Your phone’s accessibility settings, and how they help
Your phone accessibility settings can make text bigger, turn the camera into a magnifying glass, caption phone calls and help you hear in a noisy room. They are free and already built into your iPhone or Android phone. You find all of them in one menu, Settings > Accessibility.
The name puts many people off. Accessibility sounds as if it is meant for someone else, but these settings are for anyone who wants a phone that is easier to read and hear. They help most on a trip, where the restaurant is dim, the station is loud and the phone line is poor.
Where do I find my phone accessibility settings?
iPhone
Open Settings and tap Accessibility. Apple groups the features by need, such as vision, hearing and mobility.
Android
Open Settings and tap Accessibility. Google says menu names and features can differ by device and by country. If you cannot see a setting named in this guide, type its name into the search bar at the top of Settings.
Samsung Galaxy
Samsung keeps these settings in two places. Text size and bold text are under Settings > Display > Font size and style. High contrast fonts and other viewing aids are under Settings > Accessibility > Visibility enhancements.
How to make text bigger on your phone
iPhone
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size.
- Tap Larger Text, then drag the slider until the text is comfortable to read.
- For even bigger sizes, turn on Larger Accessibility Sizes.
- Go back one screen and turn on Bold Text if you want heavier letters.
To change the size while you are reading, add the Text Size control to Control Center. To make icons and buttons bigger as well as text, go to Settings > Appearance > Display Zoom, tap Larger Text, then tap Use Zoomed. If one app is hard to read but the rest are fine, go to Settings > Accessibility > Per-App Settings and give that app its own text size.
Android
In Settings, search for Font size and move the slider. Search for Display size to make everything on the screen bigger, including icons. Bold text is under Settings > Accessibility > Display size and text. Google says some of these steps need Android 13 or later, and some apps do not follow the font size setting.
Samsung Galaxy
Go to Settings > Display > Font size and style. Move the Font size slider, and turn on Bold font if you want heavier letters. For stronger contrast between text and background, go to Settings > Accessibility > Visibility enhancements and turn on High contrast fonts.
Zoom in on anything on the screen
Bigger text does not help with photos, maps or small buttons. Zoom magnifies whatever is on the screen.
iPhone
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Zoom and turn on Zoom. Double-tap the screen with three fingers to turn Zoom on or off. Under Zoom Region, choose Full Screen Zoom to magnify the whole screen, or Window Zoom for a magnifying lens you can move around.
Android
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Magnification and turn on Magnification shortcut. Then choose how to open it: the Accessibility button on the screen, holding both volume keys, or triple-tapping the screen. Some of these options need Android 13 or later.
How to use the magnifier on your phone
Your phone’s camera can work as a magnifying glass for small print on a menu, a sign or a medicine label.
iPhone
Open the Magnifier app and point the camera at the text. Drag the slider to zoom. Turn on the flashlight to light the page, and freeze the frame to hold the image still so you can read it at your own pace. Apple’s own example is a restaurant with small print and low lighting: point your iPhone at the menu and Magnifier shows it clearly on the screen.
You can also open Magnifier from Control Center, from the Action button on models that have one, or with the Accessibility Shortcut described further down.
Android
Pixel 5 and later phones can use Google’s Magnifier app, downloaded from Google Play. On other Android phones, use the Magnification shortcut above to enlarge what is on the screen, or check your phone maker’s own camera and accessibility tools.
How to turn on live captions for phone calls
Live captions turn speech into text on your screen as it happens. They help on a bad line, in a loud room or when someone speaks quickly.
iPhone Live Captions
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Live Captions and turn it on. Live Captions works on iPhone 11 or later. It captions sound from apps, phone calls and FaceTime, and it can caption a conversation in the room through the microphone.
Next, choose how long to keep call captions. With 1 Minute, the captions clear when the call ends. With 1 Hour, you keep them for up to an hour after the call, but everyone on the call hears a short announcement that the call is being transcribed.
Live Captions is not available in every language. Apple’s feature availability list includes English for Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. English for South Africa and English for New Zealand are not on the list. Apple also says accuracy may vary and Live Captions should not be relied on in high-risk or emergency situations.
Android Live Caption and Live Transcribe
Live Caption captions videos, phone calls and video calls on Pixel phones and selected other Android phones. Press a volume button, tap More, then tap Live Caption. Google says the captions are processed on the phone, are never stored, and do not use mobile data or an internet connection, which helps when you are roaming.
Live Transcribe turns speech around you into text on the screen. It is already installed on Pixel phones and some other Android phones. On other phones, download it from Google Play. It needs an internet connection unless you download a language for offline use.
Phone accessibility settings that help you hear better
iPhone
Live Listen turns your iPhone into a microphone that sends sound to your AirPods, supported Beats headphones or Made for iPhone hearing devices. Apple suggests it for a conversation in a noisy room. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual > Live Listen, or turn it on from Control Center. With AirPods, your iPhone needs iOS 14.3 or later.
To pair a Made for iPhone hearing aid, go to Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices, then tap Pair MFi Hearing Device.
Android
Pair hearing aids under Connected devices in Settings, which works with all types, or through Accessibility, which works best with hearing aids that support ASHA. Some steps need Android 14 or later.
Sound Amplifier filters and amplifies the sound around you through wired or Bluetooth headphones. It is already installed on Pixel 3 and later and selected Android phones. On others, download it from Google Play. Find it under Settings > Accessibility > Sound Amplifier.
Flash alerts
If you might miss a ringtone in a noisy place, your iPhone can flash the screen, the LED light or both for incoming calls and alerts. For the LED light, go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual and turn on LED Flash for Alerts. Apple says it works only when the phone is locked. On Android, go to Settings > Accessibility > Flash notifications and turn on Camera flash, Screen flash or both.
Have your phone read the screen to you
iPhone
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak. Turn on Speak Screen, then swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen to hear everything on it read aloud. Turn on Speak Selection to hear only the text you select. This helps with a long email, the small print in a booking confirmation or a web page in poor light.
Android
Select to Speak reads or describes what is on the screen. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Select to Speak and turn on the Select to Speak shortcut. It is part of Android Accessibility Suite.
Set up a shortcut to your phone accessibility settings
You do not need to go back into Settings every time you want a feature.
iPhone
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and choose the features you use most, such as Zoom or Magnifier. Then triple-click the side button on an iPhone with Face ID, or the Home button on other models, to switch them on or off. You can also add them to Control Center or the Action button.
Android
Each feature can have its own shortcut, such as the on-screen Accessibility button or holding both volume keys. The Accessibility Menu adds a large on-screen menu for common controls.
Why these settings help when you travel
- Dim restaurants and small print: Magnifier with the flashlight on lets you read the menu.
- Noisy stations and busy rooms: Live Listen, Sound Amplifier and flash alerts help you follow a conversation and notice calls you would otherwise miss.
- Poor phone lines: live captions show what the caller says, where the feature is available for your language.
- Roaming: Android Live Caption works without mobile data.
- Borrowed devices: Share Accessibility Settings puts your iPhone settings on another iPhone or iPad for a while, and you remove them when you are finished.
- Long car journeys: Vehicle Motion Cues can help reduce motion sickness when you use your iPhone as a passenger.
Switch on one setting today, the one that fixes what bothers you most, and add the others when you need them. If you want help setting up a phone or tablet before a trip, our Device Setup Confidence Guide covers it step by step. For staying in touch on the road, see our guides to video calling your family while traveling and to translation apps for confident communication abroad.