Table of Contents

Troubleshooting

These sections help you to troubleshoot problems with the Cisco IP SoftPhone application:

Troubleshooting the Installation

This section includes the following topics:

Installation Does Not Launch Successfully

Possible Cause   The computer was not rebooted after installation.

Recommended Action   Reboot the computer.

Possible Cause   One of the Cisco IP SoftPhone components was not properly installed.

Recommended Action   Check the install logs (c:\CiscoInstall.log).

Recommended Action   Verify that the user has administrator privileges on the computer.

Recommended Action   Verify that the user has installed Internet Explorer 4.01.

Recommended Action   Reinstall Cisco IP SoftPhone.

Cannot Use One-Click Install

Possible Cause   The user does not have Internet access.

Recommended Action   Make sure that users are using the self-extracting installation.

Recommended Action   Verify that the user can access www.installshield.com.

Possible Cause   The user did not "Grant" or "Accept" the digital signature.

Recommended Action   Make sure the user grants or accepts the digital signature.

Install Hangs When Using Netscape

Possible Cause   This may occur during the Cisco Telephony Service Provider (TSP) part of the installation.

Recommended Action   Although the installation program detects and closes any open Netscape windows, make sure there are no remaining netscape.exe processes running.

Not Enough Space on the C Drive

Possible Cause   Even if the TEMP variable is set to D:\temp, the installation program copies files by default in the C:\Program Files\InstallShield folder for repairing existing installations. Approximately 20 MB of additional space is required for the installation.

Recommended Action   Ask the user to free up additional space on the C drive.

Uninstall Does Not Remove All Files

Possible Cause   The uninstall program will not remove the following files that are added or modified during runtime:

Troubleshooting Problems with Selecting Lines

These Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) help you resolve common problems users may experience when selecting a line on Cisco IP SoftPhone:

When I Start Cisco IP SoftPhone, Why Don't I See Any Lines to Control?

Several possible causes for this exist.

Possible Cause   The user has not selected a line.

Recommended Action   Refer to the Cisco IP SoftPhone User Guide for details on how to select a line.

Possible Cause   The user has not been assigned a line on the Cisco CallManager or the CTI Application Use has not been enabled.

Recommended Action   To see if there are lines assigned to this user, log on to the Cisco CallManager Administrator page and do a search on the person's userid. If no lines are assigned, refer to the "Adding and Associating a User" section.

Possible Cause   The Cisco IP SoftPhone is not properly configured to see lines.

Recommended Action   See the "Verifying the Cisco IP SoftPhone Configuration" section.

Possible Cause   The Cisco TSP (installed with Cisco IP SoftPhone) is not properly configured.

Recommended Action   See the "Verifying the Cisco TSP Configuration for Cisco CallManager 3.0 or Later" section.

Possible Cause   You may be using a Cisco TSP version that is incompatible with your Cisco CallManager version (such as Cisco TSP 3.0 with Cisco CallManager 3.1(x)).

Recommended Action   Reinstall the correct Cisco TSP version. The Cisco TSP version must correspond to your Cisco CallManager version.

Possible Cause   The user does not have proper network access.

Recommended Action   See the "Verifying Network Connectivity" section.

Possible Cause   The Microsoft Network settings are not properly configured on the client PC.

Recommended Action   If the Cisco IP SoftPhone client is installed on a Windows 98 or Windows 95 system, make sure that "File and Printer sharing for Microsoft Networks" is enabled. Also make sure you are running the "Client for Microsoft Networks" and you have "User-level access control" enabled.

Verifying the Cisco IP SoftPhone Configuration

Use this procedure to verify if Cisco TSP is enabled on the Cisco IP SoftPhone.

Procedure

Step 2   Click the Advanced tab.

Step 3   Update or verify user settings.

Step 4   Click the Update button.

Step 5   Choose lines. If you still do not see any lines, see the "Verifying the Cisco TSP Configuration for Cisco CallManager 3.0 or Later" section.

Verifying the Cisco TSP Configuration for Cisco CallManager 3.0 or Later

Procedure

Step 2   Verify the username, password, and CTI Manager information on the screen.

Step 3   Click the Update button.

Step 4   Click the Select Lines button.

Step 5   After you have verified that the Cisco CallManager information in the SoftPhone Settings screen is correct, check that the Cisco TSP is installed:

Step 6   Look for the provider name in the drop-down list: Cisco IP PBX Service Provider for Cisco CallManager 3.0 and Cisco TSP001.tsp for Cisco CallManager 3.1 or later. If you do not see the correct telephony driver in the drop-down list, the TSP was not properly installed. Run the install program again. If you still do not see any lines, see the "Troubleshooting Problems with Selecting Lines" section.

