Guides

How to turn on Live Captions on a parent's iPhone or Android

Step-by-step instructions to show spoken words as text on screen, for parents with hearing loss.

Live Captions turn speech into text on the screen, for things like videos, FaceTime and some phone calls. It's built into newer iPhones and many Android phones, at no extra cost.

iPhone

Apple's official guide: Get live captions of spoken audio on iPhone. Availability depends on iPhone model, language and region.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Accessibility.
3. Tap Live Captions and turn it on.
4. Optional: tap Appearance and make the text larger.
5. Test it with a short video or a FaceTime call to you.

Android

Google's official guide: Use Live Caption. Steps differ by phone brand.

1. Press a volume button.
2. Under the volume slider, tap the Live Caption icon (a box with lines).
3. Or go to Settings → Accessibility → Live Caption and turn it on.
4. Test with a short video.

Tips for parents with hearing loss

• Captions are computer-generated and can make mistakes, especially with names.
• Captions on regular phone calls may need a separate setting. Check the official guides above.
• If your parent wears hearing aids, ask their audiologist about connecting them to the phone.

See more options in the directory, filtered for hearing loss.

Last checked: October 20, 2026