WhatsApp problem using home wi-fi

[George]

I'm only slightly tech savvy, so I hope someone can help me figure out how to fix the following.

 

When my phone shows that wi-fi is connected to my HOME wi-fi, then WhatsApp VIDEO calls will not connect, neither incoming nor outgoing.  Phone will attempt to connect/ring once or twice, then disconnects. 

 

There is no problem using the home wi-fi to receive or make WhatsApp VOICE calls, nor with WhatsApp MESSAGES via the home wi-fi, the problem is limited to WhatsApp VIDEO calls using the home wi-fi.

 

ALL OTHER APPS on the phone that require internet, work perfectly with the home wi-fi connection.  AND . . . the home wif-fi works without any problem on my Windows 10 laptop (even on an old Windows XP laptop).  In short, the problem is limited to WhatsApp VIDEO calls using the home wi-fi connection.

 

In addition to the home network name showing on the phone, under "Available networks" there is "xfinitywifi" and "XFINITY", which I understand are home hotspots.  If I change the network from the home wi-fi to "xfinitywifi", then WhatsApp video calls WILL go thru, both incoming and outgoing.    

 

But I prefer to use the home wi-fi connection for WhatsApp video calls, so am posting this on both alt.online-service.comcast and on alt.cellular.t-mobile with the hope someone might know the fix for the problem.

 

I already tried without success:

 

Uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp

Restarting the phone

Completely powering off the phone for several minutes

Powering off the Xfinity modem for several minutes

 

TIA for any pointers, suggestions, tips.

 

George

 

P.S.  The Xfinity modem is an Arris TG1682G, and the phone is a Samsung Galaxy S22 thru T-Mobile.

[VanguardLH]

> P.S. The Xfinity modem is an Arris TG1682G, and the phone is a
> Samsung Galaxy S22 thru T-Mobile.

I don't use the WhatsApp app. Just some guesses here.

You way you have a wifi connect from phone to a wifi device (perhaps
your modem). Wifi can be slow or fast depending on what type of wifi is
used. There are difference protocols for wifi that affect bandwidth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11#Protocol

Calls, texts, and most web surfing don't require high bandwidth
(streamed video being the exception). Video calls require a lot more
bandwidth. Standard definition video conference requires about 1 Mbps.
High-resolution video conferencing needs 6 to 10 Mbps. What is your
service tier with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for downstream
bandwidth? That might be high enough for traffic coming *to* you. What
is your service tier for /upstream/ bandwidth? That is usually much
less; i.e., service may be asymmetrical (high down, slow up). Outbound
or upstream bandwidth is much slower which means it may not be capable
of handing your outbound traffic for a video call.

https://www.freeconference.com/blog/the-minimum-speed-required-for-video-conferencing/

That article says 8 Mbps downstream and 1.5 Mbps upstream for video
conferencing, but I've see other suggested numbers. However, that's for
*one* smartphone doing video calling over a wifi connection. That
bandwidth is shared with other wifi devices. Lowering the camera
resolution will lower the bandwidth bar. Your ISP service tier might be
a lot higher than required for video calls, but you've also placed a
wifi connection in the path, and that might not have enough bandwidth.

How many wifi devices are connected to your wifi AP (access point, like
a wifi modem)? You could have multiple smartphones connecting via wifi
to the same AP, wifi web security cams, wifi printers, and so on all
sharing the bandwidth to the same wifi AP. 10,000 people cramming into
a revolving door isn't going to work.

See if you can disable cellular service on your smartphone (prevent
using your data connection via cellular) to force your phone to only use
a wifi connection for an Internet connection in your current setup.
Then run a speed test (e.g., speedtest.net). You want to measure your
downstream and upstream bandwidths to see if you get enough to make
video calls. You only need to disable mobile data on your phone to
ensure wifi gets used by your phone for an Internet connection. Do the
speed test using your HOME wifi hotspot, and then again using the
xfinitywifi hotspot.

https://www.ricksdailytips.com/disable-cellular-data-on-android-phone/

The Samsung Galaxy S22's specs say it supports 2.4 Gpbs down and up.
The Arris modem's specs say 802.11n (72-600 Mbps) for 2.4GHz band and
802.11ac (433-6933 Mbps) for 5GHz band. The devices are more than
capable of handling video calls, but how many other wifi devices are
sharing the HOME wifi bandwidth on the modem? You could have lots of
wifi devices consuming the bandwidth of your HOME hotspot, but none on
your xfinitywifi hotspot. The xfinitywifi hotspot does not consume
bandwidth from your HOME hotspot, or from the WAN Ethernet connect of
the modem. The xfinitywifi hotspot uses separate channels from your
other modem connections. Disabling the xfinity hotspot does not afford
more channels to the other connections to make them faster.

