Do you sometimes struggle to maintain focus while you're working, or find it difficult to unwind and relax at the end of the day? Believe it or not, your iPhone could help with that. Keep reading to learn how.

airpods pro adaptive audio
If you are looking to minimize distractions when you focus on something, or just want to zone out after a hard day's work, it's well worth checking out the Background Sounds feature on your iPhone or iPad. Whether you are at home or in a public place, you can play calming sounds with just a few taps on your device to help you concentrate or rest.

In iOS and iPadOS, Apple's Background Sounds include balanced, bright, and dark noise, as well as natural sounds like ocean, rain, and stream. All of the sounds can be set to play in the background to mask unwanted environmental or external noise, and the sounds mix into or duck under other audio and system sounds, so you don't have to drown out what's important to you.

Enable Background Sounds on iPhone and iPad

  1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap Accessibility.
  3. Under "Hearing," tap Audio & Visual.
    accessibility

  4. Tap Background Sounds, then tap the switch to turn on Background Sounds on the next screen.
  5. Tap Sound to choose a sound effect. Choose from Balanced Noise, Bright Noise, Dark Noise, Ocean, Rain, and Stream.
    settings

Your device will need to download individual sound effects when you play them for the first time, so make sure you have an internet connection, but after that you can play the background sound wherever you are.

Note that the last screen in the steps optionally lets you set the volume of the sound, and includes an additional option to automatically stop the sound when you lock your device.

Accessibility Shortcut Access

Once you have downloaded the background sounds, you can quickly start and stop the audio via an Accessibility Shortcut. Here's how to set one up.

Set Up the Accessibility Shortcut

  1. Tap through to Settings ➝ Accessibility.
  2. Select Accessibility Shortcut near the bottom of the menu.
  3. Tap Background Sounds to select it. You can also drag the three lines icon at the far right to change the order in which it appears in the shortcuts menu.

settings

You can triple click your iPhone's Side button to access the Accessibility Shortcut at any time. Alternatively, you can add an Accessibility Shortcut button to your device's Control Center in the following way.

Access Accessibility Shortcut

  1. Tap through to Settings ➝ Control Center.
  2. Find Accessibility Shortcuts under the "More Controls" list and then tap the entry to include it in Control Center.

settings
Once that's done, swipe from the top-right corner of your screen to bring up Control Center, then simply tap Accessibility Shortcut button and then tap Background Sounds to turn the audio on or off.

settings

Background sounds are also available on Macs running macOS Ventura or later. Check out our dedicated how-to article for all the details.

Top Rated Comments

diego.caraballo Avatar
9 months ago
Alternatively, you can add the Hearing icon to Control Center and activate the sounds by long pressing it.
Plus, you get the decibel meter to see if you are using a sound volume past recommended levels.



Attachment Image
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
9 months ago

Do you sometimes struggle to maintain focus while you're working, or find it difficult to unwind and relax at the end of the day?
Yes, and it’s because of the damn phone.


Believe it or not, your iPhone could help with that.
Nah.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xmarcuswildx Avatar
9 months ago
Literally no idea this existed.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fuzzball84 Avatar
9 months ago
An underrated feature for sure. I bet many have downloaded separate apps providing exactly this.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
callison Avatar
9 months ago
I travel a lot and stay in hotels quite a bit. I use the background sounds often. It's a great built-in feature.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PsykX Avatar
9 months ago

[...] With This Hidden iPhone Feature
Oh this must be yet another clickbait title...

Wait, I honestly didn't know this existed, and it actually is hidden.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal Single Feature

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Major Thermal Design Upgrade

Friday January 17, 2025 4:33 am PST by
The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report. The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire iPhone 17 lineup, consisting of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader. Vapor chamber technology is already used...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple Expected to Launch 20+ Products This Year: Here's the Full List

Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year. Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...