How do I check my Teams meeting experience before or after for network quality?

Check your network quality before or after Teams meeting using Network Testing Companion tool

Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business Online and both are cloud-based applications that mean Teams and SfB online both clients register against cloud services and leverage productive Office 365 cloud services to provide an optimal experience for audio/video call, meeting, chatting and for many more features. To have optimal call quality, your network must have well prepared for Teams and SfB online traffic without any blockage.

But an as end-user, how do I check my network quality at home or even in office? That where the Network Testing Companion tools come handy, it will give you an easy way to test your network quality and your connection to Microsoft Teams or Skype for Business Online. The results can be easily interpreted and shared with network administrators to gain insights into potential network issues.

The network testing companion tool is not only useful to troubleshoot audio/video quality issues, but also it is beneficial in the planning phase of a Microsoft Teams deployment. I would recommend using this tool to check your network connection before you make an audio/video call or after you’ve had a poor-quality experience in Teams meeting.

Is there any prerequisite for network testing tool?

Yes, there is some prerequisite, your operating must be windows 7, or later, you must have Windows Management Framework 5.1 installed,and most importantly, you must have a local Administrator account permission to install the Network Testing Companion.

How do I install a network testing companion tool?

Installation is very straightforward; however, to install this tool, the user must have administrator rights to the computer to install the Network Testing Companion. You can refer to PowerShell command details.

1. To install this tool, go to Start, and then enter PowerShell, right-click Windows PowerShell, and then select Run as Administrator
2. Run this command, and click on enter: Install-Module -Name NetworkTestingCompanion

• You’ll need to enter Y (Yes) at two prompts, one for the NuGet provider and one to accept the repository’s being untrusted.
• After the PowerShell module has been installed, create shortcuts for opening the tool. Type the following command, and then select Enter:
  Invoke-ToolCreateShortcuts
• To start the Network Testing Companion tool, select the icon on your desktop or Start menu.
• Once this tool opens, it will look like the below image.

Note:

Network Testing Companion tool uses Windows PowerShell if in case your computer’s execution policy doesn’t permit you to run scripts, the command for creating shortcuts won’t work even if the module was installed successfully.Refer Execution policy documents for alternate option: https://docs.microsoft.com/en us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_execution_policies?view=powershell-6

How do I use the Network Testing tool?

This tool is a self-explanatory after you install this tool, you can simply open this tool by clicking on Start typing “Network Testing Companion” in the search box. This tool may take some time to check your internet connection, the headset you are using, your operating system, and network assessment tool.

Once this tool opens, you can click on the Start button in the test pane, the tool will perform a connectivity check against the Microsoft Transport Relay network, making sure all the IP addresses and required ports are reachable. If any single IP address or port is unreachable, the test is considered to have failed, and a red X is displayed under Connectivity on the Start tests tab in the test pane; if the connectivity test passes, a green checkmark is displayed. After the connectivity test, the companion runs audio quality tests.

If all audio quality test results are within limits, a green checkmark is displayed under Quality on the Start tests tab in the test pane. If any of the tests fail, a red X is displayed.

You will get detailed reports about the connectivity and quality test results on the View Results tab: refer the below image that shows result.

1. Select the Network Connectivity Report icon to open a list of all the connectivity checks performed by the companion. If any replay IP address not reachable, then it will show connectivity issues. The below image shows the all IPs and Ports are reachable.

• Select the Network Quality Report icon for a summary of results for the audio quality tests of packet loss rate, round-trip time, jitter, and packet reorder ratio. The report also summarizes whether the test results pass or fail network performance requirements.

Above image shows packet loss rate as failed, it is because of the packet loss was reported.

Can I customize the tool to run multiple tests?

Yes, you can modify the default setting. By default, the tool runs one test, which should take about 30 seconds from start to finish. To configure multiple audio quality tests to be run and specify the interval between them, click on the setting tab, and modify the interval as per your requirement. 

Hope this post gives overview of the Network Testing Companion tool.

Reference: Microsoft Network Testing Companion tool documentations.

Thank you.