> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.spectralink.net/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.spectralink.net/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance/performance-packet-loss.md).

# Packet Loss Summary

**Packet Loss Summary** is the fourth tab of the [Performance](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance.md) screen. Voice travels as a stream of small audio packets; this tab tracks the share of them that were dropped or missed during calls, over time and by access point and handset. To reach it, select **Performance** in the sidebar, then the **Packet Loss Summary** tab.

## Why this screen matters

Packet loss is what a user hears as choppy or robotic audio, and it is the most direct measure of a congested or interfering network: signal can be strong and moves between access points fast while packets still go missing. This tab shows how much of the audio was lost, where, and on which handsets, so that a loaded access point or a noisy channel can be found even when the other three tabs look healthy.

## Before you start

The tab follows the [group selector](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/the-console.md#the-group-selector), the [time range](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance.md#time-range) and the [filters](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance.md#filters) described on [Performance](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance.md). An hour or day with no call segments — stretches of a call spent on one access point — is plotted as **0%**. Networks your organization has asked to exclude are left out as described under [Before you start](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance.md#before-you-start) on Performance: on this tab the chart and the by Device table leave out every handset that has ever connected to an excluded network.

## Screen layout

![Packet Loss Summary over 90 days: one spike in the missed-packet rate.](https://3032864282-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FxfLF6IpyutR429bMnvvf%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-ad112f2951943c957d186619e4cb2463069317dc%2Fperformance-packet-loss.png?alt=media)

### The chart

Two lines, each on its own vertical axis, both percentages:

| Series                          | Axis                                                               | What each point is                                                                                                            |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Dropped Packet Rate** (blue)  | Left, from **0%** to a round number at or above the highest point  | The average, across the call segments in that hour or day, of each segment's dropped-packet percentage, to two decimal places |
| **Missed Packet Rate** (orange) | Right, from **0%** to a round number at or above the highest point | The same for missed packets                                                                                                   |

In the chart, a segment with no packet-loss figures counts as 0%.

Dropped packets arrived too late to be played and were discarded; missed packets were expected but never arrived.

{% hint style="warning" %}
TODO: the console does not define dropped and missed; the definitions above are from the previous Console Administration Guide. Confirm they still apply.
{% endhint %}

### The tables

**Dropped/Missed Packets by AP** on the left (the by AP table) and **Dropped/Missed Packets by Device** on the right (the by Device table). Records with an [all-zeros address](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance.md#the-two-tables) are left out of both, and of the chart. With no call segments in the range, each table reads **No data for the selected period**.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Review: the **Dropped Packet Rate** and **Missed Packet Rate** columns show the average percentage divided by 100, with a percent sign after it — an access point averaging 1.5% dropped packets reads **0.02%** in both tables, while the chart plots the same figure as **1.50%**. The dot is judged on the divided figure, so it stays green for nearly every row. The product specification is that the tables show the same percentage as the chart and the dot turns orange at 1% and red at 2%. \[REVIEW-performance-1]
{% endhint %}

## Controls

The shared controls are described on [Performance](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance.md#controls). Exports from this tab are named `packet-loss-ap.csv` and `packet-loss-device.csv`.

## Columns

Every column is sortable; each table opens sorted by its first column.

### Dropped/Missed Packets by AP

| Column                  | What it shows                                                                                                       |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **AP BSSID**            | The access point's hardware address                                                                                 |
| **Dropped Packets**     | The sum, across this access point's call segments, of packets that arrived too late to be played and were discarded |
| **Dropped Packet Rate** | The average of the segments' dropped-packet percentages, followed by **%** — but see the [Review note](#the-tables) |
| **Missed Packets**      | The sum, across this access point's call segments, of packets that never arrived                                    |
| **Missed Packet Rate**  | The average of the segments' missed-packet percentages, followed by **%** — but see the [Review note](#the-tables)  |
| (dot)                   | Judged on the worse of the two rate columns as displayed: green under 1, orange from 1 up to 2, red at 2 or more    |

Unlike the chart, the table averages leave out segments that have no packet-loss figures.

### Dropped/Missed Packets by Device

The same columns for each handset, with **Device Serial** in place of **AP BSSID**, summed and averaged over that handset's call segments. No dot.

## Icons and indicators

| Icon or indicator                       | Meaning                                                                                  | When it appears                       |
| --------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| Blue line                               | **Dropped Packet Rate**                                                                  | When there is data                    |
| Orange line                             | **Missed Packet Rate**                                                                   | When there is data                    |
| Green / orange / red dot on a by AP row | The worse of the row's two rate figures as displayed: under 1 / 1 to under 2 / 2 or more | Every by AP row with a value to judge |

The shared icons are described on [Performance](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance.md#icons-and-indicators).

## What to look for

* A spike in either line on the chart. Packets were lost across the calls in that hour or day. If the spike is recent, select **Today** or **24h** to narrow the period; for an older one, select **30d**. Then read the by AP table for the same period to find the access point.
* Table rates a hundred times smaller than the chart. Until the [Review note](#the-tables) is resolved, read the chart's percentages, or multiply the table's **Dropped Packet Rate** and **Missed Packet Rate** by 100 to get the true percentage.
* A large **Dropped Packets** or **Missed Packets** count on a busy access point. Counts grow with call volume: 12,000 on a busy access point may be a lower rate than 900 on a quiet one. Once the rate columns read correctly, sort by them.
* Loss on one access point while [Low RSSI Events Summary](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance/performance-low-rssi.md) shows strong signal there. The access point is overloaded or its channel is noisy, not out of range. Open [Access Points](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/access-points.md) to find it.
* A handset near the top of the by Device table across many access points. The handset itself is losing packets; open its [Call History](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/device-details/device-call-history.md) to see which calls suffered.
* A chart reading better than the tables for the same period. The chart counts a segment with no packet-loss figures as 0%, so a period with many such segments reads better than its measured segments alone; the tables leave them out.
* A short segment with heavy loss weighing as much as a long clean one. The rates are averages of per-segment percentages, not total lost divided by total sent.
* Different figures from a colleague. Points are placed by when the segment was recorded, within the range cut in each person's browser time zone — see [Time and time zones](/amie-advanced/metrics-reference/time-and-time-zones.md).

## Metrics on this screen

* [Call quality (MOS)](/amie-advanced/metrics-reference/call-quality-mos.md) — packet loss is one of the inputs to the quality score
* [Time and time zones](/amie-advanced/metrics-reference/time-and-time-zones.md)

## Related

* [Performance](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance.md) — ranges, filters, tables and export
* [Call Performance Summary](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/performance/performance-call-performance.md) — the quality scores that packet loss degrades
* [Access Points](/amie-advanced/using-the-platform/access-points.md) — where the access points in the by AP table are


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