Technologies
This FaceTime Setting Stops Everyone From Hearing Your Dog Bark
This feature makes sure others can hear you, not the noise around you.
FaceTime calls can be hectic, from ensuring you have a good connection so your video isn’t choppy to making sure the other person doesn’t put their phone up to their ear. But you can cut back on the chaos by enabling your iPhone’s Voice Isolation feature in FaceTime.


Voice isolation for FaceTime calls was introduced with the release of iOS 15 in 2021. The feature muffles background noises, like the sound of kids playing in a nearby room or your dog barking at something outside, so others on the FaceTime call can hear you without interruptions.
However, you won’t find the Voice Isolation feature in Settings, as you might expect. Instead, you have to be on a FaceTime call to enable it. But once you activate the feature, it will stay on the next time you’re on a FaceTime call.
Here’s how to activate Voice Isolation so people can hear you more clearly in FaceTime calls.
How to enable Voice Isolation
1. Start or join a FaceTime call.
2. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to access your Control Center.


Mic Mode appears in your Control Center when you’re in a FaceTime call.
Zach McAuliffe/CNET3. Tap Mic Mode near the top-right corner of your screen.
4. Tap Voice Isolation.
Pro tip: You don’t have to interrupt a FaceTime call with family and friends to turn this feature on. You can call yourself on FaceTime and enable Voice Isolation following the steps above.
How to enable Wide Spectrum
In Mic Mode, there’s another feature alongside Voice Isolation called Wide Spectrum. While Voice Isolation muffles other noises around you in a FaceTime call, Wide Spectrum enhances the noises around you without affecting your voice.
Wide Spectrum is good for conference calls over FaceTime or if you have a large group of people FaceTiming someone else. If you have a little brother or sister who moves away to college and you and your family want to wish them a happy birthday, Wide Spectrum can help you all sing happy birthday to them at once.


Opening Mic Mode shows you Standard, Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum options.
Zach McAuliffe/CNETTo enable Wide Spectrum, follow the steps above, but tap Wide Spectrum instead of Voice Isolation.
Like Voice Isolation, Wide Spectrum will stay enabled the next time you make a FaceTime call. To disable either Voice Isolation or Wide Spectrum, follow the instructions above and tap Standard. This will return your microphone to its default setting.
For more on your iPhone, check out the how to turn on Voice Isolation for phone calls, 13 iPhone features you might not know about and 22 iPhone settings you should change now.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 27, #430
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 27, No. 430.
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Fittingly, today’s Thanksgiving Day Connections: Sports Edition is mostly about football (although the yellow category covers all sports, really). If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Grab some points.
Green group hint: Pass the turkey.
Blue group hint: Face your big rival.
Purple group hint: Playing with letters in team names.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Places where one scores.
Green group: Associated with the NFL on Thanksgiving.
Blue group: College football rivalry «cups.»
Purple group: NFL teams, with the first letter changed.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is places where one scores. The four answers are end zone, goal, hoop and plate.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is associated with the NFL on Thanksgiving. The four answers are Cowboys, Lions, Madden and Turducken.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is college football rivalry «cups.» The four answers are Apple, Commonwealth, Governor’s and Territorial.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is NFL teams, with the first letter changed. The four answers are fills (Bills), Mets (Jets), pears (Bears) and yams (Rams).
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Nov. 27
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 27.
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
It’s Thanksgiving, but I wasn’t too thankful for today’s Mini Crossword. It took me nearly four minutes to solve and has some very tricky clues. Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal
Answer: FEASTED
8A clue: Back half of a GOAT?
Answer: ALLTIME
9A clue: Sudden urge
Answer: IMPULSE
10A clue: Santa’s landing place
Answer: ROOF
11A clue: Abstain from eating
Answer: FAST
15A clue: Tough guy
Answer: BRUISER
18A clue: Ready to use without further assembly
Answer: TURNKEY
19A clue: Some pieces of [circled letters] at the Thanksgiving table
Answer: WINGS
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Inside the foul line, in baseball
Answer: FAIR
2D clue: Furry monster with a falsetto
Answer: ELMO
3D clue: Pet food brand
Answer: ALPO
4D clue: Thanksgiving side dish that can fill the [circled letters]
Answer: STUFFING
5D clue: Shop ___ you drop
Answer: TIL
6D clue: M M M M
Answer: EMS
7D clue: Billy ___ Williams, actor who played Lando Calrissian in «Star Wars»
Answer: DEE
12D clue: Requests
Answer: ASKS
13D clue: «Get what I’m saying?»
Answer: SEE
14D clue: Give it a go
Answer: TRY
15D clue: «I should mention …,» for short
Answer: BTW
16D clue: N.B.A. power forward ___ Hachimura
Answer: RUI
17D clue: Large coffee dispenser
Answer: URN
Technologies
I Found This Refurbished iPhone 15 for Just $449 at Woot This Black Friday
This used model is pristine and an unbeatable $281 off its list price.
Apple makes some of the best phones on the market right now, but their price tags make a lot of buyers wince. However, now that the new is out, you can save on refurbished previous-gen phones such as the iPhone 15. If you want to save as much as possible, then this Woot deal is one you want want to miss out on. You can make a refurbished 128GB iPhone 15 yours for just $449 when you use the coupon code GRAVY. This deal is available today only, so it’s especially important to act fast.
There are a few things you should know about this Woot offer before you place your order. Woot classifies these phones as «pristine,» which means that they’ve «never been in customer hands» and have been tested and ensured to have 100% battery life. They do come backed by a one-year limited warranty, but are not eligible for AppleCare and will not come in the original box. Also note that there’s only a single configuration available, which comes in black and has 128GB of storage.
As for the specs, you’ll get everything that made the iPhone 15 so popular when it launched in Sept. 2023, including a large 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with the Dynamic Island built in. The fast A16 Bionic chip has a 5-core GPU while the 48-megapixel main camera takes stunning photos. Emergency SOS via Satellite is included, should you find yourself in need of rescue beyond the reach of cellular connectivity as well.
If you’re not sure if this previous-gen model is for you, you can check out our list of all the best iPhone 17 deals for savings on Apple’s latest phones. You can also find plenty of other deals on the iPhone 15 and other previous-gen models in our full roundup of all the best iPhone deals.
MOBILE DEALS OF THE WEEK
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$749 (save $250)
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$475 (save $175)
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$499 (save $300)
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$900 (save $400)
Why this deal matters
Direct discounts on iPhones are exceedingly rare, so shopping refurbished is one of the only ways to score some savings without signing up with a carrier. This iPhone 15 is essentially new, but at just $449 you’re still getting it for around the same price as a used model, making this an incredible bargain.
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