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How to Turn Off Camera Sound: iPhone, Android, Canon, Nikon, GoPro

Want to turn off the camera shutter sound and beeping noises? Here’s how to turn off camera sound and shutter noise on iPhone, Samsung, Canon, Nikon, and GoPro cameras.

how to turn off camera sound

This guide will help you stop your camera from making sounds. If you want to stop your camera from recording audio, here’s a little trick that works for me.

How to Turn Off Camera Sound: Shutter and Beeps

How can you stop that little shutter sound when you take a picture? While this may be nostalgic for some, it can be a nuisance for others. The good news is that with most smartphones and cameras on the market, there are ways you can turn the shutter sound off. 

Even if you are someone who loves the camera sound on your phone or camera, there may be times when it is best to turn it off.

Here are the phones we’ll cover in this post: iPhone, Samsung, Canon, Nikon, and GoPro.

While DSLR cameras actually have a shutter sound because of camera operation, most cameras allow you to either turn the sound off or reduce how noticeable the noise is.

Why Turn Off Your Camera Sound?

There are many reasons to turn off your camera sound. Attending concerts, live events, and interviews. Maybe shooting your significant other – or your plate of food – at a restaurant.

But especially when shooting wildlife, the last thing you want is beeping, clicking, and artificial shutter sounds.

Really, anytime you don’t want to disturb people or animals around you with the shutter sounds and beeps. 

I like to turn off those audible shutter sounds while I’m traveling. Especially when shooting animals or in a quiet setting. I like to turn off the beeping all the time. 

You’re not alone in wanting to silence all the beeping and artificial camera sounds. 

 

But first, I have something I need to say.

Respect privacy and be a decent human being.

Never turn the sound off to take photos of someone who wouldn’t consent to your photo if they knew. Filming without permission, especially in private settings, is never okay and opens up a world of legal and moral trouble. Don’t do it. 

But I know you’re a good person and won’t use these new powers for bad. Now, let’s get started. 

Do All Countries Allow Disabling Camera Sounds?

Depending on where you live, there may be restrictions on if you will be able to turn the camera sound off or not. Some countries, such as South Korea and Japan, have required mobile devices to make an audible sound when filming. 

In these areas, there will still be a sound if you mute or turn down the volume on your phone. This is a safety and security measure to protect yourself and others from unlawful pictures or recordings.

I’ve heard that some states in the United States have laws requiring that your camera make an audible sound if shooting in public places. If you know more about this, please let me know in the comments.

While it may not be as enforced as in other places, coming up with a picture or a video of someone in a state where these laws are active could get tricky.

Here’s more about the legal implications of filming strangers in a public place. And if your silent camera is considered a hidden camera, this opens up a whole set of legal issues. 

It should also be noted that depending on your device, you may not be able to eliminate the sound of your shutter completely.

6 Ways to Turn Off Camera Sounds on iPhone

Let’s talk about how to change the camera sound settings on each Apple device.

The following methods will work on most iPhones. But depending on your features, iOS version, apps, and model, not all methods will work on all phones. But with five methods, one is sure to work. 

Which iPhone can disable camera sounds? These methods work on the new iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 (Mini, Pro, Pro Max), iPhone SE, iPhone 11, iPhone X, and back to the iPhone 7. For iPhone 6 and before, you might need to rely on methods 5 and 6 (3rd party apps and jailbreaking). 

1. Hit the Mute Button

Muting your phone sounds is the simplest way to silence your camera shutter sound. Watch for the mute icon to confirm that your sound is off. 

2. Set to Live Photo

If you have your phone set to take live photos, then the camera’s sound will automatically be turned off. Because live photo records audio, the shutter sound would soil the video. 

3. Turn the Volume Down

By lowering your phone volume, you can also lower the shutter sound volume.

You can also choose to keep the volume on your phone low, which will eliminate the sound, or even keep your phone on silent to avoid the sound altogether. You can turn off the camera sound the same way for all of the phones in the iPhone 11 range and newer.

4. Enable Assistive Touch

Remove all icons except one. And change that icon to mute. Whenever you hit the Assistive Touch button, you’ll see the Mute icon. 

This will have the same effect as lowering the volume on the side of the phone.

5. Install a 3rd Party App

Another option is to use a third-party app to take photos instead of the iPhone’s standard camera.

Most of the time, you will not have to sacrifice your image’s quality, and you have more control over what the camera does and does not do.

6. Jailbreak Your Phone

By jailbreaking your phone, you can make significant system changes to your iPhone. Like changing your audio file name so your phone can’t find and play it every time you take a photo.

Not sure how to jailbreak your phone? Here’s how.

If you have an older iPhone (with iOS 10) this video shows a great hack.

