Live Listen turns your iPhone or iPad into a movable microphone that streams sound straight to your AirPods. Set the phone near the TV speaker or in front of the person talking, and their voice goes directly to your ears. It’s free, it works with AirPods you probably already own, and setup takes about two minutes.
The short version: Live Listen is worth it if distance is your problem, like a quiet speaker across the table or a TV on the other side of the room. The biggest caveat is that your phone has to sit near the sound source, so it’s away from you while you use it. If you’d rather keep your phone in your pocket, Conversation Boost on AirPods Pro may fit better.
Live Listen on AirPods: Quick Reference
| Your situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| First-time setup on iPhone or iPad | Add the Live Listen control to Control Center, then tap it |
| Watching TV in a noisy room | Put your iPhone near the TV speaker and start Live Listen |
| Conversation in a loud restaurant | Slide your iPhone toward the person speaking |
| You use a Made for iPhone hearing aid | Go to Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices instead |
| Live Listen won’t start | Make sure Bluetooth is on, your headphones are charged, and your AirPods are connected, not just paired |
What Is Live Listen?
Live Listen is a free accessibility feature built into iOS and iPadOS. When it’s on, your iPhone or iPad uses its microphone (or an external wired mic, if you connect one) to pick up nearby sound and sends it wirelessly to your AirPods, supported Beats, or a Made for iPhone (MFi) hearing device (Apple Support).
That’s different from normal audio streaming. When you play music or a TV show on your iPhone, your AirPods get the digital audio file. With Live Listen, your AirPods get whatever the phone’s microphone hears in the room, in real time. The phone becomes an ear you can put somewhere else.
Live Listen costs nothing and needs no subscription. You’ll find no in-app purchase either. It’s part of the operating system.
Important: Live Listen is an accessibility convenience feature. It isn’t a medical device and doesn’t replace a hearing aid or a hearing test. If you’re struggling to hear day to day, talk to an audiologist or doctor.
Live Listen vs. Conversation Boost vs. Hearing Aid vs. Translate
These four features get mixed up constantly, partly because they all involve AirPods and listening. Here’s how they differ:
| Feature | Which microphone it uses | What it’s for | Main downside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Listen | Your iPhone or iPad’s microphone | Hearing a sound source that’s far from you | Your phone has to sit near the source |
| Conversation Boost | The AirPods Pro’s own built-in mics | Helping you hear people nearby more clearly in noisy settings | AirPods Pro only, and it can’t reach across a room |
| Hearing Aid feature | The AirPods Pro’s own mics, with personalized tuning | Apple’s hearing aid feature for perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, on supported AirPods Pro models where it’s available in your region | Limited to specific AirPods Pro models and intended for real hearing loss |
| Translate | AirPods and iPhone mics | Translating another language during an in-person conversation | Translates speech, so it won’t help you hear a TV more clearly |
Pick Live Listen when the problem is distance. Pick Conversation Boost when the person is close but the room is loud. We cover Conversation Boost, the Hearing Aid feature, and Translate in their own guides, so this article sticks to Live Listen.
Before You Begin
Make sure you have:
- An iPhone or iPad running iOS 14.3 or iPadOS 14.3 or later (these steps follow Apple’s current Live Listen support page, published October 7, 2026, and the current Control Center layout)
- A supported listening device (see the table below)
- Bluetooth turned on
- Your AirPods or Beats in your ears and connected to the device you’ll use as the mic
- Charged headphones and a charged iPhone or iPad (Live Listen keeps the mic and Bluetooth running the whole time)
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Device | iPhone or iPad |
| OS version | iOS 14.3 or iPadOS 14.3 or later (check in Settings > General > About) |
| Supported AirPods | AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max |
| Supported Beats | Powerbeats Pro, Beats Fit Pro, Powerbeats Fit, Beats 360 |
| Hearing devices | Made for iPhone (MFi) hearing aids, set up in Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices |
| Cost | Free, no subscription |
Apple updates its supported list from time to time. Check the Live Listen support page before assuming a newer pair of Beats or third-party earbuds will work. Plenty of Bluetooth headphones connect for music but don’t support Live Listen.
How to Set Up Live Listen on AirPods
The setup is the same idea on both devices: connect your headphones, add the control to Control Center, then tap it. The only real difference is how you open Control Center.
Step 1: Connect Your AirPods or Beats
Put your AirPods or Beats in your ears. If they don’t connect automatically, open the case near your iPhone or iPad and wait for the connection.
Apple’s requirement is simply that your AirPods or Beats are in your ears and connected to the iPhone or iPad. Seeing them listed under Settings > Bluetooth doesn’t guarantee they’re connected right now, so check that they show as connected there, or as the audio output in Control Center.
Expected result: Your AirPods or Beats show as connected to your iPhone or iPad.
Step 2: Open Control Center
On iPhone with Face ID: Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen.
On iPhone with a Home button: Swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen.
On iPad: Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen.
Expected result: Control Center opens over whatever you were doing.
Step 3: Add the Live Listen Control to Control Center
Live Listen isn’t in Control Center by default. You have to add it once.
On iPhone (iOS)
- With Control Center open, tap the Add Controls (+) button in the top-left corner, or touch and hold an empty area.
- Tap Add a Control at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll to the hearing section. Apple’s support pages label it Hearing Accessibility in one place and Hearing in another, so look for either name (Apple Support; AirPods User Guide).
- Tap Live Listen to add it.
- Tap an empty area to exit editing mode.
Don’t want to scroll? Tap the Search Controls field and type:
Live Listen
On iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 and earlier, Control Center customization lives in Settings > Control Center instead. There, tap the green add button next to Hearing. On those versions, you open the Hearing control first and then tap Live Listen.
On iPad (iPadOS)
- Swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center.
- Touch and hold an empty area, or tap the + button.
- Tap Add a Control.
- Find Live Listen in the Hearing Accessibility or Hearing section, or search for it.
- Tap Live Listen, then tap an empty area to finish.
Expected result: The Live Listen control now appears in Control Center on that device. You only do this once per device.
Tip: If you’re setting this up for a parent or grandparent, drag the Live Listen control near the top of Control Center while you’re still in editing mode. One less thing to hunt for later.
Step 4: Start a Live Listen Session
- Open Control Center.
- Tap the Live Listen control. If you added the grouped Hearing control instead (the older Control Center layout), tap it first and then tap Live Listen inside it.
- Place your iPhone or iPad near the sound you want to hear. That might be the TV speaker or the person you’re talking to.
Expected result: You hear the room through your AirPods, picked up by the phone’s microphone. Apple’s Live Listen page also notes that you can see your headphone audio levels in real time while you listen, with detailed decibel-level information (Apple Support).
Step 5: Stop Live Listen
- Open Control Center.
- Tap the Live Listen control again to turn it off.
Expected result: The room audio stops in your AirPods, and the control returns to its inactive state.
Remember to stop it before you walk away. If you leave your phone by the TV with Live Listen running and head to the kitchen, you’ll keep hearing the living room until the connection fades, and walls and interference affect how soon that happens.
Using Live Listen With a Made for iPhone Hearing Aid
If you wear an MFi hearing aid, Live Listen works with it too, but the path is different (Apple Support).
- On your iPhone or iPad, open Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices.
- Tap the name of your hearing device.
- Tap Start Live Listen.
- Place your device near the sound source.
To stop, return to the same screen and turn Live Listen off.
The steps are identical on iPad. Your hearing aid needs to be paired in Hearing Devices first, which your audiologist or the hearing aid maker’s instructions can help with.
Configuration: Settings Worth Knowing
There isn’t much to tweak in Live Listen itself, which is honestly part of its appeal. These are the pieces that matter:
- Control Center placement: The Live Listen control stays where you put it. Moving it near the top saves fumbling in a dark room.
- Device volume: Apple’s advice is to adjust the volume on your device if you can’t hear well enough. The side volume buttons or the volume slider in Control Center usually do it, though behavior can vary with your listening device.
- Microphone source: By default, Live Listen uses your iPhone or iPad’s built-in microphone. You can also connect an external wired microphone to the USB-C or Lightning port (Apple Support). Microphone positions differ between iPhone and iPad models, so if the sound is weak, try turning or repositioning the device toward the source.
- Hearing Devices (MFi only): Live Listen for hearing aids is started from Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices, separate from the Control Center flow.
Tips for Hearing the TV or a Noisy Room
For the TV: Set your iPhone close to the TV’s speakers, which are usually below or behind the screen. A small phone stand keeps the mic pointed in the right direction and stops the phone from sliding off a TV cabinet. The upside is real. You can hear dialogue clearly without cranking the volume for everyone else.
The trade-off is that you’re hearing the TV through a phone mic in the room. Everything near the TV gets picked up too, like a dog barking or someone talking nearby. If you’re watching something on the iPhone or iPad itself, you’ll get much cleaner sound by just playing it through your AirPods directly.
For restaurants and events: Slide your phone across the table toward the person speaking. The closer the mic is to their mouth, the less clatter from the kitchen you’ll hear. In a crowded room, one person at a time works much better than trying to cover a whole group.
