Play rain sounds and other ambient noise with Background Sounds

Play ambient soundscapes in the background with your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Listen to ocean, rain, bright noise sounds, and more.

An iPhone showing the Background Sounds menu. The Background Sounds button is at the bottom of the screen in the center.

iPhone or iPad

Requires iOS 15 or iPadOS 15 or later

  1. Open Control Center, then tap the Hearing buttonNo alt supplied for Image. If you don't see it, add the Hearing button to Control Center.

  2. Tap the Background Sound switch buttonNo alt supplied for Image to start or stop playing background sounds.

  3. 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.

  4. Tap the background to go back to Control Center.

To stop playing when your device is locked or lower the volume when other media is playing, tap Background Sounds Settings then choose an option.

If you use Headphone Accommodations, your current settings are automatically applied to Background Sounds.

Mac

Requires macOS Ventura or later

Learn how to play background sounds on Mac

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