Make Your Windows 11 Audio Clearer with Voice Focus and Studio Effects

What is Voice Focus?

Windows 11 Voice Focus makes your voice sound clearer during video and audio calls by automatically cutting out background noise. It blocks everyday sounds like keyboard typing, loud computer fans, barking dogs and street traffic, so the people on the call hear you without distractions.

It works on your microphone signal before the call app receives it. Teams, Zoom and other apps that use your default microphone can all benefit, though a few apps apply their own noise suppression on top.

• It reduces background sounds like keyboard typing, computer fans, or traffic noise.
• It makes your voice clearer so others understand you better.

Your computer can have one of two versions of Voice Focus, depending on its hardware:

• Basic version: Uses software to reduce background noise. It works on a wider range of PCs, but it handles sudden or loud noises less well than the enhanced version.
• Enhanced version: Uses AI processing on a special chip called a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for better noise cancelling. Because the NPU does the work, it takes load off your main processor.

To get the best experience with Studio Effects and enhanced Voice Focus, your PC needs to be a Windows Copilot+ PC with an NPU. Check your PC’s spec sheet or the manufacturer’s site if you are not sure whether yours has one.

How to Turn Voice Focus On or Off in 🪟 Windows 11

You can turn Voice Focus on or off from your system settings whenever you need to block background noise during calls. The switch sits next to the settings for your active microphone. The steps below take you there. No restart is needed, and you can turn it off again the same way.

1. Open Settings. Click the Start button (Windows icon) and choose Settings, or press Windows key + I on your keyboard. The Settings window opens.
2. In the Settings window, click System in the left menu. The System options appear on the right.

   

3. Click Sound in the right panel. You should see your output devices (speakers) and input devices (microphones).

   

4. Under Output or Input, click your active sound device, such as your microphone or speakers. For Voice Focus, pick your microphone under Input. The properties page for that device opens.
5. Find the section called Audio enhancements and click to open it. If you do not see it, your microphone or PC may not support Voice Focus, or you may have picked the wrong device. Try the built-in microphone first, since some external USB microphones do not offer this option.

   

6. Toggle the Voice Focus switch to turn it On or Off. Exact labels can differ slightly between Windows 11 versions, so look for the Voice Focus entry in that section. Make a short test recording or join a test call to hear the difference.

   

7. Close the Settings app when you are done. Your choice is saved automatically.

Voice Focus and Studio Effects make your voice sound clearer during calls by reducing background noise. This improves call quality, so others hear you better.

Extra Tips

Voice Focus works best when you also use the Quick Settings menu on your taskbar to switch it on and off during live calls. Click the network, speaker and battery icons at the right end of the taskbar to open Quick Settings. If you do not see a Studio Effects tile, your PC probably does not support it. If your PC does support it but the tile is missing, click the pencil (Edit quick settings) icon and check whether you can add it. Checking your microphone setup and trying Windows Studio Effects will also improve your audio and video call quality on supported computers.

Make sure your microphone is set up properly for the best experience. Confirm that the right microphone is selected as your input device in Settings › System › Sound, and keep it a normal speaking distance from your mouth. Noise reduction works better when your voice is the loudest thing the microphone hears.

If your PC supports it, try Windows Studio Effects for better video calls, with improved lighting and noise cancellation. These effects run on the NPU, so they should not slow your PC down much.

Learn More

For more details, check out the official Microsoft page on Windows Studio Effects.

Summary

In summary, Windows 11 Voice Focus is a great feature for clearer calls and less background noise, and it is easy to turn on or off.