# Troubleshoot audio quality issues in Connect Customer
Audio quality issues—choppy or robotic audio, echo, delay, one-way audio, humming, or dead air—can originate anywhere along the call path. This page is the starting point for diagnosing them. It helps you narrow down *where* in the path the problem occurs, then directs you to the specialized topic that resolves it.
**Call disconnects**
This page covers audio *quality*. If calls are dropping or disconnecting rather than sounding bad, see [Troubleshoot call disconnects by using DisconnectDetails in the contact record](troubleshoot-call-disconnects.md).
**Intended audience**
This guide assumes you are an IT administrator with experience investigating network, telephony, and workstation issues, and that you can access data in a Connect Customer contact record.
## Before you begin: gather this information
Collect the following for the affected calls before you start. You need it to investigate and, if necessary, to open a case with AWS Support.
+ **Description of the symptom**—what the audio sounds like (choppy, robotic, echo, one-way, humming, dead air, delay) and whose voice is affected. You use this in Step 1.
+ **Instance Amazon Resource Name (ARN)**—see [Find your Connect Customer instance ID or ARN](find-instance-arn.md).
+ **ContactId** of each affected call (provide 3–5 examples, none older than 24 hours).
+ **Time of occurrence**, including time zone (record in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) where possible).
+ **Call recording** for each example.
If you can't obtain a recording directly, ask the agent or customer to review one and confirm:
+ Whose audio is degraded—the **agent** or the **end-customer**.
+ Whether the reported degradation is **actually audible** in the recording.
**Prerequisites**
Before troubleshooting, make sure of the basics: the agent workstation meets the [minimum hardware requirements](ccp-agent-hardware.md) and the agent uses a [supported browser](connect-supported-browsers.md).
## Step 1: Identify the symptom
Use the symptom to jump to the most likely cause. If your symptom isn't listed, or you're not sure, continue to Step 2.
| Symptom | Most likely area | Where to go |
| --- | --- | --- |
| No audio ("dead air") on the first call after a Windows 11 reboot | Workstation (network interface card/services) | [CCP audio issues on first call after system reboot when using Windows 11](common-ccp-issues.md#ccp-windows-11-audio-issues-after-reboot) |
| No audio in both directions (neither party can hear the other), not after a reboot | Contact Control Panel (CCP) setup, microphone access, or ports | [Contact Control Panel (CCP) Issues](common-ccp-issues.md), [How do I troubleshoot stopped audio during calls in my Amazon Connect CCP? (AWS re:Post)](https://repost.aws/knowledge-center/connect-call-audio-not-working) |
| One party can't hear the other (one-way audio) | Exclusive mic/speaker control, or network address translation (NAT) | [One-way audio from customers](common-ccp-issues.md#ccp-oneway-issues), [Troubleshoot your network for call quality and disconnect problems](network-ts.md) |
| Persistent humming in the agent's audio | Headset/browser sample-rate mismatch | [Humming sound in the agent's audio device: Verify the headset and browser sample rates](verify-sample-rate.md) |
| Missed calls / "Microphone is not accessible" / "Initialization Failed" / Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) timeout | CCP setup, permissions, or ports | [Contact Control Panel (CCP) Issues](common-ccp-issues.md) |
| Echo (agent hears their own voice) | Mic/speaker feedback | [Troubleshoot an agent's workstation for call quality and disconnect problems](agent-ts.md) |
| Choppy/broken, delayed, or distorted/robotic audio | Network or workstation | Continue to Step 2 |
## Step 2: Determine the scope
The number of affected agents changes where you look first.
+ **A single agent**—focus on that agent's **workstation** (Step 5, workstation path) and headset.
+ **Multiple agents in the same location or hierarchy**—suspect a **local network** issue (router, internet service provider (ISP), or local area network (LAN)) or a software or OS update pushed to those machines.
+ **Agents across multiple locations (remote and in-office)**—suspect an **organization-level** network change or a browser/OS auto-update.
Use [AgentHierarchyGroups](ctr-data-model.md#ctr-AgentHierarchyGroups) and [DeviceInfo](ctr-data-model.md#ctr-deviceinfo) from the contact record to identify the impacted population. For more information about impact analysis, see [Troubleshoot audio quality issues by using `QualityMetrics` in the contact record](sop-audio-qa.md).
**Tip**
If the issue started on a specific date for all affected agents, check for network infrastructure changes, browser auto-updates, or OS patches pushed on that date.
