Late last month we told you that iPhone 13 users were complaining that unlike previous versions of Apple’s iOS-powered handset, the most recent series did not have noise cancellation to prevent ambient sounds from interfering with phone calls. On the iPhone 12 line and older models, going to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Phone Noise Cancellation would send you to the toggle button where the feature could be enabled and disabled. But you won’t find that button on the iPhone 13.
Lack of noise cancellation on the iPhone 13 series is not a bug
The first thought that everyone had was that an iOS 15 bug was at work here. And a Reddit user seemed to receive a confirmation that this was the case when he said that he was told by Apple Support that the company was working to fix the issue. But now 9to5Mac is reporting that the lack of noise cancellation on the iPhone 13 series is something Apple planned by design.
An iPhone 13 user named Steve told 9to5Mac that “after working with Apple and a senior advisor for months saying to wait for an update to fix the issue, I got an update regarding the issue, and apparently, it won’t be fixed and noise cancellation is intentionally disabled for those devices for unspecified reasons.” And when Apple Support was asked whether the iPhone 13 series will offer noise cancellation for phone calls, the response made it clear that the answer is “no.”
Apple Support responded to that question by saying, “That is correct. It is not supported. If you would like to leave feedback about this feature, please feel free to visit: apple.co/Feedback.” So the bad news is that the lack of noise cancellation on the iPhone 13 models was done by Apple on purpose and is not a bug or a glitch as originally thought.
This doesn’t mean that the story is over for some iPhone 13 owners. Some would like to know the reason behind Apple’s decision and we will try to discover the answer. It could have to do with saving money or saving internal space inside the units.
Tell Apple how you feel about the missing feature
Apple first offered noise cancellation on the iPhone with the release of iOS 7 back in September 2013. This year, the company did introduce a feature called Voice Isolation which is designed to separate the user’s voice from background noise on FaceTime calls. To turn this feature on, go to Control Center > Mic Mode > select Voice Isolation.
So there it is, iPhone 13 owners. It is not a bug but a choice made by Apple that has resulted in the lack of noise cancellation for phone calls on the iPhone 13 series. Will this also occur on the iPhone 14? All we can suggest is that if you miss having this feature, your best bet is to complain to Apple by tapping on this link to leave some feedback that expresses your frustration and yes, your anger (if warranted) about the lack of noise cancellation on the latest iPhone series.
There is no guarantee that even if enough feedback is presented to Apple that it will make a change and return noise cancellation to the 2022 models. However, it just might be worth taking the time to let the company know your thoughts on the matter.
Besides the new Voice Isolation feature which adds noise cancellation to FaceTime calls, the Apple AirPods Pro is equipped with Active Noise Cancellation that removes background noise allowing users to listen to their music and phone calls without having to deal with annoying ambient sounds from the background. And since there are situations where the user, for his/her own safety, needs to hear what’s going on nearby, the Transparency Mode will allow outside sounds to be heard.