--- title: Wi-Fi Phone Dropouts description: Wi-Fi phone dropouts are tricky to fault find and expensive and irritating for end users. 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Correct AP placement and RF design are of utmost importance. When sensitive devices like Wi-Fi phones don't roam properly and you get drop outs, you tend to know about it pretty quickly - staff are irritated by the unreliable service and complain. Wi-Fi voice is used across quite a lot of customer verticals these days - the most common are hospitals and warehouses (retail stores are gaining ground rapidly here too). Unreliable voice generates a lot of complaints - here's some tricks and tips for what to look out for. [Wi-Fi Troubleshooting](https://blog.iptel.com.au/how-to-review-a-wifi-installation-part-1) is not easy at the best of times, so we'll take a look at this too. ## ![Wi-Fi Phone Roaming](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/Wi-Fi%20Phone%20Dropouts/Wi-Fi%20Phone%20Roaming.jpg?width=2249&name=Wi-Fi%20Phone%20Roaming.jpg) --- ## Wi-Fi Phone Dropouts Firstly, what exactly are Wi-Fi Phone dropouts? If you are using a phone such as as the Cisco range (Cisco 7925 / Cisco 8821), Spectralink or Ascom, and you experience silence on a call, you are getting dropouts. These are very common devices in[hospitals and clinical environments.](https://iptel.com.au/industries/healthcare/) More common in the [retail environment](https://iptel.com.au/industries/retail-and-stores/) are other devices like [Zebra scanners](https://www.zebra.com/ap/en/products/scanners.html) which can have similar issues in a poorly performing Wi-Fi network. It's normal for a phone to roam and have a short 'blip' on the roam - this is typically in the order of 100 - 200 msec, so you might lose a little part of a word. Continual glitchy sound, frequent 1 - 2 second dropouts and sometimes even longer dropouts (in excess of 10 - 20 seconds) are all common complaints when there are issues in play. Wi-Fi is actually very reliable when all the rules are followed - you can really expect quite a seamless experience. Like all wireless technologies you'll get the odd dropout - however, they should not be systemic or causing problems for the business. ASSOCIATED BLOGS: - [Wi-Fi Predictive Designs](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wifi-predictive-survey-wifi-heatmaps) - [Wi-Fi Assurance Review](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wifi-assurance-review) --- ## Fault Finding Approach Phone drop outs are also one of the more complex aspects in a WLAN to fault find and correct. While there's many issues that can cause drop outs, one of the easier ones to identify is with poor AP placement. [![Wi-Fi Troubleshooting](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Stock%20Images/General/Wi-Fi%20Troubleshooting.png?width=1280&name=Wi-Fi%20Troubleshooting.png)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wi-fi-troubleshooting-how-to-fault-find-a-wi-fi-network) If you are able to replicate a problem in a certain area of a facility, there's two main reasons - not enough coverage, or incorrect placement. Fault finding invariably involves the following tasks: - **Replication of the Fault:** Lots of walking around to see if you can characterise the issue - **Isolation of the Issue:** Once you've figured out the broad characteristics of the issue, can you isolate it - can you change anything to improve the network - Overall Review: We conduct a process called an [Assurance Review](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wifi-assurance-review) to really dig down through the network configuration - incorrect settings might be causing the issue - RF Review: Post Install surveys (or we use a deep dive diagnostic survey when looking for faults) helps identify RF issues. You have to have started with a [good Wi-Fi Predictive Design](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wifi-predictive-survey-wifi-heatmaps) though. - **Debugging:** This is the most technically complex and time consuming phase. This can be debugs on the controller (if you have one) or over the air with an air sniff. Generates a lot of packets and lines of information - time consuming if you have to dig this far We have a final trick up our sleeves - offsite replication. With the ability to configure our lab to produce roaming events, we don't need to endlessly walk around a site - we can do this in the lab, where it's much quicker to get to the root cause of the problem. [Undertaking a network review](https://blog.iptel.com.au/how-to-review-a-wifi-installation-part-1)and [how to gather evidence for a review](https://blog.iptel.com.au/how-to-gather-evidence-for-a-wifi-review-part-2)are both useful reading. ASSOCIATED BLOGS: - [Troubleshooting with DNA Center](https://blog.iptel.com.au/troubleshooting-with-cisco-dna-center) --- ## Building Fabric In regards to incorrect placement, you've got to take into account the building fabric when placing the APs. [![Wi-Fi Survey Rig](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/1.