Freshphone has poor sound quality

[GreenCardigan]

EDIT. A year later, and Freshphone's pretty great. I can't change post title but using their app is the way to go.

Hey there, does anyone use Freshphone and find the call quality to be very poor? Compared to WhatsApp or Talk360 (This is of no use as you can only make calls, not receive them).

I put R50 credit to test it out with the Linphone app, with the OPUS codec, and it's not very clear for me or the other side.

 

[deweyzeph]

Hey there, does anyone use Freshphone and find the call quality to be very poor? Compared to WhatsApp or Talk360 (This is of no use as you can only make calls, not receive them).

I put R50 credit to test it out with the Linphone app, with the OPUS codec, and it's not very clear for me or the other side.

I ported my Telkom landline number to Freshphone, crystal clear and works like a charm. But I do have a 500/250 fibre line though. Your mileage may vary depending on your internet connection.

 

[GreenCardigan]

I ported my Telkom landline number to Freshphone, crystal clear and works like a charm. But I do have a 500/250 fibre line though. Your mileage may vary depending on your internet connection.

I have literally a 10th of your speed . But surely that wouldn't be a problem, voice data uploads are miniscule. I wonder if I should get an actual phone, but I hardly use it; and WhatsApp and other app calls are crystal clear.

 

[deweyzeph]

I have literally a 10th of your speed . But surely that wouldn't be a problem, voice data uploads are miniscule. I wonder if I should get an actual phone, but I hardly use it; and WhatsApp and other app calls are crystal clear.

I actually use my Freshphone account as a SIP trunk with 3CX installed on a Raspberry Pi and a bunch of Yealink SIP phones around my house. Never tried it with a softphone before.

 

[Greglsh]

I actually use my Freshphone account as a SIP trunk with 3CX installed on a Raspberry Pi and a bunch of Yealink SIP phones around my house. Never tried it with a softphone before.

How did you add your Freshphone as a SIP trunk, I tried to do this via the hosted option and it stays red.

 

[deweyzeph]

How did you add your Freshphone as a SIP trunk, I tried to do this via the hosted option and it stays red.

I don't use the hosted version of 3CX, I run it standalone on a Raspberry Pi.

 

[Greglsh]

Oh okay, I don't think it is supported on the Rpi anymore.

 

[deweyzeph]

Oh okay, I don't think it is supported on the Rpi anymore.

Yeah I know, it sucks. I'm going to have to switch over to freepbx.

 

[georgegolding]

I recommend downloading the free Freshphone app and login with your username and password, which uses the G729 codec. Opus is not widely used in SA and works over https not udp.

FreshPHONE App - App Store

Download FreshPHONE by Euphoria Telecom (Pty) Ltd on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips and more games like FreshPHONE.

apps.apple.com

freshphone – Apps on Google Play

SIP client for freshphone platform

play.google.com

 

[GreenCardigan]

I thought I should update here. A year later, and Freshphone's pretty great. I can't change the post title but using their app is the way to go.

 

[AsteriskUser]

@GreenCardigan the app doesn't support OPUS natively, nor is the codec enabled on Freshphone by default. Since its a "free" service it mainly supports G729A, GSM and iLBC. The issue is while you may be able to get better call quality point to point (like whats app) with OPUS, as soon as that call is handed past the gateways up to a carrier its transcoded to G729A anyway so until the carriers support a higher bandwidth codec we sort of stuck on G729. Before anyone mentions it, yes multiple carriers (incl telkom) support G711a, yes the app probably can support it, it though? considering its a higher bandwidth codec and has commercial implications (some carriers will need to transcode and or bill for additional traffic etc). I can confirm using OPUS point to point on the Euphoria App there is a massive difference and that is only the Codec, point to point or on-net calls don't leave the environment so there is no transcoding needed.