How To Enable Or Disable Sound Notifications On Android

Android‘s latest update added Sound Notifications which can prove super useful to those hard of hearing or just in need of greater awareness of what’s happening nearby. For those wondering how to access the added option in order to enable or disable the feature, Google has made Sound Notifications easy to toggle both on and off whenever it is needed.

The newest OS version, Android 11, added a slew of new features designed to improve the user experience. Maybe the most impressive and most welcome updates in Android 11 are the new accessibility options. Accessibility can sometimes be overlooked by developers, but it affects a large population and can be absolutely necessary to provide a positive experience for all users. Android took notice and added several new features to help with accessibility, including a full talkback braille keyboard and voice access that allows users to control their phone completely with voice commands.

The latest addition to these features is Sound notifications which allows users with hearing loss or even those a little too engrossed in their noise-canceling headphones to remain aware of their surroundings by sending notifications to the user when it detects noises around the home that may require attention. For example, dogs barking, running water, or even fire alarms can all be reported to the user through their phone and wearable tech, like smartwatches. It is a very intuitive feature that will no doubt be useful to many Android users.

Feel The Noise

The first step to getting Sound Notifications enabled on an Android phone is determining what kind of device is being used. For example, Pixel phones come with the feature pre-installed in the latest update. All other Android devices will require the user to download the Live Transcribe and Sound Notifications app through the Google Play Store for free. Once this is complete, it’s as simple as entering the device’s settings app and scrolling down to the Accessibility tab. After selecting the tab, find Sound Notifications and accept the permission to allow the feature to be enabled. Simply repeat the same steps to disable Sound Notifications when needed.

There are a few things that users should know while using Sound Notifications in order to get the best experience. For starters, it is always a good idea to place the phone in the room that you most want the audio detected. This will make it easier to pick up sounds and while using a smartwatch you can receive the notifications even when away from the phone itself. It is also important to note that when Sound Notifications are turned on, the Google voice assistant will be disabled. For Android devices with other voice assistants, the results may vary. By tapping on the notification a chart will appear displaying all sound notification based on the time they occurred and what noise was detected.

If only trying to detect specific sounds, or wanting certain sounds to be ignored, go to the feature’s settings and toggle on and off the desired sounds. From here users can also pick how they are notified whether it be a flashing light or a vibration. These Android phone settings can also be applied to smartwatches as well, although they may need to be turned on in the watch’s settings separately.

Source: Google

About The Author