How to improve your iPhone call quality

When you’re not using your iPhone as a music player, camera, or gaming rig, you can actually use it as a phone. And when you do, call quality matters. If calls sound muffled or tinny, cut out intermittently, or drowned out by background noise, you can take steps to resolve the issues.

Most of the time the causes are poor signal strength, outdated carrier settings, or physical barriers like walls or metal plating on glass.

What you can try during the call

First, check your volume and speaker output. The volume may simply be turned down, or you may not have enabled speaker mode. Next, take a look at the signal bars. If these are low, head to a window or more open space.

You may not have noticed that you have the option to adjust voice mode during a call. Voice isolation is available on iPhone XR/XS and later, provided you have iOS 16.4 or later. It uses machine learning to block ambient noise so your voice is more audible to the other person.

To activate it during a call, swipe from the upper right corner to open Control center and press the small Telephone orders banner at the top of the screen. Then under Audio and videoselect Voice isolation among the options available in the Microphone mode section. You can also choose Automaticwhich allows your phone to adapt to what is best.

Of course, since these options apply to your voice, their enhancements only apply to the person you’re speaking to. If you’re having trouble hearing the person you’re talking to and they also have an iPhone, ask them to try this option (and the others discussed here, if their calls still sound bad).

Get a better cellular connection

If the nearest cell tower is congested, your iPhone may connect to a tower further away with a weaker signal. It could also hang on to a weak connection even when a stronger connection is available. If your call is interrupted or the audio is bad, end the call, then swipe from the upper right corner to open Control center. There, switch Airplane mode turned on, wait 10 seconds and turn it off again. This forces your device to reconnect to the cellular network, hopefully with a stronger signal.

Switch to Wi-Fi calling

With Wi-Fi calling, your call is handled over a Wi-Fi connection instead of a potentially weak cellular network. This is a great option if cell reception in certain parts of your home is poor. To activate it, open Settings > Applications > Phonefaucet Wi-Fi callingthen activate Wi-Fi calling on this iPhone. Wi-Fi calls should transfer to your cellular network if you leave Wi-Fi range mid-call, but it’s not perfect, so you might experience drops.

Update your software

Apple regularly fixes issues that may affect call quality. Check Settings > General > Software Update to make sure iOS is up to date. You should also check for updates to your carrier settings in Settings > General > About. If an update is available, a prompt should appear within 15 seconds. Faucet Update.

Restart your phone

The oldest trick in the book still fixes many problems, so try restarting your iPhone if you haven’t done so in a while. If your iPhone uses a SIM card, remove the tray with a paperclip to check for dust or a loose fit (when the phone is turned off).

Physical checks

Test your microphone by recording yourself using the Voice Memos app. If the reading seems clear, you know it’s not a hardware problem.

Clean the speaker grill and earpiece with a soft brush and try a call without a case, as thick or metal cases may interfere with antenna performance. Also try using the speakerphone during a call to see if it makes a difference.

Headphones and AirPods

Bluetooth headphones, including AirPods, share the 2.4GHz band with a host of other devices, including mice, keyboards, microwaves, and baby monitors. This network congestion can degrade call quality. Try making calls without your headphones and see if the sound is clearer. Or if you’ve never made a call with headphones, try them to see if they work better than the internal mic.

Hardware defects

Some iPhone 12 and 12 Pro models had high earphone failure rates, which Apple addressed through a now-closed service program. Older iPhones with Intel modems (iPhone XR, XS, or 11) may also have lower signal strength. You can contact Apple if you think a hardware issue is causing your problem, but this will likely require you to go to the store for a paid session.