accessibility

You can use MFi hearing aids or sound processors with iPhone and adjust their settings. It’s not limited to one device, either. You can use your hearing devices with more than one device, and turn on Hearing Aid Compatibility.

If you have AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Pro 3, you can use your iPhone to take a hearing test, and if you have perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, you can get hearing assistance with the Hearing Aid feature.

Pair hearing devices with iPhone

If your hearing devices aren’t listed in Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices, you need to pair them with iPhone.

If your hearing devices are already paired to another nearby device, such as a Mac or iPad, make sure Bluetooth® is turned off on those devices. (When you finish pairing your hearing devices to your iPhone, you can turn Bluetooth on again on those devices.)

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Accessibility and tap Hearing Devices. Tap Pair MFi Hearing Device
3. Follow the onscreen instructions to setup your hearing aids or sound processors.

You only need to pair your devices once (and your audiologist might do it for you). Then your hearing devices reconnect to iPhone automatically each time they turn on.

Adjust the settings and view the status of your hearing devices

• In Settings: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices > MFi Hearing Devices.
• By triple-clicking the side or Home button: Use the Accessibility Shortcut if you’ve set it up.
• In Control Center: Tap the Hearing Devices button. (If you don’t see the Hearing Devices button, add it to Control Center.)
• On the Lock Screen: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices > MFi Hearing Devices, then turn on Control on Lock Screen. From the Lock Screen, you can do the following:
  • Check battery status.
  • Adjust ambient microphone volume and equalization.
  • Choose which hearing device (left, right, or both) receives streaming audio.
  • Control Live Listen.
  • Choose whether phone and media audio are routed to the hearing device.
  • Choose to play ringtones through the hearing device.

Use your hearing devices with more than one device

Pair your hearing devices with more than one device, like both iPhone and iPad, and the connection for your hearing devices switches automatically from one to the other. That happens when you receive a phone call on iPhone, or when you do something on the other device that generates audio.

When you change hearing device settings on one device, those changes sync automatically with your other devices.

1. Sign in to your Apple Account on all the devices.
2. Connect all the devices to the same Wi-Fi network.

Turn on Hearing Aid Compatibility

With some hearing aid models, Hearing Aid Compatibility may reduce interference and improve audio quality.

1. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, and then tap Hearing Devices.
2. Turn on Hearing Aid Compatibility.

Hearing aid compatibility ratings aren’t a guarantee that a particular hearing aid works well with a particular phone. Some hearing aids might work well with phones that do not meet the FCC requirements for hearing aid compatibility. To ensure that a particular hearing aid works well with a particular phone, use them together before purchasing.

Stream audio to your hearing devices

You can stream audio from phone calls, music, movies, podcasts, Siri, and more.

1. Tap the Playback Destination button in Control Center, on the Lock Screen, or in the Now Playing controls for the app you’re listening to.
2. Choose your hearing device.

You can also automatically route audio calls to a hearing device.

To make it easier to see what’s on your iPhone screen, you can invert and filter colors or make transparent items solid.

Smart Invert reverses colors everywhere except images, while Classic Invert reverses all the colors onscreen. You can also apply a filter for grayscale or color vision deficiencies. A dark background makes text stand out, especially in apps that don’t support Dark Mode.

Here’s how to change display colors on iPhone to make it easier to see what’s onscreen.

Quick tip: Quickly set brightness with the slider in Control Center.

Invert colors

A dark background helps text and content stand out, which is especially useful in apps and websites that don’t support Dark Mode.

1. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, and then tap Display & Text Size.
2. Turn on one of the following:
   • Smart Invert: Reverse colors everywhere except images.
   • Classic Invert: Reverse all the colors onscreen.

Differentiate or tone down colors

A filter can tint the screen a color of your choosing, adjust colors for color vision deficiencies, or show the entire screen in grayscale.

1. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, and then tap Display & Text Size.
2. Tap Color Filters, turn on Color Filters, and then tap a color filter to apply it.

You can drag any slider that appears to adjust the intensity or hue. The pencils reflect how the filter affects a range of colors.

Note: Color filters can change the look of images and videos.

To tone down the intensity of bright colors, turn on Reduce White Point.

Night Shift makes screen colors warmer as it gets dark out. It automatically removes inverted colors and color filter effects, except grayscale.

The Magnifier app can also capture an image of nearby objects or text, then apply a color filter to it.

Make transparent items solid

By default, some backgrounds appear transparent or blurred. Giving them a solid color makes these transparent backgrounds opaque, which simplifies those parts of your screen and makes them easier to see.

1. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, and then tap Display & Text Size.
2. Turn on Reduce Transparency.

Differentiate without color

When screen items rely on color to convey information, you can replace that with alternative ways to tell them apart, like text or shapes.

1. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, and then tap Display & Text Size.
2. Turn on Differentiate Without Color.

Use symbols for on/off switches

When switches are on, they turn green. They can also show a vertical line when they’re on and a circle when they’re off.

1. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, and then tap Display & Text Size.
2. Turn on On/Off Labels.

Increase contrast between colors

You can also increase the contrast between different elements on your iPhone, such as apps and background colors.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Accessibility, tap Display & Text Size, turn on Increase Contrast.

In many apps, you can zoom in or out on specific items. For example, you can look closer in Photos or expand webpage columns in Safari. You can also use the Zoom feature to magnify the screen no matter what you’re doing.

You can magnify the entire screen (Full Screen Zoom) or magnify only part of the screen with a resizable lens (Window Zoom). Zoom can also follow your selections, the text insertion point, and your typing. And you can use Zoom together with VoiceOver.

Set up Zoom

1. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, tap Zoom, and turn on Zoom.
2. Adjust any of the following:
   • Follow Focus: Track your selections, the text insertion point, and your typing.
   • Smart Typing: Switch to Window Zoom when a keyboard appears.
   • Keyboard Shortcuts: Control Zoom using shortcuts on an external keyboard.
   • Zoom Controller: Turn the controller on, set controller actions, and adjust the color and opacity.
   • Zoom Region: Choose Full Screen Zoom or Window Zoom.
   • Zoom Filter: Choose None, Inverted, Grayscale, Grayscale Inverted, or Low Light.
   • Maximum Zoom Level: Drag the slider to adjust the level.
3. If you use iPhone with a pointer device, you can also set the following below Pointer Control:
   • Zoom Pan: Choose Continuous, Centered, or Edges to set how the screen image moves with the pointer.
   • Adjust Size with Zoom: Allow the pointer to scale with zoom.
4. To add Zoom to Accessibility Shortcut, open Settings, tap Accessibility and tap Accessibility Shortcut. Tap Zoom.

Use Zoom

1. Double-tap the screen with three fingers or use Accessibility Shortcut to turn on Zoom.
2. To see more of the screen, do any of the following:
   • Adjust the magnification: Double-tap the screen with three fingers (without lifting your fingers after the second tap). Then drag up or down. Or triple-tap with three fingers. Then drag the Zoom Level slider.
   • Move the Zoom lens: (Window Zoom) Drag the handle at the bottom of the Zoom lens.
   • Pan to another area: (Full Screen Zoom) Drag the screen with three fingers.
3. To adjust the settings with the Zoom menu, triple-tap with three fingers and then adjust any of the following:
   • Choose Region: Choose Full Screen Zoom or Window Zoom.
   • Resize Lens: (Window Zoom) Tap Resize Lens and then drag any of the round handles that appear.
   • Choose Filter: Choose Inverted, Grayscale, Grayscale Inverted, or Low Light.
   • Show Controller: Show the Zoom Controller.
4. To use the Zoom Controller, do any of the following:
   • Show the Zoom menu: Tap the controller.
   • Zoom in or out: Double-tap the controller.
   • Pan: When zoomed in, drag the controller.

When you use Zoom with Magic Keyboard, the Zoom region follows the insertion point and keeps it in the center of the screen.

To turn off Zoom, double-tap the screen with three fingers or use Accessibility Shortcut.

To set up Switch Control, you need to connect and add one or more switches, then assign an action to each switch. You can choose a scanning style and fine-tune other settings to suit your needs. You can use only one switch, or multiple switches for different actions, like selecting an item or moving the cursor to the next item.

After you turn it on, you may need to change the assigned actions or readjust the settings. If you have difficulty with these steps, you can get personalized help at your nearest Apple Store.

Step 1: Connect an external switch (optional)

To use a joystick, game controller, adaptive accessory, or MFi device for Switch Control, first connect it to iPhone by following the manufacturer’s instructions. And if the switch connects using Bluetooth®, you’ll need to pair it with iPhone.

You can add nonexternal switches as well, like sounds or AirPod Gestures.

1. Turn on the switch.
2. Open Settings, tap Bluetooth, turn on Bluetooth, tap the name of the switch, and then follow the onscreen instructions.

Step 2: Add switches, recipes, and switch sets

Use a single switch, or several to accommodate different actions, with each one performing an assigned action, such as moving the cursor to the next item or selecting an item.

