Missing iPhone 13 Phone Noise Cancellation may not return

Posted:
in iOS edited January 2022
A noise-cancelation Accessibility feature affecting phone calls is not available in the iPhone 13, with Apple Support seemingly believing the removal of the option from the Settings app is a permanent change.




Apple pushes noise-cancelation in its AirPods Pro line, as well as others, as a way to make audio clearer for others. It seems that, while iPhone has a similar feature built into it for regular phone calls, it's not an item that all users can adjust.

Accessible through the Settings app under Accessibility then Audio/Visual, Phone Noise Cancellation is intended to reduce ambient noise on phone calls when you hold the headset to your ear. It's meant to make it easier to hear the phone call itself, despite any noise from your immediate surroundings.

While the toggle to enable and disable Phone Noise Cancellation is available for many iPhone models, it's not accessible on the iPhone 13. According to sources of 9to5Mac who had contacted Apple support, the feature just isn't supported on the iPhone 13 lineup.

Apple Support specifically states it isn't on the iPhone 13. When asked for clarification, Apple Support said "It is not supported," and to use Apple's feedback site to provide criticism about it.

However, the initial reports on the matter, citing Apple support, said that it was a bug. It's not clear which team is correct, as AppleInsider called the support lines on Saturday morning to confirm, and they repeated the initial claims of it being a bug.

It seems to be an unusual decision to permanently remove such a useful feature, if Apple Support is correct in its claim that it isn't "supported." The iPhone 13 certainly has all of the microphones and other necessary elements to make the feature function, and enough onboard processing to handle it.

As for whether it could make a return, it seems plausible enough to do so, though it would depend on the team working on future iOS updates to add it back.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    bonobobbonobob Posts: 392member
    Is the feature missing, or is it permanently enabled?
    beowulfschmidt
  • Reply 2 of 8
    I honestly don’t understand why they even use the phone anymore. We’re all connected to the internet which gives us much higher voice resolution.
    n2itivguy
  • Reply 3 of 8
    That is one if my first settings, along with the LED flash and ditching google. Not sure why that would be removed. Plus I really love the virtual home button. 
    caladaniankelpaff
  • Reply 4 of 8
    I just called Apple support about the iPhone 13 sounding horrible when making and receiving a call. The only thing they suggested is for me to take it into an Apple store for a diagnostic check. But since I bought it through Verizon i’m sure I’m stuck with this iPhone 13 that hurts my ears! Why can’t Apple admit there is a problem with removing the noise reduction feature and just send me an iPhone 12. I would gladly send back the 13. 
  • Reply 5 of 8
    kelpaff said:
    I just called Apple support about the iPhone 13 sounding horrible when making and receiving a call. The only thing they suggested is for me to take it into an Apple store for a diagnostic check. But since I bought it through Verizon i’m sure I’m stuck with this iPhone 13 that hurts my ears! Why can’t Apple admit there is a problem with removing the noise reduction feature and just send me an iPhone 12. I would gladly send back the 13. 
    It's not like all iPhone 13 have a problem you know...

    If there is a legitimate problem, it would be covered under warranty. You should be able to take it to an Apple store, but contact Verizon for details about warranty and returns. 


    spock1234
  • Reply 6 of 8
    This is somewhat disappointing. I got my mom an iPhone 6 years ago because she wears hearing aids and typically had a lot of issues hearing phone calls. This feature was a game changer. I hope this feature added back in with future releases.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 7 of 8
    replying to roundaboutnow. 
    I actually thought that it was all iPhone 13‘s having this problem because the noise cancellation feature is not available on this model. 
    Also because I bought two (Husband & son) and both phones sound the same…. Very distracting high pitched background noise. 
    Thanks for your info. 

  • Reply 8 of 8
    chadbagchadbag Posts: 2,023member
    I am having a hard time reconciling the article title with the article contents.  Article itself does not even know of the problem is a bug, while the title is very clear the feature may have been removed.  
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