# Echo on calls

> Reduce echo and crackling on calls, especially when using a headset or speakerphone.

- URL: https://kb.voipcloud.online/troubleshooting/echo-on-calls/
- Section: Troubleshooting
- Type: troubleshooting
- Applies to: All countries
- Last reviewed: 2026-11-09

## 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](https://kb.voipcloud.online/troubleshooting/poor-call-quality/).

## When to contact support

[Create a support ticket](https://kb.voipcloud.online/support/support-tickets/) 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.