Hearing health is incredibly important, and gentle reminders from Apple to keep that in mind can be helpful. However, if you’re just tired of seeing headphone volume limit warnings, there’s actually a way to turn those off.
iOS and iPadOS track headphone audio exposure over a rolling seven-day period. If the system detects that you’ve exceeded safe listening levels (based on guidelines from the World Health Organization), you’ll get a notification urging you to lower your volume.
How to turn off headphone volume limit notifications on iPhone and iPad
If you’d prefer not to receive these alerts, you can disable them in just a few steps:
Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. Tap Sounds & Haptics. Select Headphone Safety. Turn off Headphone Notifications.
In the same menu, you can also toggle off Reduce Loud Sounds if you don’t want iOS automatically lowering your playback volume.
Once disabled, you won’t get future alerts about high headphone volume levels. Just remember that these notifications are designed to protect your long-term hearing, so it’s still a good idea to keep an eye on your listening habits, especially when listening at higher volumes.
Why you get these warnings
Apple’s Headphone Safety feature uses your device’s volume level and listening duration to estimate total sound exposure. If your listening exceeds safe limits, which are roughly equivalent to 80 decibels for more than 40 hours in a week, you’ll get a notification. These thresholds come from World Health Organization recommendations intended to prevent noise-induced hearing loss. The feature works whether you’re using wired headphones, wireless headphones, or built-in Apple products like AirPods and Beats.
Avoiding alerts without turning off Headphone Safety entirely
If you don’t want to completely disable Headphone Safety but still want to avoid unnecessary warnings, iOS sometimes lets you classify connected devices as something other than headphones. For example, when you connect to a car stereo or a Bluetooth speaker, you may see a prompt to choose the device type. Selecting “Car Stereo,” “Speaker,” or another non-headphone option will prevent iOS from counting that audio exposure toward your weekly headphone limit.
Works with AirPods, Beats, and more
This setting isn’t limited to Apple’s own headphones. It applies whether you’re using AirPods Pro 2 ($169, reg. $249), AirPods 4 ($99, reg. $129), AirPods Max ($479, reg. $549), or Beats models like Beats Studio Pro ($179.95, reg. $349), Beats Solo 4 ($99.95, reg. $199.95), or Beats Fit Pro ($149.99, reg. $199.95). The system measures exposure based on connected audio devices, so disabling the setting will stop notifications regardless of which headphones you use.