FaceTime calls can be hectic. From ensuring you have a good connection so your video isn’t choppy to making sure the other person doesn’t put their phone up to their ear, there are plenty of ways a video call can go awry. But there is something you can do to cut back the chaos: enable your iPhone’s Voice Isolation feature.
Voice isolation for FaceTime calls was introduced with the release of iOS 15 in 2021. The feature muffles background noises, like the sound of kids playing in a nearby room or your dog barking at something outside, so others on the FaceTime call can hear you without interruptions.
However, you won’t find the Voice Isolation feature in Settings, as you might expect. Instead, you have to be on a FaceTime call to enable it. But once you activate the feature, it will stay on the next time you’re on a FaceTime call.
Here’s how to activate Voice Isolation so people can hear you more clearly in FaceTime calls. If you prefer voice calls, you can enable Voice Isolation for that too, thanks to iOS 16.4.
How to enable Voice Isolation
1. Start or join a FaceTime call.
2. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to access your Control Center.
Mic Mode appears in your Control Center when you’re in a FaceTime call.
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3. Tap Mic Mode near the top-right corner of your screen.
4. Tap Voice Isolation.
Pro tip: You don’t have to interrupt a FaceTime call with family and friends to turn this feature on. You can call yourself on FaceTime and enable Voice Isolation following the steps above.
How to enable Wide Spectrum
In Mic Mode, there’s another feature alongside Voice Isolation called Wide Spectrum. While Voice Isolation muffles other noises around you in a FaceTime call, Wide Spectrum enhances the noises around you without affecting your voice.
Wide Spectrum is good for conference calls over FaceTime or if you have a large group of people FaceTiming someone else. If you have a little brother or sister who moves away to college and you and your family want to wish them a happy birthday, Wide Spectrum can help you all sing happy birthday to them at once.
Opening Mic Mode shows you Standard, Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum options.
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To enable Wide Spectrum, follow the steps above, but tap Wide Spectrum instead of Voice Isolation.
Like Voice Isolation, Wide Spectrum will stay enabled the next time you make a FaceTime call. To disable either Voice Isolation or Wide Spectrum, follow the instructions above and tap Standard. This will return your microphone to its default setting.
For more on your iPhone, check out the how to turn on Voice Isolation for phone calls, 13 iPhone features you might not know about and 22 iPhone settings you should change now.
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