Outreach Voice Best Practices

Purpose:

The purpose of this article is to provide Outreach users with recommended best practices when using Outreach Voice. 

All web-based software can experience performance issues relating to the connections and its operational environment. Existing systems or connection issues may not be as noticeable during normal usage of Outreach functionalities, but can become more outstanding when using Outreach Voice, which contains more strict bandwidth requirements.

Due to the nature of computer-based calls, call quality can highly depend on the network speed, number of concurrent calls, the specific client device, etc. To help Outreach users optimize the quality of Outreach Voice, Outreach has compiled a list of best practices for both end-users and IT administrators (network engineers) when setting up Outreach Voice.

Best Practices for Outreach Voice Users

OS, Browser & Hardware

The device hardware requirements are dependent on a combination of factors, but generally Outreach recommends the following: 

1. Use the most recent version of Google Chrome.
2. Have 8GB of memory.
3. Close CPU/Network-intense web pages such as video/audio streaming services. 
4. Connect with an Ethernet cable if applicable to reduce latency experienced with WiFi. 

In the unlikely scenario that Outreach calls drop, intermittent issues in Outreach Voice can be resolved by clearing the browser cache and history. For more information on clearing browsing data, refer to the How To Clear History and Browsing Data in Google Chrome article. 

Headsets

Headsets can improve audio quality by minimizing echo and background noise. Outreach recommends using a headset on computer-based calls to provide acoustic isolation between the speaker and microphone, and to minimize echo.

Headset for lower-end PC hardware: For lower-end PC hardware, Outreach recommends USB Headsets, rather than 3.5mm jack headsets, which bypass the native sound board.

When selecting bluetooth hardware: Bluetooth headsets can present unique challenges, as each headset operates differently. If your headset came with a USB bluetooth adapter, Outreach recommends you use the USB adapter, rather than bluetooth to avoid issues.

Note: Static on the call can often be caused by an improperly configured headset. If you are experiencing static, try another headset or no headset to narrow down potential sources.

For more information regarding properly configuring audio settings for Outreach Voice, refer to the How To Configure Call Audio Settings article.