How to turn on Live Captions on an iPhone

By Saadat Rafiq · 2 min read · 6 steps · Updated 5 October 2026

Device

iPhone

Shown on

iOS 27.0.1 (iPhone 14 Pro)

App

Settings

Path

Settings › Accessibility › Live Captions

Real screenshots

6 of 6 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Open Accessibility

   Open Settings and tap Accessibility.

   Done

2. 

   Tap Live Captions

   Scroll down to the Hearing group. Live Captions is near the bottom of it.

   Done

3. 

   Switch on Live Captions

   Tap the switch at the top. A caption panel appears at the bottom, says Listening and starts transcribing what the iPhone hears or plays.

   Done

4. 

   Use the caption panel

   The panel floats over every app. The arrows on it shrink or expand it. While it listens, the orange microphone dot shows at the top of the screen.

   Done

5. 

   Learn the gestures

   The note on the page explains them: swipe the panel left or right to hide it, double-tap it to switch between full screen and the small panel. Apple warns that captions may be inaccurate.

   Done

6. 

   Check the language

   Current Language shows what it listens for: English (United Kingdom) on our phone. Keep Call Captions sets how long call captions are kept.

   Done

If you do not see this option

• Your iPhone may run a different version. The screenshots here show iOS 27.0.1 (iPhone 14 Pro). On another version a setting can have a different name or sit in a different place. See your version under Settings, General, About. Update under Settings, General, Software Update; back up first, plug in and use Wi-Fi. Source: Find the software version on your iPhone Source: Update your iPhone or iPad
• Search for it. Open Settings, tap the search field, type the name of the setting and tap the result. Apple notes that the sections in Settings depend on the iPhone model. Source: Find settings on iPhone
• It is greyed out. Screen Time restrictions can lock settings; Apple gives this as the reason when the Apple Account row is greyed out. Check Settings, Screen Time, Content & Privacy Restrictions. Source: If you can't sign out due to restrictions, or your Apple Account is grayed out in Settings

About this guide

Live Captions turns speech into text on the screen as it happens: a video without subtitles, a FaceTime call, or someone talking next to you. The page says it uses on-device intelligence.

The screenshots are our own, taken on an iPhone 14 Pro running iOS 27.0.1. Live Captions was switched on for the screenshot.

Good to know

Do not rely on Live Captions in emergencies or high-risk situations, as the page itself says.

In short: Settings, Accessibility, Live Captions, switch on.