ADSL and Skype Problems

Just tick the box "Allow Skype to modify my firewall settings", shut down skype and restart. You should be able to enjoy skype PC to PC video conferencing as usual. Enjoy!

hi, i upgrade my dsl speed to 2mbps now, the speed was good enough to browse and download. but some websites not opened or take lot of time to open. ex: google.co.uk , aplus.net what happened to these sites , or this is problem with QTEL.

can anyone help me

thanks in advance

I am experiencing the same problems and am absolutely frustrated with it. Thanks for help - tried your suggestion - it didn't work. By the way I'm in the West Bay area.

Hurray! My Skype is now back up and running. I can video with my kids and family back in the UK again. I complained to QTel, who, to their credit, sent engineers to my villa the very next day to check the ADSL line speed, which somehow, and by a wonderous miracle, went back up to 1.5MB!! So complaining to QTel does work! I suspect it was a bandwidth issue and that were throttling back on mine.

Are you guys back up and running on Skype video now?

Mother Goose.

Come from the fact that all ADSL lines are contended, which means there are about 50 users to 1 pipe. Basically you are fighting for bandwidth with 50 other people. More people use the internet at night so it slows down. I don't know what Qtel Contention ratios are. Good ISPs are on the low side like 20-1 I bet Qtel is 50-1.

Add in the new Mozaic service which if I understand it correctly is a video on demand service using your broadband then its no wonder sykpe has turned rubbish.

The Mozaic service is really gonna suck bandwidth up, a bit like bitorrent does.

Ironically I still get excellent speeds up to 192kbs on my 2 meg connection.

This whole thing smacks of Qtel setting up a service without the necessary back bone and bandwidth.

See the thing is if we change Skype off its default ports, then technically Qtel should not be able to throttle it as the transmission is encrypted.

ISPs in England throttle and traffic shape bandwidth on bittorrent hence most programs encrypt the data so the ISP can't filter it.

My bet is on lack of bandwidth and poor contention ratios.

hi,sa_japie

i am also have the same problem for the last couple of week , and i dont know why this was happening. i have 512kbps dsl line,in the morning time my download speed is 50kbps and above, but in the evening time it will be 5kb or some time 1kb :( .I called the qtel people they told me to increase the MTU size - 1400 to 1492 but the result will be same.

Does anyone knows , qtel having any url to check the speed?.

FWIW my Skype calls usually work OK despite the Skype test call to UK being garbled.

I also installed Pennytel VOIP (8c per min untimed to most countries) which uses my landline phone (no PC required).

VOIP works OK and is cheaper than Skype but voice quality slightly inferior IMHO.

________________________________

Someone's had too much to think!

I started having similar problems on Skype about 2 weeks ago. My family in the UK can see and hear my video and audio clearly - but all of a sudden their video does not come through and the audio is garbled! I did a speed check on my line - my download speed was a paltry 44.9kbps and my upload speed was 180 kbps - I pay for a 2MB line!!! I screamed at QTel down the phone - the guy then says have I tried my QTel modem - i told him that its not wireless and the modem had nothing to do with it (I have a NETGEAR which works perfectly). He then tells me they are upgrading their exchanges - but that a technician will call me to come out and check my line. Insh'allah. I suspect they have been stealing bandwidth from us subscribers for ages. Anyway chaps - will keep you posted.

hi

i am living in industrial area.also a have same problem with skype from 5 days.i talk to q tel,they dont konw about skype(not bloke yet)and i sent to skype help service.still they are saying problem with firewall,but i was desbled my firewall.stil i have same problem.out going voice clear.but incoming voice too bad.ones i switch off and on my router it work fine but some time only.any body can help me for this problem

thank for all

Ya, I have the same problem in Al Sadd area. I have moved recently and it took Qtel 6 weeks to install my 512!! ADSL. When I got it, the first thing I did was using skype to call my daughter back home who is on 4MB connection. We tried to talk... but we got so frustrated at the end after so many "please say that again". We have been waiting 6 weeks for this.... what a disappointment!

