How to reduce microphone noise on calls

How Falafy deals with noise

Falafy has three layers of microphone settings, all free:

• Input profiles. Voice isolation cleans up background noise and cuts silence; Studio leaves the microphone raw, with no filters, for people with a good mic or who stream; Custom lets you choose each filter.
• AI noise reduction in three levels. Light (RNNoise) removes fans, air conditioning and hiss while using almost no CPU; Balanced (GTCRN), the recommended option, also removes keyboard, clicks and background music; Maximum (DeepFilterNet3) is the strongest and even holds back conversations and TV in the background. Maximum downloads about 24 MB the first time and, if your PC can't keep up, falls back to Balanced on its own. There are also Off and Browser default options.
• Test microphone. A button that plays your voice back, with the chosen filter, so you can hear the difference before joining the call.
• Extra filters. Echo cancellation, automatic gain, a voice volume leveler and input sensitivity, plus push-to-talk and global shortcuts to mute and deafen.

One important detail: the AI noise reduction runs on your own computer. Your audio is not sent to a server to be cleaned up, which is better for privacy and adds no network delay. On iPhone, all three levels use Safari's own noise filter, because the AI models are too heavy for the phone.

Step by step in Falafy

1. 1
   Open voice settings

   In Falafy, open voice and video settings ("Voz e vídeo") and pick the right microphone from the list of input devices.

2. 2
   Choose the Voice isolation profile

   Under Input profile ("Perfil de entrada"), select Voice isolation ("Isolamento de voz"): Falafy cleans up background noise and cuts silence. For studio microphones, use the Studio profile ("Estúdio"), with no filters.

3. 3
   Choose the noise reduction level

   Under Noise suppression ("Supressão de ruído"), choose Light ("Leve": fans and hiss, ideal for low-end PCs), Balanced ("Equilibrado": also removes keyboard, clicks and music, the recommended option) or Maximum ("Máximo": the strongest, even handles conversations and TV in the background).

4. 4
   Click Test microphone ("Testar microfone")

   Falafy plays your voice back so you can hear the difference with and without the filter. Switch levels until the noise disappears without making your voice sound robotic.

5. 5
   Adjust input sensitivity

   Leave sensitivity on automatic or raise the threshold until the indicator only lights up when you speak. If you prefer, use push-to-talk ("Aperte para falar") with a shortcut.

6. 6
   Test and adjust the volume

   Speak normally while watching the input indicator, adjust the input volume (0 to 200%) and turn on the voice volume leveler if you sometimes speak softly and sometimes loudly.

What AI handles well and what it doesn't

Noise suppression models are very good with constant or repetitive sounds that don't resemble a voice: fans, air conditioning, rain, keyboards, mouse clicks, traffic in the background. Sounds that resemble a voice, like a TV that's on or someone else talking in the same room, are the hardest case: the Maximum level handles them best, but no filter is perfect. If some still leaks through, the fix is physical: mic closer to your mouth, door closed or push-to-talk.

Tips that work in any app

Mic position and type

• Bring the microphone closer to your mouth. The closer it is, the louder your voice is relative to the noise, and the less gain you need. A headset mic two or three finger-widths from your mouth usually solves half the problems.
• Prefer directional microphones. Cardioid microphones mostly pick up what's in front of them. Laptop and webcam microphones pick up the whole room.
• Keep the mic away from your keyboard and PC case. A boom arm, or even moving it to the other side of the desk, already helps.

Windows settings

• Turn down excessive microphone boost. In Sound settings, under the microphone properties, a high boost amplifies hiss along with your voice. Raise the volume in the app instead.
• Watch out for duplicate filters. If your sound card or headset driver already applies noise reduction, stacking another filter on top can make your voice sound robotic. Test one at a time.
• Use the right device. Often the noise comes from the wrong microphone being selected, like the webcam's instead of the headset's.

Your room

• Soft surfaces absorb echo. Curtains, rugs and a couch make your voice cleaner than an empty room with bare walls.
• Wear headphones. With speakers, the microphone picks up other people's voices and creates echo. Headphones fix it instantly, and echo cancellation handles the rest.

Quick checklist before the call

1. Right microphone selected and close to your mouth.
2. Voice isolation profile with noise reduction on Balanced (or Maximum if there's a TV or conversation in the background).
3. Sensitivity adjusted or push-to-talk on.
4. Headphones instead of speakers.
5. Windows mic boost kept moderate.

Sharing your screen too? See how to share your screen with audio and no echo. For your work team, see voice chat for remote teams.