Verifying Network Connectivity

Use this procedure to verify that the client PC has network connectivity to the Cisco CallManager.

Procedure

Step 2   Enter ping a.b.c.d where "a.b.c.d" is the IP address of your Cisco CallManager.

If you can communicate with the Cisco CallManager, you will receive a "reply" message with the Cisco CallManager IP address. If you cannot communicate with the Cisco CallManager, you will receive a "request timed out" message. This indicates that a network problem exists.

Step 3   If you do not know how to fix the problem, try rebooting the computer.

I Can See a Line but When I Try to Open it, Cisco IP SoftPhone Displays a 'Could Not Open Address' Error

Possible Cause   This error typically occurs if the line has already been opened by another application locally or on another computer. Each line can only be opened once.

Recommended Action   Restart the telephony service and relaunch Cisco IP SoftPhone.

Possible Cause   For Cisco CallManager 3.0.6, the Cisco TSP is pointing to the wrong Cisco CallManager in the cluster.

Recommended Action   Change the IP Address for the Cisco CallManager. See the "Finding and Changing the IP Address for the Cisco CallManager" section.

Possible Cause   You are trying to open more than one line on the CTI port.

Recommended Action   Open the Cisco CallManager Administration page for this user and make sure that only one line is assigned per device. You cannot open more than one line per CTI device because media are terminated on a per-device basis instead of on a per-line basis.

Finding and Changing the IP Address for the Cisco CallManager

To determine which Cisco CallManager a Cisco IP Phone is using

Step 2   Scroll down until you see an entry for Cisco CallManager 1.

The IP Address for the Cisco CallManager will be displayed as "Active." You should use this address when installing Cisco IP SoftPhone.

Determining Which Cisco CallManager the Cisco IP SoftPhone is Using

Click the About box in Cisco IP SoftPhone for version information pertinent to SoftPhone.

Changing the Cisco CalIManager IP Address Configured for the Cisco IP SoftPhone

For Windows 95/98/2000/ME/NT

Step 2   Modify either the Primary CTI Manager or Backup CTI Manager fields with a new IP address.

Step 3   Click the Update button.

Note   To use Cisco IP SoftPhone with a Cisco IP Phone, ensure the username and password configured for Cisco IP SoftPhone are exactly the same as the username and password that are assigned to this user on the Cisco CallManager.

Adjusting the Volume Controls

Several sources control the volume for Cisco IP SoftPhone:

See the "Adjusting the Volume Settings" section for more details.

Adjusting the Volume Settings

Frequently, the volume settings on client PC's are improperly set, preventing users from having two-way audio in a telephone call. Use this procedure to check and adjust these settings.

Procedure

Step 2   Record your voice using the microphone for 5-10 seconds.

Step 3   Play back the recorded voice.

If you hear your voice, your audio settings are properly set.

If you do not hear your recorded voice, close the Sound Recorder application and go to Step 4.

Step 4   Choose Start > Programs > Accessories > Multimedia > Volume Control.

Step 5   Choose Options > Properties.

Step 6   Under "Adjust volume for" choose Playback.

Step 7   Under "Show the following volume controls" make sure every item in the list is checked.

Because not all items are visible, be sure to scroll down to the end of the list.

Step 8   Click OK.

Step 9   Under "Adjust volume for" select Recording and repeat Steps 7 and 8.

Step 10   Choose Options > Advanced Controls.

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Note    If your sound card does not support advanced controls, this feature may not be available.

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Step 11   In the Master Out volume control window, set all the volume controls to about 80 percent. Set all balance controls to the middle.

Step 12   Make sure that the Mute box is not checked for the Master Out control or the Wave control.

Step 13   Although it may seem strange, open the Playback window and make sure the microphone Mute box is checked. This stops the microphone input from being directly routed to the multimedia speakers or internal speaker for your computer.

You can mute the other controls as appropriate for your voice-computing applications.

Step 14   Choose Options > Properties and verify that you are using the proper audio device (sound card) to handle recording and playback.

Step 15   Repeat Steps 1 through 3.

If you still cannot get the Sound Recorder application to work, you do not have a Cisco IP SoftPhone problem. Ask your system administrator for help in configuring you audio settings.

