Obtain the Twilio Debug Logs
Because there are many different reasons or causes for the issue(s) you are experiencing, for more detailed logs of the incidents we will need to review Debug Logs pertaining to the specific calls you are having issues with. These logs can be helpful for diagnosing issues with your application or connection.
In order to provide us with these logs, you simply need to open up your browser console (right-click on your screen and select Inspect), clear the console, and initiate a phone call to capture the debug logs of the call. Once the call is made, simply highlight the Debug Logs in the console, right-click to save as a text file, and save it as the Phone Number in which you dialed for reference.
If the issue is not experienced during your first attempt, you will need to clear the console and repeat this process until you have captured the logs of a call that experienced the issue.
Please reach out to support if you need assistance accessing these Twilio Debug Logs per the instructions in the last 2 paragraphs, as we can share a video on our end illustrating the step-by-step.
In obtaining these logs for us to review, we request the Debug Logs for 3 examples in which you experienced the issue(s). In addition, the following is needed for each set of Debug Logs:
The Phone Number you called from.
The Phone Number you called when you experienced the issue. If it's easier, you can simply save the Call Log Text File name as the phone number in which you called. We need to be able to match the files you share with the phone number you called that experienced the issue, and the logs will not contain this information.
Any other relevant details...
The variance of the issue, frequency of issue, and/or any replication patterns.
Are you connecting with the individual you are calling and the call drops mid-call? Is nothing happening when you are making calls? Is there Jitter on the call? As many details as possible will help in troubleshooting your issues and assist us in providing a solution.
Once you have obtained the 3 examples of the logs and required information above for each instance, please send them over to Uptics Support at [email protected], or via the Chat Widget inside of Uptics.
Common Issues you may experience using the Calling Feature
The sections below provide some insight to some common, yet simple to resolve, issues that you may face when using the calling feature inside Uptics.
If you are experiencing any of the issues below, we encourage you to follow the recommended steps to pinpoint and identify the issue.
Uptics will not allow me to make a call
If you are not able to make a call, and nothing is occurring when you click the 'Call' button, first and foremost you must ensure a phone number has been added to your account. For steps on this process, please visit our article on How to set up your Phone Integration.
Once you have ensured that your phone number has been added and is set up inside Uptics, because phone calls go off of metered charges, you must also ensure you have sufficient funds in your metered balance for the system to initiate a phone call. For information on the metered balance and adding funds, please visit our article on What is the Metered Balance inside Uptics.
If you have ensured you have a phone number added and that sufficient funds are present in your metered balance, and you are still unable to initiate a call, please go through the Troubleshooting Methods listed earlier in this article and provide our support team with the test results and debug logs.
When initiating a phone call, the system rings once and then disconnects
In instances which you are able to initiate a call, it rings once, and then disconnects, this is usually caused by dialing an invalid phone number. Please proceed to try additional phone numbers, or call a number you know is valid, to see if this is indeed the issue.
If the issue is present on phone numbers you are confident are valid, please proceed to perform both the Twilio Network Test and provide our support team with the Twilio Debug Logs, which are described above under the Troubleshooting Methods section of this article.
Poor Call Quality
Because the Twilio Integration uses VoIP, various reasons can cause a less than ideal call quality and are usually out of our direct control. Please refer to the Twilio Article: 9 Steps to Improve VoIP Call Quality for insights on what causes poor quality and the steps you can take to improve it.
Calls are dropping in the middle of a call
If you are experiencing an active call disconnecting unexpectedly, Twilio refers to this as a dropped call. Twilio has a troubleshooting article covering the steps to take in these instances: Troubleshooting Dropped Twilio Voice Calls, and the points from that article are summarized below.
Check for Twilio Incidents on the Twilio Status Page.
If you do not see any incidents posted that may affect your calls, move on to the next step.
If you do see an incident that may affect your calls, please monitor the status and await an update for the incident to be resolved.
Identify the Issue
Obtain the Twilio Debug Logs, as described earlier in this article.
Ask yourself and document the following types of questions:
Is the call dropping after a long silence, mute, or hold?
Is this occurring at the same time in each call that is dropped?
Is this occurring with specific phone numbers or number types (landline, mobile, VoIP, etc)?
Is this issue occurring only when calling (or receiving) to (or from) a specific region or country?
Attempt to Replicate the Issue
The goal is to assess if the issue is a one-off issue, limited to certain phone numbers or service providers, or a larger issue that could require some further troubleshooting.
Attempt further test calls between the same phone numbers, and then try calling different phone numbers.
Consensus
If all calls are being dropped, this may be a larger issue and the Twilio Debug Logs should be the first step of action.
If some calls are dropped, but others are working, we will need to identify any patterns with the dropped calls. The best approach here is also to obtain the Twilio Debug Logs for series of calls, with specific information pertaining to each call and what occurred.
If you are unable to replicate the issue, there is not a whole lot that can be identified without the Debug Logs from the instance in which the issue occurred.
Escalate to Uptics Support
As requested above under the Troubleshooting Methods, please provide 3 examples of calls to or from the same Twilio Number that have experienced dropped calls from the last 24 hours, and include the following:
Twilio Number you are using
Phone Number you called
Description of the issue
Variance of the issue
Frequency of the issue
Any replication pattern you have identified