Battling Glitchy Online Video Sessions?

I have meant to share these tips for ages, but the covid-19 crisis has proved super effective at disrupting and slowing things down. Ironic, given that this piece is about stabilising and speeding things up, i.e. improving the quality of your online video counselling and therapy sessions.

When covid-19 hit, most of us found ourselves scrambling to adapt to the online world in a whole new way. I thought I’d have to resign myself to session interruptions, glitchy connections and moments where, if we wanted to hear each other, we had to turn the video off.

There is nothing more frustrating than witnessing a client opening up about their reluctance to trust in human connections, only to have the concrete connection break down at that moment.

I started experimenting and found solutions that I hope you will find helpful too.

First I tried…

• Upgrading my laptop – Helped my soul but not my connection.
• Upgrading fibre-line to an overkill 100mb – Definite improvement to sound and video crispness. Connection remained unstable.
• Switching nearby mobile devices to aeroplane mode (reduces signal interference). Unsure about this.
• And finally; installing powerline adapters and connecting my computer to these rather than the Wi-Fi – Phenomenal difference. Chalk vs Cheese.

My learning from this…

If you already have a fast internet connection and a mid-range device but are still struggling with video conference instability, consider switching to a wired connection.

Do not want cables running all over your office?

Powerline adapters are the solution. They convert your office/home wiring into a network, and every electrical point becomes a network point. Brilliant!

These are the ones I chose (I'm not getting paid for this). They are easy to install and include network cable.

Available on Takealot

Note: if your laptop has no Ethernet port, you will need an adapter. I use this one, but it’s for the tiny USBc type connections (not old USB).

Available on Takealot

What about power outages and load shedding?

Unfortunately, the powerline adapters will go down along with the power. This doesn’t mean your Wi-Fi and fibre line should too.

If you are using a laptop, you already have a built-in battery backup (hopefully). This is good, but it will not keep your fibre modem and Wi-Fi router running.

One solution is to plug these devices into a mini UPS battery backup. You may need two of these—one for the device that connects to the fibre (modem) and one for the Wi-Fi router, especially if they require different voltages.

I use this one because of its high capacity and it allows me to adjust the voltage to match the device (they aren’t all 5v).

Available on Takealot

Unfortunately, devices need different size connectors, and so you may require an adapter. I needed this one as the DC connector on my router is tiny.

Available on Takealot

How to tell if you are struggling with Wi-Fi connection instability?

You have a fast-enough computer, fast internet, quality data (unshaped and unthrottled), a fair router, and you still find that your call quality is inconsistent.

Your call quality often changes during the call and is improved by switching off the video or moving closer to the router.

Zoom tells you that your internet connection is unstable.

What about a bad mic or camera? These are unlikely ever to produce good quality sound or video. A broken one might work on and off but turning off video will not fix the quality of the call.

Will powerline adaptors fix my connectivity issues?

If the source of the issue is your Wi-Fi then probably, e.g. there is a wall between you and the router.

Provided your problem is not old undermaintained copper ADSL Telkom cables or distance from the exchange or an unreliable mobile (dongle) connection (resolve these by upgrading to fibre).

Assuming the issues is not caused by sharing a cheap router with an entire practice of clinicians (requires a fast router that can efficiently manage multiple streams).

What if my computer or router is a dinosaur?

You may need to upgrade. Sorry.

Try closing all apps that are not necessary for calling (outlook, browsers, etc.).

A good quality external mic and camera may help with sound and picture quality.

Lets me know if this helps :)