This issue generally occurs because the PC running ClockWise Campus (or other third-party software) does not not have the precisely correct time, and thus generates the sounds at a slightly different time compared to the devices’ displayed time. Possible solutions to this issue include: Set the PC Time: You can correct the PC time via several methods:
Method 1 – Use Internet Time: Click the time display in Windows, click the “Change Date and Time Settings” link, and select the “Internet Time” tab. Verify that the setting shows the PC will synchronize with an Internet time server, and check that it successfully synchronized recently. Note: this option is not available for PCs part of a Windows domain.

Method 2 – NetTime App: If you cannot use the option above, you can install NetTime, a free third-party application, which will synchronize the PC time periodically with an Internet time server: http://www.timesynctool.com/

Method 3 – Set Manually: You can also set the time manually, if you don’t have an Internet connection, or need to update it quickly. Make sure the PC time comes very close to the correct time (i.e. the time displayed on ANetD devices, or some other accurate reference). Usually, you can use this method by clicking the time display in Windows, clicking the “change date and time settings” link, and then setting time. Avoid this method unless necessary, as the PC clock will drift out of sync over days or weeks.

Check “Sync” on the Main Header in ClockWise Campus: ClockWise Campus needs to run as administrator on the PC for this option to work. Enabling this feature causes ClockWise Campus to tell Windows to update its time to Internet time (this feature forces the first method above periodically). This option may not work in all configurations of Windows (usually related to Windows permissions restrictions).

Configure the ANetD Device to Use ClockWise Campus’s Internal NTP Server: ClockWise Campus includes a built-in NTP server. To use it, go to the ANetD device’s Device Settings –> General web page, and change the primary NTP server to your PC’s IP address at port 8090 (the default NTP port for ClockWise Campus, which you can change to any port in ClockWise Campus settings). For example, for a PC with an IP address of 10.10.6.93, set the NTP server, primary field to “10.10.6.93:8090”. If using configuration files, set the NTPConfig tag to point to the ClockWise Campus NTP server, as follows:

Sync the AND Device’s Time Directly to the PC: Before using this option, realize that ANetD devices, usually very accurate, get their own time from an external NTP server. Enabling this feature will forego that functionality, and cause them to lock to your PC instead, regardless of the accuracy of your PC time. This option could prove advantageous if you want precise sound synchronization. However, for accurate time, you will need to ensure your PC keeps accurate time (possibly by the other methods discussed above). Method 1 – Point Devices to PC: Go to the ANetD device’s Device Settings –> Servers web page. Change the Server 1 URL to your PC’s IP address (adding the port 8089). For example, for a PC with an IP address of 10.10.6.93, change the Server 1 field to “http://10.10.6.93:8089”. Also, change the Server Type to “AND” or “AND_Exempt”. If using configuration files, add the ClockWise Campus PC address to the Servers tag as follows (replacing the example address with your PC’s IP address):

Method 2 – Easy Configuration: Right-click on a device in the ClockWise Campus Endpoints tab, and select “Perform Easy Configuration” from the context menu. ClockWise Campus will perform all the necessary configuration of the device(s) selected. This method only works on installations that do NOT use a config file.

Use ClockWise Campus Ping: Similar to above, this option syncs ANetD devices to the PC time (regardless of accuracy, but benefits in keeping devices synchronized with ClockWise Campus events). To enable this option, go to the device’s web page to access Device Settings –> General to make the NTP servers field blank, and go to Device Settings –> Servers to make the Server URL fields blank. Note: this method will not work correctly if multiple PCs on the same network have ClockWise Campus installed. Use a SIP Server: Configure a SIP server in Device Settings –> SIP of the ANetD device’s web page. Make sure to set the NTP settings field to blank in Device Settings –> General, and set the timezone field correctly. The device will get the time from the SIP server.

The options include: Use third party software like Singlewire’s InformaCast to configure volume for devices. In InformaCast, when adding each device to the server, you must select a default volume for that device. Set each InformaCast broadcast’s “Play Volume” level to “As-Is” in order to play back the audio stream at the configured default volume level on each device.
You can set up default volumes for each device by configuring them as such in each device, and then sending all events/alerts at volume 0 (which forces the devices to use the settings that you configured in the device).

You can set up a custom stream in ClockWise Campus and add that custom stream as a permanent stream at a lower (or higher) volume on a device compared to others as desired. In this case, you would then include that custom stream in all your events/alerts and chimes (but do not select that device).

The speaker has a maximum volume setting of 13, but several factors can influence the output volume. Check the following list for possible causes and solutions:
Verify the configuration shows the unit’s speaker volume setting as set to the desired level. Increase as needed. You must reboot the unit for the new default volume setting to become active. Find this and other settings in the device’s web server (accessible via the device’s IP address or through ClockWise Campus).

If commands (paging, background music, etc.) use the unit’s multicast permanent stream(s) for audio playback, the speaker will not use the volume setting. Verify the speaker settings include the correct permanent stream volume. Find this and other settings in the device’s web server (accessible via the device’s IP address or through ClockWise Campus). Increase as needed, and reboot to activate changes.

Commands sent to the unit can include a volume parameter. This volume parameter will override the default speaker volume setting on the unit, even if the unit’s volume setting is greater. Increase the value of the volume parameter as desired, or if using ClockWise Campus, set the volume parameter to zero, which tells the unit to use its default volume setting.

If a permanent stream holds a higher priority (lower number value) than the audio stream you are sending (the default priority level is 50), the device may prevent the audio stream from playing. Lower the priority (increase the number) of the permanent stream to give the desired audio stream proper priority, or stop sending audio on the permanent stream when desired.

Power management limits the maximum volume based on the unit’s available power budget. Using PoE+ (25.5W) will increase the available power, and hence increase the maximum attainable volume. Check the audio file itself. If the file was not normalized properly, or it only contains very low frequencies, it may not sound loud.

The presence of other audio streams on the device can prevent the sound masking noise from generating, depending on the device settings or board generation.Verify the device is not running any active dynamic or permanent streams. In the device’s web server (accessible in a web browser via the device’s IP address or through ClockWise Campus), go to Device Status page, which will list all permanent streams and recent dynamic streams. Verify none of the dynamic streams list as active. For each permanent stream, note the “Total pkts received”. Refresh the page, and verify that packet count. If the number does not increase, the stream remains inactive. For any active audio stream, a Gen 2.0 board will always mute the sound masking noise. For Gen 2.1 boards, the device can selectively mute the sound masking noise. in the Device Settings –> Audio Settings page, check the Mute During Audio setting in the Sound Masking Settings section. If using a configuration file, check the mute_during_audio parameter in the NoiseGen tag.

In the web interface of the Polycom phone, on the Paging/PTT Configuration page, make sure to set the PTT Codec to “G.711Mu”. Also, set the “Compatibility” setting to “Disable” to use the G.711 mu-law codec. Save the settings and reboot the phone.