VoiceOver Suddenly Gets Very Loud on watchOS 26 RC

By Indra, 15 September, 2025

Forum
watchOS and Apple Watch Apps

Hi everyone,
I’d like to ask if anyone else has experienced this issue on watchOS 26 Release Candidate.

On my Apple Watch, VoiceOver will suddenly become very loud, to the point where the sound from the watch speaker turns harsh or tinny. This happens randomly, even though I haven’t changed the volume or any settings.

Has anyone else noticed this behavior on watchOS 26 RC, or is it just me?
And if you’ve run into it, is there any workaround or way to fix it?

Thanks in advance!

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Comments

By KE8UPE on Monday, September 15, 2025 - 11:13

Hello,
This bug is not exclusive to the watch.
I've also experienced it on my iPhone 16 pro max, which is also running the OS 26 RC.

By Holger Fiallo on Monday, September 15, 2025 - 12:07

Would not mind if it for me. Well better than having low volume.

By Indra on Monday, September 15, 2025 - 12:22

Hi all, just an update on this.

It turns out this wasn’t actually a bug. There’s a new setting in watchOS 26.
To check it:
1. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
2. Go to Accessibility > VoiceOver > Speech.
3. Inside the Speech menu, there’s a new option called Improve Speech Clarity.

This feature uses the microphone to measure environmental sound levels while VoiceOver is speaking and automatically adjusts the speech volume. It doesn’t record or save any sounds, but when enabled, it can cause the sudden loudness I noticed. I had accidentally turned it on.

So if anyone else is seeing the same behavior, just make sure this setting is off.

Thanks again to everyone!

By Singer Girl on Monday, September 15, 2025 - 12:24

Thank you to the person who said that it’s not just the watch this is happening on. This will definitely make me not update right away for sure. I can’t believe a bug like that. Got into the release candidate because that’s basically the final reel leaks. Just curious for the person who is experiencing this on their watch, what voice are you using when this is happening? I use Kait hands on my iPhone SE third generation which is basically on my iPad now. On my iPhone, which is my iPhone 15, I am using Karen premium. When I do decide to update it will be on the SE first anyway. Thanks.

By Holger Fiallo on Monday, September 15, 2025 - 14:11

Before if that was on affected the volume and kept it low. Well is apple.