§ 02 — Fix
fix
Pick the thing you or the other side can hear. Each guide lists the causes in the order to check them: the room first, then the mic, your system and the app.
| 01 · You hear | 02 · Likely cause | 03 · Fix | Open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Background noise | Room A steady noise source near you: a fan, air conditioning, a PC under the desk, traffic through a window | Turn the source off or move away from it, and close the door and windows for the call source off | → |
| Echo | Room Someone's speakers play the call loudly enough for their mic to pick it up | That person switches to headphones, or turns the speakers down and moves the mic away from them headphones | → |
| Static and hiss | Room A fan, air conditioner or computer fan makes a steady rush that sounds like hiss on a call | Turn the fan off for the call, or move the mic away from it and closer to your mouth fan off | → |
| Robotic voice | Mic A Bluetooth headset is in its low-quality call mode, or it is connected to more than one device | Disconnect the headset from your other devices, or use a USB or wired headset for the call USB headset | → |
| Mic too quiet | Mic The mic is too far from your mouth: in open space, each doubling of distance costs about 6 dB | Move the mic to 5–10 cm from your mouth for a desk mic, or use a headset with a boom closer | → |
| Keyboard noise | Room The keyboard sits right next to the mic, or it is a loud mechanical board | Move the mic away from the keyboard and closer to your mouth, or use a headset whose mic sits by your mouth distance | → |
| Fan noise | Room A desk fan, air conditioner or air purifier runs near you | Turn it off or down for the call, or move the mic away from it fan off | → |
| Hum and buzz | Mic A ground loop: two or more connected devices give the audio more than one path to ground | Disconnect the other devices in your audio chain one at a time until the hum stops; a ground loop isolator can fix the one you find ground loop | → |
| Voice cutting out | Mic You sit far from the mic, so quiet words fall below the app's threshold | Move closer so your softest words still stand well above the room noise closer | → |
| Others hear themselves | Room Your speakers play the call and your mic picks it up | Use headphones, or turn the speakers down and move the mic away from them headphones | → |
| Bluetooth mic sounds bad | Mic Using the headset's mic switches classic Bluetooth from A2DP, its music mode, to HFP, its hands-free call mode, which is mono and narrower | Use a different mic, such as the computer's or a USB mic, and keep the earbuds for listening separate mic | → |
| Game audio in the mic | Room Your game plays through speakers and the mic picks it up | Use headphones, or turn the speakers down and point the mic away from them headphones | → |
| Wind and breath pops | Room Outdoor wind blows across the mic | Fit a windshield to the mic, or with recent AirPods choose Voice Isolation during the call windshield | → |
| Popping and crackling | Mic A loose or damaged cable, a bad USB port, or a USB hub in between | Reseat or swap the cable, plug the mic straight into the computer, and try a different USB port cable | → |
| Mic picks up everything | Room Other people talk, or a TV plays, in the same room | Close the door, or move to a quieter room for the call close the door | → |
| Too loud and clipping | Mic The mic is very close, or you laugh or shout straight into it | Back the mic off a little, especially for laughter and raised voices back off | → |
| Delay and lag | App Voice activation waits for your voice before it starts sending | In Discord, use Push to Talk, which has relatively no delay when you press the key push to talk | → |
| One-sided audio | Mic A mute button on the headset or mic is on | Check the mute button or switch on your headset or mic unmute | → |
| Laptop mic picks up typing | Mic The built-in mic sits in the same case as the keyboard, so every keypress reaches it | Use a headset, or an external mic placed away from the laptop headset | → |
| Phone call background noise | Room You are somewhere loud: a street, a café, a car | Step somewhere quieter for the call if you can quieter spot | → |
§ Not sure what it is?
Measure it
The noise test reads your noise floor, speech level, peak and mains hum. A high floor points to background noise; clipping points to a mic set too hot; a hum reading points to power wiring or a cable.
Run the noise test →