## Step 3: Localize the problem using the call path
When agents use the Contact Control Panel (CCP), calls traverse this path:
**(1) Headset → (2) Agent device/CCP → (3) Agent network → (4) Connect Customer → (5) Telephony network → (6) End-customer device**
Connect Customer records each call at point (4), so the recording captures the audio exactly as it arrived at Connect Customer. The recording is a dividing line. If the degradation **is audible** in the recording, the audio had already degraded **before** it reached Connect Customer (paths 1–3). If the recording **sounds clean** but a participant reported bad audio, the degradation occurred **after** point 4, on the path to the listener.
Use the following table to pair what you observe with the conclusion and where to go next.
| Whose audio is degraded | Degradation **is** in the recording | Degradation is **not** in the recording |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Agent (the agent's voice, as heard by the customer) | The audio degraded before reaching Connect Customer—headset, device, or agent network (1, 2, and 3). Go to Step 4. | Audio reached Connect Customer cleanly but customer heard degradation — telephony network or end-customer side (5 and 6). Go to Step 6. |
| End-customer (the customer's voice, as heard by the agent) | The audio degraded before reaching Connect Customer on the inbound side — telephony network or end-customer device (5 and 6). Go to Step 6. | Audio reached Connect Customer cleanly but agent heard degradation—agent network, device, or headset (1, 2, and 3). Go to Step 4. |
**Multi-party and conference calls**
For conference or multi-party calls, apply this recording-localization logic per leg (per ContactId), not to the call as a whole.
**No recording available**
If you can't determine the affected path from the recording—or no recording is available—continue to Step 4 to pull the metrics, which can localize the issue independently.
## Step 4: Collect diagnostic data (agent-side, paths 1, 2, and 3)
Run these in order. Each links to its full procedure.
1. **Endpoint Test Utility**—from the affected agent's machine, validate WebRTC support, media-device access, per-Region latency (target **under 300 ms**), and required ports. Download the JSON results. See [Validate connectivity to Connect Customer with the Endpoint Test Utility](check-connectivity-tool.md).
1. **QualityMetrics from the contact record**—call [DescribeContact](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/APIReference/API_DescribeContact.html) and review:
+ **`QualityScore`** (1.00 = poor, 5.00 = excellent) for a quick read.
+ **`PotentialQualityIssues`**: `HighPacketLoss`, `HighJitterBuffer`, or `HighRoundTripTime`. An empty list means no issue was detected. See [Troubleshoot audio quality issues by using `QualityMetrics` in the contact record](sop-audio-qa.md).
1. **CCP logs**—if available, download them and open them in the CCP Log Parser. Check for ERROR-level entries and WebRTC metrics during the affected call: `PacketLoss`, `JitterBufferMillis` (> 30 ms is abnormal), `RoundTripTime` (> 300 ms is abnormal). See [Download and review Connect Customer Contact Control Panel (CCP) logs](download-ccp-logs.md).
1. **Amazon CloudWatch**—check whether `ToInstancePacketLossRate` exceeded **20%** during the time of the issue. For more information about checking this metric, see [Troubleshoot Amazon Connect audio quality issues (AWS re:Post)](https://repost.aws/knowledge-center/connect-audio-quality-issues). Audio quality can degrade at packet loss rates well below 20%; this threshold indicates a severe issue requiring immediate network team engagement.
Then branch on what you found:
+ **Abnormal metrics found** → treat as a **network** issue (Step 5, network path).
+ **No abnormal metrics** → treat as a **workstation** issue (Step 5, workstation path).
## Step 5: Resolve agent-side issues
### Network (path 3)
Abnormal `PacketLoss`, `JitterBuffer`, `RoundTripTime`, or a high `ToInstancePacketLossRate` point to the agent network. Check:
+ **Virtual private network (VPN)**—does the issue reproduce without VPN (direct connection)? If VPN is required, is split-tunneling enabled for real-time traffic?
+ **Wi-Fi vs. wired**—does it reproduce on a wired connection?
+ **Firewall/proxy/NAT**—is UDP 3478 (media), TCP 443, and websocket traffic allowed? Use static NAT with keep-alives where possible.
+ **Bandwidth contention**—are large file transfers or bandwidth-heavy apps running concurrently?
+ **Distance to Region**—is the agent far from the AWS Region of the instance? (Correlates with high `RoundTripTime`.)
Full procedure: [Troubleshoot your network for call quality and disconnect problems](network-ts.md). For more information about metric interpretation, see [Troubleshoot audio quality issues by using `QualityMetrics` in the contact record](sop-audio-qa.md).
