Placing a call over the Internet with netYAK can be compared to making a phone call with a typical cellular phone. As with cell calls, you may experience delays, dropouts, distortion, echoes, noise and other call interruptions when placing a call over the Internet.  These are expected with any call over the Internet, and are due in part to a variety of things that you may not have control over, such as your modem connection speed, the number of users on your ISP's server, and your computer's processor speed. It is also important to note that if you are behind a firewall, you may not be able to send or receive streaming media of any kind, including netYAK calls.  Contact your network administrator if you are having problems sending and receiving netYAK audio or other streaming media formats to find out if this type of content is restricted by your company or internet service provider.

However, there are some things you can do to make sure that your netYAK calls are the best they can be.  We suggest that you follow the troubleshooting tips listed below before you place your first call with netYAK, especially if this is the first time you are using your computer microphone.

Adjust the master volume or the wave output volume 
The quality of your netYAK call may be greatly improved by changing your master volume settings.  You will find your master volume settings under "Multimedia" in your control panel, or by double-clicking the yellow speaker in the tray of your taskbar.

To adjust your master volume:

1.	Open your Volume Control (also called "Mixer") settings window. This window could be in several locations, depending upon your system setup: In the tray of your taskbar (double-click on the yellow speaker in the bottom-right corner of your screen) or in the Control Panel (open your Control Panel and double-click the Multimedia icon, then click the Playback speaker button. While here you may want to check the "Show volume control on the taskbar" check box if it is not already checked.).
- If you cannot locate the Volume Control via one of the two locations above, do a search for the file SNDVOL32.EXE on your computer. -
2.	In the Volume Control window, make you sure you see controls for the Master Volume (or Volume Control Balance), Wave Output (or Wave Balance), and Microphone Balance.
- If you do not see some of these controls, select Options -> Properties from the Volume Control menu bar. Then check the appropriate devices under "Show the following volume controls". -
3.	Move the volume sliders up or down for the appropriate device to turn up or turn down the volume.
4.	Be sure that the "Mute all" and "Mute" boxes are not checked for the Master Volume (or Volume Control Balance) and Wave Output (or Wave Balance) devices.
5.	If the "Mute" box is unchecked for the Microphone Balance device, please check it. If this is not checked, then the microphone input will be fed straight back to the PC speakers and you could end up talking over the person on the other line.
- If the "Mute" box is checked for the Microphone Balance device, then try UN-checking it. -
6.	Set the Microphone Boost. Be sure you have the Advanced Controls option set (to set it, select Options -> Advanced Controls, and a check will appear next to the menu item "Advanced Options"). Click the "Advanced" button under the Microphone Balance device. In the "Advanced Controls for Microphone" window, be sure the "Microphone Boost" box is checked (click the box to check it). This box may also be called "mic option 1", or something similar.

Configure your microphone 
Sometimes, the person on the other line may have a hard time hearing you clearly. If this happens, you should make sure that your microphone is properly configured and is working. To test if your microphone is working, you can record something and play it back with Sound Recorder (ships with Windows).

To record a sound:
1.	Make sure you have an audio input device (such as a microphone) connected to your computer.
2.	In the Sound Recorder window, select File -> New.
3.	To begin recording, click the record button: You can talk into your microphone to record your voice.
4.	To stop recording, click the stop button:

To play your sound:
1.	Click the play button:
2.	Adjust your master and/or wave volume in Volume Control (may be called Mixer). See the FAQ on volume control for instructions on adjusting Volume Control.
3.	Click the stop button to stop playing the sound. If the recorded voice and the background noise level are played back at about the same relative volume, you may need to turn up the microphone volume and/or adjust the microphone boost (see the next FAQ).  Then repeat the test. If the background noise is still very noticeable, you may need to try a different microphone with your sound card.

 
  - For more help with the Sound Recorder, select Help -> Help Topics in the Sound Recorder window. -

Record & play your YAKbite again or hang up and try the call again

If you have tried the above suggestions and you are still experiencing unacceptable quality, record and play a YAKbite again or hang up your call and re-click the Call Button to try the call again. Also, check out our Support page for help. If you still have problems, send an e-mail describing the problem to support@netyak.com. 

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