Why is my active noise cancellation acting up on wireless earbuds during calls?

[BrandonLJ]

I just got the new wireless earbuds with the adaptive noise cancellation feature, and I’m a bit confused. When I’m on a video call, it seems to let my colleague’s voice through clearly but then mutes my own keyboard typing in the background, which is great, but it also sometimes cuts out the faint hum of my air conditioner only to suddenly bring it back for a second. Has anyone else noticed their ANC behaving inconsistently like this in a quiet home office?

[Aaron_W]

Yep, I’ve got a similar setup and the ANC can be fussy in a quiet room. It drowns the keyboard clack and then the air conditioner hum slips back in every so often, like it’s chasing the loudest thing at that moment.

[James92]

I found I can influence it a bit by how I wear them and where I sit, but it’s not consistent. Some days it behaves, other days the hum fights back.

[JoshuaXG]

I did a quick test with the room totally quiet and the hum still flickered, which makes me doubt my gear and lean toward the software path.

[PenelopeWL]

Do you think it’s the call app’s mic processing or the mic path on the earbuds?