Your iPhone contains a powerful, hidden accessibility feature designed specifically for users who are deaf or hard of hearing. Using on-device machine learning and the built-in microphone, your iPhone can constantly listen to its surroundings and send you an immediate visual notification (or vibration) if it detects specific, critical sounds—like a fire alarm, a baby crying, or a doorbell ringing.
How to Enable Sound Recognition
Because this feature relies entirely on your device’s internal processing power, it does not send your private audio to Apple’s servers. It works locally and securely.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap on Accessibility.
- Under the “Hearing” section, tap on Sound Recognition.
- Toggle the switch for Sound Recognition to the ON position (it will turn green). Your phone may take a moment to download the necessary machine learning models if you are enabling this for the first time.
How to Choose Which Sounds to Detect
Once the feature is activated, you must tell your iPhone exactly what sounds it should be listening for.
- Tap on Sounds (located immediately below the toggle switch).
- You will see a list of over a dozen recognizable sounds organized by category (Alarms, Animals, Household, and People).
- Toggle on the specific sounds you want your phone to detect. For example, you can turn on Fire Alarm, Siren, Doorbell, Dog Barking, or Baby Crying.
How to Create Custom Sounds
If your apartment buzzer or specific electronic appliance makes a unique sound that Apple’s default models do not recognize, you can manually train your iPhone to listen for it.
- At the top of the “Sounds” menu, tap on Custom Alarm or Custom Appliance or Doorbell.
- Enter a name for your custom sound (e.g., “Oven Timer”).
- Tap Start Listening and place your iPhone near the appliance. You will need to trigger the sound multiple times so your iPhone’s neural engine can properly learn the acoustic pattern.
Once configured, anytime your iPhone hears that specific noise, it will immediately display a banner notification on your lock screen and vibrate to alert you.