1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Accessibility and tap Switch Control. Then tap Switches.
3. Tap Add New Switch. Choose External, Screen, Camera, Back Tap, Sound, or AirPod Gestures.

   If you’re trying to add an external switch but it isn’t shown in the list, make sure it’s connected to your iPhone as described above in Step 1: Connect an external switch (optional).

4. Assign an action to the switch.

   The action for the switch depends on the number of switches you have and the scanning style you choose in Step 3: Choose a scanning style, below. If you don’t know which action to assign, choose Select Item, which is compatible with Auto Scanning (the default scanning style). You can return to this setting later to change the assigned action.

Quick tip: Your iPhone can double as a game controller using gestures you’ve already set up, such as the switch (or alternative input method) you navigate and control your iPhone with. You could also reuse your Back Tap gestures instead.

You can also assign recipes—a set of temporary, specialized actions—to your switches. Use recipes for repetitive, complex actions in apps such as turning pages in the Books app. To create a recipe, go to Settings > Accessibility > Switch Control > Recipes.

If you have multiple sets of switches or recipes that you switch between, you can create a Switch Set for your settings. To create a profile, go to Settings > Accessibility > Switch Control > Switch Sets > Add New Switch Set.

Step 3: Choose a scanning style

The cursor moves from one item to the next automatically after a specified duration by default, but if you’d rather move it manually, you can choose a different scanning style.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Switch Control > Scanning Style, then choose one of the following:

• Auto Scanning: The cursor automatically moves to the next item after a specified duration. This is the default scanning style.

  If you use Auto Scanning with just one switch, make sure the Select Item action is assigned to the switch.

• Manual Scanning: When you activate your Move to Next Item switch, the cursor moves to the next item.

  Manual Scanning requires at least two switches. Make sure the Move to Next Item action is assigned to one switch, and the Select Item action is assigned to another switch.

• Single Switch Step Scanning: When you activate the Move to Next Item switch, the cursor moves to the next item; if no action is taken within a specified duration, the current item is automatically selected.

  This scanning style requires only one switch. Make sure the Move to Next Item action is assigned to the switch.

Step 4: Fine-tune Switch Control settings

To suit your specific needs and style, you can adjust how Switch Control behaves in a variety of ways. You might change the scanning speed, for example, or have iPhone speak the highlighted items.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Switch Control, then adjust any of the following:

• Auto Scanning Time: Adjust the item scanning speed.
• Pause on First Item: Set scanning to pause on the first item in a group.
• Loops: Choose how many times to cycle through the screen before hiding Switch Control.
• Move Repeat: Set the delay before moving to the previous or next item while a switch is pressed.
• Long Press: Set whether a different action occurs when you press and hold a switch, and how long to wait before performing that action.
• Tap Behavior: Choose a tap behavior and set the interval for performing a second switch action to show the Scanner menu.
• Focused Item After Tap: Choose whether Switch Control resumes scanning at an item you tap or from the beginning.
• Scan Same Key After Tap: Turn on scanning the same key after tapping.
• Always Tap Keyboard Keys: Turn on always tapping keyboard keys.
• Extended Predictions: Turn on extended predictions.
• Hold Duration: Specify how long you need to press and hold a switch before it’s accepted as a switch action.
• Ignore Repeat: Ignore accidental repeated switch triggers.
• Sound Effects: Turn on sound effects.
• Speech: Speak items as they’re scanned.
• Menu Items: Choose the actions shown in the Scanner menu and the order in which they appear.
• Group Items: Group items for faster navigation.
• Large Cursor: Make the highlight more prominent.
• Cursor Color: Choose a different highlight color.
• Saved Gestures: Create a custom gesture.
• Confirm with Switch Control: Turn on Confirm with Switch Control to confirm payments with your passcode or any time double-clicking the side button is required.

Step 5: Turn on Switch Control

Important: When Switch Control is turned on, you can’t use the standard gestures on the touchscreen to exit Switch Control.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Switch Control, then turn on Switch Control.

Quick tip: You can add Switch Control to Accessibility Shortcut, then quickly turn it on or off, just by triple-clicking the side button (on iPhone models with Face ID) or the Home button (on other iPhone models).

Even if VoiceOver is turned off, you can have iPhone read text on the screen out loud. Have iPhone read the entire screen or a specific selection, or hear what you type spoken out loud, character by character or word by word.

Accessibility Reader lets you read or listen to text in a full-screen view, with your own fonts, layouts, and background colors, and you can change how spoken content sounds.

