Where AirPods notifications come from and how to stop them

AirPods read your notifications aloud through Siri — text messages, calendar reminders, incoming calls, and app alerts. You can turn off all notifications at once, silence specific apps, or disable Siri announcements entirely. The fastest route is Settings > Notifications on your iPhone or iPad, where you can choose which apps interrupt you and which stay silent.

The setting that matters most is Announce Notifications, which lives in Settings > Accessibility > Siri on iPhone. When this is on, Siri will speak any notification that arrives while your AirPods are in your ears. Turning it off stops the voice announcements without removing the notifications themselves — they still appear on your phone's screen, you just won't hear them read aloud.

Key Takeaways

  • Announce Notifications in Settings > Accessibility > Siri controls whether Siri reads alerts aloud through your AirPods.
  • You can turn off announcements for all apps at once, or silence individual apps like Messages or Calendar while keeping others active.
  • Disabling Announce Notifications does not delete your notifications — they still arrive on your phone, you just won't hear them spoken.
  • If you want to hear some notifications but not others, go to Settings > Notifications and turn off Allow Notifications for specific apps.

Turn off all notification announcements through AirPods

Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad. Tap Accessibility, then Siri. Look for the toggle next to Announce Notifications and turn it off. This stops Siri from reading any notification aloud, regardless of which app it comes from.

Your notifications will still arrive normally — you will see them on your lock screen and in your notification center. Siri straightforward will not speak them when your AirPods are connected. This is the simplest way to silence all announcements without changing which apps can send you notifications in the first place.

Silence notifications from specific apps only

If you want to hear some notifications but not others, go to Settings > Notifications on your iPhone. Scroll through the list of apps and tap the ones you want to mute. Turn off Allow Notifications for each app you do not want to hear about.

This approach removes the notifications entirely for those apps — they will not appear on your lock screen or in your notification center, and Siri will not announce them. Use this when you want to keep announcements on for Messages and Calendar but silence notifications from social media apps or games. You can always turn Allow Notifications back on later if you change your mind.

Choose which apps announce through Siri only

Some apps have their own notification settings inside the app itself. Open an app like Messages, Calendar, or Mail and look for Notifications in its settings menu. Many apps let you turn off notifications entirely, or choose whether they appear silently or with sound and alerts.

This gives you fine control — for example, you can keep Calendar notifications on your screen but tell it not to make any sound, so Siri will not announce them through your AirPods. The exact steps vary by app, but the principle is the same: find the app's settings, look for Notifications, and choose what you want to happen when an alert arrives.

Stop announcements while keeping Do Not Disturb off

Do Not Disturb silences all notifications, but it also stops calls from coming through and changes your status to show you are unavailable. If you want to receive calls and see notifications on your screen but just do not want Siri to announce them, turning off Announce Notifications is the better choice.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Siri and toggle off Announce Notifications. This leaves Do Not Disturb off, so calls will still ring through and your phone will still light up with alerts. Only the voice announcements through your AirPods will stop.

Control announcements by connection type

You can set Announce Notifications to work only when your phone is locked, or only when you are using CarPlay. Open Settings > Accessibility > Siri and tap Announce Notifications. You will see options like Headphones and Car Audio, Always, or Headphones Only.

Choose Headphones Only if you want Siri to announce notifications only when your AirPods are connected. Choose Always if you want announcements through any audio output. This way you can have Siri speak notifications when you are wearing your AirPods but stay silent when you are using your phone's speaker or when your AirPods are in their case.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off Announce Notifications delete my messages and alerts?

No. Turning off Announce Notifications only stops Siri from reading them aloud through your AirPods. Your messages, calendar events, and other alerts will still arrive normally on your phone and appear on your lock screen and in your notification center.

Can I turn off announcements for just one app, like Messages, while keeping Calendar announcements on?

Yes. Go to Settings > Notifications, tap the app you want to silence, and turn off Allow Notifications. That app will stop sending notifications entirely. Alternatively, keep Allow Notifications on but turn off sounds and alerts within that app's own settings, and Siri will not announce it.

Why is Siri announcing notifications I thought I turned off?

Check two places: Settings > Notifications to see if the app has Allow Notifications turned on, and Settings > Accessibility > Siri to confirm Announce Notifications is actually off. If Announce Notifications is set to Headphones Only, make sure your AirPods are connected — Siri will announce through them but not through your phone's speaker.

Can I have Siri announce calls but not text messages?

Not directly through Announce Notifications, which applies to all apps at once. Instead, go to Settings > Notifications, tap Phone, and keep Allow Notifications on. Then tap Messages and turn off Allow Notifications. Calls will still ring through and Siri can announce them, but text messages will not trigger announcements.