How to use the sound recognition accessibility feature in iOS 14

In iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple has added an accessibility feature called Sound Recognition that allows iPhones and iPads to hear certain sounds, such as a baby ringing or crying, and alert the user if they are detected.

The feature is designed to assist the hearing impaired, but Apple cautions that it should not be relied upon in circumstances where the user may be damaged or injured, in high-risk or emergency situations, or for navigation .

With that caveat in mind, here’s how to enable sound recognition on a device running ‌iOS 14‌ or ‌iPadOS 14‌.

How to enable sound recognition on iPhone and iPad

1. Throw the Configurations application on your device.
2. Tap Accessibility.
3. Under Audience, select Sound recognition.
   
4. Flip the switch over Sound recognition to the green ON position and wait a moment for the function to download. Note that enabling the option requires 5.5 MB of storage on the device.
5. Tap It sounds.
6. Select which sounds you want your device to hear by toggling the switch next to each option.
   

Once the feature is enabled, your PiPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ will continuously listen to the sounds you selected and, using the intelligence of the device, notify you when those sounds are recognized.

How to add sound recognition to the Control Center

Once you have enabled Sound Recognition, you can add it to your device’s Control Center to make it easier to turn it on and off.

1. Throw the Configurations application on your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌.
2. Tap Control center
3. Under More controls, tap the green plus (+) next to Sound Recognition to add it to the list of Controls included above. You can use the hamburger handles on the far right of the list of controls to arrange them in any order you like.
   

Once this is done, you can access the sound recognition button by launching the Control Center on your iOS device: on an ‌‌iPad‌‌ or with a home button, double tap the home button; On ‌‌iPhone‌‌ 8 or earlier, swipe up from the bottom of the screen; And on a 2018 iPad Pro or ‌‌iPhone‌‌ X and later, swipe down from the upper right corner of the screen.

Touch the Sound Recognition button to turn it on or off. You can also press and hold the button and change the sounds your device should hear.