Guide

How to read the sermon live on your phone when you can't hear it

If you can't hear the sermon, you can usually read it live on the phone you already own. Free captioning, Live Captions on iPhone and Google's Live Transcribe on Android, turns the speech the phone hears into text while the preacher talks. It works far better when the phone gets clear sound, so where the sound comes from matters more than which app you pick.

This guide compares the free options on your phone with what a church can provide (a hearing loop, assistive listening receivers or a caption service), lists what automatic captions get wrong, and gives you a few short questions to ask your church.

Last reviewed October 27, 2026

Get early access See how it works

Your options, side by side

Option: Live Captions (iPhone)
What you need: iPhone 11 or later; turn it on in the accessibility settings
What it hears: The microphone (people around you) or audio playing on the iPhone, such as a live stream
Limits: Not available in every language, country or region; Apple says accuracy may vary

Option: Live Transcribe (Android)
What you need: Google's free Live Transcribe app, preinstalled on Pixel and some other phones, otherwise on Google Play
What it hears: The phone's microphone, or an external microphone you connect
Limits: Needs internet except for languages downloaded for offline use, and which offline languages you can download depends on the phone

Option: A web-based live caption or translation page
What you need: A browser; some are free, some charge by the hour
What it hears: The phone's microphone, or the church's sound if the church runs the service
Limits: Accuracy varies and is rarely published

Option: The church's hearing loop
What you need: A hearing aid or cochlear implant with a telecoil (T-coil), switched to the loop setting
What it hears: The church's microphones, sent straight to your hearing aid
Limits: Sound, not text; not every hearing aid has a telecoil, and only some churches have a loop

Option: Assistive listening receivers
What you need: A receiver and earphones lent by the church
What it hears: The church's sound system
Limits: Sound, not text; you collect and return the receiver

Option: Auracast broadcast (newer)
What you need: Hearing aids or earbuds that support Auracast; the phone is used to find and join the church's broadcast
What it hears: The church's sound system, sent over Bluetooth
Limits: Sound, not text; still new, so few churches broadcast it, and older hearing aids and earbuds may not support it

Option: Captions provided by the church
What you need: Whatever the church uses: a link or QR code, or a screen
What it hears: The church's sound system
Limits: Only if the church chooses to provide it

Option	What you need	What it hears	Limits
Live Captions (iPhone)	iPhone 11 or later; turn it on in the accessibility settings	The microphone (people around you) or audio playing on the iPhone, such as a live stream	Not available in every language, country or region; Apple says accuracy may vary
Live Transcribe (Android)	Google's free Live Transcribe app, preinstalled on Pixel and some other phones, otherwise on Google Play	The phone's microphone, or an external microphone you connect	Needs internet except for languages downloaded for offline use, and which offline languages you can download depends on the phone
A web-based live caption or translation page	A browser; some are free, some charge by the hour	The phone's microphone, or the church's sound if the church runs the service	Accuracy varies and is rarely published
The church's hearing loop	A hearing aid or cochlear implant with a telecoil (T-coil), switched to the loop setting	The church's microphones, sent straight to your hearing aid	Sound, not text; not every hearing aid has a telecoil, and only some churches have a loop
Assistive listening receivers	A receiver and earphones lent by the church	The church's sound system	Sound, not text; you collect and return the receiver
Auracast broadcast (newer)	Hearing aids or earbuds that support Auracast; the phone is used to find and join the church's broadcast	The church's sound system, sent over Bluetooth	Sound, not text; still new, so few churches broadcast it, and older hearing aids and earbuds may not support it
Captions provided by the church	Whatever the church uses: a link or QR code, or a screen	The church's sound system	Only if the church chooses to provide it

If your church already has a loop, receivers, Auracast or captions, use them first: they take the sound straight from the microphones. The phone options are what you can do on your own, this Sunday, without asking anyone. Sources: Apple, Live Captions on iPhone; Google, Live Transcribe help; Bluetooth SIG, Auracast broadcast audio.

Why clear sound matters more than the app

Every captioning app turns sound into words, and it can only caption what reaches it clearly. In a church the phone's microphone hears echo, the congregation, rustling and music as well as the preacher, and a preacher who steps away from the pulpit microphone gets quieter for the phone too. Before you try another app, improve the sound:

Sit within a few rows of a loudspeaker, or near the front, and keep the phone's microphone uncovered, on your lap or the pew.
On Android, Live Transcribe can use an external microphone, such as a clip-on microphone; Google's help page explains how to choose it.
If the church streams the service live, an iPhone can caption the stream itself: play it quietly with earphones and Live Captions shows the audio the iPhone is playing. The stream's sound comes from the church's microphones, not the room. It may run a little behind the room.

Before the service: five minutes of setup

Switch captions on at home and test them on a recorded sermon, so you know where the setting is.
On Android, see whether the preacher's language can be downloaded in Live Transcribe for offline use; then a weak signal in the building won't stop it.
In Live Transcribe, add the preacher's name, your church's name and Bible names you expect as custom words.
Charge the phone, make the caption text larger, lower the brightness and switch the phone to silent.
Check the captions during the announcements, while there is still time to change seats.

What automatic captions get wrong

Automatic captions make the most mistakes with names, Bible references, quotations read quickly, and anyone far from a microphone; a verse number may come out as an ordinary number or a similar-sounding word. Singing and music are usually captioned badly, so read the words on the screen or in the hymnal during songs. Treat captions as a way to keep up, not a transcript: if a sentence looks wrong, read on and follow the sense of the paragraph. Many churches post sermon notes, slides or a recording afterwards, which you can read at home for anything you missed.

What to ask your church

Many churches don't know a member is missing the sermon until someone tells them. A short, specific request is easy to say yes to:

"Do we have a hearing loop, assistive listening receivers or an Auracast broadcast? Where should I sit, or where do I collect a receiver?"
"Could the sermon be streamed live, so I can caption it on my phone?"
"Could you post the sermon notes or a transcript each week?"
"Would you consider live captions on phones? Several services do it with a link or QR code."

In the United States, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which covers businesses open to the public, does not apply to religious organizations (ADA.gov). There, captions and loops are usually something you ask for as a member rather than a legal requirement. Rules in other countries differ.

Captions or translation with PewTranslate

PewTranslate's personal translator is a web page that runs in the phone's browser, with no app to install. Like the free apps, it listens through the phone's own microphone, so the advice about clear sound applies to it as well. Choose the preacher's language from 82 speaker languages and your own: when the two are the same it shows the sermon as captions, and when they differ it shows a translation. You can turn the voice off and enlarge the text.

For same-language captions the free apps above are the place to start. PewTranslate is meant for when the sermon is in a language you don't understand, where you need live sermon translation rather than captions. It costs US$5 for each hour of speech it handles for you, billed by the minute. We have not measured its accuracy in a real church.

Accounts are not open yet. New accounts will start with US$20 of free credit, and you can ask for early access on the home page.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free app that shows the sermon as text in real time?

Yes. iPhone 11 and later have Live Captions built in, and Android phones can use Google's free Live Transcribe app. Both caption what the phone hears, so sit near a loudspeaker. Neither is available in every language or region.

Do live captions work without internet?

Live Transcribe needs internet except for languages you have downloaded for offline use, and which languages you can download depends on your phone. Check before the service if the church's signal is weak.

Will captions work during worship songs?

Usually not well. Music and singing confuse automatic captions; read the words on the screen or in the hymnal during songs and go back to the captions for the sermon.

Does a church in the United States have to provide captions?

Title III of the ADA does not apply to religious organizations, so in the United States captions are usually a request, not a legal duty. Many churches will help once someone asks.