Packet loss happens when data never reaches its destination. Video platforms try to recover, but sustained loss causes audio dropouts, blurred faces, and frustrated teams. The good news: precise measurements reveal exactly where the failure sits.
Measure your connection now with the Speedoodle speed test — see live ping, jitter, download and upload.
TL;DR
- Loss above 1% disrupts HD meetings; above 3% makes them unusable.
- Combine Speedoodle results with traceroutes to identify the hop causing errors.
- Fixes range from swapping cables to asking your ISP for a line quality repair.
What is packet loss and why it matters
Every video call splits your audio and video into packets. Packet loss means those packets vanish on the trip to the cloud or back to you. Short bursts cause momentary glitches; sustained loss forces conferencing apps to lower quality or drop the connection entirely. Loss also compounds jitter because retransmissions arrive out of order.
Loss can originate inside your home, at the ISP handoff, inside the provider backbone, or at the conferencing service itself. Understanding the difference keeps you from endlessly rebooting hardware when the issue lives upstream. Speedoodle gives you a clear snapshot of loss, ping, jitter, and throughput so you can isolate the problem.
If latency also spikes, work through the best practices in our latency guide for hybrid teams to remove additional friction.
How to measure packet loss (ping, jitter, and upload included)
Run the Speedoodle test and note the packet loss percentage along with ping and jitter. Record the time, connection type, and any background apps. Repeat the test over Ethernet and Wi-Fi to see whether the issue is local.
Augment your results with command-line tools. On Windows use pathping; on macOS or Linux use mtr. Run the tool to Zoom or Teams domains for at least 100 packets. Compare the hop where loss first appears with your Speedoodle timeline. If loss starts immediately, focus on home wiring; if it appears at your ISP gateway, open a support ticket armed with the data.
Keep a shared log that pairs each Speedoodle capture with symptoms described by teammates. Knowing that “loss spiked to 4% at 2:30 p.m. when accounting uploaded payroll files” makes root cause analysis straightforward.
How to fix or improve packet loss
Work down the following checklist, testing with Speedoodle after each change to confirm improvement.
- Move critical devices to Ethernet to eliminate Wi-Fi interference.
- Power-cycle routers, switches, and ONTs to clear stale buffer states.
- Replace damaged or kinked Ethernet and coax cables.
- Enable QoS or Smart Queue Management to prioritize conferencing packets.
- Shut down cloud backups and bulk uploads during important meetings.
If loss remains above 1%, escalate. Share Speedoodle logs, traceroute output, and timestamps with your ISP or IT provider. Ask for noise level tests on copper lines or a node split if the neighborhood is congested. Businesses should consider redundant connections and automatic failover so meetings shift to a clean link without interruption.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good jitter for Zoom calls?
Under 15 ms keeps audio intelligible even when some packets drop. Combine jitter monitoring with packet loss tracking to spot deteriorating circuits early.
How much upload speed do I need for 1080p video?
Five Mbps upload with a 20% buffer supports HD video. Packet loss can still ruin quality, so fix the loss before investing in more bandwidth.
Is ping or bandwidth more important for gaming?
Ping and jitter dominate the gaming experience. When loss is present, ping becomes unpredictable and even high-bandwidth plans feel laggy.
Before troubleshooting, check ping, jitter & upload so you know what changed.