If you have an iPhone 13 and are looking for the noise canceling feature for phone calls, you can apparently stop looking. It’s not there, and it looks like it may not be. “A few weeks ago,” says a piece from 9 to 5 Mac:
…9 to 5 Mac reported an outgrowing complaint from iPhone 13 users about the lack of a noise-canceling feature for phone calls through the Accessibility settings that is available to all previous iPhones, but not the newer ones.
They thought it was a bug. Now, it seems, removing the feature may be a feature? A 9 to 5 Mac reader shared a conversation they had with Apple support on Twitter. He says:
…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 cancelation is intentionally disabled for those devices for unspecified reasons.
And if you don’t like it, apple.com/Feedback was their suggestion - only in a nicer way than that.
To most of us, this just sounds like a convenience turned inconvenience. There’s a reason it’s in the Accessibility menu, though. Apple’s support page on audio settings on the iPhone advises users:
You can adjust the mono audio and left-right stereo balance to suit your hearing needs. You can also turn on noise cancellation to reduce ambient background noise on phone calls.
The page says that does work for iOS 15. It does not say that it does not work for Apple’s latest phones.
Maybe it’s meant to? Despite word from the aforementioned 9 to 5 reader, the same report has another user saying they’ve heard that “it’s a glitch.” According to that account:
I’ve been speaking with apple support regarding this. It’s a known issue they are working on with no resolution timeline at the moment. This issue also creates problems with echos on CarPlay when talking between iPhone 13’s. It is a major flaw that needs to be resolved asap.
In the meantime, there is another thing to try. “As of now,” says 9 to 5 Mac, “the only workaround available would be activating the Voice Isolation feature on a call in the Control Center.”
