How to turn on Live Captions on an iPhone

What changed: the screenshots are now our own iPhone 17e on iOS 27.0.1, dark mode, and the wording is checked against those screens and Apple's iOS 27 guide.

howtosimply.com/guides/how-to-turn-on-live-captions-on-an-iphone/ · Checked October 2026 · iPhone 17e · iOS 27.0.1

5 of 5 steps with real screenshots · 1 official source below

Device

iPhone

Shown on

iOS 27.0.1 (iPhone 17e)

App

Settings

Path

Settings › Accessibility › Live Captions

Real screenshots

5 of 5 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Open Accessibility

   Open Settings and tap Accessibility. On our iPhone 17e with iOS 27, it is right below General.

   Watch these steps Done

2. 

   Tap Live Captions

   Scroll down to the Hearing group. On our iPhone 17e with iOS 27, Live Captions is the second-last row of Hearing, below Subtitles & Captioning and above Music Haptics.

   Done

3. 

   Switch on Live Captions

   Tap the switch at the top. On our iPhone 17e with iOS 27 it was off in our picture, with Appearance below it. Apple says the iPhone then transcribes spoken audio in apps, or from dialogue around you, in a Live Captions window.

   Done

4. 

   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 the accuracy can vary. Apple adds that you can drag the window to move it, and tap Live Captions to choose Microphone for a conversation in the room or iPhone Audio for sound from the phone.

   Done

5. 

   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. Apple says 1 Hour lets you copy or screenshot call captions and plays a short announcement to everyone on the call, while 1 Minute clears them when the call ends. On our iPhone 17e with iOS 27, it was set to 1 Minute.

   Done

What changed: the screenshots are now our own iPhone 17e on iOS 27.0.1, dark mode, and the wording is checked against those screens and Apple's iOS 27 guide.

Watch these steps

If you do not see this option

• No Live Captions row Apple says Live Captions is available on iPhone 11 or later and is not available in all languages, countries or regions. On our iPhone 17e with iOS 27 it is under Accessibility, Hearing. Source: Get live captions of spoken audio on iPhone
• Your language is not offered Current Language shows the language it listens for. On our iPhone 17e with iOS 27 it read English (United Kingdom), under Supported Languages. Apple says Live Captions is not available in all languages. Source: Get live captions of spoken audio on iPhone

If this does not work

• The captions are wrong Apple says the accuracy of Live Captions may vary and should not be relied on in high-risk or emergency situations. Source: Get live captions of spoken audio on iPhone
• You cannot copy or screenshot call captions Apple says this works only with Keep Call Captions set to 1 Hour. On our iPhone 17e with iOS 27 it was set to 1 Minute. Source: Get live captions of spoken audio on iPhone
• The caption window has gone Apple says the window hides by itself when no audio is detected, and a swipe left or right on it hides it too. Apple says you tap the Live Captions button to restore it. Source: Get live captions of spoken audio on iPhone

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.

Screenshots: our own iPhone 17e with iOS 27.0.1, dark mode. Live Captions was off when we took them.

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.

📷 See real photos from the iPhone 17e in our Camera Lab, next to 10 other phones.