How to reduce background noise when making calls?

[stephenbugden]

Hi,

Can I please ask if there's a way to reduce the background noise when making a call using an Android phone in a noisy environment like a coffee shop or airport lounge?

I mean so that the person I'm calling doesn't hear the noise in the background at my location.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S20 running Android v11.

Steve

 

[bkdodger2]

Hi Steve, I would probably try noise canceling earbuds connected to your phone. I think that would probably be best...

 

[stephenbugden]

Thank you to bkdodger2 for noise cancelling ear phones suggestion, that will reduce the background noise for me.
I want to reduce the background noise so the person I'm calling doesn't hear the background noise in the place I'm calling from.

I'm wondering if there's perhaps some kind of filter which could be applied to my microphone. So my background noise is removed. Alternatively, is it possible to use an external microphone that' designed to filter out my background noise.

 

[swebb]

Alternatively, is it possible to use an external microphone that' designed to filter out my background noise.

That is exactly what the best noise cancelling earbuds use to reduce external noise. As well as noise cancelling, the external mics filter outside noise when on a call. Just check the earbud reviews for those that work best on calls.

 

[bkdodger2]

Yes I would check the specs and reviews ...also I'm sure some members here might have some suggestions... within the phone app there should also be a background notice setting that might help ..

 

[stephenbugden]

Hello Swebb, Thank you for your reply. I can't be explaining this very well. I can use earbuds to reduce the background noise for myself but that's not what I'm trying to achieve. I want to remove my background noise for the person I'm calling.

I work in coffee shops a lot and it doesn't sound very professional to make a call with a load of background noise, the people I talk to are sort of complaining about it, that's the reason.

 

[stephenbugden]

Hello bkdodger2, I've spent ages searching for stuff, not exactly sure what I should be searching for. Mostly I find stuff on noise cancelling earphones which is not what I'm trying to find.

 

[stephenbugden]

Here's what I'm trying to achieve:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8xJAQuzkAc
Using Krisp.ai, the man in the video is able to remove his background noise so the woman doesn't hear it.
Unfortunately, Krisp.ai doesn't work on Android devices.

 

[stephenbugden]

Hello bkdodger2 and Swebb, I've just realised something I think When you talk about noise cancelling on earbuds, do you mean earphones that have a microphone? I didn't think of that because I was thinking of the type that are in two pieces, one for each ear. Perhaps there's another type I could use that have a microphone on a wire that can be placed near mouth.

In that case, can anyone recommend ear phones that cut out background noise on the microphone?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! bkdodger2 and swebb are indeed referring to the fact that good noise canceling earbuds often have good mics that will also reduce ambient noise on your end. But the earbuds don't even have to be noise canceling. I have Pixel Buds 2 that are quite clear on the other end, without picking up much background noise. My wife has Pixel Buds A, which are pretty much the same quality.

 

[stephenbugden]

Hi B. Diddy,

Thank you for your reply.

I thought I'd need earphones with a boom mic so the mic can be as close to the mouth as possible.

I have ' sennheiser cx plus' ear buds which has 2 microphones but I've no idea if they pick up my voice when I make a call or whether they're just there to filter out the background noise for the speakers.

I tried recording a couple of messages, one using the phone's built in microphone and one with the ear buds connected and the background noise sounds the same to me.

Thank you for your reply once again.

Steve

 

[B. Diddy]

My wife heavily relies on phone calls for her business, and often has to take calls when out and about, so one of her main criteria is how good the noise cancelling is for the mic. She used to swear by the Plantronics Voyager Legend, which had a great noise cancelling mic, but those headsets would fail fairly quickly, like after a year or 2. I got the Pixel Buds A for free when I ordered my Pixel 6 Pro -- she tried them and found them to have excellent call quality, even though they're in-ear buds without a boom mic. She had previously tried Jabra Elite 75t earbuds based on rave reviews, but the pair she got actually had terrible call quality -- maybe due to the fact it was a refurb, but she didn't want to try brand new ones.

 

[stephenbugden]

Do you have to apply a setting somewhere to make the phone use the ear bud's microphone?
I'm not convinced my ear bud's microphone was used when I connected them with the phone, there was no difference in the sound.

Thank you for the tip on the pixel bud A ear buds, they do sound good.

 

[bkdodger2]

My only complaint with the Pixel buds is the battery is sub par for me ...

 

[mustang7757]

My only complaint with the Pixel buds is the battery is sub par for me ...

Yeah battery is ok but the range on these are better than my Samsung buds .

 

[Mooncatt]

For noise canceling calls, I always recommend Blueparrot headsets. They are pretty much the gold standard in that dept. There's several versions, but they are all either traditional headsets, or on the ear style. The traditional headset versions with a boom mic have insane battery life and 96% noise rejection. That's what I use as a trucker, and to other people it sounds like I'm in a quiet office while running down the highway. Not the most fashionable headsets, but I wouldn't use anything else.

You can buy from their site at https://www.blueparrott.com/ Amazon, and most truckstops. Lol

 

[Ben xfg]

Hi B. Diddy,

Thank you for your reply.

I thought I'd need earphones with a boom mic so the mic can be as close to the mouth as possible.

I have ' sennheiser cx plus' ear buds which has 2 microphones but I've no idea if they pick up my voice when I make a call or whether they're just there to filter out the background noise for the speakers.

I tried recording a couple of messages, one using the phone's built in microphone and one with the ear buds connected and the background noise sounds the same to me.

Thank you for your reply once again.

Steve

That would depend which mic the recording app was designed to use. If you place an actual phone call it would use the microphones on the earbuds.

 

[B. Diddy]

For noise canceling calls, I always recommend Blueparrot headsets. They are pretty much the gold standard in that dept. There's several versions, but they are all either traditional headsets, or on the ear style. The traditional headset versions with a boom mic have insane battery life and 96% noise rejection. That's what I use as a trucker, and to other people it sounds like I'm in a quiet office while running down the highway. Not the most fashionable headsets, but I wouldn't use anything else.

You can buy from their site at https://www.blueparrott.com/ Amazon, and most truckstops. Lol

Oh yeah, the wife used Blue Parrott for a little while as well. Great sound quality, but I also recall those being fairly delicate as well. Yours have been pretty durable?

 

[Mooncatt]

Oh yeah, the wife used Blue Parrott for a little while as well. Great sound quality, but I also recall those being fairly delicate as well. Yours have been pretty durable?

Quite durable, but I can only speak to the traditional headsets. I haven't used the over-the-ear versions (they never fit me well).

 

[stephenbugden]

I tried testing my sennheiser cx plus earbuds with noise cancelling turned on, sent some voice messages to a friend.
Couldn't hear the difference between that and just using the phone's mic. So I don't think these earbuds have a noise cancelling mic.


I was thinking to get something like the Plantronics - Voyager Legend, as mentioned above.
Difficult to know without actually trying them though.