5 Useful iOS Features That Give You More Control Over Your Audio

When it comes to controlling audio on your iPhone, what usually comes to mind is the volume buttons, for obvious reasons. But there are actually several ways to manage your iPhone audio, and surprise, surprise, it’s not just about media playback. iOS lets you control the volume of your headphones and built-in speaker, the volume at which your ringtone, alarm, and system sounds play individually, and what mode your microphone should be set to, among other things.

These audio settings are usually hidden in plain sight, so you might not even realize they existed in the first place. But that makes them all the more interesting to explore, especially if you want more control over how your iPhone plays and records audio. We’ll show you five more ways to manage audio without even touching your iPhone’s volume buttons and its hidden features.

Constant exposure to loud volume is an easy way to damage your hearing. But when you’re in the zone, you can easily forget to pay attention to the volume of your iPhone speaker or connected headphones. Before you know it, you’ve already set it to the maximum limit. To prevent this in the future, iPhones have an audio setting to limit the volume. It works for both the built-in speaker and headphones, so you’re protected no matter how you listen.

Here’s how to set a limit for your iPhone speaker and headphones:

1. In the Settings application, go to Sounds and haptics.
2. Under Built-in speaker, tap Volume limit.
3. To light up Limit maximum volume.
4. Choose a limit between 20% and 90%. The cursor moves in 10% increments only.
5. Return to main page Sounds and haptics page.
6. Still under Built-in speaker, enable Reduce loud sounds. This makes loud sound effects softer, but you’ll still get the original quiet parts.
7. Under Headset, select Headphone safety.
8. Enable Reduce loud sound.
9. Move the slider to your preferred decibel level between 75 dB and 100 dB. You will see a comparison of the decibel level in real-world scenarios (e.g. 75 dB is as loud as a vacuum cleaner, 90 dB is as loud as a motorcycle).

From there, every time you turn your iPhone to maximum volume, the sounds will be noticeably softer than before.

iPhones have long integrated ringtones and alarm sounds into a single volume control. This sounds convenient on paper: after all, you’ll only need to adjust the volume once and it will be applied to all sounds on your system (not sounds from your media). But in practice, this merged functionality is actually quite annoying. You’ll want to hear a blaring alarm when you’re preparing meals in the kitchen, but you don’t want your incoming calls to be quite as loud, especially when you’re out in public.

Fortunately, one of the best features of your iPhone with iOS 27 is the separate volume control. Instead of a single volume slider, you get three: one for alarms and timers, one for ringtones, and another for alerts and system sounds (things like sent texts, keyboard clicks, and the sound of the camera shutter). Note that wake-up alarms can use their own volume settings, separate from the system-wide slider for alarms and timers.

To set volume levels individually on iOS 27, here’s what you need to do:

1. Launch it Settings application.
2. Open Sounds and haptics.
3. Under Ringtone, change the volume to your preferred level.
4. Under Alarms & Timers, turn off Match ringtone volume.
5. Drag the volume slider for alarms and timers to the level you want.
6. Under System alerts and sounds, turn off Match ringtone volume.
7. Adjust the volume slider to the level you want.

Keep in mind that this iPhone audio feature won’t be available to the general public until fall 2026. But if you want to try it before its official release, you can install the beta software for iOS 27 at your own risk.

Your iPhone already comes with over 25 preset ringtones for your incoming calls, all of which are quite distinct and easy to recognize. But sometimes you might prefer to use a popular sound you heard on TikTok or a custom ringtone you created yourself. Before iOS 26, setting a custom ringtone for your iPhone involved a multi-step process using an app called GarageBand. Unfortunately, this was more trouble than it was worth, so you probably stuck with the predefined options.

With iOS 26, however, you can easily set a custom iPhone ringtone right from the Files app. All you need to do is transfer the audio file to Fileslong press it, press Shareand select Use as ringtone. You will then be taken to the Ringtones section of the Settings app, where the audio file is automatically selected as the new ringtone.

It is important to note that audio files must be 30 seconds or less. If you try to choose a file that is longer than 30 seconds, you will get a “File too large” error. You can still trim the file using the Toolbox by Paperclip app. In the Audio section of Toolbox, tap Trimchoose your file, then cut the audio to 30 seconds or less.

Custom ringtones that you add to your iPhone can always be deleted once you no longer want them. In the Settings application, go to Sounds and haptics and open Ringtone. Then, simply swipe left on the file you want to delete.

Sometimes you might wonder if the volume on your headphones when watching Disney+, listening on Spotify, or just browsing TikTok is actually safe for your hearing. Well, you don’t need to guess about the iPhone. There’s a useful iPhone feature hidden in the Accessibility settings that tells you exactly your headset’s audio level in decibels and whether it’s “OK” or “Loud.”

To see this headset audio level rating, you will first need to add the Hearing button to your Control Center. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the Control Center.
2. Touch and hold an empty space.
3. Press Add a control.
4. Search for “Hearing.”
5. Select the Hearing tile with an ear icon.

You can then start playing your media. While listening to audio playback, open Control Center and tap Hearing. A panel will appear with a Headphone Level section showing you a decibel meter ranging from 20 dB to 110 dB. During audio playback, you will see bars reacting to changes in decibel level. If the volume is safe, an “OK” label appears with green feedback bars. If the volume is too loud, the bars turn yellow and a “Loud” label is displayed instead. It is recommended to lower the volume until you reach the “OK” decibel range.

Ideally, the audio levels from your headphones are saved on your iPhone in the Hearing section of the Health app. This way, you can review your audio exposure over the past week and know how to better control the audio on your iPhone.

Your iPhone’s microphone generally works fine for most tasks, but there are times when you want it to do more. This is where iOS’s mic modes come into play. Mic modes, as the name suggests, are modes for the microphone. There are four options to choose from: Automatic, Standard, Voice Isolation, and Wide Spectrum. Automatic selects the most appropriate mic mode based on the use case. Standard builds on standard voice processing techniques. Voice isolation improves the clarity of your voice by blocking ambient sound from your environment. And finally, Wide Spectrum lets others hear a wide spectrum of sounds, including background noise.

However, not all mic modes are available for all situations. For example, you cannot set the microphone to Wide Spectrum while you are on a phone call. You’ll also need to be using at least an iPhone XR and be updated to the latest version of iOS to be able to use voice isolation and wide spectrum. If you have a supported iPhone, follow these steps to select a microphone mode for the app you’re currently using:

1. Start a voice or video recording, answer or make a call.
2. Go to your Control Center.
3. Press the orange Or Green control button at the very top of the screen.
4. Under Audio & Video, choose your preferred mic mode.
5. If you are using a wired microphone, adjust the input gain level by moving the slider under Audio Input.
6. If you have a microphone connected like on your AirPods, set your preferred mic by tapping the value next to Audio Input.

Microphone mode is not universal: a mode you apply to one application will not automatically be used for another application. So if you want this level of microphone customization elsewhere, you’ll need to set the mic mode for each of the apps involved.