How do I get my phone to stop telling me the time?

Understanding the Time Announcements

Many smartphones nowadays come with a feature called “Time Announcements” that will speak the time aloud at certain intervals or when you perform specific gestures like raising your phone or tapping the screen twice (Mitel). This can be useful for people who are visually impaired or want an easy way to check the time hands-free. However, some users find the frequent voice announcements annoying or distracting.

Time announcements are enabled by default on iOS and Android devices. On an iPhone, you can activate Siri to speak the time by saying “Hey Siri, what time is it?” or double tapping the Home button. Android phones will announce the time if you double tap anywhere on the screen. The frequency of the announcements varies between phone models and OS versions but can often be adjusted in the accessibility settings (Mitel).

Locating the Setting

The setting to control time announcements is typically located in the Accessibility or Notifications settings on your phone. Here’s how to find it on some popular platforms:

• On iPhone, go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content and toggle off “Speak Time.” You can also go to Settings > Notifications to customize notifications from specific apps.
• On Android, open Settings > Accessibility > Audio & On-screen text and disable “Speak time” under Spoken text. The Notifications settings also let you disable notifications for certain apps.
• On Samsung Galaxy phones, go to Settings > Accessibility > Voice Assistant and turn off “Voice Assistant speaks time at every 15 mins” under “Speech feedback.” The Notifications settings can disable app notifications.

So in summary, look in the Accessibility and/or Notifications settings on your phone to find and customize the time announcement feature. The exact setting may vary by device model and OS version.

Turning Off Time Announcements

There are a few different ways to turn off the time announcements on your iPhone. The easiest method is to go into your Settings app and toggle off the “Speak Time” feature.

Here are the steps to turn off time announcements:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap on “Accessibility”.
3. Next, tap on “Spoken Content”.
4. Under the “Speak Time” setting, toggle the switch off so it is gray.

This will disable your iPhone from speaking the time out loud whenever you raise it or tap the screen. The time announcements will stop completely once this setting is disabled.

An alternative is to use Siri voice commands. You can say “Hey Siri, turn off Speak Time” and Siri will disable the time announcements.

Additionally, within certain apps like Clock, you can go into the app settings and toggle off “Speak Time”. This will prevent time announcements only in that specific app.

So in summary, the Speak Time setting in Accessibility is the global control for turning off time announcements on your iPhone. Turning it off will stop your iPhone speaking the time in all scenarios.[1]

Customizing When Time is Announced

Many Android phones allow you to customize when and how often the time is spoken aloud. This setting is usually found in your device’s accessibility or ease of access settings.

On a Samsung Galaxy phone, go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content and toggle “Speak time” on or off. You can also adjust the frequency of time announcements, such as every 15, 30, or 60 minutes.

On a Google Pixel phone, go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio & on-screen text > Spoken text and toggle “Speak time” on or off. You can choose a frequency like every 15, 30, or 60 minutes.

For other Android devices, look for similar settings in Accessibility or Ease of Access. You may see options like “Speak time” or “Time announcements” that let you disable this feature or adjust how often it occurs.

According to Google support, you can also customize time announcements for specific apps only, like just your alarm or timer apps.

Using Do Not Disturb

One of the easiest ways to stop your phone from announcing the time is to enable Do Not Disturb mode. This setting silences all calls, alerts and notifications – including the speaking of the time. According to Apple Support, “With Focus settings in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 or later, Do Not Disturb can silence calls, alerts, and notifications. When Do Not Disturb is on, nothing will make sounds or visuals” (Apple Support).

On an iPhone, you can enable Do Not Disturb by swiping to access the Control Center and tapping the moon icon. Alternatively, go to Settings > Focus to customize when Do Not Disturb turns on automatically – for example, during certain hours at night. On Android, open Settings and select Sound/Do Not Disturb to enable this feature and select times it should be activated (Google Help).

With Do Not Disturb enabled, you will not hear any spoken time announcements from your phone. This provides a simple and convenient way to mute the time, along with all other notifications and sounds.

Disabling Specific Apps

You can disable time announcements in individual apps. Many apps have their own settings where you can turn off audio notifications or spoken text. For example, in the Google Assistant app you can go to Settings > Voice > Spoken results and toggle off “Speak time” to prevent time announcements.

