Where to find the Announce Notifications setting

Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad, then tap Accessibility. Scroll down and select Announce Notifications. You will see a toggle at the top of the screen — turn it off to stop AirPods from reading your messages and alerts aloud.

If you want to keep Announce Notifications on but disable it only for AirPods, stay in this same menu. Scroll to Headphones and turn off the toggle next to your AirPods model. This way your phone can still announce notifications through your speaker or other devices, but your AirPods will stay silent.

The setting takes effect when ready. You do not need to restart your phone or re-pair your AirPods. If you have multiple AirPods devices — standard AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max — you can disable announcements on some and keep them on others by toggling each model individually in the Headphones section.

Key Takeaways

  • Turn off Announce Notifications entirely in Settings > Accessibility > Announce Notifications, or disable it only for AirPods under the Headphones section.
  • If you disable it only for AirPods, your phone will still announce notifications through your speaker when AirPods are not in use.
  • You can choose which apps trigger announcements by scrolling to the Apps section and toggling individual apps on or off.
  • The change takes effect right away without restarting your phone or re-pairing your AirPods.

Turning off announcements for specific apps only

You do not have to disable announcements completely. In the same Announce Notifications menu, scroll down to Apps and you will see a list of every app that can send notifications. Toggle off the ones you do not want to hear — for example, you might keep Messages on but turn off Mail or social media apps.

This approach is useful if you want to hear important messages from certain people but not every notification that arrives. Messages, Calendar, and Reminders are the apps most people keep enabled, while News, Games, and Shopping apps are usually turned off. You can change these settings at any time without affecting other parts of your notification system.

What happens when you turn off Announce Notifications

When Announce Notifications is off, your AirPods will no longer read incoming messages, calls, reminders, or alerts aloud. You will still see notifications on your phone's screen and hear the standard notification sound, but nothing will be spoken in your ear.

If you have Siri enabled on your AirPods, you can still ask Siri to read a message to you by saying "Read my messages" — you just will not get automatic announcements. This gives you control over when you hear notifications instead of having them interrupt you constantly. The spoken content feature remains available whenever you need it.

Why Announce Notifications might be on by default

Apple includes Announce Notifications as an accessibility feature designed to help people who cannot easily look at their phone screen — while driving, cooking, or exercising, for example. If you set up your iPhone with accessibility features enabled, or if you upgraded from an older phone that had this setting on, it may have carried over to your new device.

The feature is not harmful, but it can be distracting if you did not choose it intentionally. Checking your Accessibility settings occasionally helps catch features you may not remember turning on. Some users find it helpful during specific activities and turn it on and off depending on what they are doing.

Controlling which contacts trigger announcements

If you want to hear announcements only from certain people, you can use Focus modes instead of turning off Announce Notifications entirely. Go to Settings > Focus, create a new Focus (or edit an existing one like Work or Driving), and choose which contacts and apps can send notifications through.

When that Focus is active, only the people and apps you selected will trigger announcements. This is more flexible than the Announce Notifications setting because you can have different rules for different times of day — for example, allow family calls during your commute but silence everything else during work hours. You can switch between Focus modes manually or set them to turn on automatically at certain times.

Announce Notifications on Mac and Apple Watch

If you use AirPods with a Mac, the Announce Notifications setting is in System Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content. Look for Announce Notifications and toggle it off. On Apple Watch, go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Notifications and turn it off there.

These settings are separate from your iPhone, so you may need to disable announcements on each device individually if you want them off everywhere. Your iPhone settings do not automatically sync to your Mac or Watch. If you use AirPods across multiple devices, check each one to make sure announcements are configured the way you want them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off Announce Notifications affect my phone's regular notification sounds?

No. Your phone will still play the standard notification sound and display notifications on your screen. Turning off Announce Notifications only stops the spoken announcements — everything else stays the same.

Can I turn off announcements just when I am wearing AirPods but keep them on for my speaker?

Yes. In Settings > Accessibility > Announce Notifications, scroll to Headphones and toggle off your AirPods model. Your phone will announce notifications through your speaker when AirPods are not in use, but stay silent when you are wearing them.

If I turn off Announce Notifications, can I still ask Siri to read messages?

Yes. You can always say "Read my messages" or "Read my notifications" to Siri, even if automatic announcements are off. The setting only controls whether notifications are announced automatically — it does not prevent you from asking Siri to read them on demand.

Do I need to re-pair my AirPods after changing the Announce Notifications setting?

No. The change takes effect when ready without re-pairing. Your AirPods will stay connected to your phone, and the new setting will explore the next time a notification arrives.

What if I only want to hear announcements from Messages but not from other apps?

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Announce Notifications > Apps and turn off every app except Messages. Only Messages notifications will be announced after that. You can adjust this list anytime to add or remove apps.