Note the 5GHz band of your modem gives you faster transfer speeds, but
at a reduced distance. The 2.4GHz band gives slower transfer, but
longer range. Some users think enabling the xfinitywifi hotspot
degrades their speed. Nope. Have you tried switching your phone from
the 2.4GHz band of your modem to its 5GHz band?

Just because your phone shows a wifi connection does not preclude use of
mobile data for an Internet connection. You sure the WhatsApp is not
using your data connection (cellular Internet) rather than the wifi
connection? That's why I mention disabling mobile data on the phone to
force using only wifi, and then measuring bandwidth over wifi on the
phone. For me, and for some apps, I disable their access to mobile data
because I have a quota. It's not unlimited. For the security web cam
app (the web cam itself is always issuing some wifi traffic whether I'm
using the app or not), I disabled it from using mobile data, and have it
only use wifi, like when at home, or at a resort with wifi service. I
go into Android settings -> Data Manager, click on a listed app (or I
can go into an app's settings under Data Usage), and disable Background
Data (usage of cellular data in the background). I don't know what
options WhatsApp has for limiting its Internet connection to only mobile
data, only to wifi, or use both with preference of wifi.

[VanguardLH]

Note: You are posting here using Outlook Express. As I recall, it lets
you configure differently how to construct a message for e-mail versus
how for newsgroups. Do not post to newsgroups using HTML. This is a
text newsgroup. Usenet is not an e-mail venue for communication.

[Buzz Hoff]

The year is 2023.

If you have an old text based reader, delete it and install a modern
newsreader capable of HTML.

This line intentionally left blank

[Adam H. Kerman]

Buzz Hoff <bh...@roger.datt> wrote:

>The year is 2023.

>If you have an old text based reader, delete it and install a modern
>newsreader capable of HTML.

Fuck off --Spam Guy--

>This line intentionally left blank

Boater Dave's skull intentionally emptied

[Bizarro Roy]

In article <TdjBL.76725$5S78....@fx48.iad>, Buzz Hoff

<bh...@roger.datt> wrote:

> The year is 2023.
>
> If you have an old text based reader, delete it and install a modern
> newsreader capable of HTML.

Usenet is text-based. HTML doesn't belong here.

> VanguardLH wrote:
> > Note: You are posting here using Outlook Express. As I recall, it lets
> > you configure differently how to construct a message for e-mail versus
> > how for newsgroups. Do not post to newsgroups using HTML. This is a
> > text newsgroup. Usenet is not an e-mail venue for communication.

Yes. This. Exactly.

[VanguardLH]

Note: Buzz's top-posting style was converted to the Usenet netiquette
norm of bottom posting. Again, Usenet is NOT an e-mail venue. E-mail
top posts, by default. Usenet bottom posts.

Buzz Hoff <bh...@roger.datt> wrote:

> VanguardLH wrote:
>
>> Do not post to newsgroups using HTML. This is a text newsgroup.
>> Usenet is not an e-mail venue for communication.
>

> The year is 2023.

And your version of Forte Agent was released back in 2014. That you
misconfigure for use in newsgroups it is your fault.

Perhaps you should stop using a combination client that does both e-mail
and newsgroups. By using different clients for different communication
venues, you'll learn to distinguish them as NOT the same thing.

> If you have an old text based reader, delete it and install a modern
> newsreader capable of HTML.

This is NOT an HTML newsgroup. Don't post here using HTML regardless of
using an old or new NNTP client. Even "modern" NNTP clients can compose
in text. NNTP is *not* an e-mail protocol. Usenet is not e-mail.

Anyone that continues posting here using HTML (a mental defect
exhibited, for example, by Good Guy who lies about why he uses HTML) is
being rude, and will soon be designated a troll.

Even you managed to post here using text (Content-Type: text/plain) with
your c.2014 "modern" NNTP client. Does Agent not let you separately
configure top- versus bottom-posting based on protocol (i.e.,
differentiate between e-mail and NNTP posting style)? I recall that was
a defect of Outlook Express that not even OE-QuoteFix fixed, but I
thought Agent was a more capable e-mail+newsgroups client. Maybe not.

[Buzz Hoff]

Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> Buzz Hoff <bh...@roger.datt> wrote:
>
>> The year is 2023.
>
>> If you have an old text based reader, delete it and install a modern
>> newsreader capable of HTML.
>
> Fuck off --Spam Guy--
>

Typical ad hominem attack noted.

[Buzz Hoff]

Can you cite US law regarding use of HTML in newsgroups?

This line intentionally left blank

VanguardLH wrote:

[VanguardLH]

Yep, we've got a troll. Hasn't a clue the difference between etiquette
and law.