Turn off Announce Notifications in your iPhone settings
Announce Notifications is a feature that reads incoming messages, calls, and reminders aloud through your AirPods. If you want to stop hearing these announcements, you turn the feature off in your iPhone's notification settings — not in the AirPods themselves.
Open Settings on your iPhone and tap Notifications. Scroll down and look for Announce Notifications near the bottom of the list. Tap it, then toggle the switch next to Announce Notifications to the off position (it will turn gray). The feature is now disabled, and your AirPods will no longer read notifications aloud.
If you do not see Announce Notifications in your list, your iPhone may be running an older version of iOS. This feature requires iOS 16 or later. You can check your iOS version by going to Settings > General > About and looking at the Software Version number.
Key Takeaways
- Announce Notifications reads messages, calls, and reminders aloud through your AirPods, and you control it from your iPhone's main notification settings, not from the AirPods app.
- To turn it off, go to Settings > Notifications, find Announce Notifications at the bottom, and toggle the switch to gray.
- This feature only works on iOS 16 or later, so older iPhones will not have the option available.
- Once you turn off Announce Notifications, your AirPods will still show visual notifications on your iPhone, but will not read them aloud.
What happens when you turn off Announce Notifications
When the feature is off, your iPhone still receives notifications normally. Text messages, calls, reminders, and other alerts will arrive on your phone and may show on your lock screen or in the notification center. The difference is that Siri will not read them aloud through your AirPods.
You will still hear the standard notification sounds your iPhone is set to play — the default chime, bell, or whatever sound you have chosen for each app. Turning off Announce Notifications only silences the voice reading, not the notification sounds themselves. If you want to silence those sounds too, you would adjust the volume or notification settings for individual apps.
Turn off Announce Notifications for specific apps only
You do not have to disable the feature entirely. You can turn off Announce Notifications for individual apps while keeping it on for others. Go to Settings > Notifications and find the specific app you want to change — for example, Messages or Calendar.
Tap the app name, then look for the Announce Notifications toggle within that app's settings. Toggle it off to stop announcements from that app only. Other apps will continue to have their notifications announced if the main Announce Notifications feature is still on. This is useful if you want to hear text messages read aloud but not calendar reminders, for example.
Make sure your AirPods are connected
Announce Notifications only works when your AirPods are actively connected to your iPhone and you are wearing them. If your AirPods are disconnected or in their case, the feature will not function even if it is turned on in settings.
To check your connection, open Control Center on your iPhone by swiping down from the top right corner (or up from the bottom on older iPhones). Look for the audio card showing your connected device. If your AirPods are listed there, they are connected. If they are not showing, tap Bluetooth in Control Center and select your AirPods from the list of available devices.
Restart your iPhone if the setting does not work
If you have turned off Announce Notifications but your AirPods are still reading notifications aloud, restart your iPhone. A restart clears temporary settings glitches that sometimes prevent changes from taking effect.
To restart, press and hold the Side button and one of the Volume buttons together until the power-off slider appears. Drag the slider to turn off your iPhone, wait 10 seconds, then press and hold the Side button again until you see the Apple logo. Once your iPhone restarts, check whether the announcements have stopped.
Update iOS if Announce Notifications is missing
If you cannot find Announce Notifications in your settings at all, your iPhone may be running an older version of iOS that does not include this feature. iOS 16 introduced Announce Notifications, so any iPhone running iOS 15 or earlier will not have it.
To update your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update. If an update is available, tap Download and Install. Your iPhone will download the update and install it, which may take several minutes. You will need to be connected to Wi-Fi and have enough battery power. Once the update is complete, Announce Notifications should appear in your notification settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning off Announce Notifications affect other AirPods features?
No. Turning off Announce Notifications only stops the voice reading of alerts. Other AirPods features like automatic ear detection, audio sharing, and Siri voice commands will continue to work normally. You can also still receive notifications on your iPhone's screen and hear notification sounds.
Can I turn off Announce Notifications just for calls?
The main Announce Notifications toggle controls all notification types together. However, you can go into the Phone app settings and turn off Announce Notifications there specifically, which will stop calls from being announced while keeping announcements on for messages and other alerts.
Why are my AirPods still announcing notifications after I turned off the setting?
Make sure your AirPods are actually connected and that you waited a moment for the setting change to take effect. If announcements continue, restart your iPhone. Also check that you toggled off the correct setting — the toggle should be gray when off, not green.
Do I need to update my AirPods firmware to use or disable Announce Notifications?
No. Announce Notifications is controlled entirely through your iPhone's settings. Your AirPods firmware does not need to be updated for this feature to work or to turn it off. The feature works on any AirPods model that pairs with iOS 16 or later.