George <null@null.net> wrote:

> When my phone shows that wi-fi is connected to my HOME wi-fi, then
> WhatsApp VIDEO calls will not connect, neither incoming nor outgoing.
> Phone will attempt to connect/ring once or twice, then disconnects.
>
> There is no problem using the home wi-fi to receive or make WhatsApp
> VOICE calls, nor with WhatsApp MESSAGES via the home wi-fi, the
> problem is limited to WhatsApp VIDEO calls using the home wi-fi.
>
> ALL OTHER APPS on the phone that require internet, work perfectly
> with the home wi-fi connection. AND . . . the home wif-fi works
> without any problem on my Windows 10 laptop (even on an old Windows
> XP laptop). In short, the problem is limited to WhatsApp VIDEO calls
> using the home wi-fi connection.
>
> In addition to the home network name showing on the phone, under
> "Available networks" there is "xfinitywifi" and "XFINITY", which I
> understand are home hotspots. If I change the network from the home
> wi-fi to "xfinitywifi", then WhatsApp video calls WILL go thru, both
> incoming and outgoing.
>
> But I prefer to use the home wi-fi connection for WhatsApp video
> calls, so am posting this on both alt.online-service.comcast and on
> alt.cellular.t-mobile with the hope someone might know the fix for
> the problem.
>
> I already tried without success:
>
> Uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp
>
> Restarting the phone
>
> Completely powering off the phone for several minutes
>
> Powering off the Xfinity modem for several minutes
>
> P.S. The Xfinity modem is an Arris TG1682G, and the phone is a
> Samsung Galaxy S22 thru T-Mobile.

I don't use the WhatsApp app. Just some guesses here.

You way you have a wifi connect from phone to a wifi device (perhaps
your modem). Wifi can be slow or fast depending on what type of wifi is
used. There are difference protocols for wifi that affect bandwidth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11#Protocol

Calls, texts, and most web surfing don't require high bandwidth
(streamed video being the exception). Video calls require a lot more
bandwidth. Standard definition video conference requires about 1 Mbps.
High-resolution video conferencing needs 6 to 10 Mbps. What is your
service tier with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for downstream
bandwidth? That might be high enough for traffic coming *to* you. What
is your service tier for /upstream/ bandwidth? That is usually much
less; i.e., service may be asymmetrical (high down, slow up). Outbound
or upstream bandwidth is much slower which means it may not be capable
of handing your outbound traffic for a video call.

https://www.freeconference.com/blog/the-minimum-speed-required-for-video-conferencing/

That article says 8 Mbps downstream and 1.5 Mbps upstream for video
conferencing, but I've see other suggested numbers. However, that's for
*one* smartphone doing video calling over a wifi connection. That
bandwidth is shared with other wifi devices. Lowering the camera
resolution will lower the bandwidth bar. Your ISP service tier might be
a lot higher than required for video calls, but you've also placed a
wifi connection in the path, and that might not have enough bandwidth.

How many wifi devices are connected to your wifi AP (access point, like
a wifi modem)? You could have multiple smartphones connecting via wifi
to the same AP, wifi web security cams, wifi printers, and so on all
sharing the bandwidth to the same wifi AP. 10,000 people cramming into
a revolving door isn't going to work.

See if you can disable cellular service on your smartphone (prevent
using your data connection via cellular) to force your phone to only use
a wifi connection for an Internet connection in your current setup.
Then run a speed test (e.g., speedtest.net). You want to measure your
downstream and upstream bandwidths to see if you get enough to make
video calls. You only need to disable mobile data on your phone to
ensure wifi gets used by your phone for an Internet connection. Do the
speed test using your HOME wifi hotspot, and then again using the
xfinitywifi hotspot.

https://www.ricksdailytips.com/disable-cellular-data-on-android-phone/

The Samsung Galaxy S22's specs say it supports 2.4 Gpbs down and up.
The Arris modem's specs say 802.11n (72-600 Mbps) for 2.4GHz band and
802.11ac (433-6933 Mbps) for 5GHz band. The devices are more than
capable of handling video calls, but how many other wifi devices are
sharing the HOME wifi bandwidth on the modem? You could have lots of
wifi devices consuming the bandwidth of your HOME hotspot, but none on
your xfinitywifi hotspot. The xfinitywifi hotspot does not consume
bandwidth from your HOME hotspot, or from the WAN Ethernet connect of
the modem. The xfinitywifi hotspot uses separate channels from your
other modem connections. Disabling the xfinity hotspot does not afford
more channels to the other connections to make them faster.

Note the 5GHz band of your modem gives you faster transfer speeds, but
at a reduced distance. The 2.4GHz band gives slower transfer, but
longer range. Some users think enabling the xfinitywifi hotspot
degrades their speed. Nope. Have you tried switching your phone from
the 2.4GHz band of your modem to its 5GHz band?

Just because your phone shows a wifi connection does not preclude use of
mobile data for an Internet connection. You sure the WhatsApp is not
using your data connection (cellular Internet) rather than the wifi
connection? That's why I mention disabling mobile data on the phone to
force using only wifi, and then measuring bandwidth over wifi on the
phone. For me, and for some apps, I disable their access to mobile data
because I have a quota. It's not unlimited. For the security web cam
app (the web cam itself is always issuing some wifi traffic whether I'm
using the app or not), I disabled it from using mobile data, and have it
only use wifi, like when at home, or at a resort with wifi service. I
go into Android settings -> Data Manager, click on a listed app (or I
can go into an app's settings under Data Usage), and disable Background
Data (usage of cellular data in the background). I don't know what
options WhatsApp has for limiting its Internet connection to only mobile
data, only to wifi, or use both with preference of wifi.