Echo on calls

Symptom

• You or the other person hear your own voice repeated back a moment later.
• Or the line crackles or hisses.

Echo is usually created on the side of the call that doesn’t hear it. If the other person hears an echo of their own voice, the cause is usually your phone or headset picking up its own speaker.

Quick checks

1. Lower the volume of the speaker or headset, and move the microphone away from the speaker.
2. Switch device: take the call on the handset instead of the speakerphone or headset. If the echo stops, the headset or speakerphone is the cause.
3. One user or everyone? If only one person has the problem, start with their phone and headset. If everyone does, it’s more likely the network.

Likely causes and fixes

1. The headset, especially Bluetooth

Bluetooth and low-cost headsets can feed the speaker’s sound back into the microphone.

Fix:

• Make a test call on the speakerphone or handset to rule the headset in or out.
• Try another headset, update the headset’s firmware, and on a computer install the manufacturer’s drivers.
• Restart the computer or phone after changing headsets.

2. Echo cancellation is off on the phone

On a Yealink phone (web interface):

1. Go to Settings › Voice.
2. Under Echo Cancellation, turn ECHO on.
3. Click Confirm.

For other phones, look for an acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) setting in the manufacturer’s guide.

3. Speakerphone in a noisy or echoey room

Hard surfaces and high volume make the speakerphone’s sound reach its own microphone. Lower the volume, or use a handset or headset.

4. Crackling from the handset cord or a DECT handset

• Check the handset’s curly cord is undamaged and firmly plugged in. Try another cord.
• With a DECT (cordless) handset, stay within range of the base station.
• Restart the phone.

5. Network delay

The network doesn’t create echo, but delay makes any echo much easier to hear. If the echo comes with delay, choppy audio or dropouts, see Poor call quality.

When to contact support

Create a support ticket with:

• the date and time of an affected call (with your time zone) and the number called;
• who hears the echo: you, the other person, or both;
• the device and headset (make and model, wired or Bluetooth);
• whether it happens on every call and with every device, and what you’ve already tried.