The Sony WH-1000XM5 offers noise cancellation as it will be able to block out most sound when you are listing to music, watching a video or playing a game. If you are having problems trying to use this feature, then you can take a look at this troubleshooting article at Seeking Tech.
1. The first step we recommend taking, if the noise cancellation feature doesn’t seem to be working, is to press the NC/AMB button, which is located on the left ear cushion.
The NC/AMB button will switch the headset from the Noise Cancellation Mode to the Ambient Sound Mode and vice versa.
Be default, the WH-1000XM5 have the Noise Cancellation Mode enabled right out of the box. If you factory reset the headset and/or press the NC/AMB button anytime since you first turn it on, then it may have switched over to Ambient Sound Mode.
2. You should also check the NC/AMB button settings on the “Sony | Headphones Connect” app. In order to do so, you need to take the following steps:
Open the “Sony | Headphones Connect” app on the connected device.
On the dashboard select Change function of [NC/AMB] button.
Finally, select your desired function for the button.
3. If you are connecting your Sony WH-1000XM5 by using a headphone cable, then you need to make sure that the headset is turned on.
While you can still hear audio from the WH-1000XM5 while it is turned off by using a wired connection, you won’t be able to take advantage of the Noise Cancellation feature.
To learn about using these headphones via a headphone cable, you can take a look at this article.
4. You should also make sure that you are wearing the WH-1000XM5 correctly as you should not cover the microphones needed to detect ambient noises.
To get the most accurate noise cancellation, we recommend that you over putting anything over the left and right ear cushions.
5. Some smartphones may end up interfere with the noise cancellation feature. So, if possible, you can try moving the headset away from your phone to see if doing so will help improve the situation.
6. Sony has noted that noise cancellation may not be effective in the following situations:
If you are already using the headset in a very quiet environment.
High frequency or pitch ambient noises won’t be filtered by the headphone’s noise cancellation.
While low frequency or pitch ambient noises will be reduced, they won’t be completely muted.
If you are still having issues with this feature, then we recommend contacting Sony for additional help.