Diagnosing Audio Problems

This section helps you to diagnose and resolve the following audio problems with Cisco IP SoftPhone:

Poor Audio Quality

Possible Cause   Low jitter buffer length.

Recommended Action   Change the jitter buffer size setting by clicking the Advanced Voice Settings button on the SoftPhone Audio Settings screen. The registry setting is in milliseconds. A value of 180 ms seems to work on all machines. The optimal value depends on the machine/sound card/driver combination. Try increasing the value to 240 ms, 300 ms, and so on. If a problem exists with latency, try reducing the jitter buffer time to 150 ms, 120 ms, 90 ms, 60 ms, and so on. Each packet typically contains 20 ms of audio; therefore, a 60-ms setting equals a jitter buffer depth of three packets.

Possible Cause   Network congestion, system overload, or insufficient bandwidth.

Explanation   You may hear occasional pops and clicks or broken audio if network problems exist. This usually persists for short durations and otherwise the audio is good. If the system is under load (such as high CPU usage), the audio quality may suffer. Launching applications and performing network-intensive tasks like sending or browsing e-mail may affect audio quality.

Recommended Action   Close any unnecessary applications that may be running on the client PC and use a low-bandwidth codec.

Possible Cause   G.729 codec.

Explanation   In low-bandwidth calls, Cisco IP SoftPhone uses G.729 or G.723 encoding. Audio tends to be noisy if you are using a G.729 codec in a call.

Recommended Action   Whenever possible, configure your system to use G.723 encoding. Lower the microphone volume setting in the Cisco IP SoftPhone main dialing window to reduce the noise.

Possible Cause   Low-quality sound card.

Recommended Action   Install a higher quality sound card.

Echo

Possible Cause   The person is using the computer speaker and microphone for audio rather than a handset or headset.

Explanation   Cisco IP SoftPhone does not perform any echo cancellation. Therefore, using the computer speaker and microphone instead of headset for audio results in feedback from the speaker to the microphone. The other end of the call receives an "echo" of what they said.

Recommended Action   Make sure that all Cisco IP SoftPhone users use a headset or handset to place and receive calls in standalone mode.

Possible Cause   Low-quality headset.

Explanation   On some headset models, the microphone will pick up the audio from the earpiece, causing the other end of the call to receive an echo.

Recommended Action   Reduce the speaker volume in the Cisco IP SoftPhone main dialing window to a volume that is comfortable but not loud enough to cause feedback from the microphone back to the other end of the call.

Possible Cause   The sound card feeds back audio from the microphone to the speaker.

Explanation   Some sound cards deliberately feed back the audio from the microphone to the speaker (so that you can hear yourself speak). You need to disable the feedback to prevent the other end of the call from receiving an echo.

Recommended Action   In the Windows start menu, go to volume control dialog (on the Start > Accessories menu) choose the playback volume control option and choose to mute the "microphone" setting.

One-way Audio

Possible Cause   The sound card is not a full-duplex card.

Recommended Action   Determine whether the sound card is full-duplex or half-duplex. See the "Full-duplex vs. Half-duplex Sound Cards" section.

Possible Cause   The audio settings for the client PC needs adjustment.

Recommended Action   Adjust the audio settings for the PC.

Possible Cause   The network audio stream is being misdirected.

Explanation   Multiple Network Interface Cards (NICs) exist on the PC or the system is using Virtual Private Network (VPN) to connect to the corporate network.

Recommended Action   Configure the Network Audio Settings. See the "Configuring Network Audio Settings" section.

Explanation   When Cisco IP SoftPhone starts up, it registers with the Cisco CallManager using the client PC's IP address so that other endpoints know where to stream audio. When a call is set up, Cisco CallManager sends a StartTransmission Message with the IP address to where Cisco IP SoftPhone should stream audio, and a StartReception message telling Cisco IP SoftPhone which UDP port to listen to for the incoming audio stream from the other party. It is possible that the client PC is advertising the wrong or an invalid IP address. For example, if you undock your laptop at home and reconnect at work, it is possible that your laptop may keep the old IP address.

Recommended Action   Close and relaunch Cisco IP SoftPhone.

Possible Cause   VPN is configured incorrectly.

Recommended Action   Check your VPN configuration. Check your Network Audio Settings from the Audio Settings screen.

Full-duplex vs. Half-duplex Sound Cards

Cisco IP SoftPhone requires a full-duplex sound card for proper operation. Full-duplex sound cards can capture audio and play audio at the same time, thus allowing a conversation. The sound cards on most computers are full-duplex; however in rare instances you may find a computer with a half-duplex card. If a user is experiencing one-way audio with Cisco IP SoftPhone, he may have a half-duplex sound card installed in his computer.

