How to Set up Skype Active Noise Canceling on Your Desktop
Zoom may have overtaken Skype as the preferred abbreviation for video calling, but Microsoft’s chat service hasn’t gone anywhere. The latest update to Skype for Desktops and Laptops adds Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), which filters out background sounds while keeping your voice heard.
This feature builds on the same machine learning-based noise reduction technology that Microsoft uses for Teams calls. In other words, AI is trained to recognize the difference between vocal patterns and environmental sounds; this is how the magic happens.
You can enable ANC in the Skype audio and video settings in Windows and macOS apps. However, the ANC feature is not available in the desktop web client and skips the Skype mobile apps for iOS and Android, which could possibly get even more from the ANC feature. But at least the new noise canceling technology will help keep your upstairs neighbor from your weekly Skype sessions on your PC.
How to enable active noise canceling in Skype
- Open the Skype app on your Windows PC or Mac.
- Press Ctrl + to open the settings menu, or click the three-dot button in the upper left corner of the contact column and click Settings.
- Select “Audio & Video”.
- Scroll down to the Audio section of the menu, then select the noise reduction level you want to apply to the sound of your call: Low, High, Auto, or Off. Naturally, a low level filters out less noise, a high level filters out more. Auto is the default and will dynamically switch between low and high noise suppression based on the background sound level, but manually switching low or high can be helpful if you find the ANC is too erratic.
- After making your choice, you can close the settings window. The next time you talk, Skype will automatically apply noise canceling magic to the sound of your microphone.