One of the most significant concerns when participating in video conversations from home is background noise. Unwanted noise from neighbors, barking dogs, fan noise, and other factors might reduce your productivity, especially during work calls. Fortunately, software-level changes can help to reduce the noise to some extent. Here are three simple ways to remove background noise from Zoom video chats, as well as some sound quality advice.
Remove Background Noise in Zoom Video Calls
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Zoom, like Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, offers a built-in noise-canceling feature. Furthermore, you have the option of using third-party noise reduction software. All of the methods are described in full below.
1. Use Built-in Noise Suppression in Zoom
Zoom intelligently lowers background noise picked up by your microphone by default. You may, however, alter the feature to make it even more aggressive in terms of noise reduction. Zoom desktop client version 5.2.0 or higher is all that is required.
1. On your computer, launch the Zoom desktop client.
2. To open Settings, click the gear symbol at the top.
3. From the left-hand sidebar, pick Audio.
4. Select the level of noise cancellation aggression under Suppress Background Noise.
5. Select High if there is a lot of noise around you.
- Zoom: Applies background noise reduction when it’s needed, and it’s set to auto by default. Music, on the other hand, is not considered background noise.
- Low: The noise reduction is as low as possible. Filters out low-level background noise.
- Medium: Reduces background noise from the air conditioner, fan, and pen tapping, among other things.
- High: Noise reduction that is aggressive. Noises such as typing, paper crunching, crunching, barking dogs, and so on are eliminated.
- If you’re playing music, use the Original Sound option under ‘Music and Professional Audio’ to receive the greatest fidelity.
Currently, noise reduction is only available in the desktop version. However, we anticipate it being introduced to the mobile app in the future.
2. Remove Background Noise Using Krisp.ai
Krisp.ai is a third-party program that uses artificial intelligence to intelligently cancel noise. You may use it to reduce background noise from audio in Zoom (or any other conferencing program) for a more professional video chat.
Krisp can eliminate background noise on both sides of the connection. It not only reduces noise picked up by your microphone, but it also reduces noise from other participants. It is, however, a freemium product with a limited free trial.
1. From here, you may download and install Krisp on your computer.
2. Sign in to the app after it has been opened. Keep things the way it is.
3. Now open Zoom and go to the upper right corner and select Settings.
4. From the sidebar, choose Audio.
5. Change the speaker and microphone outputs to Krisp Speaker and Krisp Microphone, respectively.
6. Join a Zoom call now. If it isn’t already, make sure Remove Noise is turned on.
Switch back to the default speaker and microphone settings to turn off Krisp. It’s important to note that Krisp isn’t the only tool available. There are various more noise cancellation apps for Zoom video chats that can assist remove background noise or improve audio quality. Apps like NoiseGator and SoliCall Pro fall into this category.
3. Microphone Noise Reduction in Windows
Built-in microphone options in Windows can assist reduce background noise. On Windows 7, 8, 10, and even Windows 11, the option is available in the control panel or in the Sound settings.
1. On your computer, go to the Control Panel. From the Start menu, you can do so.
2. Select Hardware and Sound from the drop-down menu.
3. Then, under Sound, select Manage audio devices.
4. Toggle over to the Recording tab.
5. Select Microphone from the drop-down menu and choose Properties.
6. Toggle over to the Levels tab. Reduce the microphone boost to see if it helps to reduce background noise.
7. Additionally, enable Noise Reduction in the Microphone Effects tab.
8. Acoustic Echo Cancellation can also be turned on to lessen echo.
9. Lastly, to close the window, click Okay.
Join a Zoom conference after you’ve modified the parameters to see if it makes a difference. The availability of options may be influenced by the hardware and sound drivers installed on your computer.
Tips to Improve Sound Quality in Zoom Calls
You can increase microphone sound quality in Zoom call or any other video conferencing platform by applying the techniques below in addition to the software-level modifications mentioned above.
- Maintain a close proximity to the microphone, but not too close.
- Use headsets or earphones if you don’t have a dedicated microphone.
- Use porous materials such as drapes, carpets, rugs, and furniture to absorb sound.
- Keep pets and children out of the room by closing the door.
- Use a blanket or a rough sheet behind you to provide a good background while also absorbing undesired noises.
- Place your seats away from fans, air conditioners, and other noisy appliances.
- Purchase a noise-cancelling microphone.
- If it’s a specialized workspace, acoustic treatment is an option.
Wrapping Up
These are some simple methods for reducing background noise in Zoom video calls. I hope this aids you in having professional-sounding video conferences on the platform. Some of the techniques can even be used to other video conferencing systems. However, we have a full post on how to eliminate background noise in Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams video chats. Stay tuned for more articles like this.