How to Set Up Sound Recognition on iPhone
iPhone can listen for sounds like doorbells, smoke alarms, or a baby crying and send you an alert — great for anyone who is hard of hearing.
Go to Sound Recognition in Settings
~15sChoose which sounds to detect
~15sQuick Tip
Start with just two or three sounds at first. Too many can create distracting notifications throughout the day.
Allow Sound Recognition through the notification prompt
~15sTest the feature
~15sOptional: set up custom alerts
~19sWarning
Sound Recognition is not a safety alarm replacement. Do not rely on it as your sole alert for fire or carbon monoxide — always have working physical detectors.
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Sound Recognition is an iPhone accessibility feature that uses the microphone to listen for specific sounds in your home and sends a notification when it detects one. It is designed for people who are hard of hearing or deaf, but it is useful for anyone who wants to know when something is happening in another room.
You can choose from a list of sounds to detect, including: - Doorbell - Knock at door - Fire alarm or smoke detector - Carbon monoxide alarm - Baby crying - Cat or dog sounds - Car horn or siren - Appliances like a washer or dryer
When the phone detects one of the chosen sounds, it sends a banner notification to your screen. You can also have it play a custom sound or flash the screen. For best results, keep the phone nearby in the area where you want to detect sounds.
Sound Recognition works in the background and does not use the microphone for recording — Apple processes the audio entirely on your device for privacy. It does use some battery, so be aware of that if you leave it running all day.
This feature works on iPhone SE (2nd generation) and newer running iOS 14 or later. It is not available on older iPhones that lack the necessary chip for on-device processing.
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