Troubleshooting Article - Network Issues

Overview

This article explains how to correctly troubleshoot Network issues you might be experiencing. Symptoms may include:

• Problems connecting
• Slow connection
• Session quality issues - delays, choppy audio, etc

Troubleshooting Flow

Instructions

Many factors can contribute to a pleasant or challenging online experience with Jigsaw. The Jigsaw application is a live online tool requiring an uninterrupted connection.

Ensure that Internet Connection Requirements are met

Ensure your Internet Connection Requirements are adequate. A proper Internet connection is required to use Jigsaw successfully. The bandwidth specs will vary based upon your role during the session, Presenter, or Attendee, but should be within the ranges outlined in the article above.

Refresh the Connection

Jigsaw has a quick troubleshooting tool for you to use in-session.  The Refresh My Connection tool will reset your connection to your Jigsaw session without you needing to exit and return. Try to refresh your connection settings. 

Determine the Issue Scope

It is important to isolate the issue - is it with the computer, browser, or network?

1. Log out of the session and reenter using a different browser, preferably Chrome or Firefox. If it works, the issue is with the original browser used. Make sure it is up-to-date, and clear the browser's cache before joining a live session, seek help from your IT support.
2. Try accessing Jigsaw from a different computer, if possible - that helps to determine if the issue is with the computer or the network. If it is with the computer - try to adjust the Environment and DNS settings, and seek help from your IT support.

Run Ping tests

For networking issues, a ping test provides a better understanding of your network connection.

When you are experiencing the issue, please run 3 to 5 Ping Tests from https://speed.cloudflare.com/ or http://ping-test.net/ 

1. Select the Washington server (if this server is not available that is ok! pick which one you can)
2. Select "accurate"
3. Start Ping Test (please do this at least 3 to 5 times)
4. If you need Jigsaw to assist you later on, get CSV - Choose "Data" to export the results into a file. You will send this file to Jigsaw Support.

See the Bandwidth and Testing for terminology and details here. If the test results indicate packet losses or a high ping, then you will need to troubleshoot this further along the Troubleshooting Flow.

On the other hand, if everything looks normal, see the next section.

Contact Jigsaw Support

Open the ticket sharing the following information with Jigsaw Support to allow us to analyze the issue, tests results, pull instrumentation logs, and investigate:

• Session Name and Date
• Host email address – the user who created the session
• Names of users who experienced issues
• Browser version
• Device type: Windows/Mac
• Operating System info

Also kindly attach to the ticket the CSV file with the exported ping test results taken when the issue occurred. Even if they look good, the additional information from the tests could allow us to confirm the issue or troubleshoot further.

Note: we would still recommend going through the steps below to see if that fixes the issue for you.

<supportagent>

The root causes for networking issues vary a lot, below are the most common ones:

• Outage
• Jitter
• DL/UP speed/consistency
• Home network
  • Environment
  • DNS
  • Parental Control
  • Modem/router settings or health
  • ISP issues
• Managed network 
  • IP blocks
  • Traffic block/limiter
  • UDP/TCP port block
  • Software managing network
  • Antivirus
  • Local or Network Firewall
  • VPN
  • DNS
  • Parental Control
• Faulty hardware/physical connection

Keeping the above in mind, check the ping export file first to see if you see any anomalies there. If yes, revert to the customer to show the customer that they are having network issues and how they look like, and share the recommendations.

If ping test was ok, get and analyse the instrumentation logs for anomalies related to issue. Narrow the scope with time and user, and look for clues and patterns/trends.

If it is an individual problem - gather the data and share your findings with the user, provide feedback on the root cause if the issue is over, or suggest how to fix it if it is ongoing.

On the other hand, if several people are kicked off from the session, or the same action happens to everyone at approximately the same time, this might indicate a platform issue. Live usage stats at Grafana can also indicate a potential issue on the backend if multiple users or customers are reaching out. In such a case - check with the team for the backend outages.

It isn't a silver bullet though - they might share the same ISP or live in the area with a heavy storm raging.

</supportagent>

Adjust the Environment

Many networking problems and quality issues are environmental. Are you hard-wired to your network or using Wi-Fi? Are there any streaming services and social media pages eating your "bandwidth"?

Follow the Best Practices For Mitigating Connection Issues, at least those that apply to your environment.

Adjust your DNS Server Settings

Going through your local Internet Service provider may not give you the fastest (or even the correct) results. Try changing the DNS settings and see if that helps.

Check Modem Settings

Some modern modems have specific settings that can improve or hinder your experience. For example, Quality of Service (QoS), or internal Firewall. Adjusting QoS settings and ensuring that the firewall is not blocking UDP traffic can help you here.

The exact steps depend on your modem model and version, and you have to use documentation, ISP help, or the internet for this, as this is out of Jigsaw Support's scope.

Reach out to your ISP

If you tried everything else but still experience issues and ping tests reveal packet loss or high ping, the problem can be on the Internet Service Provider (ISP) side.

• If the problems are recurring, try to observe the pattern. For example, if issues you experience consistently occur during the morning hours, you could be experiencing network congestion. Network congestion is essentially like rush hour traffic for your internet when lots of people in your area access the internet at the same time - like the early morning or mid-evening hours.
• Check whether your ISP or mobile carrier is currently experiencing service disruptions or outages. Visit their web page, call them, and check on the sites like https://downdetector.com/ if other users are having issues with the same provider.

Contact your ISP for assistance - when you can demonstrate packet loss, high ping, and other similar issues while ensuring that everything is good on your side, they should be able to diagnose and help with the line problems. 

Reach out to your IT Teams

If you are connecting from the company or school network directly or via VPN, reach out to your Systems Administrators and Network teams and seek their help in troubleshooting. Especially if you are on VPN - it introduces various problems that have to be solved.

They are more likely to solve transient issues that affect everyone instead of just one or a few users and can verify the global Jigsaw WebRTC Whitelisting settings, potential IP/TCP/UDP blocks and limitations, firewall rules, and faulty hardware of physical connection.