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Comment by arnaudsm | Hacker News Reader

My golden rules to make videoconferencing more reliable :

  - Use ethernet. Wi-Fi isn't reliable, your neighbor's microwave can ruin everything.
  - Use wired headphones. 0 latency. 0 connection time. And disables the mic noise-cancelling algos.
  - Use classic phone calls when required. It's more robust and latency is even better.

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Wired headphones or nothing. I know they're connected because I can see them physically connected. They're charged because photons can move through wires. It's the right protocol because they fit in the device.

Apple gets props for making it break less often than everyone else but it's a fundamentally broken UI and broken protocol.

Any tips on using ethernet when you're renting a house and unable to wire any infrastructure? My only hookup for internet is in a pretty poor spot for wireless connectivity to my office, but I don't have a good way to wire a cable instead since there's an entire living room, a staircase, a hallway, and multiple doors in the way.

Run cables along baseboards, under rugs, under doors, along the stair runners, etc. If the cable needs to cross an egress point, put a rug over it. If you can convince your landlord, drill a single hole to bridge the upstairs and downstairs. If you're in an older house that has straight cold air returns (not a heating duct), drop a cable through there, and pin it to the crown molding.

Does the house have coax wiring for cable tv? If so, get a pair of MoCA Ethernet adapters. I have 2.5Gbps ones running across a large house and they are rocksolid reliable.

First one doesn't really hold in my opinion, 5GHz WiFi has been available for over a decade and won't be interrupted by a microwave. Probably easier to upgrade to a relatively recent WiFi setup than connecting a cable in most cases.

Could you let us know what headphones offer a control to disable noise-cancelling algos?

When you're on speaker, most platforms have a noise cancelling algorithm to prevent Larsen loops between mic and speaker. Using headphones usually disables it.

Look for USB conference headset

> Wi-Fi isn't reliable, your neighbor's microwave can ruin everything.

Agree that wifi isn't reliable, but not for that reason: microwave ovens haven't been an issue for wifi since most people switched to the 5GHz band, many years ago.

It's your neighbors, ALL OF THEM, trying to watch 4K on 2 TVs per household all at once.

And why shouldn't they? That's like the whole reason to even have a high-bandwidth internet connection.

They should - but hard-line Ethernet connected.

You would be surprised that most wifis out there still don't run on 5ghz. I mean what do you expect from non-technical people, wifi is just this white box that should work, if not turn off/on and then call support. Ie we (Switzerland) have both bands available from the router and till now even I didn't know that higher band is better for interference, and I am most technical in the family/friends circle.

5Ghz also has drawbacks. Routers support both, usually with an option to either combine them and handle the selection automagically or separate them. Parent is just wrong about routers having switched over completely - and thus the microwave can indeed still be a problem.

Yes there's plenty of reasons, channel saturation, low quality routers, various interferences. My Ethernet cable is easier to debug.

2.4Ghz is still very much in use in many places. I have recent stories from friends whose apartment microwave will cause internet issues.

2.4Ghz is still very much in use in many places. I will use it even though I have dual band a lot due to range/penetration limitations.

I have recent stories from friends whose apartment microwave will cause internet issues.

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