Troubleshoot connection issues in Skype for Business

Having problems with your Skype for Business calls? An Internet connection is the most likely culprit. A poor Internet connection can cause low-quality audio and video, delays, and dropped calls. During a call, the connection indicator is displayed and clicking it provides additional information.

Depending on the severity of the problem, the icon can be gray, yellow, or red.

If you have a slow connection, the following tips might help.

• Improve your signal.    If possible, use an Ethernet cable to plug in your computer directly into the modem or router. If you're using a Wi-Fi connection, try moving closer to the router to get a better signal.

• Close other programs.    File-sharing applications, streaming audio or video or even just having a web browser open are all things that eat up bandwidth. Closing them frees up bandwidth so that Skype for Business can use it. If you're using Windows 7 or a newer release of Windows, you can use the Task Manager to see everything that's running on your PC and the percent of usage of CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network for each program.

• Check your speed.    For a high-quality video call, both you and the other participant need to have enough bandwidth. Do a speed test online (just type speed test into your search engine and pick the top few) or ask your Internet service provider (ISP) to test your download and upload speed for you. Check the result against the speed your ISP is supposed to be providing. If you often have a slow Internet connection, ask your ISP to take care of it.

• Update your hardware.    If your computer, modem, or router is old, then everything will seem to be running slow even with a fast connection. It might be worth upgrading your hardware if all else fails.

• Check with the other participant.    Remember, even if everything's good at your end, the other participant might have a problem with their connection.

See Also

Troubleshoot audio and video in Skype for Business