Use Background Sounds to help with sleep, focus and more
Play ambient soundscapes on your iPhone, iPad or Mac to listen to ocean, rain, bright noise sounds and more. And in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, visionOS 26 and macOS Tahoe, use the Equaliser settings to adjust the levels of specific frequencies.
Turn on Background Sounds on your iPhone or iPad
Open Control Centre, then tap and hold the Background Sounds button. If you can’t see it, find out how to add the Background Sounds button to Control Centre.
Tap Background Sounds
to start or stop playing background sounds. Tap on a sound to change the background sound and listen to a preview.
Tap the background to go back to Control Centre.
To stop playing when your device is locked or to lower the volume when other media is playing, change your Background Sounds Settings. Tap and hold the Background Sounds button in Control Centre, scroll down and tap Background Sounds Settings, then choose an option.
If you use Headphone Accommodations, AirPods Pro Hearing Aid Feature or MFi hearing aids, your current settings will be applied to Background Sounds automatically.
Background Sounds requires iOS 15 or iPadOS 15 or later
Adjust the Equaliser for Background Sounds in iOS or iPadOS
The Equaliser settings on your iPhone are a way to personalise your preferred Background Sounds to increase your comfort and minimise distractions, such as the chatter of a noisy train terminal.
To adjust the Equaliser:
Open Control Centre, then tap and hold the Background Sounds button. If you can’t see it, find out how to add the Background Sounds button to Control Centre.
Scroll down and tap Background Sounds Settings.
Tap Equaliser.
Turn Equaliser on or off, then adjust the sound to your preference with related settings. Drag the Balance slider to shift sounds left or right. Use the Tone grid to adjust the contour of sounds or select one of the options – tap Broad to hear wider frequency ranges with a richer sound or tap Focused to hear specific frequency ranges with less audio distraction.
Tap the Back button when finished.
The Equaliser setting for Background Sounds requires iOS 26, iPadOS 26, visionOS 26 or macOS Tahoe or later.
Turn on Background Sounds on your Mac or Apple Vision Pro
Play rain sounds and other ambient noise with Background Sounds on your Mac
Play rain sounds and other ambient noise with Background Sounds on your Apple Vision Pro
Background Sounds and sleep
Background Sounds such as ocean, rain or white noise may help a person relax and rest easier. Background Sounds is one of several tools on your iPhone – such as the Sound Therapy collection in Music or the Ambient Music control that you can add to Control Centre in iOS and iPadOS – that may help you ease into a more restful sleep.
In iOS 26, iPadOS 26, visionOS 26 and macOS Tahoe, you can also add a timer to your Background Sounds so that the sounds stop at a specific time or after an amount of time. In the Settings app, go to Accessibility > Audio & Visual > Background Sounds, then tap Stop Sounds with a Timer.
Background Sounds and the experience of tinnitus
Tinnitus, or the perception of sound that others do not hear, can happen to many people. With tinnitus, the sounds can take many forms but are most commonly described as a ringing sound and can be momentary or occur over longer durations. The experience of tinnitus can vary significantly from person to person and can change for an individual. Exposure to excessive levels of noise and stress can cause or worsen tinnitus.
Background Sounds can help minimise distractions to increase a sense of focus and relaxation, which some users find can help with tinnitus.
Background Sounds and cognitive focus
To better focus on a task, your iPhone has tools that may help minimise distractions. Background Sounds or the Sound Therapy collection in Music can help counteract surrounding sounds, while Focus options can temporarily silence all notifications or only allow specific notifications – ones that apply to your task, for example – and let other people and apps know you’re busy.
In iOS 26, iPadOS 26, visionOS 26 and macOS Tahoe, you can also add a shortcut that turns on Background Sounds when you take a certain action, such as turning on a Focus setting. Find out how to create a shortcut on your iPhone or iPad or how to create a shortcut on your Mac.
