I love using my AirPods while working out, commuting, or just relaxing at home. But sometimes, I don’t want Siri’s voice interrupting my music, podcasts, or quiet time. As convenient as having Siri read my text messages aloud on AirPods can be, there are definitely times when I’d rather not be disturbed.
In this article, I’ll explain why Siri’s unprompted reading of texts on AirPods is enabled by default, and walk through various methods to stop Siri from reading messages on AirPods. With just a few quick settings changes, you can customize Siri’s behavior to suit your needs and prevent interruptions at inconvenient times.
Contents
The Popularity and Convenience of AirPods
First, let’s look at why Apple’s AirPods have become so ubiquitous. These tiny wireless earbuds are designed to integrate seamlessly with Apple devices, especially iPhones. The special H1 chip inside AirPods enables unique audio and connectivity features when used with iOS.
For people constantly on the move, AirPods are the perfect accessory. You can listen to music, take calls, and access Siri completely wirelessly. The AirPods automatically turn on and connect when placed in your ears. Sensors detect when you switch from one AirPod to the other or when you remove them.
One handy feature is the ability to locate lost AirPods using the Find My app on an iPhone. Overall, the AirPods provide an incredibly convenient listening experience and access to Siri.
Siri’s Ability to Read Messages Aloud on AirPods
Thanks to iOS integration, Siri can read your incoming text messages aloud through the AirPods. When you get a new text, Siri will interrupt your audio to announce the sender’s name and read the entire message.
This can be useful if you want to hear texts without taking your phone out. Maybe you’re driving, walking, or have your hands full and can’t check the phone screen. For quick replies without touching the phone, you can say “Hey Siri” to dictate a response.
The problem arises when you don’t want to be interrupted. Getting incoming texts read aloud can be disruptive if you’re trying to focus on work, enjoy your music, listen to a podcast, relax, or just have some quiet time. Fortunately, it’s easy to customize Siri’s behavior on AirPods to suit your preferences.
How to Stop Siri from Reading Messages on AirPods
You have a few options for preventing Siri from reading texts aloud over AirPods. The easiest methods involve changing settings directly on your paired iPhone.
Disable Announce Notifications with Siri in Settings
To completely stop Siri from announcing any notifications through AirPods:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap on Siri & Search.
- Under the IN-APP SIRI section, toggle off the switch for Announce Notifications.
This will prevent Siri from interrupting your AirPods usage with any type of notification—calls, texts, news alerts, and more. It disables Siri announcements entirely until you re-enable it.
Tip: If you also use an Apple Watch paired to the same iPhone, you’ll want to disable the Announce Messages with Siri setting under Siri in the Watch app. This prevents Siri notifications on both AirPods and Apple Watch.
Use Control Center to Quickly Toggle Siri Notifications
Another quick way to disable Siri’s announcements of texts and notifications on AirPods is through Control Center:
- Open Control Center with a swipe down from the top right of your iPhone screen.
- Long press on the volume control.
- Toggle off Announce Notifications.
Tapping this setting is a convenient way to temporarily mute Siri without going through Settings. However, there are some limitations:
- It disables all Siri voice notifications, not just texts.
- The setting only remains active for 24 hours. After a day, Siri notifications will be turned back on automatically.
So using Control Center is best for short-term disabling when you want to avoid interruptions. For a permanent solution, the Settings method is preferable.
Customize Which Notifications Siri Announces
The two methods above completely disable Siri announcements over AirPods. But you can also get more selective by customizing which notifications get read aloud.
Under Siri & Search settings, choose Announce Notifications and then tap Customize. This allows you to pick and choose which apps Siri can announce alerts for.
For example, you may want Siri to read texts, but not news updates. Or have Siri announce phone calls and voice memos, but nothing else. The possibilities are endless for mixing and matching.
A few smart ways to customize Siri on AirPods:
- Allow announcements for calls, messages, and voice memos for basic functionality.
- Add Maps for driving directions on the go.
- Enable CarPlay and disable other notifications for safety while driving.
- Only allow Calendar events to avoid distracting noises.
Get creative in choosing app notifications that are most relevant. You can always toggle individual apps on and off anytime.
And remember, you can completely disable Siri at any time by toggling off the switch next to Press Home for Siri (under General > Siri). This will turn Siri off across all Apple devices until re-enabled.
Enjoy Uninterrupted Listening with AirPods
Being able to listen to music, podcasts, or nothing at all without unpredictable interruptions is liberating. AirPods are amazing wireless headphones—when Siri stops announcing incoming texts unprompted.
With the simple settings tweaks outlined above, you can prevent Siri from reading messages on AirPods. Take control to create the ideal AirPods experience for your needs and preferences.
The key steps are:
- Disable Announce Notifications in Settings for total silence from Siri.
- Use Control Center to quickly toggle announcements off for 24 hours.
- Customize Siri to only announce preferred notifications.
- Turn Siri totally off if you wish.
Hopefully these tips will allow you to avoid distractions, stay focused, and enjoy your AirPods without interruptions. Just follow the steps to stop Siri from reading messages on AirPods whenever you want to keep things quiet.
