Sound Recognition listens for specific noises and alerts you when it detects them

Sound Recognition is an accessibility feature built into iPhone that listens to the sounds around you and sends you a notification when it picks up something you've told it to watch for. It's designed for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but anyone can turn it on. Once you enable it, the feature runs in the background and can alert you to things like a doorbell ringing, a baby crying, a dog barking, water running, or a smoke alarm going off.

The feature uses your iPhone's microphone to analyze sound patterns. It doesn't record audio or store what it hears — it only processes sound in real time to identify what type of noise is happening. When Sound Recognition detects a sound you've selected, your phone vibrates and shows you a notification on the lock screen or home screen telling you what it heard.

Key Takeaways

  • Sound Recognition runs continuously in the background once enabled and alerts you through vibration and on-screen notifications when it detects sounds you've selected.
  • The feature works with specific sound types like doorbells, alarms, crying, and barking — you choose which ones matter to you.
  • Your iPhone processes sound locally on the device and does not record, store, or send audio to Apple's servers.
  • You can customize which sounds trigger alerts and control whether the feature is active at any given time.

How to turn Sound Recognition on and off

To enable Sound Recognition, open Settings and go to Accessibility. Tap Audio/Visual, then toggle on Sound Recognition. Your iPhone will ask for microphone permission the first time you turn it on — you must grant this for the feature to work. Once it's on, Sound Recognition stays active until you manually turn it off through the same menu.

You can also control Sound Recognition from Control Center. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen (or up from the bottom on older iPhones), then look for the Sound Recognition icon — it looks like a sound wave inside a circle. Tap it to turn the feature on or off without going into Settings. This is useful if you want to pause Sound Recognition temporarily without disabling it completely.

Choosing which sounds to monitor

When you first enable Sound Recognition, your iPhone comes with a default set of sounds already selected: doorbell, knock, baby crying, dog barking, siren, and smoke alarm. You don't have to use all of them. Go back to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Sound Recognition to see the full list and toggle individual sounds on or off based on what matters in your daily life.

The available sounds include alarms, appliances, doorbells, knocking, crying, sirens, water running, and animal sounds. If you live alone and don't have pets, you might turn off dog and cat sounds. If you work from home and need to know when someone's at the door, you'd keep the doorbell and knock alerts on. You control exactly which notifications you receive.

What happens when a sound is detected

When Sound Recognition detects one of your selected sounds, your iPhone vibrates and displays a notification. The notification tells you what sound was detected and when — for example, "Doorbell detected at 3:15 PM." The notification appears on your lock screen if your phone is locked, or as a banner at the top of your screen if you're using your phone. You can tap the notification to dismiss it or ignore it.

Sound Recognition does not interrupt what you're doing with a loud alert or call attention to itself beyond the vibration and notification. If you're in the middle of a task, the notification sits quietly until you acknowledge it. This design means you won't miss important sounds, but you also won't be startled by constant interruptions.

Privacy and how Sound Recognition works technically

Sound Recognition processes audio on your device only — Apple does not send sound data to its servers, and the feature does not record or store the audio it analyzes. Your iPhone uses machine learning models stored locally on the phone to recognize sound patterns. This means your microphone activity stays private and on your device.

Because Sound Recognition runs continuously in the background, it does use some battery power. The amount is small, but if you notice your battery draining faster than usual, you can turn off Sound Recognition when you don't need it. You can also check which apps have microphone permission in Settings > Privacy > Microphone to see what else might be using your mic.

When Sound Recognition might not work as expected

Sound Recognition works best in normal indoor environments. In very loud places — a busy restaurant, a concert, a construction site — the feature may struggle to identify specific sounds because background noise makes it harder for the phone to isolate what you're listening for. Similarly, if a sound is very quiet or muffled, Sound Recognition might not detect it reliably.

The feature also depends on your iPhone model and iOS version. Sound Recognition is available on iPhone XS and later with iOS 14.3 or newer. If you have an older iPhone, this feature won't be available to you. You can check your iOS version in Settings > General > About, and you can see which iPhones support Sound Recognition by visiting Apple's accessibility features page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Sound Recognition record what it hears?

No. Sound Recognition analyzes sound in real time on your device but does not record, store, or send audio anywhere. Apple's servers never receive information about the sounds detected. The feature only processes audio locally to identify patterns and send you a notification.

Can I add custom sounds that aren't on the default list?

No. Sound Recognition only recognizes the sounds Apple has built into the feature: doorbells, knocking, alarms, crying, sirens, water, and animals. You cannot train it to recognize custom sounds or sounds not on the preset list. You can only choose which of the available sounds trigger alerts.

Will Sound Recognition drain my battery?

Sound Recognition uses a small amount of battery power because it runs continuously in the background. The impact is usually minimal, but if you notice significant battery drain, you can turn the feature off when you don't need it. Turning it off in Control Center is faster than going through Settings.

What if I want to use Sound Recognition but don't want to grant microphone permission?

Sound Recognition requires microphone permission to work — it cannot function without access to your phone's mic. If you're concerned about privacy, remember that the feature processes sound only on your device and does not send audio to Apple. You can turn it off anytime in Settings or Control Center.

Does Sound Recognition work if my phone is locked?

Yes. Sound Recognition continues to listen and send notifications even when your iPhone is locked. The notification will appear on your lock screen. This is intentional, since the feature is designed to alert you to important sounds even when you're not actively using your phone.