RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
April 4, 2023
You do not actually need a sleep machine or sound apps if you have an iPhone. There’s a hidden feature to play sleep sounds from your iPhone that includes rain sounds, white noise, and others. This feature was first introduced in iOS 15. Let’s explore this feature.
This is for the iPhone. Screenshots are from iPhone 14 Pro running iOS 16+
While not technically a “secret,” the sleep sounds built into iOS are not easy to find. Apple has them labeled as Background Sounds, and they are four levels deep in the Accessibility settings. Siri can not start the sleep sounds, so you are stuck navigating the Settings just to turn it on or off.
The good news is you can make a Shortcut to drastically improve the experience. The benefit is you do not need to rely on a third-party app that could have annoying ads or stream over the Internet all night.
Playing the Sleep Background Sounds
You will find these sounds in your iPhone’s Accessibility settings. First, open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. Refer to the below image:
Next, scroll down and select Accessibility and then tap Audio/Visual. See the below image:
Now. you can select Background Sounds. See the following image:
Next, to turn on the sounds, simply toggle the switch to ON at the top of the screen. See the below image:
There are a few things to tweak on this page as well. Now, you can tap Sound to choose between a few white noise levels, ocean, rain, or stream. See the following image:
Next, you can adjust the volume level, choose if you want it to play while other media is playing, and adjust the volume level for that as well. The volume level defaults to 60% of the master volume you have set on your iPhone. See the following image:
Lastly, decide if you want the sounds to stop when the device is locked. Refer to the below image:
That’s all there is to it. This is a nice feature, but it’s not easy to get to. Keep reading to fix this.
Create a Background Sounds Shortcut
We will be utilizing the iPhone’s Shortcuts app to create a shortcut that can toggle the Background Sounds on and off directly from the Home screen.
First, open the Shortcuts app. (You may have to Search for the app.). See the below image:
Next, tap the plus (+) icon in the top right to create a new shortcut. See the following image:
Now, tap Add Action. Refer to the below image:
Next, use the search bar to find Set Background Sounds. See the below image:
Now, tap Turn in the text box and switch it to tap Toggle. This can be tricky. See the below image:
Next, you can rename the Shortcut and customize the color and icon. To do so, tap the drop-down arrow at the top of the screen. See the following image:
Now, select Add to Home Screen from the drop-down menu. Refer to the below image:
Next, tap Add on the next screen. See the below image:
Now, when you tap the Shortcut on the Homepage screen, it will toggle the sleep sounds on or off. Note! The Shortcut volume is set to 100%. See the following image:
This is a much, much easier way to turn the sleep sounds on at night. It’s strange that Apple has this feature buried so deep in Settings. The fact that Siri can not even play them; when Google Assistant has the ability; is even more odd.
Disclaimer
Technology is always changing and rarely is their static tech for smartphones and desktops. Thus, the contents of this post are only valid at the time of writing. Blog posts older than six months may have directions incompatible with your device or OS. Hopefully, older post content will continue to work as advertised. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life for Technology at Work For You.
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