Teams noise suppression on Windows: set up your mic

Try Teams noise suppression first

In the Teams desktop app, open Settings and more → Settings → Devices. Under audio settings choose your physical microphone and your normal headphones or speakers. Use Make a test call to check what the selected devices capture and play back. During a meeting, open audio settings from the microphone controls. Interface choices and availability can vary with your Teams version or administrator’s policies.

Microsoft says noise suppression is on by default and can be changed in Devices or meeting audio settings. For an ordinary meeting, try the built-in setting with your actual background noise: speak a normal sentence, a quiet sentence and pause while a fan or keyboard is present. Ask a colleague whether your words remain intact, especially the ends of sentences. The aim is understandable speech, not silence at any cost.

Voice isolation is a separate option using a voice profile. It is designed to keep your voice while filtering other voices and noise. If a colleague shares your microphone, turn voice isolation off so their speech can be heard. If profile setup or a control is missing, your organization’s policy may be relevant.

Use a filtered input in Teams

If you want a separate microphone filter for Teams and other apps, download KleenMic. Follow the Windows install guide for the ZIP, self-signed installer and Setup. The app supports 64-bit Windows 10/11 and runs its x64 app under emulation on Windows 11 on Arm.

1. In KleenMic, select your physical headset, USB or laptop microphone and turn on noise cancellation. Use headphones and Test Mode for a listening check, then turn Test Mode off.
2. In Teams Settings → Devices, select KleenMic as the microphone, or the exact virtual input name Windows reports. Windows may append an adapter name. Keep your normal output device selected.
3. Turn Teams noise suppression off for an initial comparison, then make a Teams test call. Compare against Teams filtering alone by selecting the physical mic directly in Teams and restoring its suppression.
4. Keep KleenMic running during calls. Its window X hides it to the notification-area tray; use the tray icon to reopen it.

Running both filters can make it harder to identify why a voice sounds altered. If you decide to combine them, check a quiet sentence and a normal one in a real call. Change one setting at a time and use the result you prefer, rather than assuming two filters will always work better.

Music and shared microphones

Teams high fidelity music mode is intended for music rather than ordinary speech. Microsoft says to enable it in the meeting’s audio settings, and notes that it is unavailable in live events or with spatial audio. For music, compare with noise suppression and other audio effects disabled as appropriate; headphones help avoid feedback when echo cancellation is off. Turn music mode off again for ordinary calls.

Remember that Teams cannot reverse processing already applied by KleenMic. For an instrument, room demonstration or shared microphone, compare the physical input directly in Teams or turn KleenMic cancellation off. A voice-oriented filter can treat non-speech sounds as unwanted noise. If you need another person to speak into your mic, also check Teams voice isolation.

Fix a missing or quiet microphone

Start at the source: verify the physical microphone is connected, selected in KleenMic and responding to your voice. Check Windows microphone access for desktop apps. If Teams does not list the virtual microphone, check KleenMic Setup for a driver recovery action, restart Teams and select the input again. Confirm you joined with computer audio and are unmuted; a phone or room audio selection uses a different source.

If the test call is audible but words fade, move the mic closer and compare automatic mic sensitivity with a stable input level. Test Teams suppression and voice isolation separately from KleenMic. Ask a participant to listen, since a local test cannot reproduce every call condition. KleenMic offers a 72-hour trial followed by a $20 one-time license for one active computer, Mac or Windows.

Common questions

Why can Teams hear me but not my colleague beside me?

Voice isolation is designed around your voice profile. Turn it off for a shared microphone and test again.

Does music mode bypass KleenMic?

No. Music mode changes Teams processing. Turn off upstream cancellation or choose the physical input to compare.