How to Stop Siri From Reading Messages on AirPods?

Who doesn’t love Siri? While Siri comes in very handy in many situations, she can also prove to be a bit of a nuisance sometimes. Like when Siri reads messages out loud that come to your iPhone.

Having Siri read out your messages with your AirPods connected can be useful. When you don’t want to constantly check your phone, this is especially useful.

Suppose you are out on your daily morning run, listening to your favorite workout music. Imagine you get an important message, and Siri reads it out. Damn, won’t that be handy! Having said that, there are also situations when you don’t want Siri to read your messages out loud. It can be annoying if you often receive many messages.

Let’s be honest, would you rather listen to your favorite song, or have Siri interrupt you 20 times with message alerts?

If you are looking to find out how to stop Siri from reading messages on your AirPods, you have come to the right spot.

Why Does Siri Read Messages on AirPods?

When you pair your Apple AirPods and your iPhone for the first time, it enables Siri to read messages from your iPhone on AirPods. Siri reads notifications from your phone when you connect your AirPods and your device is on lock.

Apple introduced this feature to make life easier for everyone. Having Siri announce messages on your AirPods means that you no longer have to check your phone, and are now able to be hands-free. 

Does Siri Read All Notifications on AirPods?

Siri can announce notifications from Apple Music, Messages, Reminders, and Calendars. It can also do the same for a fair number of supported third-party applications.

To customize which notifications Siri reads out loud, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Settings App on your iPhone
2. Navigate to the ‘Notifications’ section
3. Here, under ‘Siri’, tap on ‘Announce Notifications’ and toggle it on.
4. Next, scroll down to the ‘Announce Notifications From’ section on the screen.
5. From the list of apps here, choose which ones you would like Siri to read notifications from.

How to Stop Siri From Reading Messages on AirPods?

Here’s what you can do to stop Siri from reading messages on AirPods. Irrespective of which of the below three methods you use, Siri will no longer read your messages on AirPods.

Disable Siri From Announcing All Notifications 

1. Open the Settings App on your iPhone.
2. Navigate to ‘Notifications’
3. Here, look for the ‘Siri’ tab
4. Now, within this, search for ‘Announce Notifications’.
5. To disable Siri from announcing all notifications, tap on the toggle against ‘Announce Notifications’ at the top of the screen.
6. And voila! It’s done.

Disable Siri From Announcing All Notifications When Your AirPods Are Connected

1. Go to the Settings App on your iPhone.
2. Navigate to the ‘Notifications’ section and tap on ‘Siri’.
3. Here, go to ‘Announce Notifications’.
4. Toggle the switch against ‘ Headphones’, to disable Siri from announcing any notifications when you have your Apple AirPods connected to your iPhone.

Prevent Siri From Reading Messages

1. Go to Settings on your iPhone.
2. Here, go to the ‘Notifications’ section.
3. Under ‘Siri’, navigate to ‘Announce Notifications’.
4. Here, go to the end of the screen and tap on ‘Messages’.
5. Disable the ‘Announce Notifications’ toggle.

What Should I Do if I Continue to Hear Message Announcements on My AirPods Despite Turning Off the Feature?

If you continue to hear message announcements on your AirPods even after turning off the feature, ensure you are using a compatible device. Also, make sure that your AirPods are correctly connected to your phone via the Settings App. If the problem still persists, consider contacting your nearest Apple Store to get it checked out.

Can I Still Use Siri to Control My Music While Disabling Message Announcements?

You can use Siri to control music as well as podcasts playing on your iPhone. You can use voice commands or even text requests to browse through your music, play music according to your mood, or ask Siri to play a particular track.

To activate Siri, all you have to do is hold down on the side or home button of your phone till Siri pops up on your screen. Either this, or you can say ‘Hey, Siri!’ to bring Siri onto your screen. To request a particular track, simply say ‘Hey Siri, play ‘Happy Birthday’’, for example. You can do the same with a particular playlist, an album, an artist or even a genre of music.

Will Disabling Siri’s Message Announcements also Turn Off the Ability to Hear My Notifications?

Disabling Siri’s message announcements will not turn off your ability to hear notifications you get on your phone. All it will do is prevent Siri from reading your messages out loud. You will still be notified as usual when you receive any notifications, until and unless you disable notifications from the Settings App.

Is There a Way to Customize Which Messages Siri Announces on My AirPods?

You can choose which messages you want Siri to announce on your AirPods. For example, you can have Siri announce calls by following the steps below:

1. Go to the iPhone Settings App
2. Go to ‘Phone’
3. Navigate to ‘Announce Calls’
4. Select when you would like your calls to be announced. To have Siri announce your calls on AirPods, select ‘Headphones & Car’ for Carplay or ‘Headphones Only’.

If you would like Siri to announce notifications only from specific apps, here is what you need to do:

1. Go to the Settings App and head over to ‘Notifications’
2. Under ‘Siri’, tap on ‘Siri Suggestions’.
3. From here, select which apps you would like to allow notifications from.

Is it Safe to Disable Siri’s Message Announcements on AirPods From a Privacy Perspective?

Of course, from a privacy point of view, disabling Siri from announcing messages is a good idea. Suppose you and your friend are listening to a podcast on your AirPods, and you get a personal text message. The last thing you want is for Siri to read the message out loud in a crisp and clear voice, for your friend to hear.

Anyone would prefer to have their messages to themselves, and not fall upon the eyes or ears of anyone else. For this reason, disabling Siri’s message announcement on AirPods is a good idea from a privacy perspective.

Are There any Alternatives to Siri’s Message Announcements That I Can Use on My AirPods?

Yes, alternatives to Siri’s message announcements on AirPods exist. You can use other Voice Assistant apps to do the same. Some popular options include:

• Google Assistant: On Android devices, you can use Google Assistant for message announcements on your AirPods.
• VoiceOver: You can use VoiceOver, a built-in screen reader on iOS, to announce messages on your AirPods.
• Third-party apps: Various third-party apps available on the App Store/Play Store offer message announcements on AirPods.

Final Words

There you go! That’s how you can stop Airpods from reading texts out loud! We hope that by now you are able to solve the annoying problem of having Siri read messages on AirPods. There is no denying that it sure is a helpful and handy feature. But, we can’t hide the fact that it gets rather irritating to listen to Siri in the middle of a podcast or your favorite song.

If the problem still persists even after following our guide, we recommend contacting Apple Support or making a visit to