If you have an Apple mobile device, you know the sound it makes when you charge it. It’s simple and does its job well—but it’s boring. Luckily, you can change this mundane audio cue by adding an iPhone automation.
Your journey starts in the Shortcuts app, which you can use to set up a handful of customizations. Among those possibilities is an automation that will make your iPhone or iPad say something specific whenever you connect it to power.
Is it super useful? Probably not. But depending on the phrase you come up with, it can be a lot of fun.
How to change your iPhone or iPad’s charging sound
If you haven’t dived into them, an iPhone automation (also available for iPad) is a series of actions that occur automatically after a trigger. For example, you can use these unique commands to create a routine with your smart home gadgets, like turning on the lights or playing a specific playlist on your smart speaker once your iPhone connects to your WiFi. You can also set up different actions that will only affect your device.
[Related: The easiest way to cue up calming sounds on your iPhone]
1. Create the automation by opening the Shortcuts app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. In the upper left corner of the screen, tap the menu icon—the rectangle with three lines on the left side. Then, go to Automation.
3. On the next menu, tap Create personal automation to link the process directly to the device you’re currently using.
- Note: The other option, Set up your home, ties an automation to your entire smart home ecosystem, and that’s not what we want to do here.
4. Choose your trigger by scrolling down to Charger and tapping Is connected. This will set the action to happen only when you plug in the power cord. Hit Next to continue.
5. Choose what your device does when you charge it. Tap Add action and then All actions.
6. From the comprehensive list that emerges, choose Speak text—you’ll find it under the Documents category. This option will make your device read something you write out loud whenever you plug it in.
7. On the Speak text menu, you’ll see a blurred Text option next to Speak—tap it and write the phrase you want your gadget to say. We chose “Ohh yeah! Gimme some juice!” but you can use whatever you want—the sky’s the limit.
- Note: Just remember that if you use a dirty joke as a sentence, your device will say it out loud for everybody to hear even if it’s silent or in Do Not Disturb mode.
8. Tap the blue arrow to the right of your phrase to further customize the iPhone automation—you’ll be able to choose the pitch, speed, and voice you want your device to use, and even change the language.
- Pro tip: By default, your device will read the text in Siri’s voice, but there are other fun alternatives. If you want a more metallic, android voice, choose Zarvox or Trinoids; if you’re into giving your iPhone a creepy laugh, go for Jester; and if you want your Apple device to sing back your phrase, choose Good News.
[Related: Hidden iPhone tricks that will change the way you use iOS]
9. Check everything is exactly as you like it by tapping the play icon at the bottom right of the menu and listening to the audio sample. If you’re satisfied, go back to Edit automation.
10. Toggling off the switch next to Ask before running and confirming your choice by choosing Don’t ask. This will make sure the action is completely automatic—otherwise, your iPhone or iPad will send you a notification every time you plug in the charger and you’ll have to engage with it to trigger the action. Not nearly as fun. Finish by tapping Done.
If you’re running out of juice while at a meeting with a client for example, you might want to disable your automation—do so by opening it in the Shortcuts app and toggling off the switch next to Enable this automation. You can also tone down a risqué phrase at any time by opening your automation, tapping Speak text, and replacing the words you want your device to read out loud.
And if you get tired of your Apple device’s new personality, from the Automation gallery, slide the unopened item to the left and hit Delete.
This story has been updated. It was originally published in 2022.