To determine the type of sound card, check the documentation that came with the computer or sound card. You can also ask the user to perform the following simple test to determine whether the sound card is full-duplex or half-duplex.

Procedure

Step 2   Launch Microsoft NetMeeting.

Step 3   Make a Microsoft NetMeeting call to a friend who is running NetMeeting.

Make sure your friend is in the same building or campus and that the call does not go through a firewall.

Step 4   Once the call connects, begin speaking at the same time that your friend speaks.

If you can hear your friend while you are speaking, and your friend can hear you, you have a full-duplex sound card.

If this test fails, you probably have a half-duplex sound card. You will need to install a full-duplex sound card for proper operation of Cisco IP SoftPhone.

Network Audio Settings

You should configure the Network Audio Settings when one-way audio is the result of one of the following conditions:

Under these conditions, Cisco IP SoftPhone may use the wrong IP address. You can obtain the correct address by configuring the Network Audio Settings.

See the "Configuring Network Audio Settings" section for more information.

"Could Not Initialize Audio" Error

Possible Cause   No sound card.

Recommended Action   Install a full-duplex sound card in the client PC.

Possible Cause   The wrong audio drivers are installed.

Recommended Action   Download the latest audio drivers for the sound card from the manufacturer's website. To verify that the audio drivers, microphone, and speaker are working, try to record and play audio using an application such as Microsoft Sound Recorder.

"Sound Card is in Use" Error

Possible Cause   Another application is using the sound card.

Recommended Action   Make sure no other applications are using the sound card. Launch Microsoft Sound Recorder and attempt to play and record a .wav file. If the problem persists, close and relaunch Cisco IP SoftPhone. If all else fails, reboot the computer.

Diagnosing Problems with Collaboration

Symptom   Cannot start a collaboration session.

Possible Cause   No associated PC entry for the participant.

Recommended Action   Open the personal address book and add an Associated PC entry for each participant, including yourself.

Symptom   I have defined the correct Associated PC for a person in my directory but I still cannot collaborate with him.

Possible Cause   The person has moved on the LAN/WAN (for example, the person has a portable computer) and the directory services of the LAN have not yet updated to reflect the current IP address.

Recommended Action   Wait until Cisco IP SoftPhone detects the new IP address for the Associated PC and try collaborating with that person again.

Recommended Action   Update the associated PC entry for the participant(s).

Symptom   I have met all the conditions on the Collaboration Checklist but I still cannot collaborate.

Possible Cause   You have not tuned the audio settings or configured user settings for Microsoft NetMeeting. If you install a newer version of NetMeeting after you install Cisco IP SoftPhone, you need to configure user and audio settings for NetMeeting before you can collaborate. You need only do this one time.

Procedure

Step 2   Follow the directions for tuning audio and configuring user settings.

Step 3   Quit NetMeeting.

Step 4   Restart Cisco IP SoftPhone.

Tracing in Cisco IP SoftPhone

Cisco IP SoftPhone is composed of components which are independently configurable for tracing. All traces go to the same destination; you can set tracing levels for each component.

Tracing rotates through 10 files named TraceFile_0000.txt to TraceFile_0009.txt. These files are stored in the Cisco IP SoftPhone installation directory. When a trace file reaches a size of two MB, it is closed and tracing starts in the next file. Time and date stamps are recorded at least once every five seconds in the file. Each trace statement also has a timestamp, which is the number of seconds since the computer was last rebooted.

Two types of tracing exist for Cisco IP SoftPhone:

Tracing the Cisco TSP

The Cisco TSP software, installed by Cisco IP SoftPhone, runs whenever Cisco IP SoftPhone runs. The Cisco TSP directly contacts Cisco CallManager and allows Cisco IP SoftPhone to perform all telephony functions, such as opening lines, making calls and making conference connections. If you have problems such as not being able to see any lines or being unable to open an address, you should get TSP traces, described in the sections:

Tracing the Cisco TSP Versions 3.1 or Later

Perform the following procedure:

Step 2   On the Advanced tab, highlight the Cisco TSP (usually an entry called CiscoTSP001.tsp) and click on Configure (or properties for Windows NT). The trace tab then allows you to set the tracing level.

Step 3   If you change tracing levels, restart the telephony service or reboot your computer for the new tracing levels to take effect. Note the location of the TSP log files in this window (usually c:\temp\ciscotsp001).