### Workstation (paths 1/2)
No abnormal network metrics points to the headset, device, or software. Check:
+ **Headset**—wired vs. wireless; does a wired headset resolve it? Confirm it meets the [minimum headset requirements](ccp-agent-hardware.md#ccp-agent-headset).
+ **Audio Enhancement**—if enabled, does disabling it resolve the issue? Note these constraints:
+ **Voice Isolation must only be used with a wired headset.** For wireless or mixed setups, use **Noise Suppression** instead.
+ Audio Enhancement requires a **4-core CPU / 4 vCPU minimum**.
+ **Audio Enhancement is not supported when using Connect Customer audio optimization (WebRTC redirection); it is supported with VDI local-browser access.** If both Audio Enhancement and Connect Customer audio optimization are configured, that conflict is a likely cause. See [Enable Audio Enhancement for agents in Connect Customer](audio-enhancement.md).
+ **Humming**—verify headset/browser sample rate is 48000. See [Humming sound in the agent's audio device: Verify the headset and browser sample rates](verify-sample-rate.md).
+ **Browser or OS**—check for recent updates; does rolling back to the last working version resolve it? Confirm a [supported browser](connect-supported-browsers.md).
+ **Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)**—for Citrix, WorkSpaces, or Omnissa, make sure that WebRTC redirection is configured through the `VDIPlatform` parameter. See [Use the agent workspace to optimize audio for Citrix, Amazon WorkSpaces, and Omnissa cloud desktops](optimize-audio-cdd.md).
+ **Exclusive device control**—check whether another application has taken exclusive control of the mic/speaker. See [One-way audio from customers](common-ccp-issues.md#ccp-oneway-issues).
+ **Custom CCP**—if you use a custom CCP, does the issue reproduce on the default CCP?
+ **Windows 11 first call after reboot**—if audio fails only on the first call after a reboot, apply the service startup-type fix (qWAVE, ndisuio.sys, dmwAppushSvc, SstpSvc, RasMan). See [CCP audio issues on first call after system reboot when using Windows 11](common-ccp-issues.md#ccp-windows-11-audio-issues-after-reboot).
Full procedure: [Troubleshoot an agent's workstation for call quality and disconnect problems](agent-ts.md) and [Improve call quality on agent workstations in Amazon Connect contact centers (Prescriptive Guidance)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/patterns/improve-call-quality-on-agent-workstations-in-amazon-connect-contact-centers.html).
## Step 6: Resolve end-customer/telephony issues (paths 4/5/6)
When the degradation is on the end-customer/telephony side, you can't fix it on the agent workstation. Try to isolate the source before opening a case:
+ **Change the calling environment**—have the end-customer try a different device, network, or carrier.
+ **Check for a common factor**—does the issue correlate with a specific carrier, direct inward dial (DID) number, or geographic region? If it correlates with a particular country or number type, confirm that country's coverage and any known telephony restrictions in the [Amazon Connect Telecoms Coverage guide](https://d1v2gagwb6hfe1.cloudfront.net/Amazon_Connect_Telecoms_Coverage.pdf) on the Amazon Connect website.
+ **Check for call forwarding**—is another system forwarding calls to Connect Customer? If so, does the issue occur on direct dials to Connect Customer without forwarding?
+ **Test multiple numbers**—try multiple destination and source numbers to see whether the issue follows a particular number.
If the issue persists across these changes, open a case with AWS Support.
## Step 7: Before you contact AWS Support
If the issue persists after troubleshooting, [open a case](open-case-troubleshoot-audio.md) with **3–5 examples no older than 24 hours**, and include:
+ Instance ARN and a description of the symptom (whose voice, and how—choppy, no audio, echo, and so on).
+ ContactIds, timestamps (UTC), and contact-record snapshots.
+ Call recordings attached to the case.
+ For end-customer issues: the end-customer phone number (last 4 digits might be masked) and the Connect Customer phone number.
+ Test results: browsers tested, networks tested, alternate-machine test, **Endpoint Test Utility JSON export**, and your **observations after running Ping and MTR**.
+ Agent environment details: VPN/firewall/VDI configuration, headset type, and Audio Enhancement mode.
+ CCP type (default vs. custom) and the downloaded CCP logs for the affected calls.
+ Frequency of the issue and the date/time it started (UTC).
**Download CCP logs immediately after affected calls**
CCP logs persist only within the current browser session. If the agent closes or refreshes the CCP tab, the browser discards the logs—download them as soon as possible after an affected call.