Then I thought about connecting via Dial up 161 and the sound both ways was fine!!! No Cam off course. However, the connection just kept on dropping. This proves that the problem is not skype, local setting, networks, modems / routers or windows. The problem is Qtel ADSL speed which we pay over the top 4.

YN

Q-Tel were true to their word and did actually follow-up on the call they made to me earlier. They told me that "they changed a wire" at the exchange. They then came to my house and tested the download speeds. There was a HUGE improvement. My download speed has improved from around 15kbps to above 50kbps now! That is what I used to have. My Skype service has also improved as a result.

BTW, when you complain to Q-Tel do NOT mention Skype at all. They freak out when you tell them that your Skype quality is bad!

I can now pack my Q-Tel modem away again and re-connect my 3Com modem!

The more people who phone to complain the more pressure they have to fix their systems. Good Luck and keep complaining. That way they will get the message.

sa_japie

"To be or not to be? That is the question"

Forgiveness is the key to a long and happy life.

I have just complained to QTEL ( 1900hrs Friday)about call quality on Skype he told me that it was not a qtel problem but a skype problem, why is it since moziac? I asked, no real answer there. He told me 90% of skype users in Qatar were experiencing problems.

Kiss my hairy AXX Qtel, why all the BS, freedom and democracy my arse.AND they have the cheek to charge high end prices for ADSL.

Does anyone know of another voip provider(besides qtel)

Forgiveness is the key to a long and happy life.

Using this speed test gives a much more respectable speed of 1452/415 but it is only to Bahrain. As soon as you head much further afield the speed drops by 90%. So it would seem to be Qtels external links to the world. Will keep trying and post any fixes I find.

My download speed is 24 KBps. Upload 22 KBps

I pay for 2 Mbps!!!

Qtel stinks.

Interesting it happened same day as Mosaic launch.

Whose dumb idea was Mosaic when the infrastructure is just not here?

Everyone complain to Qtel!

i also live in al sad and also i have problme with skype and i tried the proxy thing but it didn't work so what i sholud do ? tell me

I spent about 30 minutes on the phone to Q-Tel yesterday afternoon while they performed certain tests on my system / line. [Incidently the help line operator claimed that he also lives in the Al Sadd area and he had no problems with his ADSL line!!!] To make a long story short a Q-Tel technician will be sent to test my line at home. He contacted me this morning and will be there this afternoon to conduct his "testing". I will keep you all informed as to the outcome.

BTW, my download speed - as tested by Q-Tel yesterday - was 18.3kbps!!! That on a 512 line!

EVERYBODY MUST COMPLAIN TO Q-TEL ABOUT ADSL SPEED!!!!!! Call 111 to log your complaint.

Good Luck

sa_japie

"To be or not to be? That is the question"

yes me too, I live in Al Soudan South near the back of al sadd sports stadium, its got to be qtel as it started the same day as the mosaic launch, please bombard qtel with complaints.

I cannot understand any conversation

Forgiveness is the key to a long and happy life.

it's a grapevine..? iot was in newspapers..

q tel has got about 20 applications.. it will announce in november who the succesful applicant is.. any guess people..?

[img_assist|nid=17893|title=http://braveatheart.blogspot.com/

|desc=|link=url,http://braveatheart.blogspot.com/|align=left|width=180|height=135]

P.S. I think i heard on the grapevine that Q-tel is getting its first competitor in 2008. Can anyone verify this?

my gosh yes me too!! i thought it was just my appartment block. my german friend sounds like a computer robot, and so do my australian friends. i've also had trouble calling germany from the home phone :(

I believe it has something to do with the bandwidth during peak time, here is my finding;

check your bandwidth reading and share it.

http://www.jaring.com.my/broadband/bandwidth.html

The proxy setting did not fix it for me.

FWIW Skype otions also has configurable proxies (which also did not fix it). Back to the drawing board.

I will certainly give your "solution" a go this afternoon when I get home. I am prepared to try ANYTHING now as it is costing me a small fortune to use Skype Out paying for my calls in Euros!!!

