macOS · Accessibility
Get alerts when your Mac hears certain sounds
Sound Recognition uses on-device listening to detect sounds such as a doorbell, smoke alarm, or crying baby, and shows a notification on screen so people who are deaf or hard of hearing do not miss them.
How to open Sound Recognition
- Open System Settings → Accessibility → Sound Recognition
- Turn on Sound Recognition
- Enable the specific sound categories you want alerts for
- Confirm the correct microphone is selected as the sound input
What you should know
- Built-in categories include fire alarm, doorbell, siren, car horn, and appliance beeps
- Notifications appear as an on-screen alert when a matching sound is detected
- Processing happens on-device for privacy rather than sending audio to a server
- Individual sound categories can be toggled on or off
Sound Recognition is an assistive aid and should not be relied on as the sole way to detect emergencies like fire or smoke alarms.
Why it matters
Many everyday cues, like a smoke alarm, a knock at the door, or a running dishwasher's end-of-cycle beep, are easy to miss for someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, especially when focused on a screen with headphones on. Sound Recognition closes that gap by turning ambient audio events into visible alerts, giving people more independence at home or in the office without needing separate specialized hardware.
Best practices
- Enable only the sound categories that are relevant to your environment to reduce notification noise
- Keep the Mac's built-in or connected microphone unobstructed for reliable detection
- Pair with visual alert options elsewhere in Accessibility for a fuller notification experience
- Test each enabled category using the built-in sound check when first setting it up
Common problems and fixes
- Sounds are not detected reliably
- Check that the correct input microphone is selected in Sound settings and that it is not muted or blocked.
- Too many false alerts
- Disable categories prone to false positives in your environment, such as appliance beeps in a noisy kitchen.
- No alert appears even though the sound played
- Confirm Notifications are allowed for Sound Recognition alerts in Notification settings.
Tips and tricks
- Combine with Flash Screen for alerts so a notification is accompanied by a visible screen flash.
- Position your Mac's microphone toward the room rather than facing a wall for better pickup.
Frequently asked questions
Does Sound Recognition record or upload audio?
No, detection happens on-device and audio is not stored or transmitted.
Can I add custom sounds?
The feature relies on Apple's built-in trained categories rather than user-defined custom sounds.
Does it work with external microphones?
Yes, as long as the microphone is selected as the active sound input device.
Related settings
- Accessibility SettingsAccessibility settings on Mac include VoiceOver screen reading, Zoom for magnification, Voice Control, and many vision, hearing, and mobility features to make macOS easier to use.
- CaptionsCaptions settings control how closed captions and subtitles appear across macOS, including text style, background, and size, and let you require captions whenever available in supported media.
- Sound Output & InputSound Output & Input settings let you select which speakers or headphones play audio and which microphone captures it, and adjust device-specific levels like output volume balance and input gain.
More Accessibility guides for macOS
- Language & RegionLanguage & Region settings control which language macOS and your apps display in, plus regional formatting for dates, times, numbers, currency, and the calendar system used system-wide. You can also set different preferred languages per individual app.
- VoiceOverVoiceOver is macOS's built-in screen reader, describing aloud what's on screen — windows, buttons, text, and images — so you can use the entire Mac without seeing the display. It works through keyboard commands and gestures rather than a mouse.
- ZoomZoom is macOS's built-in screen magnifier, letting you enlarge everything on the display using keyboard shortcuts, trackpad gestures, or the mouse scroll wheel, without needing a separate magnifying app. It works independently of display resolution settings.
- Voice ControlVoice Control lets you operate your entire Mac — clicking, typing, opening apps, and navigating menus — using only spoken commands, with all speech processing done on-device for privacy. It's built for people who can't use a traditional mouse and keyboard, but works for anyone who wants hands-free control.
- Switch ControlSwitch Control lets you operate your entire Mac using one or more adaptive switches, a game controller, or the keyboard instead of a mouse and trackpad, by scanning through onscreen items and selecting with a button press.
- Display AccommodationsDisplay Accommodations groups visual comfort settings such as Reduce Motion, Increase Contrast, Differentiate Without Color, and color filters, letting you tune how the interface renders for visual comfort or color vision differences.