VAPI•2mo ago

silence time out issue near the end of call

019a9678-8f2f-7775-a4e9-815e0b638043
019a90e7-6b8d-7004-8968-cb744e7624cc

ive had 2 calls fail due to reason 'Silence Timed Out'. after contacting the customer who was using the assistant to create a booking, they mention that the assistant went quiet and therefore just hung up the phone. i havent been able to replicate the issue myself. i have tried to adjust call time out settings. for context this assistant helps restaurants capture bookings, and the silence error is happening has happened while getting details or confirming them. thanks

Vapi Support BotAPP•11/18/25, 11:14 AM

To reduce "Silence Timed Out" errors during booking calls, increase the silence timeout and enable reset on user speech. Here’s a recommended configuration for your assistant:

{
  "hooks": [{
    "on": "customer.speech.timeout",
    "options": { "timeoutSeconds": 25, "triggerMaxCount": 3, "triggerResetMode": "onUserSpeech" },
    "do": [{ "type": "say", "exact": "Are you still there? Can I help you with anything else?" }]
  }]
}

{
  "hooks": [{
    "on": "customer.speech.timeout",
    "options": { "timeoutSeconds": 25, "triggerMaxCount": 3, "triggerResetMode": "onUserSpeech" },
    "do": [{ "type": "say", "exact": "Are you still there? Can I help you with anything else?" }]
  }]
}

This setup gives users more time to respond and prompts them before ending the call (Vapi Idle Messages documentation).

Source:

Vapi Idle Messages documentation

⤵️ Mention @Vapi Support Bot for follow-ups 🐥

dangerous-fuchsiaOP•11/18/25, 11:17 AM

how do i implement this into my vapi config?

ltd-scarlet•11/18/25, 6:06 PM

Hi VSS, since this is happening specifically during the "confirming" stage, the issue is almost certainly that your booking tool/API is taking too long to respond, causing Vapi to think the connection is dead.
The assistant sends the booking data to your backend, your backend takes a few seconds to process it, and the call times out before the result comes back.
Here is the fix:

Increase the Silence Timeout
You need to tell the assistant to wait longer before disconnecting.
- Go to your Assistant Settings.
- Look for silenceTimeoutSeconds (usually under Transcriber or Call settings).
- Increase this value significantly (try 60 seconds). This gives your booking tool plenty of time to finish without the call dropping.
Add a "Waiting" Phrase (Crucial for UX)
Even if you fix the timeout, users will still hang up if they hear 5+ seconds of dead silence while your database loads. You need the bot to speak before it runs the tool.
- In your Tool/Function definition, look for the property requestStartMessage (or "Message before execution" in the UI).
- Add a phrase like: "Just a moment, let me confirm that booking for you..."
  This ensures the customer knows the bot is "thinking" and won't hang up during the pause.

KyleAPP•11/19/25, 7:49 PM

Hi VSS,

If you're experiencing calls ending due to silence, it's likely triggered by a

silenceTimeoutSeconds

silenceTimeoutSeconds

setting or an endedReasonendedReason like silence-timed-outsilence-timed-out. You can configure the call behavior to avoid idle calls from lingering.

For more insight into the reason codes, including situations where a call ended due to silence, please refer to our call ended reason codes documentation.

Additionally, ensure your call configuration includes the right detection settings for scenarios you're handling, such as automated IVR interactions. If silence timeout is incorrectly being triggered during user interaction, reviewing the microphone access permissions or adjusting timeout settings might be beneficial.

{ "hooks": [{ "on": "customer.speech.timeout", "options": { "timeoutSeconds": 25, "triggerMaxCount": 3, "triggerResetMode": "onUserSpeech" }, "do": [{ "type": "say", "exact": "Are you still there? Can I help you with anything else?" }] }] }

silence time out issue near the end of call

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