%20Archived%20(older%20then%202020)/1532e1.jpg?width=300&name=1532e1.jpg)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wireless-pre-install-surveys)A couple of classic examples are where there's lifts / emergency stairwells and increasingly common is speedpanel / gyproc in the walls of comms rooms (it's a thick metal panel, which is pretty much a complete attenuator). Any heavily attenuating object of going to affect your Wi-Fi coverage - it's basic physics. You should always ensure that after the [Wi-Fi Predictive Design](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wifi-predictive-survey-wifi-heatmaps)has been completed that you do on [on-site Pre-deployment Survey](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wireless-pre-install-surveys) - the specific purpose of which is to identify wall thickness issues. Hospitals can have a lot of shielding in imaging areas and thicker walls in some areas (audio labs and mental health units), which should be taken into account. Wi-Fi Pre-deployment Surveys are often undertaken with a survey rig as shown here (this is one of our rigs)   ASSOCIATED BLOG: - [Wi-Fi Pre-deployment Surveys](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wireless-pre-install-surveys) --- ## AP Placement AP Placement is often overlooked for voice. Small mobiles devices choose when to roam - but you have to build a network to help them out. [![Predictive Survey - Wi-Fi Heat Maps](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/Predictive%20Survey/Predictive%20Survey%20-%20Wi-Fi%20Heat%20Maps.png?width=300&name=Predictive%20Survey%20-%20Wi-Fi%20Heat%20Maps.png)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wifi-predictive-survey-wifi-heatmaps) The network will be designed for coverage, but often not for AP placement. You need to take attenuating objects in to account when designing a network. If you place the APs correctly around these obstacles, the phone will see the next AP in time to make a roaming decision and no drops occur. Incorrect placement and you'll get likely get consistent 1 - 5 second dropouts as the phone sees a sudden RF drop from the attenuator, prior to roaming to the next AP. The direction you walk in can make a difference too, as you hand off from AP to AP - which makes it all the more confusing to fault find. So, if you're getting some consistent drop outs in an area, take a look at your AP placement, as this is a typical root cause for this type of issue. ASSOCIATED BLOG: - [RF Power Tuning](https://blog.iptel.com.au/access-point-power-caps) - [Wi-Fi Surveys (Overview to the various types of RF Surveys)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wi-fi-surveys) --- ## Wi-Fi Phone Dropouts: Summary Hopefully the above has been a useful insight into how to help design and fault find a network to prevent Wi-Fi voice dropouts. It can be very time consuming and frustrating to fix these issues - we're always here to be able to help if you get stuck and need help (drop us a line at [sales@iptel.com.au](mailto:sales@iptel.com.au))  The summary is simple in the end - you need enough coverage, correct AP placement and well performing devices. Tackle all three things in turn in your investigations and you will see incremental improvements. ASSOCIATED BLOGS: - [Wi-Fi Surveys: Overview to all survey types](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wi-fi-surveys) - [RF Power Tuning](https://blog.iptel.com.au/access-point-power-caps) - [Cisco DNA Center Assurance](https://blog.iptel.com.au/blog/cisco-dna-center-assurance) - [5 Ways DNA Center Solves your Challenges](https://info.iptel.com.au/cisco-dna) - [Wi-Fi 6E and 6GHz Explained](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wi-fi-6e-and-6ghz-explained) - [Wi-Fi 6 vs 5G](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wi-fi-6-vs-5g-complementary-technologies)   #### Related Articles ###### [Effect of Trees on Wi-Fi](https://blog.iptel.com.au/effect-of-trees-on-wi-fi) Dec 9, 2025 ###### [Wi-Fi and The Problem With RADAR (DFS)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wifi-and-the-problem-with-radar) July 21, 2025 ###### [Wi-Fi Grades](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wi-fi-grades) Sept 18, 2025 ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "IPTel Solutions", "url" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/author/iptel-solutions" }, "dateModified" : "2026-01-30T05:32:07.945Z", "datePublished" : "2025-08-21T04:47:21.000Z", "headline" : "Wi-Fi Phone Dropouts", "image" : [ "https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/Blogs/Wi-Fi%20Phone%20Dropouts/Wi-Fi%20Phone%20Roaming%20Instagram.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/wifi-phone-dropouts", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/IPTel_Solutions_February2020%20-%20Header%20SiteMap/Images/IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2.png" }, "name" : "IPTel Solutions Pty Ltd" } } ```