How to turn off noise cancellation on Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus

The problem with the quality of sound during a conversation on smartphones of the Redmi line often puts users at a bewilderment, especially when the interlocutor complains of a quiet voice or distortion. Owners of the popular model Redmi 5 Plus are no exception, faced with aggressive work of algorithms for processing audio stream in real time. Standard settings of the MIUI system by default activate the function of reducing background noise, which in an attempt to remove extraneous sounds can “cut” and useful signal, making your speech indistincible or too quiet.

Many users mistakenly believe that third-party applications or super-user rights are necessary to solve this problem, but in most cases, it is enough to correctly configure hidden engineering settings or use standard switches in the call menu. Understanding how digital signal processing works in your device will help restore communication comfort without the need for deep intervention in code.

In this detailed guide, we’ll take a look at all the audio management techniques available, from simple actions during a call to working with an engineering menu. You’ll learn why the system behaves this way and the risks of completely turning off noise filtering. Our goal is to find a balance between the purity of sound and its volume, so that your Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus sounds as intended by the manufacturer, or even better.

The principle of operation of the audio system in MIUI

Xiaomi smartphones are equipped with a comprehensive sound processing system that analyzes the incoming audio stream from the microphone. The noise reduction algorithm (ANC — Active Noise Cancellation in headphones or CVC — Clear Voice Capture in microphones) works at the core level of the operating system. It constantly scans the frequency range, trying to highlight and drown out the constant low-frequency hum, wind or sharp foreign sounds.

The problem with the Redmi 5 Plus is that the sensitivity threshold of these algorithms is sometimes set too high, and the system can perceive your voice as background noise if you are not speaking directly into the microphone or in a room with an echo, and as a result, the dynamics of the conversation suffers: the voice becomes flat, devoid of timbre, and in some cases the interlocutor ceases to hear you at all.

It's important to understand that completely disabling the filtering can cause all the surrounding sounds to enter the tube: wind noise, traffic, working equipment. However, for recording a voice recorder or talking in a quiet room, turning off this feature is often the only way to get quality sound without compression artifacts.

Quick settings during the call

The easiest and safest way to affect sound quality is to use the caller interface. During an active connection, the system provides the user with a minimum set of tools to control the audio stream. Although there is no direct button to turn off noise cancellation, switching the speaker modes can significantly change the way sound is processed.

When you're on the line, look at the call control panel, and there are switching buttons between the speaker, the speakerphone, and the Bluetooth headset, and switching to speaker often changes the way the microphone works: the system goes into longer-range audio capture mode, which automatically reduces the aggressiveness of noise cancellation.

It’s also worth checking if Recording Conversations is activated in the background. In some versions of MIUI, enabling recording causes the system to reconfigure the audio stream, which may conflict with the basic microphone settings. If you’re not using recording, make sure that this feature is disabled in the Phone app settings.

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Try to switch to speaker and back again quickly during a conversation, which sometimes resets the audio driver and temporarily improves the quality of voice transmission.

And don't forget the physical aspect. There's a hole in the main microphone on the bottom end of the Redmi 5 Plus, and if it's covered with a finger, a cover, or a dusty one, the system tries to compensate for the low signal level with amplification, which leads to wheezing and distortion. Regularly cleaning the speaker mesh is the first step to good sound.

Engineering menu: access to hidden parameters

For deep audio setup in Android smartphones, including Qualcomm-based devices, there's an engineering menu, which is a special diagnostic interface for technicians, but also available to regular users, and this is where the switches are, so you can control the noise reduction level at the hardware level.

To get into this menu on Redmi 5 Plus, you need to open a standard call and enter a special code. Most often for Xiaomi devices, the combination ##6484##, which opens the phone. CIT-Menu (component testing) or code ##4636## for the testing menu, but to work with sound, we may need an Engineering Mode app, which is sometimes hidden or requires installation through the use of a software. ADB.

If standard codes don't open the partition, you can use Mobile Uncle Tools or similar utilities from Google Play, which have the function of quick login to the engineer. In the interface that opens, you need to find the partition associated with Audio or Hardware Testing. Be careful: changing unknown parameters can lead to the failure of the sound subsystem.

