How to Remove Background Noise in FaceTime Calls on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Dec. 24, 2021

When engaged in seriousFaceTimecalls, the last thing you want to deal with is background noise. In such a situation, the more attentive you try to be, the more annoying it gets. So, how do you keep the ambient noise out of calls, so that your communication doesn’t come to a halt or get interrupted? Well, as it turns out, Apple has come up with a nifty feature to let you remove background noise in FaceTime calls. If yourFaceTime watch partyis being affected by the unwanted clamor, let me show you how to enable Voice Isolation in FaceTime calls to remove background noise on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Before we look at the steps to enable the feature, let’s first check out how Voice Isolation works in FaceTime and what devices support it.

Voice Isolation takes advantage of machine learning (ML) technology to suppress ambient noise and prioritize your voice in FaceTime calls. Hence, the surrounding ambient noise doesn’t affect your ongoing conversation.

By default, FaceTime uses the standard mic on your Apple device. However, once you set up Voice Isolation as your preferred option, the video calling app blocks out unwanted noise for all other calls right from the get-go.

As for noise suppression efficiency, it’s up to the mark and does a pretty good job – irrespective of the location. While we managed to get impressive audio quality in a not-so-noisy environment, it failed to deliver the same result in a boisterous environment like a bus stand. However, you can comfortably get through the conversations anywhere.

FaceTime’s Voice Isolation feature is exclusive to Apple devices with the A12 Bionic chip (a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip) or newer processors. That means you will need one of the following devices to use this feature in FaceTime:

Yeah, it does! Probably the best part about the Voice Isolation feature in FaceTime is the ability to work with third-party apps as well. It’s entirely up to the developers to make their apps compatible with this feature, though. Based on our personal testing, we can confirm that FaceTime’s Voice Isolation feature works with:

1. Launch the FaceTime app on your iPhone or iPad andinitiate a callas usual.

2. Now, bring up the Control center.

3. Next, tap the “Mic Mode” tile at the top right corner of the control center.

4. Next up, you have three options to choose from:

5. Now, you need to choose “Voice Isolation” under “Mic mode” and return to the call.

Note:It’s important to note that Voice Isolation works in a similar fashion in the supported third-party apps like WhatsApp and Zoom.Once you have started a call,bring up the Control center -> Mic Mode -> Voice Isolation.

Using the Voice Isolation feature in FaceTime on Mac is just as straightforward. Follow the steps below to know how it works:

1. First, start or join a FaceTime call. After that, click theControl Centericon at the top-right corner of the menu bar and chooseMic Mode.

2. Now, selectVoice Isolationfrom the list of available mic modes and return to the call. That’s it. All the ambient noise in your FaceTime call will now be removed.

Use Voice Isolation Mic Mode to Enhance Your FaceTime Calls

So that’s how you can use voice isolation to filter out the ambient noise from FaceTime calls. As stated above, the feature works reliably in removing unwanted sounds. With the addition ofSharePlay to watch movies and TV shows over FaceTime,seamless screen-sharing across Apple devices, and the ability touse Apple FaceTime on WindowsandAndroid, Apple’s video-calling app now seems well-equipped to take on the likes of Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. What are your thoughts on this nifty new FaceTime feature? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

An old school bibliophile who turned a tech nerd out of obsession. When he is not digging into hacks and tracking down stories that are breaking the internet, you may find him reciting poems.