 


4 Ways to Turn Off Samsung Camera Sounds

It’s super easy to disable the camera shutter sound on Android devices. Here are 4 methods for turning off camera sounds on Android devices, including Samsung phones. 

Of course, depending on your combination of camera model, operating system version, apps, and country location, some methods might not work for you.

But that’s okay; with all these options, one is certain to work. 

1. Disable Shutter Sound in Camera Settings

The first place to look is in your camera settings. Head to Camera Settings. Scroll to the bottom and look for the Shutter sound toggle. If your camera has it, it will be just above Reset settings and About Camera.

This is the best option because it doesn’t disable your other phone notifications and settings. 

But not all models have this option. And not all countries allow this feature to be enabled. 

Here’s what it will look like if your phone has this option available. 

disable shutter sound samsung s20

2. Set to Vibrate (or Mute)

Another way to reduce or disable the audible shutter sound is to change the Sound mode. In your drop-down menu, change your sound mode to either Vibrate or Mute.

Both temporarily disable all sounds, including your camera sound.

I like this method because it is just one tap to bring it back to normal.  

turn sound off on android camera

3. Turn down System Volume Levels

Another option is to lower your System Volume levels. Tap the external volume control. It will bring up a volume slider. Pull down to reveal more options. 

Slide the System volume to the left. The speaker should appear grey and muted. 

This is a good option because it still allows app notifications, and your phone can still ring.

To restore, navigate back to the expanded volume settings and slide System sounds to the right.

turn samsung camera sound off
Slide System volume level to the left
system sound off android
When the slider is to the far left, the sound will show as muted and your camera won’t make any sound.

4. Enable Accessibility

You can turn all sounds off through the Hearing enhancements option on the phone’s Accessibility menu

You’ll find Accessibility by going to your phone Settings, and scrolling down to Accessibility.

disable android camera sounds
Enable Accessibility > Hearing enhancements to disable Android camera sounds

Turn off Shutter Sound on the Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+

Turning off sounds in Galaxy S20 is straightforward. Here’s more.

 

Turn off Shutter Sound on the Samsung Galaxy S10, S10 Plus, S10e

 


How to Turn Off Canon Camera Sounds

Depending on the type of Canon camera you’re using, you can probably turn off the shutter sound. 

Canon DSLR Cameras: Beep and Shutter

Canon AF Beep: To turn off the autofocus beep, navigate to the Camera Menu. Likely on the first screen (depending on the model), you’ll see the Beep option. Toggle this to Off

turn canon dslr sounds off

Canon Shutter: Even though the shutter sound may be annoying, there is, unfortunately, no way to turn it off on Canon DSLR cameras.

It’s hard to eliminate the camera shutter sound because the sound you are hearing is actually the camera’s mechanism working to take your photo. Without this sound, you would not be taking pictures.

Canon Mirrorless Cameras: Beep and Shutter

Canon Mirrorless Shutter: With that being said, some mirrorless cameras have a silent shutter or a shutter system that is on the quieter side.  Of course, you can also turn off the beeping in a mirrorless, just like the other Canon cameras.

Here’s how the Canon EOS R silent shutter sounds. And how to enable it.

This is a mirrorless camera and doesn’t require the same internal movements as a DSLR.

 

Canon Point and Shoot Cameras

To turn off the shutter sounds and beeps on your Canon point-and-shoot, press the Menu button. Navigate to the Settings tab and down to the Mute option. Toggle the option to turn Mute on. 

You’ll feel immediate relief as the autofocus beeps and fake shutter sounds are now quiet. 

turn canon camera sounds off

How to Turn Off Nikon Camera Sounds

Nikon DSLR Cameras

Some models are impossible to remove the shutter sound since it is actually part of the camera and performs an action necessary to take a picture.

But, some Nikon DLSR cameras have two options for muffling the shutter sound. This applies to some higher-end DSLR cameras by Nikon.

  1. Quiet Shutter: To choose quiet shutter-release mode, press the release-mode dial lock release and rotate the dial to Q.
  2. Silent Photography: To enable silent mode, press the “i”  button in live view and select On for Silent photography (you can also enable silent mode using the Silent live view photography option in the photo shooting menu).

A Nikon mirrorless camera might be worth considering, which will have a significant reduction of the shutter sound. And when you use the silent shutter feature, they are 100% inaudible.

Nikon Point and Shoot Cameras

With Nikon point-and-shoot cameras, you can turn off the camera sounds. 

To turn off the shutter sound, head to the Wrench icon on the Menu. Under Sound Settings, you have the option to toggle the sound.


How to Turn Off GoPro Camera Sounds

GoPro cameras beep a lot. And every GoPro model allows that to be turned off. And because all GoPro cameras are mirrorless, there is no actual shutter to worry about. 

