The ability to recognize sound, or so-called “Sound Notifications,” is one of the features that most Android phone users are unaware of despite its importance. It utilizes the phone’s microphones to continuously monitor surrounding sounds in search of specific sounds and sends a notification when detected. This feature is particularly useful for users with hearing impairments, but it has other uses that make it valuable even for individuals with good hearing. Let me tell you how to activate and use it on Samsung phones, noting that the feature is available on almost all Android phones, although finding it varies from one phone to another.
The “Sound Notifications” feature on Android devices helps you know what’s happening in your home, such as security cameras. When activated, your phone will constantly check for sounds you want to receive notifications about, for example, when a smoke alarm goes off or the doorbell rings. We will discuss the importance of the Sound Notifications feature and how to benefit from it later on. But first, let’s clarify the steps to activate it if you have a Samsung phone. For other phones, you can download the “Live Transcribe & Notification” app from Google Play if you cannot find the feature in the phone’s settings.
To activate the “Sound Notifications” feature, open the “Settings” app either by tapping the ⚙️ icon in the quick settings panel or from the app drawer. Scroll down and go to the “Accessibility” section and then tap on “Hearing enhancements” followed by “Sound Notifications.” Then click on “Open sound notifications.”
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The setup screen for the feature will appear with a notification that all sounds are processed locally on the phone and are not transmitted outside your device at all. Press the “Turn on” button at the bottom and then you will be asked to grant permissions to access the microphone, click on “Allow.”
With that, the “Sound Notifications” feature has been activated and will work in the background to monitor sounds, which means it may increase battery usage, so you should charge your phone daily if you wish to leave the feature activated. Also, in the “Sound Notifications” screen, there is a live display feature that shows a timeline of all sounds detected in the last 12 hours. You can scroll over this timeline to know the timing of a specific sound when detected by the phone.
Now, to select the sounds you want to be detected, open the “Sound Notifications” screen again and then click on the settings or gear icon (⚙️) at the top. Then click on “Sound Notifications are active” and then “Notification category” where you will see many sound options organized into categories. Activate all the sounds you want your phone to recognize and notify you about.
By doing this, you have activated the sound recognition feature. From now on, you will receive a notification every time your Samsung phone detects the specified sounds, as explained above. You can mute the notification sound for this alert by clicking on “Do Not Send Notification.”
In general, Sound Notifications are an incredibly useful feature for smartphone users with hearing impairments. Through it, they receive instant notifications of smoke alarms, fire alerts, or children’s sounds, and will know exactly what is happening. In some cases, it may be a lifesaver. The feature is useful for almost anyone, so if you are constantly listening to loud music using headphones directly connected to your ears. By enabling this feature, you will receive notifications when a fire alarm goes off, or when someone screams or your child cries, even recognizing doorbells and knocks.
Of course, you may not use this feature daily, but it gives you peace of mind when listening to loud music or using Noise Canceling headphones while working, ensuring you do not miss any important sounds. Additionally, it is very easy to activate, as illustrated.
