Turn off notification announcements in Settings

AirPods read your notifications aloud through a feature called Announce Notifications. You can turn this off entirely, or keep it on but choose which apps send announcements. The setting lives in your iPhone or iPad's accessibility menu, not in the AirPods app itself.

Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad. Tap Accessibility, then scroll down and tap Announce Notifications. You will see a toggle at the top — tap it to turn the feature off completely. If you want to keep announcements but control which apps trigger them, leave this toggle on and scroll down to see the list of apps below.

The change takes effect when ready. Your AirPods will no longer read incoming messages, calls, or other notifications aloud unless you turn the feature back on.

Key Takeaways

  • Announce Notifications is an accessibility feature in Settings, not a feature of the AirPods app itself.
  • You can turn off all announcements with one toggle, or keep the feature on and disable it for specific apps.
  • The setting applies to all your AirPods — if you have multiple pairs, you do not need to change anything on each pair.
  • Turning off announcements does not affect other AirPods features like audio playback or Siri.

Allow announcements only from certain apps

If you want some notifications read aloud but not others, you can pick which apps are allowed to announce. This is useful if you want your Messages to be read but not every app notification that arrives.

In the Announce Notifications menu, leave the top toggle on. Scroll down to see every app on your phone. Each app has its own toggle — tap it to turn announcements on or off for that app alone. For example, you might turn on Messages and Phone calls but turn off notifications from social media apps.

You can also set a schedule: tap Announce Notifications and look for Announce During. Choose whether announcements happen when your phone is locked, when you are using headphones, or always. This lets you hear announcements only when you are actually wearing your AirPods, not when your phone is sitting on a desk.

Why your AirPods are reading notifications

Announce Notifications is turned on by default on some iPhones, especially if you have accessibility features enabled. It was designed to help people who cannot easily look at their screen — the feature reads text messages, calendar alerts, reminders, and other notifications aloud through whatever audio device you are using.

If you did not turn this on yourself, it may have been enabled during setup, or it may have turned on automatically when you first connected your AirPods. The feature works with any headphones or speakers, not just AirPods, so it is straightforward to forget where the setting lives.

Check if Siri is announcing notifications instead

Sometimes what sounds like AirPods reading notifications is actually Siri announcing them. This is a separate setting. Open Settings, tap Siri & Search, and look for Announce Notifications. If this toggle is on, Siri will read notifications aloud even if you turned off the accessibility version.

You can turn off Siri's announcements the same way: tap the toggle to turn it off. You can also choose which apps Siri announces from by scrolling down the list below the toggle.

Prevent notifications from interrupting audio

Even with announcements turned off, your AirPods will pause music or podcasts when a notification arrives. If you want to stop this interruption entirely, you can use Do Not Disturb mode. Open Control Center by swiping down from the top right of your screen, then tap the Do Not Disturb icon.

Do Not Disturb silences calls and notifications completely — they will still arrive, but your AirPods will not pause playback and no sound will play. You can set Do Not Disturb to turn on automatically at certain times by going to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb.

Troubleshooting: Announcements still playing after you turned them off

If notifications are still being read aloud after you turned off Announce Notifications, restart your iPhone. Sometimes the setting does not take effect until you restart. Hold down the side button and either volume button, then slide to power off. Wait a few seconds, then press the side button again to turn it back on.

If announcements continue after a restart, check whether Siri is announcing them instead (see the section above). You may also have turned off announcements in the wrong place — double-check that you are in Settings > Accessibility > Announce Notifications, not in the AirPods app itself.

If you use multiple Apple devices, remember that Announce Notifications is set separately on each device. Turning it off on your iPhone does not turn it off on your iPad or Mac. Check each device you use with your AirPods.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off announcements affect my AirPods' other features?

No. Turning off Announce Notifications only stops the reading of notifications aloud. Your AirPods will still play music, podcasts, phone calls, and everything else normally. Siri will still work. The only thing that changes is that notifications will no longer be read to you.

Can I turn off announcements for just one app?

Yes. In Settings > Accessibility > Announce Notifications, scroll down to find the app you want to silence. Tap its toggle to turn off announcements for just that app while keeping announcements on for others.

Do I need to change settings on my AirPods themselves?

No. The Announce Notifications setting is in your iPhone or iPad's operating system, not in the AirPods app or on the AirPods themselves. You only need to change the setting once on your phone, and it will explore to all your AirPods.

What is the difference between Announce Notifications and Siri announcements?

Announce Notifications is an accessibility feature that reads notifications in a computer voice. Siri announcements use Siri's voice to read notifications. Both can be turned on or off separately in Settings. You may need to turn off both if you want to stop all notification announcements.

Can I set a time when announcements are allowed?

Yes. In Settings > Accessibility > Announce Notifications, tap Announce During and choose when you want announcements to happen — when your phone is locked, when you are using headphones, or always. This lets you hear announcements only during certain times or situations.