Here’s How to Make Your Call Quality Better on iPhone With Voice Isolation

If you’re taking a call on the bus or in a busy area, the person on the other end of the phone might have a hard time hearing you. But there’s a hidden iPhone feature that can make your calls clearer for the person on the other end, and it’s called Voice Isolation. 

Apple introduced the feature in 2023 with  iOS 16.4. The tech company added Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum to FaceTime calls with iOS 15 in 2021, but only Voice Isolation is available for regular phone calls at this time. 

Read more: Everything You Need to Know About iOS 18

When enabled, Voice Isolation muffles distracting background noises that interrupt your phone call. That way, if you’re on a business call or catching up with friends, you won’t be interrupted by your dog’s barking or construction outside your home. 

To enable Voice Isolation, you have to be on an active phone call, as the feature isn’t located in Settings. Once activated, Voice Isolation will remain on for all future calls unless you manually turn it off. 

Here’s how to activate and disable Voice Isolation for phone calls. And for important iPhone security patches, here’s what to know about iOS 18.4.1.

How to enable Voice Isolation

1. Tap your Phone app.
2. While in a phone call, swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to access your Control Center.
3. Tap Phone Controls near the top of your screen. 
4. Tap Voice Isolation. 

To disable Voice Isolation, follow the same steps above and tap Standard in Phone Controls. This will return your microphone back to its default setting. 

What is Wide Spectrum?

Next to Voice Isolation in Phone Controls, you’ll also find Wide Spectrum. Unlike Voice Isolation — which muffles background sounds — Wide Spectrum amplifies background sounds without affecting your voice. 

Wide Spectrum is useful for calls with multiple people on one phone line. That way, everyone can be heard, not just the person holding the phone. 

Currently, Wide Spectrum is only available for FaceTime calls. Since the feature is still present in Phone Controls, it could become available for phone calls in the future. 

For more on iOS 18, here’s what you need to know about iOS 18.4.1 and all the features included in iOS 18.4. You can also check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet.