Live Captions is an exciting new accessibility feature in iOS 16 that generates real-time captions for media playing on your iPhone. This feature can be a game-changer for those who rely on subtitles or want to follow conversations better. However, some users have reported the Live Captions option not showing up on their iOS 16 devices.
What is Live Captions on iOS 16?
The Live Captions feature uses on-device speech recognition to automatically transcribe audio from videos, podcasts, phone calls and more. This provides a helpful aid for deaf and hard-of-hearing users.
When enabled via iOS 16 Accessibility settings, Live Captions should display text captions overlaying media that plays audio. But if the Live Captions menu isn’t appearing at all, it likely indicates a misconfiguration issue.
Methods to fix iOS 16 Live Captions Not Showing
Ensure Live Captions Are Enabled
First, check that you have properly enabled Live Captions on your iPhone running iOS 16. To do so:
- Go to Settings > Accessibility
- Scroll down and tap “Live Captions”
- Toggle “Live Captions” on
If the switch was turned off, this should now prompt the needed permissions to access and caption microphone input.
Update to the Latest iOS Version
Since Live Captions is a new feature, it’s a good idea to update to the latest iOS 16 version in case a bug fix was issued.
To update:
- Go to Settings > General > Software Update
- Download and install the latest iOS 16 update
- Updating provides access to the most stable iOS 16 release.
Ensure Language Support is Enabled
Live Captions requires that your iPhone language be set to English (US). To check:
- Go to Settings > General > Language & Region
- Ensure your Primary Language is English (US)
- If set to another language, switch to English (US) for Live Captions eligibility.
Try Restarting Your iPhone
If Live Captions still don’t show up, try restarting your iPhone. This will clear out any temporary glitches.
To restart, hold the Side button and either Volume button until the power off slider appears.
Contact Apple Support
If you still don’t see the Live Captions option after trying these steps, contact Apple Support for personalized troubleshooting assistance.
How to customize Live Captions on iOS 16
Once Live Captions are working, you can customize them to suit your preferences:
- Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap on Accessibility.
- Under the “HEARING” section, tap on Live Captions (Beta) and ensure it’s turned on.
- Tap on Appearance to customize the text. You can adjust font size, style, and color as per your liking.
- You can also choose to show or hide profanity in the Live Captions text.
Conclusion
iOS 16’s Live Captions can greatly enhance your iPhone experience by providing real-time subtitles. However, many users are facing the issue and we have tried our best to fix the issue with different workaround methods. If this article helped you to fix the issue, don’t bother to share your feedback with us in the comment section.