To turn Voice Control off on an iPhone, open Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control and turn off the Voice Control switch. Use the same switch to turn it back on. If a voice screen appears only when you press and hold the Side or Home button, that is a different feature called Classic Voice Control, and it has its own setting under Settings > Accessibility > Side Button (or Home Button).
This guide covers iPhones running iOS 27, and the same paths apply to recent earlier versions. Apple says Voice Control needs iOS 13 or later. The steps and labels below come from Apple’s iPhone User Guide and Apple Support articles, checked in October 2026.
Which Voice Control do you have?
Apple uses the name for two separate features, and each one is turned off in a different place. Work out which one you are seeing before you change anything.
- Voice Control is an accessibility feature. When it is on, the iPhone listens for spoken commands such as “Go home” or “Tap” followed by an item name, and an icon appears in the status bar at the top of the screen. It can act on words it hears even when you did not mean to give a command.
- Classic Voice Control is an older, simpler feature that responds only when you press and hold the Side button or Home button. Apple notes that choosing it for that button also turns off Siri on the button.
If the phone reacts to things you say during normal use, follow the first set of steps. If the problem only happens when a button is held down, in a pocket for example, skip to the Classic Voice Control section.
Turn Voice Control off in Settings
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap Accessibility.
- Tap Voice Control.
- Turn off the Voice Control switch.
To confirm it worked, look at the status bar. The Voice Control icon should be gone, and the phone should stop reacting to spoken commands. Our guide to the icons at the top of the iPhone screen explains the other symbols you may see there.
Turn Voice Control on
Before you turn on Voice Control for the first time, connect the iPhone to Wi-Fi. Apple says the phone has to complete a one-time file download, and after that Voice Control works without an internet connection.
- Open Settings and tap Accessibility.
- Tap Voice Control.
- Tap Set Up Voice Control and follow the onscreen instructions.
- Wait for the download to finish. An icon appears in the status bar to show that Voice Control is on.
After the first setup, you only need the switch on the same screen. Apple’s Use Voice Control to interact with iPhone page lists the full setup options, including Language, Commands, and Vocabulary.
Two things to know before you turn it on. First, Apple says standard iOS Dictation is not available while Voice Control is on, because Voice Control handles dictation itself. Second, Voice Control is not available in every language. Touch still works normally, so you can keep tapping and swiping while it is on.
Faster ways to turn Voice Control on or off
Once Voice Control has been set up, Apple lists three shortcuts. Each one does the same thing as the switch in Settings.
Ask Siri
Activate Siri and say something like “Turn on Voice Control” or “Turn off Voice Control.” This is useful when the phone is across the room, or when Voice Control keeps reacting to your conversation and you want it off quickly.
Use the Accessibility Shortcut
The Accessibility Shortcut is a triple-click of the Side button on an iPhone with Face ID, or of the Home button on other models.
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut.
- Tap Voice Control to select it.
- Triple-click the Side button or Home button to turn Voice Control on or off.
If Voice Control is the only feature selected, the triple-click switches it straight away. If you selected more than one feature, a short menu appears and you tap the one you want. Apple describes this on its Quickly turn accessibility features on or off page.
Use Control Center
Control Center is the panel that opens when you swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen (or up from the bottom on an iPhone with a Home button). Voice Control only appears there if you add it. Open Control Center, tap the button in the top-left corner to edit, tap Add a Control, and look through the accessibility controls for Voice Control. Then tap that control whenever you want to switch the feature.
Pause listening without turning it off
If you use Voice Control but need it to ignore you for a few minutes, you do not have to switch it off. Say “Stop listening” to pause it and “Start listening” to resume. Apple’s support article also lists “Go to sleep” and “Wake up,” which put the microphone to sleep and wake it again.
On an iPhone with Face ID, the Attention Aware option in Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control does this for you. Voice Control wakes when you look at the iPhone and goes to sleep when you look away. A pause is not the same as off: the feature stays enabled and will listen again once it is woken.
Use these steps if a voice screen opens when the Side button or Home button is held down. Apple’s Turn off Classic Voice Control article gives the same path.
- Open Settings and tap Accessibility.
- On an iPhone X or later, including the iPhone 11, tap Side Button. On an iPhone 8 or earlier, tap Home Button.
- Find the section named Press and Hold to Speak.
- Tap Off if you want nothing to happen on a long press, or tap Siri if you want Siri to respond instead.
Choosing Off also stops Siri from opening when you hold that button. It does not affect any other way of starting Siri that you have turned on. To undo the change, return to the same screen and pick Siri or Classic Voice Control.
The options shown under Press and Hold to Speak can vary by iOS version. Apple’s support article lists Siri, Classic Voice Control, and Off, while the current iPhone User Guide describes the setting only as choosing whether Siri responds. If you do not see a Classic Voice Control option, your phone is not offering it, and Off is still the choice that stops the long press. If Siri is what keeps appearing, see why Siri keeps opening when you press the Home button.
If Voice Control keeps coming back
- It turns on by itself. Check Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut. If Voice Control is selected there, an accidental triple-click of the Side or Home button turns it on. Tap it to deselect it. Also check whether a Voice Control control was added to Control Center.
- It starts when headphones are connected. Apple says a wired headset that is not fully inserted, or one with frayed cables or moisture on the connector or remote, can activate Siri or Classic Voice Control unexpectedly. Push the plug in fully, and try a different headset if it continues.
- Voice Control will not start the first time. The first setup needs the file download. Connect to Wi-Fi, tap Set Up Voice Control, and give the download time to finish.
- The keyboard microphone is missing. That is expected while Voice Control is on. Turn Voice Control off, then check that keyboard Dictation is enabled using our guide on turning Dictation on or off on iPhone.
- You cannot find Side Button in Accessibility. That entry appears on iPhones with Face ID. On an iPhone with a Home button, the entry is named Home Button.
- The phone still misbehaves after the settings are off. Restart the iPhone and check Settings > General > Software Update. These are general steps, not a fix Apple documents for Voice Control specifically.
A black box that moves around the screen while the phone reads items aloud is not Voice Control. That is VoiceOver, and our article on how to get rid of the black box around icons on iPhone covers it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Voice Control the same as Siri?
No. Siri is an assistant that you start with a button press or a spoken phrase and then ask for something. Voice Control is an accessibility feature that lets you operate the iPhone itself by voice, with commands for tapping, swiping, and typing. They are turned on and off separately.
Does turning off Voice Control turn off Siri?
No. The Voice Control switch in Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control does not change Siri. Only the Press and Hold to Speak setting affects Siri, and only for the Side or Home button.
Does Voice Control need an internet connection?
Only for the first setup. Apple says the iPhone completes a one-time file download over Wi-Fi, and after that Voice Control works without an internet connection.
Why does my iPhone 11 open a voice screen in my pocket?
The Side button is probably being held down. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Side Button and choose Off under Press and Hold to Speak so a long press does nothing.
How do I see what I can say to Voice Control?
With Voice Control on, say “Show commands.” For the full list, go to Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control > Commands. Apple also offers a practice tutorial on that screen named Open Voice Control Tutorial.
Next step
If you turned Voice Control off because you only wanted the iPhone to read text aloud, a different accessibility feature does that. See how to make iPhone speak the screen.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are tested on current devices or checked against official product documentation, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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