The Clock app on both iOS and Android also has settings to disable the speaking clock. On an iPhone, go to Settings > Clock > Announce Time and turn it off. On Android, open the Clock app, go to Settings > Voice > Speaking clock and disable it.

Similarly, apps like Alexa, Siri, Bixby, or any third-party assistants can be modified in their settings to no longer announce the time. Dig into the app’s settings or help articles to locate the specific toggle for disabling time announcements.

If you only want to stop time announcements in certain apps but not others, individually going in and disabling those specific apps can be an effective solution without fully muting your device.

Using Airplane Mode

Airplane mode is an easy way to disable time announcements and other notifications on your phone. When airplane mode is enabled, it turns off all wireless connections, including WiFi, Bluetooth and cellular data. This disconnects your phone from receiving any external signals or notifications. Therefore, putting your phone into airplane mode at night will prevent it from speaking the time, while also conserving battery life.

According to this article, airplane mode disables all wireless and cellular signals coming from the phone. So alarms, notifications, calls, and time announcements will not happen when in airplane mode. It essentially silences all phone activity while disconnected from networks and services.

The key benefit of using airplane mode to mute time announcements is convenience. Toggling airplane mode on and off is quick and simple to do. Just access the Control Center on iPhone or the Settings on Android to enable or disable it. Using airplane mode ensures you won’t hear the time spoken out loud when trying to sleep or focus.

Troubleshooting Issues

Sometimes even after attempting to disable the time announcements, your phone may continue providing them. Here are some solutions to try if the settings don’t seem to stick or you run into other problems turning off the time announcements:

Reset Network Settings – Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset Network Settings. This will reset all network settings without erasing any other data from your phone. It essentially gives the network connection a fresh start, which can resolve odd issues like this.

Restart Your Phone – Simply powering your phone off and back on can help clear any glitches that are causing the time announcements to continue.

Update Your Phone’s Software – Make sure your phone is running the latest OS version, as software updates often include bug fixes for annoying issues like this. Go to Settings > General > Software Update to check for and install any available updates.

Reset All Settings – For a more thorough reset, go to Settings > General > Reset and choose Reset All Settings. This will reset all settings on the device but won’t delete any data.

Factory Reset – As a last resort, a factory reset (Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings) will clear any problematic settings. Just be sure to backup your data first, as a factory reset will erase all data and restore your phone to default settings.

If you still can’t resolve the issue after trying these troubleshooting steps, you may need to contact Apple support for further assistance disabling the time announcements. Be prepared to provide details about when the announcements occur and the steps you’ve tried.

Workarounds if Feature Can’t be Disabled

If you are unable to fully disable the time announcements on your phone, there are some ways you can minimize the disruptions:

Use the volume buttons to quickly mute your phone when a time announcement starts. This will silence the announcement without muting the rest of your phone (APA, 2022).

Set your phone to airplane mode when you need uninterrupted focus. Airplane mode will disable all network connections, preventing any announcements (Psych Central, 2017).

Enable Do Not Disturb mode during times when announcements would be most disruptive, like meetings or sleep. This will silence notifications from certain apps.

Use headphones to listen to music or white noise to mask verbal announcements from your phone.

Keep your phone out of earshot when possible so the announcements are less intrusive.

Ultimately, if you are unable to fully disable the feature, adapting your habits and minimizing distractions can help reduce disruptions.

Benefits of Time Announcements

Time announcements can be a useful accessibility feature for some users, especially those who are blind or have low vision. Hearing the time pronounced periodically can help these users maintain awareness of the time of day, since they are unable to glance at a clock or watch (Source: https://www.audible.com/about/newsroom/audible-captions-a-demonstration). Audible likely included time announcements as an option to make their apps more accessible and usable for the blind community.

Spoken time announcements also allow users to multi-task or focus visually on other tasks, without having to frequently check the time themselves. Parents caring for children, people cooking in the kitchen, and those engaged in hobbies or crafts are examples of users who may appreciate periodic time updates audibly announced (Source: https://www.alertus.com/audible-solutions). Voice announcements can streamline accessing information while staying focused on other activities.

For some users reliant on auditory learning, hearing the time periodically reinforced can help strengthen their mental model and awareness of time passing. Auditory reminders of the time can assist users struggling with time blindness or difficulty tracking time, especially those with ADHD, autism, or sensory processing disorders (Source: https://help.audible.com/s/article/use-timer?language=en_US).