Despite being connected to our phones, we can easily miss an alarm or notification of incoming calls or messages. For people with hearing impairment or deafness, the risk of missing alarms or notifications is higher. Michael wrote us the following question to raise awareness of this important issue:

My wife is deaf. Is there a Bluetooth device that will light up a blinker or vibrator when her phone rings in her pocket? – Michael, Sugar Land, TX

Depending on her specific device, her phone may already have various settings available that can increase the likelihood that she will receive alerts or notifications through flashing or vibrating.

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How to set up your iPhone to flash an LED for calls or notifications

If you have an iPhone, you can set one of its settings to flash a bright LED light whenever an incoming alarm or call comes in. This is a visible indicator that can help those who are hard of hearing and deaf better recognize that they have received an alarm or call. To enable LED flashing for alarms and calls:

• Unlock your iPhone and tap ‘Settings’
• Scroll down and tap ‘Accessibility’
• Scroll down and tap “Audio and Video”
• Scroll down and tap “LED flash for warnings”

• Activate each desired setting, like for example LED flash for warnings, Flashing in unlocked state, Flash in silent mode

Now when you receive a call or notification on your iPhone, you won’t just rely on sound or vibration. You’ll see a very bright LED light blinking from your iPhone’s camera flash.

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How to set up your Apple Watch to vibrate when your iPhone rings

If you already have an Apple Watch, you can set it to vibrate when your iPhone rings. To pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone:

1) Pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone

• Turn on your Apple Watch by pressing and holding the side button until the Apple logo appears.
• Open the Apple Watch App on your iPhone, and make sure your iPhone is updated to the latest iOS version, connected to Wi-Fi or cellular, and Bluetooth is turned on.
• Keep your iPhone near your Apple Watch. A pairing screen should appear on your iPhone. Tap “Start pairing.”
• Knock “Set myself a goal” on your iPhone.
• Use your iPhone’s camera to Scan the animation on your Apple Watch screen.
• Knock “Set up Apple Watch” on your iPhone and follow the remaining on-screen instructions to complete setup, including selecting your preferred wrist and accepting the terms and conditions.
• Your Apple Watch will begin syncing with your iPhone. Keep both devices close together until the process is complete.

2) Enable notifications for calls

To receive call notifications on your Apple Watch, follow these steps:

• On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch App
• Tap the My watch tab
• Scroll down and tap phone
• Choose “Mirror my iPhone” if it is not already selected

This setting mirrors the call notifications from your iPhone to your Apple Watch.

3) Adjust haptic warnings

To make sure you get a strong vibration alert on your Apple Watch:

• Open the ‘Settings’ App on your Apple Watch
• Tap “Sounds & Haptics”
• In the Haptics section, activate “Haptic warnings”

You can choose between Standard and Prominent. The Prominent setting allows an additional haptic tap to pre-announce some general alerts.

4) Testing

To make sure your iPhone and Apple Watch are set up correctly, make a test call to see if your Apple Watch vibrates as expected when you receive an incoming call. If set up correctly, you can receive vibration notifications on your Apple Watch when you receive a call on your iPhone.

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How to set up your Android to flash an LED for calls or notifications

Setting up your Android device to use the LED light when you receive calls or notifications can greatly improve your alert system, especially if you prefer visual cues over sound or vibration. Here are some steps you can take to enable this feature:

Use built-in Android settings

SSettings may vary depending on the manufacturer of your Android phone

• Open Settings
• Scroll down and tap “Accessibility.“
• Choose “Advanced settings.”
• Knock Flash notification
• Activate “Camera flash notification” for LED flash

Using the built-in Google Pixel settings

• Open Settings
• Scroll to “Notifications.” And tap on it
• Activate “Flash notifications” and choose between camera flash or screen flash.

By following these steps, you can effectively set up your Android or Google Pixel device to use the LED light for calls and notifications, so you’ll never miss an important notification again.

LED Light Notification Apps for Android Users

Not all devices have a built-in app to manage this feature. Fortunately, there are plenty of LED notification apps available that allow you to customize your notification experience. Regardless of whether your phone has an LED light, these apps offer solutions to improve your notifications and keep you informed.

Flash alarm: The Flash Alert app is designed to improve the visibility of notifications on Android devices by using the camera or screen flash as an alert mechanism. Users can customize their settings to receive visual notifications for calls, alarms, and messages even when the device is on silent or in Do Not Disturb mode. The app allows color customization of the screen flash and provides a preview feature to test settings before finalizing them. This feature is especially useful for users who may have hearing impairments or prefer visual alerts over audible notifications.

Credit: Flash Alert

Front flash: The Front Flash app uses your phone’s camera flash to alert you to incoming notifications. While it may not offer the same versatility as LED notifications, you can adjust the delay, blink rate, and frequency to suit your needs.

LED Flashlight Warnings: LED Flashlight Alerts is another app that lets you customize LED notifications for incoming calls and messages. It also supports third-party apps, making it a versatile option. Although the app is free, it is ad-supported and the ads can be a bit annoying.

Credit: LED Flashlight Alerts

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How to set up your phone and watch to vibrate when your Android phone rings

SSettings may vary depending on the manufacturer of your Android phone

• Open the Settings App on your Android device.
• Scroll down and tap Noises and vibrations.
• Knock Vibrate
• Then scroll down and click on Vibration Intensity, and only the Touch interaction Slider
• Next, check the Notification settings for the app that manages your watch notifications and confirm that notifications are set to vibrate.
• On your watch, access the Settings Menu and navigate to Sound Settings to ensure the alarm volume is set to vibrate.
• Make a Test call to your phone to check if your watch vibrates when your phone rings.

Kurt’s key findings

Whether you’re hearing impaired, hard of hearing, or deaf, it’s easy to miss important calls and notifications from your phone. Smartwatches like the Apple Watch can be a wearable option that lets you receive vibration alerts when you receive a call or notification on your cell phone. Another option is to enable an accessibility feature already built into your iPhone: LED flashes. It’s important that users of all abilities can maximize the convenience and features of their phone to stay truly connected.

Are you having trouble hearing calls and notifications from your phone? What devices or features did you use to solve this problem? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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