I will let you all know if I have any success.

sa_japie

"To be or not to be? That is the question"

I had similar issues yesterday. Upon calling Q-Tel, all they would say is to switch to Q-tel's ADSL modem and test with that. I told them that I had no idea in which garbage bin the Q-Tel's modem lies, as I had thrown it two years ago. LOL.

Anyhow, I believe I have sorted my issues by enabling qtel's proxy in the Internet Explorer's options.

If you are using a wifi router : Just goto tools> internet options> connections tab> LAN settings > In the proxy address box type proxy.qatar.net.qa port 8080 and tick above to enable it.

If you are using Qtel's ADSL modem directly connected to your computer : Just goto tools> internet options> connections tab> Select the ADSL dialer from the box in the center> Settings > In the proxy address box type proxy.qatar.net.qa port 8080 and tick above to enable it.

My browsing at home works great again and msn / yahoo voice chat is perfect too.

Hope it helps you guys as well.

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400 QL Points!!!

Yay! Way to go Ray!

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www.e4u.name.qa

Have been using Skype for more than 2 months now and I just started experiencing the same problem with incoming sound/video but outgoing is fine. I live out near the Lagoon area near the new Lusail City construction. Has to be on the Qtel side as I have made no changes to my PC settings....I guess I will have to switch to another service until it clears up....bummer.

I am getting the same problem (Al Sadd).

Robotic, garbled voice in.

I have tried 2 different modems - both the same.

Sometimes disconnecting and reconnecting the ADSL line can help. But not often.

Only thing that fixes it is a VPN.

Not sure what QTEL are up to but it is their fault as usual.

im getting really slow ping timings on data traffic as well as Voip, down to what aproximates about 125kbps on a 2meg line,

same ares (kalifha stadium)

I live by the zoo. Yahoo IM with voice has been OK but we just switched to that last night since Skype has been crap. Same problem for us as Racer described. Husband can hear me fine but he sounds like a robot in a tunnel.

It has nothing to do with firewalls at all. I have tried with all firewall setting changed, but still to no avail. Everything was fine until about 2 weeks ago, as mentioned by other respondents above.

Speaking to colleages it is definately an "area" related problem, and even more so in the Al Sadd and Abu Hamour areas.

I haven't tried Yahoo Messenger, but I have tried MSN and that wouldn't work satisfactorily. Skype, when it works, has the edge on the others as far as quality is concerned. BTW, I do not use a videocam as it slows everything down.

Looking forward to some more debate on this issue.

Regards

sa_japie

"To be or not to be? That is the question"

I live in the Al Sadd Area and I have had the same problem contacting the UK, the incoming call quality is really bad.

I have tried changing the ports used by Skype and opening up said ports on router/firewall.

There have been reports of this on the skype forums, perhaps Qtel can traffic shape the VOIP service. I don't know but its a bloody pain.

I agree SA-JAPIE.

I have had a similar problem when calling the U.S. on skype over VOIP. It is only affecting my calls to the U.S., but as you said Skype Out calls are unaffected.

My end sounds very clear to the other persons, but they sound like a very bad computer program speaking to me.

It hasn't affected my VOIP calls to the UK, only to the U.S.

I find it wierd that it would be an area thing in Doha, but I am living in the Mamoura area if that helps track the problem down.

It is a problem with Q Tel somehow, not your computer. I have been using skype for over a year here with no problems until 2 weeks ago.

sa_japie,

I experienced the same problem as you described, even the webcam doesnt work as well. I started using YM (Yahoo Mesengger) eversince without any problem. The only thing is that skype video frame rate is better that YM but i guess it is ok. Can anyboby share any other good teleconferencing software? Thanks

Since yesterday I have not been able to call our Skype In number to reach by husband who is traveling. Keeps saying "call timed out" and this is after only like 3 seconds. Is this because of that new OO dialing?

Skype to Skype free was crap too.

hi..

no its nothing to do with the new Mosaic Service. check the antivirus installed on ur pc. that might be blocking the VOIP. its a new pc as u have written. if its branded norton 2007 is installed then. try to change the settings under the firewall option. i use skype and i live in the old airport till now no probs.

if any other problems, please feel free to write..

SID