Call our helpline
0300 180 0028Short guide
- Open the Control Centre.
- Tap the + (plus) button in the top-right corner.
- Tap the Add a Control button at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll down to the Hearing Accessibility section.
- Tap the Live Listen button to add it to the Control Centre.
- Tap on a blank area to exit the edit screen.
- To use Background Sounds, tap the Background Sounds button.
- To change the sound, long-press on the Background Sounds button and choose a new sound from the list.
- To change the sounds volume, long-press on the Background Sounds button, then adjust the Volume slider at the top.
Before and after
This section gives you step by step instructions on how to enable Background Sounds in iOS 18, with pictures of the screens to help.
Open the Control Centre
1. You access Background Sounds from the Control Centre but you'll first need to add it as an option. To do so, open the Control Centre by swiping down from the top-right corner of your device. On devices with a physical Home button, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
Edit the Control Centre
2. Tap the + (plus) button in the top right corner. You can now begin editing the Control Centre.
Add a new item to the Control Centre
3. Tap the Add a Control button at the bottom of the screen.
Find and add Backgrounds Sounds
4. Scroll down to the Hearing Accessibility section and tap Background Sounds (the musical notes icon) to add it to the Control Centre.
Exit the Control Centre editing screen
5. To exit the Control Centre edit screen, tap on a blank area of the screen.
How to use Background Sounds
6. Open the Control Centre by swiping down from the top-right corner of your device. On devices with a physical Home button, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
7. Tap the Background Sounds button (the musical notes icon). Background Sounds will start playing. The default sound is Rain but in the future Background Sounds will play the last sound you listened to.
How to change the sound
8. To change the sound that is playing, long-press on the Background Sounds button and choose from the list.
How to change the volume
9. To change the volume of the background sound, long-press on the Background Sounds button and adjust the Volume slider at the top of the page.
Open the Background Sounds settings page
10. The Background Sounds settings page gives you access to a few more controls not available in the Control Centre - the option to play sounds when other media is playing, the volume sounds play at alongside other media, and whether to stop playing sounds when your device is locked.
To access these settings, long-press on the Background Sounds button, then tap Background Sounds Settings at the bottom of the page.
How to turn off Background Sound
11. To turn off Background Sounds, open the Control Centre and tap the Background Sounds button.
Need some more help?
Call our helpline 0300 180 0028 or email enquiries@abilitynet.org.uk
Need free IT Support at Home?
If you are older or disabled and need IT support at home, you can book a free home visit.