Tracing the Cisco TSP Version 3.0

Perform the following procedure:

Step 2   Go to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Cisco Systems, Inc.\Cisco TSP.

Step 3   Set traceon and traceshowtime each to 1.

Step 4   Note the value of tracefile. Make sure the directory exists. For example, if this value is c:\Temp\TspDebugFile.txt, make sure you have a directory called C:\Temp on your machine. Trace files will be generated in this directory.

Step 5   Restart Telephony Service or reboot your computer for the new trace settings to take effect.

Tracing the Cisco IP SoftPhone GUI Application

You can configure tracing in the Cisco IP SoftPhone application by going to Settings -> Advanced -> Tracing. Table 4-1 describes the available tracing settings.

You can set the following tracing levels for each component:

Activating the Cisco TSP

When the Cisco TSP is installed, it gets added to the set of active TAPI service providers. TAPI loads this TSP as required. If the Cisco TSP has been removed or if some problem occurs, use this procedure to manually add it to the set of active TAPI service providers.

To manually add the list of telephony drivers, use one of the following procedures:

Manually Adding the List of Telephony Drivers for Windows 2000:

Procedure

Step 2   Double-click the Phone and Modem icon.

The Phone and Modem Options dialog box appears.

Step 3   Click the Advanced tab.

Step 4   Click Add.

Step 5   On the Add Provider dialog box, click Cisco TSP001.tsp (Cisco CallManager 3.1(x)) or Cisco IP PBX Service Provider (Cisco CallManager 3.0.6).

Step 6   Click Add. The Cisco TSP is now included in the Provider list on the Phone and Modem Options screen.

Step 7   You can now either customize the TSP or click OK to complete the setup.

Manually Adding the List of Telephony Drivers for Windows 95/98/ME:

Procedure

The Dialing Properties dialog box appears.

Step 2   Click the Telephony drivers tab.

Step 3   Click Add.

Step 4   On the Add Provider dialog box, click Cisco TSP001.tsp (Cisco CallManager 3.1(x)) or Cisco IP PBX Service Provider (Cisco CallManager 3.0.6).

Step 5   Click Add. The Cisco TSP is now included in the Provider list on the Phone and Modem Options screen.

Step 6   You can now either customize the TSP or click OK to complete the setup.

Configuring the Cisco TSP

By customizing the Cisco TSP, you can perform the following activities:

To configure the Cisco TSP, use one of the following procedures:

Configuring the Cisco TSP (Cisco CallManager 3.1(x))

Procedure

Step 2   Double-click the Phone and Modem (Windows 2000) or Telephony (Windows 95/98/ME) icon.

Step 3   Click Cisco TSP001.tsp.

The Cisco IP PBX Service Provider dialog window shown in Figure 4-1 opens.

Step 4   Click the User tab. See Figure 4-2.

Step 5   Supply values for the fields in the dialog box as follows:

Security

Step 6   Click the CTI Manager tab. See Figure 4-3.

Step 7   Supply values for the fields in the dialog box as follows:

CTI Manager Location

Step 8   Click the Wave tab. See Figure 4-4.

Step 9   Supply values for the fields in the dialog box as follows:

This setting does not affect Cisco IP SoftPhone. Use the default settings.

This setting does not affect Cisco IP SoftPhone because it uses the Cisco TAPI wave driver for media termination. Use the default settings.

This setting does not affect Cisco IP SoftPhone. Use the default setting.

Note   For more information on Configuring the Cisco TSP for Cisco CallManager 3.1(x), refer to Cisco CallManager Administrator Guide.

Configuring the Cisco TSP (Cisco CallManager 3.0.6)

Procedure

Step 2   Double-click the Phone and Modem (Windows 2000) or Telephony (Windows 95/98/ME) icon.

Step 3   Click on the Advanced tab.

Step 4   Click Cisco IP PBX Service Provider.

Step 5   Click Configure.

The Cisco IP PBX Service Provider dialog window shown in Figure 4-5 opens.

Step 6   Supply values for the fields in the dialog box as follows:

This setting does not affect Cisco IP SoftPhone. Use the default settings.

This setting does not affect Cisco IP SoftPhone because it uses the Cisco TAPI wave driver for media termination. Use the default settings.

This setting does not affect Cisco IP SoftPhone because it uses the Cisco TAPI wave driver for media termination. Use the default settings.

Note   For more information on Configuring the Cisco TSP for Cisco CallManager, refer to the Cisco CallManager Administration Guide.