Here’s how to hear iPhone speak the screen, selected text, and typing feedback.

Have iPhone speak onscreen text

1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Accessibility and tap Read & Speak.
3. Turn on and customize any of the following:
   • Accessibility Reader: Turn on Accessibility Reader to read or listen to text in a full-screen view, and customize fonts, layouts, and background colors. Turn on Autoplay if you want Accessibility Reader to automatically read text aloud.
   • Speak Screen: Tap Speak Screen and then turn on Speak Screen to have iPhone read all text on the screen, then do any of the following:
     • Highlighting: Customize the highlight style, color, and selection for in-app text that is spoken aloud.
     • Show Controller: Turn on Show Controller to keep the Speak Screen controls on the screen.
     • Controller Actions: Choose what happens when you long press or double-tap the screen. You can also reduce the size of the speech controller when you’re not using it.
   • Speak Selection: Turn on Speak Selection to have iPhone speak the text you select. Customize the highlight style, color, and selection for in-app text that is spoken aloud.
4. Do any of the following:
   • Hear selected text (if you turned on Speak Selection): Select the text you want spoken, then tap Speak.
   • Hear all text on the screen (if you turned on Speak Screen): Swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen.

     Use the controls that appear to pause speaking, adjust the rate, navigate forward or back to the content you want to hear, or use Speak on Touch (tap the text you want iPhone to read).

   Siri: Ask Siri something like, “Speak screen.”

Change how spoken content sounds

1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Accessibility and tap Read & Speak.
3. Adjust any of the following:
   • Voices: Choose a voice and dialect.
   • Default Language: Choose a default language that iPhone will speak.
   • Detect Languages: Turn on Detect Languages to have iPhone automatically detect and speak multiple languages.
   • Speaking Rate: Drag the slider.
   • Pronunciations: Dictate or spell out how you want certain phrases to be spoken.

iPhone comes with built-in accessibility features for hearing, tools designed to help you hear better—or stay connected without hearing a sound.

With Live Captions, you can get a transcription of the audio from any app, and even from live conversations around you. iPhone can listen for sounds like a doorbell or siren and alert you when it recognizes them, and it can listen for your name, too. You can also make Real-Time Text (RTT) calls, and experience music as taps, textures, and refined vibrations. You’ll also find transcriptions of audio messages and podcasts.

To explore accessibility features for hearing, go to Settings > Accessibility, then scroll down to the Hearing section.

Use alternatives to sound

• Get real-time captions of spoken audio

  With Live Captions, get a transcription of the audio from any app and from live conversations around you.

  Get live captions of spoken audio

• Customize subtitles and captions

  Change how subtitles look. Or instead of standard subtitles, use closed captions and SDH when available.

  Display subtitles and captions

• Get notified if someone says your name

  With Name Recognition, have iPhone listen for your name and alert you when it recognizes it.

  Recognize your name

• Get notified about sounds around you

  With Sound Recognition, have iPhone listen for sounds—such as a doorbell or siren—and alert you when it recognizes them.

  Recognize sounds

• Feel the music

  Experience music as taps, textures, and refined vibrations that are synchronized with a song’s audio.

  Play music as vibrations and other haptics

• Type to Siri

  Type your Siri requests instead of speaking them.

  Change Siri accessibility settings

• Make Real-Time Text (RTT) calls

  Type to communicate on a phone call. The person you’re talking to sees your message as you type it.

  Set up and use RTT and TTY

• Blink the iPhone light for notifications

  If you can’t hear your alerts, get notified visually.

  Flash the iPhone screen or indicator light for notifications

Transcriptions are also available for audio messages, podcasts, and HomePod intercom messages.

Use hearing devices and make audio adjustments

• Hearing devices

  Pair Made for iPhone (MFi) hearing aids or sound processors with iPhone and adjust their settings.

  Use hearing devices

• Live Listen

  Stream sound from the iPhone microphone to your MFi hearing devices or AirPods.

  Use iPhone as a remote microphone with Live Listen

• Audio balance

  Play stereo audio as mono, adjust left-right stereo balance, and more.

  Adjust audio settings

• AirPods

  Set accessibility options for AirPods and other Apple headphones paired with your iPhone.

  Adjust the accessibility settings for AirPods

• Background sounds

  Have your iPhone play ambient sounds—such as ocean waves or rain—to help you focus or rest.

  Play background sounds

Siri can also announce calls and notifications on your MFi hearing devices.

Quick tip: With the click of a button or from Control Center, you can control your go-to accessibility features and settings.