Siri can be very useful, but Apple's smart assistant can also be annoying. Here I will show you how prevent AirPods from announcing messages through Siri, so you can listen to music and podcasts without interruptions.
Wireless headphones Apple , have become an essential accessory for almost everyone, and Apple, without further ado or on its own, launched the wireless headphone revolution with its very popular first-generation AirPods.
The success of these headphones is largely due to the enduring popularity of Apple devices, and are designed to work seamlessly with devices like iPhones, allowing users to take advantage of special audio and connectivity features built into iOS. You can even find lost AirPods using your iPhone.
A convenient feature is to have Siri read your incoming text messages aloud while you wear your AirPods. While this may be convenient in certain situations, there are times when you would prefer not to be interrupted by the sound of their voice.
Of course, you can always use Do not disturb on your iPhone, but this silences all notifications, which you may not want. However, Apple fortunately makes it easy to customize Siri notifications. Below, I'll walk you through the technical tips and settings that let you control what Siri does when you're wearing AirPods or other compatible headphones, including how to stop Siri from reading text messages.
How to stop Siri from reading text messages on AirPods
Apple offers users many options for how Siri behaves and ways to customize notifications. You can even hide text messages on an iPhone if you want even more privacy. This guide will provide you with the steps to prevent Siri from reading text messages when using AirPods, but keep in mind that this also works with other Siri-compatible wireless headphones. These are the steps you must follow, it is very simple:
- First on your Apple device, open Settings. It is represented by a gear icon and is usually found on the home screen or in the app library.
- Within the app Configuration, scroll down until you find the Siri & Search option. It will show all the controls and settings related to Siri.
- In Siri & Search settings, look for the option announce notifications.
- You'll see a toggle switch labeled Announce notifications (messages) with Siri. By default, it is enabled, indicated by a green color. To prevent Siri from reading text messages through your AirPods, tap the switch to turn it off. Once deactivated, the switch It will no longer be green, it will be gray.
If you're using an Apple Watch, swipe up on the watch face and tap Announce Messages with Siri to turn it off. You have successfully stopped Siri from announcing your text messages through your AirPods. From now on, Siri will no longer read incoming messages out loud, allowing you to stay focused without interruptions while using your AirPods.
However, keep in mind that turning off Announce Messages with Siri affects all connected Bluetooth devices, not just your AirPods. Therefore, if you have other Bluetooth devices paired with your Apple device, this change will affect them as well.
If you want the ability to turn Siri messages on and off more quickly, you can do so from the Control Center, shortcuts that you can access by swiping down on your iPhone's lock screen. If you want to learn how to do it, follow this process, it is very simple:
- First open Settings and go to Control Center.
- Now find the Announce Notifications icon under More Controls.
- Tap it to add it to the Control Center shortcuts.
Now, you will have the announcement notification shortcut in your Control Center. All you have to do is tap it to turn it off and turn it on when your AirPods or other compatible headphones are connected.
Note that this is less customizable than the first process, as it prevents Siri from announcing all notifications while you use your AirPods, not just text messages. Also, only turn off notifications for 24 hours. If you want to prevent Siri from reading messages for a longer period, you will have to do it as explained in the first method.
How to customize Siri notifications
Don't be afraid to poke around in Siri's settings to see what else Apple's smart assistant can do and what other functions and features you can use for your convenience. It is true that we have been waiting for years for a significant improvement in Apple's virtual assistant, Siri, which seems to never arrive.
For example, you can customize Siri notifications in several ways to have your smart assistant only notify you of certain things at certain times.
If you go back to the previous section, Settings > Settings > Siri and search, you will see the Siri notification configuration section.
Here, instead of turning off all notification announcements using the switch at the top, you can choose to have Siri only announce certain notifications. For example, you can have Siri read messages and notifications using CarPlay while driving, but disable these notifications when using AirPods.
In the list at the bottom, You can also choose which apps you would like Siri to announce notifications for.. Or maybe you want to turn off Siri completely.
Conclusion
Wireless headphones are a must-have in the mobile age, allowing us to relax, focus and enjoy privacy wherever we are. AirPods offer a high-quality audio experience and tons of nice features for iPhone, iPad, and MacBook users, like letting Siri notify you of incoming messages and reading them out loud.
However, when it comes time to block out all distractions, following the steps above will allow you to silence the noise without Siri interrupting your flow.