Turn off Siri announcements in your iPhone settings

AirPods read notifications aloud because Siri is set to announce them. You control this in your iPhone's Settings app, not in the AirPods themselves. Open Settings, tap Notifications, scroll down to the bottom, and look for "Announce Notifications". Toggle this off entirely, or tap it to choose which apps can announce to you.

If you want notifications from some apps but not others, tap "Announce Notifications" and you'll see a list of every app on your phone. Turn off the toggle next to Mail, Messages, Calendar, or whichever apps you don't want Siri to read aloud. This is the fastest way to silence specific apps while keeping announcements for the ones that matter to you.

The setting applies to all your AirPods, not just one pair. If you have multiple AirPods or AirPods Pro, changing this setting affects all of them equally.

Key Takeaways

  • Siri announcement is controlled in iPhone Settings under Notifications, not in the AirPods app or on the AirPods themselves.
  • You can turn off announcements entirely or choose which apps are allowed to announce — Messages, Mail, Calendar, and others each have their own toggle.
  • The setting applies to all your AirPods at once, so you don't have to configure each pair separately.
  • If you want announcements only while driving or at home, use Focus modes to turn announcements on and off automatically by time or location.

Use Focus modes to announce notifications only when you choose

Focus modes let you set different notification rules for different parts of your day. You can have Siri announce notifications during your commute but stay silent at work, or announce only from people in your Favorites. Open Settings, tap Focus, and create a new Focus for the situation where you want announcements.

When you set up a Focus, you can choose which apps send notifications at all, and separately, whether Siri announces them. For example, you might create a "Driving" Focus that allows only Phone calls and Maps, with announcements on. Then create a "Work" Focus that silences everything except your boss and your calendar, with announcements off. Each Focus remembers its own settings.

You can automate a Focus to turn on at a specific time, when you arrive at a location, or when you connect to a particular WiFi network. This means your AirPods will stop announcing notifications automatically when you get to the office, without you having to remember to switch anything.

Check if Do Not Disturb is interfering with your settings

Do Not Disturb silences notifications entirely, but it doesn't always silence Siri announcements the way you'd expect. If you have Do Not Disturb turned on, Siri may still announce notifications from people in your Favorites or from apps you've marked as priority. This can feel like your settings aren't working when actually Do Not Disturb is overriding them.

Open Settings, tap Focus, and select "Do Not Disturb". Check which apps and people are allowed through. If you see apps or contacts listed there, they will announce even when Do Not Disturb is on. Remove them from the allowed list if you want complete silence, or leave them if you want to hear from those specific people.

Disable Siri on your AirPods if you don't use voice commands

If you never use Siri to ask questions or control your phone, you can turn off Siri on your AirPods entirely. This removes the ability to trigger Siri by double-tapping your AirPods, which also stops Siri from announcing anything. Open Settings, tap Bluetooth, find your AirPods in the list, tap the info icon next to them, and scroll to "Press and Hold AirPods". Change this from "Siri" to "Off" or to "Noise Control" if you want to use that feature instead.

This is a more aggressive approach than just turning off announcements. You lose the ability to ask Siri questions or control music by voice. But if you never use those features, disabling Siri removes the entire system that reads notifications aloud.

Understand why AirPods announce notifications in the first place

Apple designed Siri announcements so you can hear important messages without looking at your phone. The idea is that while you're driving, exercising, or cooking, Siri can tell you that your partner texted or your calendar reminder is coming up. This is genuinely useful for some people and genuinely annoying for others.

The problem is that Apple turned this on by default for many users, and the setting is buried deep enough that people often don't realize it exists. You're not doing anything wrong — you're just discovering a feature that was enabled without your knowledge. Once you know where the setting is, you have full control over when and whether Siri announces anything.

What to do if announcements keep happening after you've changed settings

If Siri is still announcing notifications even after you've turned off the setting, restart your iPhone. Settings changes sometimes don't take effect until you power off and back on. Hold down the power button, slide to power off, wait 10 seconds, and turn it back on.

If announcements continue after a restart, check whether you have multiple Apple devices signed into the same iCloud account. Announcements can sync across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. If you turned off announcements on your iPhone but have them on on your iPad, your iPhone might be re-enabling the setting. Sign into Settings, tap your name at the top, tap iCloud, and make sure all your devices are listed. Then go back to Notifications and turn off announcements again.

If you're still hearing announcements, open the AirPods app on your iPhone (not Settings — the separate AirPods app), tap your AirPods, and look for any announcement-related toggles. These are rare, but some AirPods models have their own announcement settings that can override your iPhone settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off announcements stop all notifications from coming through?

No. Turning off Siri announcements only stops the voice reading. Your notifications will still appear on your screen, lock screen, and notification center. You'll just see them instead of hearing them.

Can I make Siri announce only text messages but not emails?

Yes. In Settings, tap Notifications, scroll to "Announce Notifications", and tap it. You'll see a list of every app. Turn on the toggle for Messages and turn off the toggle for Mail. You can do this for any combination of apps.

What if I want announcements only when I'm wearing my AirPods?

Announcements only happen when your AirPods are connected and in your ears. If you take them out or disconnect them, Siri won't announce anything. You don't need to change any settings for this — it's how AirPods work by default.

Do I have to turn off announcements on every device I own?

No, but the setting doesn't automatically sync. If you turn off announcements on your iPhone, you'll need to do the same on your iPad and Mac separately if you use AirPods with those devices too. Each device has its own Notifications settings.

Can I schedule announcements to turn on and off at specific times?

Yes, using Focus modes. Create a Focus for the times you want announcements (like "Commute"), set it to turn on automatically at a specific time, and make sure announcements are on in that Focus. Then create another Focus for times you don't want them, and turn announcements off in that one.