So here’s how to turn off the audible beeping on your GoPro. 

GoPro Hero11 Black

Hero11 Black is one of the easiest to adjust the camera sounds.

  1. Swipe down to reveal the Menu.
  2. Tap the Sound icon (shown by a musical note). This will toggle the sound off.
  3. The Sound icon will be blue when on and grey when off.

GoPro Hero10 Black

The Hero10 Black menu makes it easy to adjust the camera sounds.

  1. Swipe down to reveal the Menu.
  2. Tap the Sound icon (shown by a musical note). This will toggle the sound off.
  3. The Sound icon will be blue when on and grey when off.

GoPro Hero9 Black

Hero9 Black is one of the easiest to adjust the camera sounds. Simply swipe down to reveal the Menu. Select the Sound icon (shown by a musical note). Toggle this off. It will be grey when off and blue when on. 

Here’s what the menu looks like. You’ll see a confirmation message BEEPS: OFF.

turn gopro camera sounds off

You can also adjust the beep volume. Swipe down on the screen to reveal the menu. Select Preferences > General > Beep Volume.

You can select from three audio levels: high, medium, low. 

GoPro MAX

To turn off the beeping on the GoPro Max is really simple. Swipe down on the screen to reveal the menu.

Tap the music note icon. This will toggle the sound (beeping) on and off. You’ll see a confirmation message BEEPS: OFF.

Hero8 Black, Hero7 Black, Hero6 Black

Simply swipe down to reveal the Menu. Select the Sound icon (shown by a musical note). Toggle this off. It will be grey when off and blue when on. 

Here’s what the menu looks like. You’ll see a confirmation message BEEPS: OFF.

Swipe down on the screen to reveal the menu. Select Preferences > General > Beep Volume.

You can select from three audio levels (high, medium, low) and mute. 


Why Do Cameras Make a Sound When Taking Pictures?

You may be asking yourself, why do cameras need a “sound” anyway? Traditional cameras actually create the sound with mechanical parts necessary to take the picture, which is often from a mirror slap, which can be seen and heard in most DSLR cameras. 

Most mobile phones and digital cameras do not actually have the mechanics that make the shutter sound. But they are often forms of nostalgia for most people. And also serve legal purposes in some areas of the world.

Some devices also allow you to choose the shutter sound that you like the best.

Some photographers prefer an audible indication when shooting models. This alerts them that the photographer is shooting and not just framing or adjusting settings. 

Dirty lens? Here are 4 steps to clean your camera lens and filters.

Final Thoughts

Turning off camera shutter sounds is common for most people to avoid disrupting an event or animal subject.

We covered how to adjust the sound settings on the following mobile devices.

Here are the quick tips you need to remember to turn the camera sound off of each.

For Apple Devices: 

  • Activate Live Photo on Your Device
  • Use the Silent/Mute Switch to Turn All Sounds Off
  • Control the Sound of Your Camera with the Volume Control 
  • Enable Assistive Touch
  • Install a third-party app, jailbreak your phone

For Samsung Android Devices:

  • Toggle Your Camera Shutter Sound in the Camera Setting Menu
  • Turn Your Volume Up or Down to Control the Camera Shutter Sound
  • Set to vibrate or mute
  • Enable accessibility

While some cameras such as point-and-shoot or digital allow you to reduce the sound of the shutter or to remove it altogether, there are also some that actually require the sound in order to function.

Canon (DSLR and Point and Shoot)

  • Not All DSLRs Can Have Their Shutter Sound Turned Off
  • Try Using Silent Shutter if Available on Your Device (Mirrorless)
  • For Point and Shoot, Turn off Camera Sounds in the Display Menu

Nikon (DSLR and Point and Shoot)

  • Some DSLRs Cannot Have Their Shutter Sound Altered
  • Try Using the Quiet Shutter-Release if Available on Your Camera
  • Turn Off Sounds on Point and Shoot Cameras on the Settings Menu

GoPro Cameras

  • Using the Mode Setting, Adjust the Beep Sounds on Your GoPro
  • Turn Off Sounds Via the GoPro App After Selecting Your Device

It is important to remember that depending on where you live, it may also be illegal for you to take photos in public with your phone or camera.

Due to laws in place to protect the privacy and safety of those around you, it may be worth looking into the laws of where you live or where you are traveling to.

turn off shutter sound

More reading: Here’s how to connect your camera to a computer

Your Turn

Now you know how to turn off your camera sound, how will you use it? Are you planning a wildlife shoot? Or maybe shooting your fancy meal this weekend? 

Have a question about a specific model or brand? Or maybe a tip for making a camera silent? Join me in the comments.