For lectures or meetings: Ask the speaker if you can put your phone near the lectern so the built-in microphone can pick up their voice directly.
Be upfront about it: Live Listen can pick up conversations from across the room. Use it to hear people you’re with, not to listen in on others. Tell the people around you what you’re doing. It’s courteous, and laws on intentionally listening in on or recording private conversations vary by place. This isn’t legal advice, so check local rules if you’re unsure.
Watch your battery: Long TV sessions keep the mic and Bluetooth busy on both devices. Keep the AirPods case and your phone charger nearby for a full movie.
Troubleshooting Live Listen
The Live Listen control isn’t in Control Center
Why it happens: Live Listen isn’t added by default. You have to add it manually.
Fix: Open Control Center, touch and hold an empty area, tap Add a Control, then find Live Listen under Hearing Accessibility or Hearing. Or type “Live Listen” in the Search Controls field. Also confirm you’re on iOS 14.3 or iPadOS 14.3 or later in Settings > General > About.
My AirPods are connected, but Live Listen won’t turn on
Why it happens: Headphones can be paired with your device without being connected at the moment. Live Listen needs them connected.
Fix: Put both AirPods in your ears. Check Settings > Bluetooth to confirm they show as connected, and tap their name to connect if they don’t. Then try the Live Listen control again.
Live Listen won’t start at all
Why it happens: Bluetooth may be off, or the headphones may be low on battery.
Fix: Turn on Bluetooth in Settings > Bluetooth. Charge your AirPods or Beats, put them back in your ears, and reconnect. If it still fails, put the AirPods back in the case for a few seconds, then take them out and try again.
The audio is too quiet
Why it happens: Live Listen relays whatever the device’s microphone picks up. Distance and volume both affect how loud it sounds.
Fix: Move your iPhone or iPad closer to the sound source. Then raise the volume with the side buttons on your device.
My headphones play music fine, but Live Listen doesn’t work with them
Why it happens: Not every Bluetooth headphone supports Live Listen, even when it connects for audio.
Fix: Compare your model against the supported list on Apple’s Live Listen page. If it isn’t listed, Live Listen won’t work with it, no matter how many times you reconnect.
I can’t find Live Listen for my hearing aid in Control Center
Why it happens: MFi hearing devices use a separate Settings path from the AirPods and Beats Control Center flow.
Fix: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices, tap your device name, then tap Start Live Listen.
Live Listen FAQ
Which AirPods and Beats support Live Listen? AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, Powerbeats Pro, Beats Fit Pro, Powerbeats Fit, and Beats 360, per Apple Support. MFi hearing aids work too.
Does Live Listen cost anything? No. It’s built into iOS and iPadOS, with no subscription or purchase.
Can I use Live Listen to hear my TV better? Yes. Put your iPhone or iPad near the TV speaker and start Live Listen. Expect some room noise along with the dialogue.
What’s the difference between Live Listen and Conversation Boost? Live Listen uses your iPhone or iPad mic, which you can place near the sound source as long as it stays within wireless range. Conversation Boost uses the AirPods Pro’s own mics to help you hear people nearby more clearly in noisy environments.
What’s the difference between Live Listen and the AirPods Hearing Aid feature? The Hearing Aid feature is Apple’s hearing aid feature for perceived mild to moderate hearing loss on supported AirPods Pro models, where it’s available in your region. Live Listen relays room audio and does no hearing correction.
Can I use Live Listen with a hearing aid instead of AirPods? Yes, with a Made for iPhone hearing device. Start it from Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices.
Wrapping Up
You can now turn your iPhone or iPad into a remote mic for your AirPods and switch it on with one tap from Control Center. It’s one of the more useful hidden AirPods features, but it asks you to give up your phone for the duration, and the built-in mic hears everything in the room along with the voice you care about.
| Step | Action | Applies To |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connect AirPods or Beats as the active output | iPhone, iPad |
| 2 | Open Control Center | iPhone, iPad |
| 3 | Add the Live Listen control | iPhone, iPad |
| 4 | Tap Live Listen and place the device near the sound | iPhone, iPad |
| 5 | Tap Live Listen again to stop | iPhone, iPad |
| MFi | Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices > Start Live Listen | iPhone, iPad |
Use Live Listen if the sound you want is across the room and you’re fine leaving your phone near it. Stick with Conversation Boost if the person is right in front of you and you want your phone in your pocket. If everyday hearing is a real struggle, skip both and look at a proper hearing evaluation.