Why Does FaceTime Audio Cut Out When I Talk?
1. Bug with FaceTime
We all know audio is a finnicky thing. As much as we try to understand how to make it work for us, sometimes it simply refuses to do what we want it to. If you’re running into a situation where the person you’re talking to is reporting that you’re cutting out, it could be a temporary glitch with their phone or even whatever speaker they’re using to hear you. A bug is usually nothing wrong with either end of the call, and they tend to work themselves out fairly quickly. If this is the first time this issue has occurred for you and there’ve been no changes from your previous FaceTime calls, you may be encountering a bug.
2. Audio Ducking Is On
If you aren’t familiar with the term “audio ducking,” don’t worry. You aren’t alone, and it’s a pretty easy concept to grasp. Basically, audio ducking is the process of compressing one audio signal to allow a second audio signal to stand out. It’s a trick commonly used in music production and even in creating podcasts. Apple has integrated audio ducking into FaceTime with the intentions of giving its users a better audio experience. However, while audio ducking is controlled and used in specific ways in music production, it’s applied automatically through FaceTime, and that means sometimes it can get confused about what it’s supposed to do, creating an audio problem. To fix your FaceTime audio woes, you may just need to turn it off.
3. Check Ear Speaker
Sometimes when a person’s having audio issues, the problem can be with their ear speaker rather than the application they’re using or their phone itself. If someone is having trouble hearing you and you have reason to suspect their speaker, you might consider asking them to check their speakers, maybe by playing a song or video on the same speakers. This should help let you know if their speakers are the problem.
4. Check Headphone/AirPod Mic
Just like speakers can sometimes be the issue in an audio problem, sometimes the microphone you’re using is to blame. With the rise in microphones built into your headphones, you can’t always be sure of the quality of the mic you’re getting or if it’s working as it should. If someone claims your audio is cutting out, you might try to move your mic closer to your mouth or switch microphones altogether to see if the issue improves. If it does, then you know the problem lies with the microphone you’re using.
5. Phone Hasn’t Been Updated in a Long Time
Sometimes weird things can happen when you don’t keep your phone up-to-date. Companies push out operating system (OS) updates for devices like your phone and computer to protect your security and privacy and to fix any bugs or odd conflicts that arise from time to time. If you go too long without updating your phone, you may start running into odd glitches, which is why if you tend to put off or forget to update your phone, you should probably do so and see if that’s the solution to your audio issues.
6. Person On The Other End Has Too Much Background Noise
This probably isn’t the sort of answer anyone expects to see when they’re trying to look into why their audio is cutting out for the person they’re FaceTiming with, but the truth is that sometimes the issue can be something other than the devices you’re using. In this case, it could be too much background noise affecting the quality of your call. While background noise that seems insignificant to the person on the other end of the phone can sound unbearably loud to you, the reverse can also be true. Sometimes there may be something happening in the background that you can’t hear but is affecting how well the person you’re talking to can hear you. If they’re reporting problems hearing your voice, you may ask if there’s anything in the room with them creating noise competition.
7. Poor Internet Connection
Since FaceTime relies on your wifi (when you’re connected to the internet), in the same way that a regular phone call will have issues when you’re in an area with a poor cell signal, a bad internet connection can lead to both audio and visual issues. If your call starts out fine and then suddenly develops issues, you might want to check your internet connection to see if it’s the reason for your misfortunes.
How to Fix FaceTime Audio Cutting Out
1. Restart Facetime
If you’re experiencing a temporary bug with FaceTime, the quickest way to know (and solve the issue) is to restart your FaceTime app. It could be that the call you’re in specifically is glitched and the restart restores everything to normal. To restart, you’ll close your FaceTime app. On older iPhone models, this involves double-clicking the home button at the bottom of your screen and swiping up on the app to close it. On newer iPhones, navigate to your home screen, swipe up, pausing about halfway up the screen. You’ll then swipe up on the preview of your FaceTime app to close it. Give it about 10 seconds after you close your app before you open it again. When you do, everything should be fixed!
2. Turn Off Audio Ducking
At this time, it seems audio ducking is a problem specific to Mac users—so if your FaceTime audio is acting up on any other apple device, you can skip this section. If you’re having a problem with your FaceTime on your Mac, however, audio ducking could be your problem. To disable audio ducking, pull up your installed apps on your Mac. You’ll want to find one that came installed on your Mac when you purchased it named VoiceOver Utility. The app’s icon is gray, and it looks like a stick figure standing in a circle, with a speaker icon situated in the bottom left corner of the circle. Once you have VoiceOver Utility open, you’ll look for and click the Sound option in the sidebar. Then you search for Enable audio ducking. If the box is checked, audio ducking is turned on. Simply uncheck the option to disable audio ducking. If you test your audio again and the problem is resolved, that was your issue!
3. Turn Off Voice Isolation
Another issue you could be facing across Apple devices with FaceTime is voice isolation. Voice isolation eliminates background noise to focus on your voice: but like audio ducking, if you have voice isolation turned on, it could actually be working against you instead. To turn off voice isolation, you’ll first have to be in a FaceTime call. Once you are, open the Control Center, then click on Mic Mode. If there’s a check next to voice isolation, that means it’s turned on. Simply click on it to turn it back off. Then you can test to see if that resolved your audio issues.
4. Update iPhone
If it’s been quite a while since you’ve updated your phone, whether because you forgot or just seemed to keep pushing off that notification to do so, it could cause a variety of bugs, including a FaceTime audio issue. Simply updating your phone could solve your problems. To update your iPhone, first locate and click on your Settings app. Scroll down and navigate to General > Software Updates. If your phone needs updating, the update will appear now. You’ll hit Download and Install, then follow your phone’s prompts to complete the update. You’ll also find a menu named Automatic Updates under Software Updates. If you don’t have automatic update downloads/installations enabled and tend to be forgetful to update your phone even with regular reminders, this may be a good way for you to keep your phone up-to-date.
