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Router settings that affect call quality

Stop Wi-Fi Band Steering and Roaming from Dropping Calls

Wi-Fi features that move devices between bands or access points can drop calls on cordless handsets and phones running the app. How to fix it.

Who this is for: Wi-Fi desk phones, cordless Wi-Fi handsets, and phones or laptops running the Cannon VoIP app on Wi-Fi.

What goes wrong

  • Calls drop or go silent for a few seconds when someone walks around the office.
  • Audio cuts out in certain rooms or hallways.
  • The handset or app disconnects and reconnects during a call.

Why it happens

Band steering pushes devices between the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi bands. Roaming moves a device from one access point (Wi-Fi antenna) to another.

Each move takes a moment. If the network moves a phone in the middle of a call, or moves it to a weaker signal, the call stalls or drops.

How to fix it

  1. Make sure Wi-Fi covers every spot where people take calls. Walk around with the handset and watch the signal.
  2. If your Wi-Fi uses one name for both bands, consider giving the phones their own network name on 5 GHz only. Then they can't be steered back and forth.
  3. Turn on fast roaming if your system has it. Look for 802.11r (Fast Transition), 802.11k and 802.11v. These let devices move between access points quickly.
  4. Set a minimum signal level (sometimes called minimum RSSI) carefully. Too strict and it kicks phones off mid-call; if calls drop when people move, lower it or turn it off.
  5. Make sure every access point uses the same network name, password and security type.
  6. Restart the handsets after changing settings.

Notes for common router types

  • On most home and small office routers, band steering is a single on/off switch, often called Smart Connect. Turning it off and creating a separate 5 GHz network for phones usually helps.
  • On most business Wi-Fi systems, look under Wireless or SSID settings for Band Steering, Fast Roaming, 802.11r and Minimum RSSI.
  • Some older devices don't connect to networks with 802.11r turned on. If a device stops connecting, put the phones on their own network name with it on, and leave it off on the main network.

How to tell it worked

  • Walk the office on a call from one end to the other. The audio stays clear.
  • The handset doesn't show a disconnect or reconnect while moving.
  • Run the free Net Checker from the handset's area of the office.

Still having trouble? Contact Cannon VoIP support at 888-973-0515 or support@cannonvoip.com.

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