Within the engineering menu, you often find the option ANC (Active Noise Control) or Noise Reduction. If you remove the tick from this item or change the value from On to Off, you force the software filtering to turn off. Once you change the settings, be sure to press the Set or Apply button, and then restart the device to apply the changes.

Configure via ADB and computer

If the phone interface doesn't provide the right options, and the engineering menu is blocked by the operator or firmware, debugging via USB comes to the rescue. Android Debug Bridge (ADB) allows you to send commands directly to the system without going through the graphical interface. This method requires a computer and minimal technical skills, but gives you maximum control.

To start, activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on the build number (MIUI version) seven times. After the message "You became a developer", go to the advanced settings and turn on the USB debugging slider. Connect your smartphone to your PC with a cable.

On a computer with ADB drivers installed, open the command line. To check the connection, enter the command adb devices. If the device is determined, you can enter commands to change the global audio settings. Although direct commands to disable noise reduction may not be publicly available, you can try resetting the audio service settings:

adb shell settings put global volume_control_speaker 0


adb shell svc bluetooth disable

It's worth noting that the command above is an example of syntax, and the specific settings for the Redmi 5 Plus may vary depending on the Android version. Often users use ADB to install modified sound card configs, but this requires root rights. Without superuser rights, ADB's audio capabilities are limited by diagnostics.

Third-party applications for sound management

When there's not enough system tools, apps from the Google Play Store are coming into the arena. There are many utilities that control the microphone and speakers. However, most of them work as simple equalizers or amplifiers, without access to deep noise reduction settings due to Android security constraints.

However, apps like Lesser AudioSwitch or Volume Control can be useful, allowing you to force the switch of sound sources and change the behavior of the system when you connect the headset. Some advanced users use applications for recording high-bitrate sound that ignore system filters when recording, although in real time a call can not help.

And the special thing to do is to use microphone cleaning applications, which don't turn off noise cancellation, but they help calibrate sensitivity, and if the microphone is clogged with software errors, this calibration can bring back the normal volume level that the system had previously misreported.

Using third-party software always carries the risk of conflict with system processes. If after installing such an application the sound is completely lost or there is a crack, immediately remove it and restart the device.

Possible risks and side effects

Before you turn off the system filters decisively, you need to weigh the pros and cons. The main purpose of noise reduction is not just to remove noise, but to ensure that speech is legible in difficult conditions. By turning off this feature, you can find a situation where every breath, rustle of clothes and hum of a passing car will be heard in the tube.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling noise reduction completely in the engineering menu can cause strong acoustic feedback (whistling) to occur in hands-free mode. Be prepared to quickly return settings back to the back.

In addition, aggressive interference with audio settings can cause instability of the application itself, such as dialing freezes, lack of audio support of buttons or problems with the voice recorder. In rare cases, resetting parameters may require a complete reset of the device to factory settings.

Also, consider that some cellular operators use their voice codecs (VoLTE, VoWiFi), which may conflict with the changed microphone settings on the device, and if after the changes you notice that people complain about interrupted voice or “robotic” sound, then the balance is broken.

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The optimal solution is not to completely disable noise reduction, but to find a compromise value or use an external headset with its own microphone.

Alternative solutions to the problem

If software methods don't work well or seem too complicated, alternatives are worth considering. Often the problem isn't with settings, but with hardware constraints or physical obstacles. Using a wired headset or Bluetooth headphones with a quality microphone takes the load off the main microphone of a smartphone completely.

Another option is to use Internet calling apps like Telegram, WhatsApp or Viber.These apps use proprietary codecs and sound processing algorithms that often work better than standard GSM phone protocol. These apps also often have their own microphone sensitivity sliders in their settings.

And the physical condition of the device, too, is that if the Redmi 5 Plus was in a fall or a dampening event, the microphone membrane could get damaged, and then you can do it by changing the microphone module at the service center, and you can check that by recording the voice recorder in different modes.

⚠️ Warning: If after all the manipulations, the sound became quieter or wheezing appeared, return all the settings to the original state.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)