How to Stop Siri from Reading Messages on AirPods

Ali Abdaal

To stop Siri from reading messages on AirPods, open Settings > Notifications > Announce Notifications on your connected iPhone or iPad and turn Announce Notifications off. This stops spoken notification announcements without turning off Siri generally.

If spoken messages interrupt your music or podcasts, start with that switch. You do not need to reset your AirPods or disable every app notification. If you still want some announcements, use the selective controls available on your device instead of switching the entire feature off.

Table Of Contents

Does Siri Read Every Notification on AirPods?

No. Announcement behavior depends on supported apps and your settings. Apple describes headphone announcements with compatible headphones paired to an iPhone or iPad running iOS or iPadOS 15 or later, while you are wearing the headphones and the device is locked. See Apple’s Announce Notifications guide for compatibility and controls.

Think about which interruption you want to remove before changing anything. A voice reading a message, a short notification sound, and an incoming caller announcement are different experiences. Identifying the one you hear helps you choose the right control and avoids silencing alerts you still want.

Turn Off Announce Notifications in Settings

  1. Open Settings on the iPhone or iPad connected to your AirPods.
  2. Tap Notifications.
  3. Open Announce Notifications.
  4. Turn the main Announce Notifications switch off.

This is the most direct choice when you do not want any incoming notifications read aloud. There is no need to work through each messaging app separately when your preference is the same for all of them.

After changing the switch, leave the other notification controls alone while you check the result. Making one change at a time gives you a clear answer about whether you have stopped the unwanted readout. If you also change sounds, banners, and app permissions, it becomes harder to tell which adjustment caused a missing alert.

Stop announcements through headphones only

If a separate Headphones switch is available within Announce Notifications, turn it off to target headphone announcements. Choose this narrower control when that matches your goal; otherwise, use the main switch.

Stop Siri from Reading Messages Only

To keep other announcements, leave the main feature enabled, select Messages in Announce Notifications, and turn off its announcement switch if available.

This approach fits a specific preference: you want to read conversations yourself but may still value spoken alerts from another supported app. Before choosing it, consider whether the interruptions come from Apple’s Messages app or a different messaging service. Changing Messages alone is not a substitute for reviewing another app that is speaking notifications.

When available, Messages may offer categories such as Priority, Time Sensitive and Direct Messages, or All Notifications, depending on your setup. A narrower category limits announcements; it does not silence Messages completely.

Choose between fewer announcements and no announcements deliberately. If even an occasional spoken text is disruptive during your listening time, turning off the app’s announcement setting is more suitable than selecting a narrower category.

Use Control Center for Quick Access

An optional Announce Notifications control in Control Center provides a quick toggle. If it is available, add it using your device’s Control Center customization controls.

A shortcut is useful when your preference changes during the day. You might want spoken alerts while waiting for a conversation and prefer quiet listening afterward. Keep the control somewhere you can recognize easily, and check its displayed state when using it rather than assuming a tap has produced the setting you intended.

If the shortcut is absent or unclear, use the Settings route above. It gives you an explicit place to inspect the main switch. Do not assume a quick toggle provides a particular one-hour or all-day schedule unless your device actually offers that option.

Removing one earbud can interrupt a batch of announcements, but it does not persistently disable the feature. Treat that as a way to stop the current interruption, then adjust Settings for future messages.

Customize Announcements for Other Apps

Within Announce Notifications, review the apps listed and adjust their announcement switches where available. The list on your device is more useful than assuming every messaging or social app supports the feature.

Work from the interruptions you actually notice. Start with the app responsible for frequent readouts, change its setting, and then evaluate whether you still need broader changes. There is little benefit in adjusting unrelated apps just because they appear in the list.

A useful distinction is whether an alert needs your attention immediately or can wait until you look at the screen. That decision is personal: a busy conversation may be essential on one day and distracting on another. Selective announcements let you reflect that preference without treating all apps identically.

Keep App Sounds and Call Announcements Separate

Spoken announcements and ordinary notification sounds have separate controls. Under Settings > Notifications > an app, you can review available sound, banner, and Allow Notifications settings. Apple’s iPhone notification settings guide explains these options.

If you want messages to remain visible but stop being read aloud, do not turn off Allow Notifications merely to solve the readout problem. Likewise, a remaining chime does not necessarily mean Siri is still announcing messages. Listen for whether you hear spoken content or only an alert tone before making another change.

Announce Calls is a separate feature. If the interruption is Siri identifying an incoming caller, use Settings search to locate Announce Calls and review it separately.

Check the Connected Device if Readouts Continue

Test the change on the iPhone or iPad currently connected to your AirPods. Automatic switching may mean another device is supplying the audio.

  1. Confirm which device is connected before revisiting its settings.
  2. Check whether you disabled the main switch or only one app.
  3. With the AirPods on and that device locked, ask someone to send a message through the app you adjusted.
  4. Check whether the interruption is spoken text, a notification sound, or a caller announcement.

Use a simple test message rather than sensitive content. Keep the test focused on one app so the result is easy to interpret. If a different app speaks afterward, review that app’s setting rather than assuming your earlier change failed.

Bottom line

Turn off Announce Notifications for the simplest way to stop spoken messages on AirPods. Use available headphone or app controls when you want a narrower change. Keep ordinary notification delivery intact if you still want to see your alerts, and verify the result on the connected device before changing anything else.

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