5. Update FaceTime
Just like audio issues can be caused by a phone that’s out-of-date, the same can be true of an app that’s out of date. Often, Apple users have their phone set to install app updates automatically, but this isn’t always the case. To check if FaceTime needs to update, find and open the App Store. Then you’ll click on the profile icon in the top right of your screen. This pulls up your account and app management page. If you scroll down, assuming any apps need updating, you’ll find a menu listing every update that has an update available. If FaceTime is one of these apps, click the Update button next to it. Once the update’s been installed, you should be good to go! If an out-of-date app was your issue, your audio problems will be resolved.
6. Use Different Headphones
If you believe your audio cutting out on FaceTime to be a problem with the headphones you’re using, the best thing to do is simply use a different pair of headphones. Whether your current headphones only disagree with your FaceTime app or deliver subpar audio across the board, there likely isn’t much you can do about the audio quality if the problem is your headphones. Whether you choose to revert to your device’s speaker or you locate new headphones, your audio quality is bound to improve.
7. Fix Internet Connection
If you’ve determined a bad internet connection is the likely culprit for your FaceTime audio cutting out, you’ll want to turn wi-fi off on your phone and switch to cellular data or troubleshoot your internet connection issues. Sometimes your modem or router need a restart just like any other device. If your internet is having issues and you aren’t sure why, the first thing you should try is a restart. Each device is different and may have built-in ways to restart it, but the method that will work across any device is to unplug it. Once you’ve done this, wait about 30 seconds and plug it back into the wall. You’ll have to give your modem/router time to reestablish your internet connection, which can take up to several minutes, but once you’re connected again, your internet connection should be stable. For further internet connection troubleshooting tips, seek advice from your provider. They’ll be your most reliable source of information.
8. Use WhatsApp
If FaceTime is the only app on your phone that won’t play audio right and nothing seems to fix it, there’s always the option of moving your conversations to a different app. FaceTime is convenient between Apple users because it comes installed on iPhones automatically and can be used across multiple Apple products, but you probably use something else when you want to contact people who don’t have an Apple product anyway. Many users suggest WhatsApp as a good alternative to FaceTime. However, you might also consider Skype or Zoom for your video-chat needs, and even Discord allows you to either voice or video call as well. In other words: don’t worry if your FaceTime isn’t working the way it should. You’ve got plenty of other options out there.
9. Repair Your Phone Speaker
If you’re fairly certain your FaceTime audio issues are related to your phone speaker, you’ll want to look into a fix for your speakers. Sometimes speakers go out, but before you assume that’s the issue and look into potential speaker (or phone) replacement, look closely at your phone speakers. Speakers and charging docks are notorious for getting grungy. You can find a plethora of videos across the internet of people cleaning all of the dirt, fuzz, and everything else that gets built up in these small access points. This sort of gunk happens, and it can cause you to lose the ability to charge your phone—or mess up your audio. That said, special tools are required to clean out these small spaces. It isn’t safe for your phone to poke unknown objects into your speakers in an attempt to clean them. Instead, you may search online for a cleaning kit meant for this purpose or for a professional who can clean your speakers for you. And you should hear much better once they’re pristine again!
10. Restart iPhone
Anyone familiar with tech support knows this procedure. Often, it’s the first thing you’re asked to do. That’s because in many cases, anything wrong with your device can be repaired with a simple restart, whether the device be a computer, console, tablet, or phone. Phones go through a restart process when they’re updated, but sometimes they need to be restarted a little more frequently for optimal performance. Restarting your iPhone is pretty easy! Locate and hold down your power button for several seconds until you see a dark screen with a slider labeled “slide to power off.” Swipe this slider all the way to the right to turn off your iPhone, and it will shut down. Leave your phone for a few seconds before pressing the power button again. In a few seconds, a white screen with a black Apple logo should appear to indicate the phone is rebooting itself. If you’re in a situation where you can’t swipe the power slider across the screen to turn your phone off, there is a button combination you can use to force restart your phone. Press volume up once, volume down once, then hold down your power button. After several seconds, your screen should go completely black, indicating that your phone has been shut off. The restart process to turn it back on is the same. Once you’ve gotten back into your phone, you should hopefully find that your audio bug has disappeared.
11. Reset iPhone
If nothing else seems to fix your audio problem and all of your phone’s settings and connected devices are performing fine, your phone may need a factory reset. It isn’t ideal, as a factory reset means restoring the phone to the condition it was in when it first came out of the box, but resets have been known to fix a variety of issues. Performing a factory reset is fairly easy. Find the Settings app on your iPhone, then navigate to General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. When prompted, click Erase iPhone. You’ll then be prompted to enter your Apple ID and password to confirm your decision. Once you do, your iPhone will reset itself and return you to set-up just like when it first came out of the box. Once you set it up to your liking once more, your audio issues should be fixed.
12. Contact Apple
Of course, when all else fails, contact the professionals. They’re trained to know the ins and outs of Apple’s software and all the various issues that can occur within it. They’ll likely ask if you tried a few of the methods we recommended here first but then they’ll be able to get into any deeper issues they might be able to figure out. No one likes contacting Apple customer support, but it’s just what you’ve got to do to solve your problem sometimes.
Why Does Facetime Mute the Other Person When I Talk
It’s mainly down to a bug in a recent update that causes the other person to mute whenever you talk. Sometimes Facetime bugs can affect the way you hear others on Facetime so if you want to fix it, you should restart the app as well as your device. If the glitch is minor, this will get rid of the error.
