How to adjust audio settings on iPhone

You can use mono audio, adjust left-right stereo balance, and—with supported headphones—amplify soft sounds and adjust certain frequencies to best suit your hearing needs.

With Mono Audio on, the left and right speakers play the same content. Stereo Audio Balance lets the sound lean toward the left or right. And with Headphone Accommodations on supported Apple and Beats headphones, you can make soft sounds louder and make dialogue in videos sound clearer.

Balance the audio

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Accessibility, then tap Audio & Visual.
3. Adjust any of the following:
   • Mono Audio: Turn on Mono Audio to make the left and right speakers play the same content.
   • Stereo Audio Balance: Drag the Balance slider left or right.

Use phone noise cancellation

By using air pressure to reduce ambient background noise, phone noise cancellation helps you hear better in certain noisy environments when you’re holding the receiver to your ear. It’s available on iPhone 12 and earlier, where it’s on by default, but you can turn it off for your comfort.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Accessibility, then tap Audio & Visual.
3. Turn Phone Noise Cancellation off or on.

Adjust certain frequencies and soft sounds

Headphone Accommodations can adjust certain sounds to best suit your hearing on supported Apple and Beats headphones. Soft sounds get louder, and boosting some frequencies makes phone calls and media sound crisper and clearer.

1. Make sure you’re in a quiet environment and that you’ve paired your AirPods or paired other supported Bluetooth® headphones.
2. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
3. Tap Accessibility, then tap Audio & Visual.
4. Tap Headphone Accommodations and turn on Headphone Accommodations.
5. Adjust any of the following:
   • Frequencies: Below Audio Tuning, choose an option to boost different frequencies.
   • Soft sounds: Drag the slider to set an amplification level for soft sounds.
6. Scroll down and then do any of the following:
   • Turn on Phone to apply the settings to phone calls.
   • Turn on Media to apply the settings to media playback like music, movies, and podcasts.
   • Turn on Transparency to apply the settings to transparency mode, if you’re using AirPods model with Transparency Mode.

With some supported headphones, you can use Headphone Accommodations to personalize your audio based on what sounds good to you. You can use an audiogram to help customize your audio, and depending on your country or region, you may see the option to customize your transparency settings. Tap Customize Audio, then follow the onscreen instructions.

Quick tip: The Headphone Accommodations button in Control Center gets you to Headphone Accommodations quickly. If the button isn’t there, you can add it: Tap the Add button and tap Add a Control, then scroll down to Hearing Accessibility and tap Headphone Accommodations.

Make dialogue sound clearer in videos

Turn on voice isolation, and the dialogue is easier to hear when you watch supported video content. During dialogue, it isolates voices and substantially reduces all other audio.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Accessibility, tap Audio & Visual, and then turn on Add Voice Isolation.
3. While watching a supported video in the Apple TV app, tap the More Controls button. Tap Audio.
4. Tap Enhance Dialogue and then tap Enhance or Enhance More.

Have iPhone play a sound effect when it’s turned on and off

If you have an iPhone 14 or later, iPhone can play a sound when you turn it on and off.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Accessibility, then tap Audio & Visual.
3. Turn on Power On & Off Sounds.