Got an iPhone 14? Here’s How to Enable the Startup Sound

Apple users loved the startup chime that played whenever a Mac was turned on. The sound mysteriously disappeared when Apple redesigned the MacBook in 2016, but returned with macOS 11 (Big Sur).(Opens in a new window) Operating system.

There was never an official iPhone startup sound, and there still isn’t, but you can add one if you own an iPhone 14. Accessibility settings allow you to enable a different type of startup sound that gives Apple users a similar level of satisfaction when their devices are on.

What does the startup sound do?

The iPhone 14 startup sound is different from the familiar Mac startup sound(Opens in a new window). A Mac’s startup sound is used to indicate that certain diagnostic tests have passed and no errors have been found. As explained by Steven Acquino on Twitter(Opens in a new window)the startup sound found on every iPhone 14 model is actually an accessibility feature that helps people with visual impairments know when they have successfully turned their device on and off.

How to enable iPhone startup sound

While the iPhone 14’s startup chime isn’t specifically designed as comfort food for Apple enthusiasts, anyone can activate it by opening it Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visualthen toggle Power on and off sounds on.

To hear the sound in action, you need to turn off your iPhone 14 by pressing both volume up and sleeping/waking button up to Swipe to turn off option appears.

Once you do that, just before your iPhone 14 turns off completely, it will make a different sound than the traditional Mac boot chime. Next time, you’ll hear the tone after holding down the sleep/wake button until you see the Apple logo.

Which iPhone models can use the startup sound?

The startup sound is only available on the iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. This is because the Power on and off sounds The accessibility setting is built into the firmware of the A16 Bionic chip rather than the operating system, allowing the chime to play even before the operating system loads.

Since the A16 Bionic chip was introduced with the iPhone 14 range and there is no way to enable the feature by upgrading to the latest iOS 16 operating system, users with previous iPhone models will not have this functionality.

Does this function have any other use?

Does this feature have any practical use or does it just sound cool? In addition to assisting the visually impaired, the startup sound can help users and support professionals alike know exactly when the device was successfully powered off or on.

It could also just be an audible reminder that differentiates your iPhone 14 from other iPhone users. One day it might even be a differentiator between every iPhone and Android. What do you think of the iPhone 14 start signal?

Handy with the Apple iPhone 14 Pro range