Background noise
Most background noise is the room reaching an open mic. Fix the room and the mic distance first, then let the app's suppression clean up the rest.
- Room · source off
- Mic · closer mic
- System · input volume
§ Apps · FaceTime
FaceTime
Apple's audio and video calls on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- Platforms
- macOS · iOS
- Suppression
- Voice Isolation (Mic Mode)
- Echo cancel
- No setting listed
- Noise gate
- No setting listed
- Push-to-talk
- No
- Last verified
- 2026-10-18
§ 01 — Setting
Where the setting is
| Platform | Path |
|---|---|
| macOS | During a video call: Video button in the menu bar → Mic Mode → Voice Isolation; in an audio call: Audio button in the menu bar → Voice Isolation |
| iOS | During a call: swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center → FaceTime Controls → Audio & Video → Voice Isolation |
Levels: Standard · Voice Isolation · Wide Spectrum
Voice Isolation keeps your voice and blocks the noise around you; Apple says it uses machine learning. Wide Spectrum lets all the sound in, and on iPhone and iPad with iOS 18 or later, Automatic picks Voice Isolation for calls at your ear and Standard on speaker.
Type: AI suppression.
§ 02 — Layers
The three layers
Noise can be fixed at three points before it leaves you. Start at the top: a fix at the device beats any amount of software.
| Layer | What it does | What to set |
|---|---|---|
| L1 · Device | The mic and where it sits. Distance to your mouth sets how loud your voice is against the room. | Pick the right mic in the app. A headset or a mic close to your mouth beats a laptop mic across the desk. |
| L2 · System | Your operating system passes the mic to the app at the input volume you set, sometimes with its own processing. | In your system sound settings, choose the same input device and set its volume so speech stays in the green on the noise test. |
| L3 · App | FaceTime cleans the signal before it sends it: Voice Isolation (Mic Mode). | During a video call: Video button in the menu bar → Mic Mode → Voice Isolation; in an audio call: Audio button in the menu bar → Voice Isolation |
Echo cancellation. Apple's FaceTime help lists no echo setting.
Noise gate. Apple lists no gate for FaceTime.
§ 03 — Limits
What it cannot fix
- Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum need iOS 15 or later on iPhone XR, iPhone XS or a newer model, or a supported iPad, and a Mac from 2018 or later.
- The Mic Mode you pick applies only to FaceTime, and it stays set until you choose another one.
- Wide Spectrum leaves the noise around you unfiltered on purpose.
- Automatic Mic Mode needs iOS 18 or later.
§ 04 — Symptoms
Fixes for what you hear
Echo
Echo is almost always someone's speakers playing the call into their own mic, and the person causing it usually cannot hear it.
- Room · headphones
- Room · one device per room
- Room · TV down
Phone call background noise
Phones have their own voice filters for calls. Turn them on, keep the bottom mic near your mouth, and avoid speakerphone in noise.
- Room · quieter spot
- Mic · bottom mic
- Mic · off speaker
Bluetooth mic sounds bad
Classic Bluetooth drops to a narrow, mono call mode whenever its mic is on. A separate mic, or LE Audio, avoids the switch.
- Mic · separate mic
- Mic · one device
- Mic · AirPods mic
Mic too quiet
A quiet mic is usually distance, the wrong input device or a low input volume in the system, not a broken mic.
- Mic · closer
- Mic · right input
- System · input volume
Voice cutting out
Clipped first words almost always mean a voice activation threshold set too high. Dropouts mid-sentence point to the connection or Bluetooth.
- Mic · closer
- Mic · USB headset
- App · threshold
Robotic voice
A robotic voice is usually late or lost packets on the network, or a headset sending audio at a rate the app does not expect.
- Mic · USB headset
- System · separate devices
- System · close apps
One-sided audio
One-sided audio is almost always a mute, a blocked mic permission or the wrong device, in that order. Firewalls come last.
- Mic · unmute
- Mic · one device
- System · mic permission
Others hear themselves
If others hear themselves when you unmute, the echo is on your side: your speakers, a second device or your sound driver sends their voices back.
- Room · headphones
- Room · one device
- Room · one audio source
Delay and lag
Most call delay comes from the network: a distant server, busy Wi-Fi or a VPN. Some apps add a little delay of their own.
- App · push to talk
- App · video off
- Network · VPN off
§ 05 — Test
Test it
The noise test rates your mic fine for FaceTime when your noise floor is at or below −40 dBFS and your voice is at least 20 dB above it. Between −40 and −30 dBFS it is usable with suppression on; above that, the noise needs fixing at the room or the mic.
These bars are our rule of thumb for how much steady noise FaceTime's built-in suppression copes with, not figures from FaceTime. The methodology explains them.
Test my mic for FaceTime → § 06 — Questions
FaceTime questions
Q.01How do I turn on Voice Isolation in FaceTime?
On iPhone or iPad, open Control Center during the call, tap FaceTime Controls and pick Voice Isolation under Audio & Video. On a Mac, click the Video button in the menu bar during a video call, or the Audio button in an audio call, and choose Voice Isolation.
Q.02Does Voice Isolation stay on for the next FaceTime call?
Yes. The Mic Mode you pick stays set for FaceTime until you choose a different one, and it does not change other apps.
Q.03What is Wide Spectrum?
Wide Spectrum lets all the sound around you through, unfiltered. Use it when you want the other person to hear the room, and Voice Isolation when you only want them to hear you.
Q.04Why can't I find Mic Mode?
Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum need iOS 15 or later on iPhone XR, iPhone XS or a newer model, or a supported iPad, and a Mac from 2018 or later. On iPhone you switch it in Control Center during a call, not in the Settings app.
§ Sources
Checked against
FaceTime's own help pages and announcements, last checked :
- support.apple.com · Use Voice Isolation, Wide Spectrum, or Automatic Mic Mode on Your iPhone and iPad
- support.apple.com · Change Audio Options for FaceTime Calls on Mac
- support.apple.com · Use Mic Modes on Your Mac
- apple.com · iOS 15 Is Available Today