Even after experiencing acceptable prolonged call quality, unexpected call disconnections may still pose a problem in some networks, and often for varying reasons. Sometimes, these call disconnections may occur due to accumulated factors causing network congestion, the result of an unreliable Internet connection or an unexpected interference in the call stream that the application is unable to recover from.

Pickle calls work similarly to any streamed content. However, how it might differ is with regard to sent data. When viewing a streamed movie on Netflix or listening to music on Spotify, the data stream is sent to your device from a remote location, but minimal data is sent in the opposite direction. Pickle calls are bi-directional, meaning as much data is sent from your device as it might receive.

This bi-directional format may cause issues with typical home-based Internet connections. Unlike most corporate Internet tariffs, it is commonplace for home Internet connections to have much lower upload throughput capabilities in comparison to download throughput. As such, upload congestion may occur even when the Internet is used minimally on the network which, if accumulated, can lead to eventual call disconnection.

Some call drops may occur due to software running on the same device, such as during conflicts with resource acquisition; when two different software applications each attempt to forcibly acquire physical peripherals and device resources. Experimenting with closing commonly open applications may improve your call connection stability.

Routers and Firewalls often come preconfigured in ways that disrupt VoIP related traffic leading to poor call quality and dropped calls. The NAT (Network Address Translator) physically modifies the headers of VoIP packets, which can lead to problems if the NAT is configured with Port Forwarding or with a SIP ALG (Application Layer Gateway). Try disabling these features if the call drops regularly occur on your network.

An additional issue with NATs relates to the P2P (peer-to-peer) nature of VoIP calls. Thanks to historically abused P2P technologies, such as torrent-based file sharing, some networks may be configured to hinder such network throughput, which may have a relative effect on VoIP call connections. If your calls appear to disconnect after a seemingly fixed duration, this may indeed be the cause.

Note that the source of the call drop may not be from your own device. Other user's devices may also have their own connection difficulties which lead to eventual disconnection. At Pickle, we may be able to detect whether the cause originated from your own device or that of the call recipient. Please contact us if call disconnections occur frequently and you would like us to help investigate.