On iPhone and iPad, one of several accessibility features that Apple includes is Background Sounds. The sounds are designed to help you stay focused, stay calm, and help you minimize distractions while you are busy with something.

Background Sounds Water Feature
The Background Sounds on offer include balanced, bright, and dark noise, as well as natural sounds like ocean, rain, and stream. All of the sounds can be set to play in the background to mask unwanted environmental or external noise, and the sounds mix into or duck under other audio and system sounds.

Enabling Background Sounds on iPhone and iPad

The following steps explain how to enable Background Sounds on iPhones and iPads running iOS 15/iPadOS 15 and later.

  1. Launch the Settings app on your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌.
  2. Tap Accessibility.
  3. Under "Hearing," tap Audio/Visual.
    settings

  4. Tap Background Sounds.
  5. Tap the switch to turn on Background Sounds.
  6. Tap Sound to choose a sound effect.
  7. Choose from Balanced Noise, Bright Noise, Dark Noise, Ocean, Rain, and Stream.
    settings

Your device will need to download individual sound effects when you play them for the first time, so make sure you have an internet connection, but after that you can play the background sound whether or not you're online.

Control Center Access

Once you have downloaded the background sounds, you can get fast access them from the Control Center. To do this, you need to have the Hearing item added to Control Center (go to Settings -> Control Center and add Hearing to the included list), then follow these steps.

  1. Open Control Center by dragging down diagonally from the top-right of your device's screen.
  2. Tap the Hearing button, then choose Background Sounds.
  3. Tap the Background Sounds button to start playing.
  4. Tap the name of the current sound to view other sounds, then tap a sound name to listen to a preview. After you choose a sound, tap Background Sounds to go back.
  5. Tap the background to go back to Control Center.

control center

Background sounds are also available on Macs running macOS Ventura or later. Check out our dedicated how-to article for all the details.

Top Rated Comments

yahlover Avatar
50 months ago
It’s actually much simpler to access if you add the ‘Hearing’ shortcut to Control Center. From there, you can access it from within any app.

Attachment Image
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EmotionalSnow Avatar
50 months ago
I'm pretty sure it's under Accessibility for a good reason.


I don’t see the point in it
Then you can count yourself lucky. Not everybody can say of themselves that they do not need the Accessibility settings. To be honest, I find your comment a bit tone deaf.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghanwani Avatar
50 months ago


In iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, one of several new accessibility features that Apple has introduced is Background Sounds, which is designed to minimize distractions and help you stay focused, stay calm, and minimize distractions with the help of your iPhone or iPad.
You're definitely going to need this feature when you see the pricing for the new iPhones in September.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iDento Avatar
50 months ago
I like this, but I don’t see as an accessibility feature. Dark noise helps me sleep.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
50 months ago
MR is one big daily distraction. :P
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fivenotrump Avatar
50 months ago

I like this, but I don’t see as an accessibility feature. Dark noise helps me sleep.
filing under Accessibility is odd
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.4.1 With Bug Fixes

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There have been complaints about ...
tvOS 18 Thumb 1

Apple Releases tvOS 18.4.1

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 18.4.1, a minor update to the tvOS 18 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 18.4.1 comes two weeks after Apple released tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.4.1 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
iPhone Security Feature 25

Five iPhone Security Features You Should Be Using

Wednesday April 16, 2025 4:15 pm PDT by
Apple has quite a few security features that it's added to iPhones, iPads, and Macs over the years. Now more than ever, it's important to make sure you're taking advantage of the built-in security tools that are available to keep yourself and your data safe, so we've rounded up a list of the most important options. If you don't already have these enabled, you might want to consider turning...