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See What Was Said

A free setup guide for the hard of hearing

See What
Was Said.

A simple guide for families helping an elderly parent or someone with lesser IT skills — turn their phone or tablet into a free hearing assistant in about 20 minutes.

Free · No tech experience needed · iPhone & Android

Made by a family member of someone hard of hearing. Everything here is completely free. We don't sell anything. If it helps, please consider donating to a deaf charity at the bottom of this page.

Technology is giving us an extraordinary opportunity — to reach and connect people who have historically been left behind. For those with hearing loss, the tools to help them communicate, stay connected and live more independently already exist. Most people just don't know about them. This guide is our small contribution to changing that.

Which phone do they have?

Choose their device and we'll show you exactly what to do — step by step, with pictures.

🍎

iPhone & iPad Guide

All of these settings are already built into the phone — completely free, no apps needed to start.

Before you start

  • Have their iPhone or iPad in your hands
  • Check it's updated: Settings → General → Software Update
  • You'll need about 20 minutes
  • No technical knowledge needed — just follow each step

Part one

Built-in settings to turn on

Apple hid these in the Accessibility menu. Most people never find them — but they make a huge difference.

1

Live Captions

Turns any speech into text on screen in real time — conversations, TV, phone calls, anything said nearby.

Settings→Accessibility→Live Captions→Turn On
9:41●●●
Accessibility
VoiceOver
Off ›
Zoom
Off ›
HEARING
Live Captions
Audio Descriptions
Off ›

Tap Live Captions and switch it on — shown highlighted in green above

💡 A caption bar will appear at the top of the screen whenever someone speaks nearby. It works even without internet.
2

LED Flash for alerts

The camera flash blinks when a call or message comes in — so they see it even with the sound off.

Settings→Accessibility→Audio/Visual→LED Flash for Alerts
9:41●●●
Audio/Visual
Mono Audio
LED Flash for Alerts
Flash on Silent

Turn on both — LED Flash for Alerts AND Flash on Silent

💡 Turn on "Flash on Silent" so it works even when the phone is on silent mode.
3

Sound Recognition

The phone listens for important sounds — doorbell, knock, fire alarm — and sends a notification on screen.

Settings→Accessibility→Sound Recognition→Turn On
9:41●●●
Sound Recognition
Sound Recognition
SOUNDS
Doorbell
Door Knock
Fire Alarm

Select Doorbell and Door Knock as a minimum

4

Stronger vibration

Makes missed calls and messages much harder to ignore.

Settings→Sounds & Haptics→Ringtone→Vibration → SOS
💡 SOS is the strongest vibration pattern. Do the same for Text Tone on the same screen.
5

Larger, bolder text

Makes captions and notifications much easier to read at a glance.

Settings→Accessibility→Display & Text Size

Turn on Bold Text, then tap Larger Text and drag the slider up.

6

Phone calls — turn on RTT

Lets them type during a phone call instead of speaking. The other person hears the words read aloud.

Settings→Accessibility→RTT/TTY→Software RTT/TTY → On
💡 Not all providers support RTT — but worth turning on. Works automatically when available.

Pro tip

Add a one-tap shortcut

Add Live Captions to Control Centre so they can switch it on with one swipe.

1
Go to Settings → Control Centre
2
Tap the + next to Live Captions
3
Swipe down from top-right corner to open Control Centre
4
One tap on, one tap off

Part two

Free apps worth installing

All free, all trusted.

📞

Relay UK Free

Type what you want to say — a relay assistant speaks it and types back replies. Works for any UK number.
→ relayuk.bt.com

🎙️

Google Live Transcribe Free

Hold the phone up in any conversation — transcribes speech to text in real time.
→ Download on App Store

💬

FaceTime & Zoom Captions Built in

FaceTime: Settings → Accessibility → Live Captions → Live Captions in FaceTime → On. Zoom: three dots → Captions → Enable during any call.

📝

Otter.ai Free tier

Records and transcribes with speaker labels. Great for GP appointments. Free up to 300 min/month.
→ otter.ai

🤖

Android Phone & Tablet Guide

Most of these are already built into Android — free, no apps needed to start.

Before you start

  • Have their Android phone or tablet in your hands
  • Check for updates: Settings → System → Software Update
  • You'll need about 20 minutes
  • Steps may look slightly different on Samsung, Pixel, etc. — but setting names are the same

Part one

Built-in settings to turn on

Android has excellent accessibility tools built in — most people just don't know where to find them.

1

Live Transcribe

Turns any speech into text on screen in real time.

Settings→Accessibility→Live Transcribe→Turn On
9:41●●●
Accessibility
TalkBack
Off
Select to Speak
Off
Live Transcribe
Speech to text in real time

Find Live Transcribe in Accessibility and switch it on

💡 On Samsung phones this may be under Hearing Enhancements.
2

Sound Notifications

Detects doorbell, knock, baby crying, smoke alarm and flashes the screen.

Settings→Accessibility→Sound Notifications→Open
9:41●●●
Sound Notifications
Doorbell
Door knock
Smoke alarm
Baby crying

Select the sounds most useful day to day

3

Flash alerts for calls & messages

Camera flash blinks when a call or message arrives.

Settings→Accessibility→Hearing Enhancements→Flash Notifications → On
💡 On Samsung: Settings → Accessibility → Advanced Settings → Flash Notification.
4

Larger text & display size

Makes everything easier to read.

Settings→Accessibility→Display Size and Text

Drag both Font size and Display size sliders up to a comfortable level.

5

Captions on videos

Automatically adds subtitles to any video playing on the phone.

Settings→Accessibility→Caption Preferences→Show Captions → On
💡 On Pixel phones this is called "Live Caption" and can be turned on from the volume buttons.

Pro tip

Add a quick shortcut

Add Live Transcribe to quick settings — two swipes and one tap away.

1
Swipe down twice from the top of the screen
2
Tap the pencil/edit icon
3
Find Live Transcribe and drag it into active tiles
4
Now one swipe and one tap away

Part two

Free apps worth installing

All free, all trusted.

📞

Relay UK Free

Type what you want to say — relay assistant speaks it and types back replies.
→ relayuk.bt.com

🎙️

Google Live Transcribe Free

If not already built in, download standalone app.
→ Download on Google Play

💬

Google Meet & Zoom Captions Free

Google Meet: three dots → Captions during a call. Zoom: More → Captions → Enable.

📝

Otter.ai Free tier

Records and transcribes with speaker labels. Free up to 300 min/month.
→ otter.ai