How to turn off RTT calling on iPhone or Android

When communicating with someone who has a hearing disability, you must take extra care to avoid miscommunication. The same goes for if you have a hearing disability and need to digest the words being communicated by someone else. Phone calls can be an extra tricky situation, but RTT makes those issues become less prominent. Let’s talk about how to turn off RTT calling on iPhone or Android if you don’t need the feature active.

What is RTT calling?

RTT — or “Real-Time Text” — helps those with hearing problems better communicate over phone calls. Think of the feature as something like closed captions or subtitles, except in real-time. In the USA, incoming RTT calls are automatically enabled. If you wish to make an outgoing RTT call, it’s an accessibility feature that must be enabled.

How to disable RTT calling on Android

Disabling the RTT calling feature makes it so that when you call someone, the RTT function for both of you won’t trigger. If you know the person you’re calling may have a hearing issue, leaving the feature on would probably be best. However, if you don’t want to send or receive RTT calls, here’s where to find the toggle.

1. Launch the Phone app on your Android device.
2. Tap the ⋮ button in the search bar at the top.
3. Select Settings.
4. Within the Settings menu, go to Accessibility.
5. Here, you will see options like TTY mode and RTT calls. You can toggle these on or off from here.

How to disable RTT calling on an iPhone

RTT is also available on iPhone. If you’ve enabled RTT but have forgotten how to turn it off, here’s how.

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to Accessibility.
3. In Accessibility, tap RTT/Textphone.
4. Toggle Software RTT/Textphone and Hardware RTT/Textphone off to disable Real-Time Text.