Introduction
Hello everyone,
Many of us appreciate iOS, but sometimes we want more control over VoiceOver's auditory feedback than Apple provides by default. While iOS 17 introduced Personal Voice (which allows you to clone your own voice for speech synthesis – note that this feature is only available on iPhone 12 and later), that feature does not change VoiceOver's navigation sounds – the clicks and feedback tones that play when you swipe, select, or perform other navigation actions with VoiceOver enabled.
If you want to replace those specific sounds, jailbreaking remains the only viable option. Fortunately, the Dopamine jailbreak now supports a wide range of devices and iOS versions. According to the official Dopamine 3.0 release notes:
A8-A13 devices: iOS 15.0 – 18.7.1 and 26.0 – 26.0.1
A14 – A17 / M1 – M2 devices: iOS 15.0 – 17.3.1
If your device and iOS version are compatible, you can follow this guide.
Today I'm sharing a custom sound theme I've put together – a .deb package that collects a large number of VoiceOver navigation sounds (swipes, focus changes, item selection, etc.), designed to give VoiceOver a fresh, modern audio experience while still blending well with iOS's haptic feedback.
Download Links
Sound Theme Package (DEB):
https://github.com/lu0jj/VoiceOver-Sounds/releases/download/1/-.-.-.-.deb
Note: Due to an issue with the file hosting service, the downloaded file name may appear as "-.-.-.-.deb" instead of the original name. This is normal – simply use the file as-is; the package contents are unaffected.
zqbb's Modified Dopamine IPA (version 3.0.7):
https://github.com/w2599/Dopamine/releases/download/3.0.7/Dopamine_blacklist_3.0.7_807_1786765726_7d07639.ipa
Note: zqbb's version is a third-party modified fork of the official Dopamine jailbreak. It adds convenient features like a built-in "Add Mount" button and a blacklist mechanism. This guide specifically relies on that mount feature to modify system sound files.
Prerequisites
An iPhone/iPad compatible with Dopamine (check your iOS version and chip against the compatibility list above).
A computer (Windows/Mac) to sideload the IPA (using AltStore, Sideloadly, etc.).
Basic knowledge of sideloading and jailbreaking.
Important Warnings
Jailbreaking and modifying system files carry risks, including boot loops or instability. Proceed at your own risk.
Always back up your original sound files (using Filza) before replacing them.
The custom sounds only work while the jailbreak is active. After a reboot, your device will restore default sounds until you re-jailbreak.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Jailbreak Using zqbb's Modified Dopamine
1. Sideload the downloaded IPA file onto your device using AltStore, Sideloadly, or a similar tool.
2. Open the Dopamine app and tap "Jailbreak" to start the process.
3. If this is your first time jailbreaking with this tool, you'll be prompted to set a passphrase for the mobile user. This password is used only for SSH access (e.g., ssh mobile@device-ip) and sudo commands within the terminal – it is not required to re-activate the jailbreak after a reboot. Enter it twice and remember it if you plan to use command-line tools.
4. Wait for the process to complete. The device may appear to hang for a minute or two – this is normal. Once finished, your device will be in a jailbroken state.
Step 2: Mount the System Sound Path
1. Open the Dopamine app and go to the Settings tab.
2. Tap "Add Mount".
3. Enter the exact path:
/System/Library/CoreServices/VoiceOverTouch.app
4. Confirm – the path will now appear in the mount list. This step is essential because it makes the target folder writable.
Step 3: Install the Sound Theme DEB Package
1. Use Filza to locate the downloaded -.-.-.-.deb file.
2. Tap the file, select "Share", and choose Sileo (or Zebra) from the share sheet.
3. In Sileo, tap "Get" or add to the queue, then confirm installation.
4. Wait for the installation to finish.
Step 4: Apply the New Sounds
After installation, restart VoiceOver (triple-click the side button to toggle it off/on, or go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver and toggle it).
If the sounds don't change immediately, perform a "Userspace Reboot" – this button is located on the main (first) tab of the Dopamine app, not in Settings.
Step 5: Verification
Try swiping with VoiceOver, changing focus, or selecting items – you should hear the new custom navigation sound effects.
Troubleshooting and Additional Notes
Sounds not working?
Ensure you are still in a jailbroken state (check Dopamine's status).
Verify the mount path is still listed in Dopamine Settings – if it's missing, re-add it and respring.
Restoring default sounds:
Simply reboot your device. The jailbreak will be deactivated, and all sounds will revert to Apple's originals. To re-apply your custom sounds, re-jailbreak with Dopamine (the mount path will persist if you set it once).
Why use zqbb's fork?
The official Dopamine does not have a GUI for adding mounts; you'd have to do it via SSH or a tweak. zqbb's fork streamlines this step, making it much easier for non-technical users.
Final Words
I hope this guide helps you give VoiceOver a fresh new navigation sound. If you have any questions or feedback about the sound theme itself, feel free to ask. Enjoy your customized experience!
Comments
is this legal?
I had thought jail braking of any kind is not legal. this is more than likely a breach of the AppleVis guidelines. I do not recommend doing this, as it voids warranty, can necessitate an out-of-warranty repair, and once apple finds this app on an iPhone, they will not help you. this will, more than likely make your phone not able to boot, so will , make restoration with the standard method useless, forcing you to get familiar with Apple configurator, which is mainly for power users of macOS. .
Where's a demo?
I mean, this is a lot of work, that I'm not going to do. But come on, I want to hear the hot modern sounds. Just because I need to know what that means. What does a "modern sound" sound like? I have no idea. I need enlightenment. I'm going to be up all day and all night now until I find out.
I definitely wouldn’t do this
I definitely would never do this. There’s enough issues with the phone just a normal regular standard operation. I wouldn’t do anything to tweak the phone just to get different kinds of sounds out of voiceover. To me it’s totally not worth that. I like the first comment sit on here I have no idea how legal this is. As far as demos, I wouldn’t know I wouldn’t go around looking for them either but hey you do you
no way I would do this
If you mess it up, I guarantee it wouldn't be covered under warranty.
Should Applevis even allow this post do to user risk?
to Khomus: a quite simple method to listen to all of them
Khomus, if you have access to any PC, you can listen to any of the sound effects involved at your leisure rather easily, with not too much fuss and first of all without any risks. Just do the following:
1. Download the sound effects pack from the original post. It is the first link. You will get a strangely named .deb file. That is sort of a compressed archive, more exactly a type of Linux package. Its size is less than 3 megabytes and contains no executable code whatsoever, only the sound effects themselves as audio files, so it is completely harmless.
2. Open this .deb file with a more sophisticated archive manager of your choice. I strongly recommend 7Zip. It is free and open source and very accessible. Once you install 7Zip, you can easily open the .deb from the right click context menu (on Windows at least). Choose 7Zip from that context menu, then "open archive".
3. After opening the .deb, you will see "data.tar". That is the main archive. Just press Enter on it to go deeper. Keep pressing Enter till you find "sounds". With each Enter you go one folder deeper in the archive, and there is quite many levels of folders in it, but there is only one folder at each level, so this is easy.
4. In that "sounds" folder, there are those "modern" sound effects (whatever that means) that you long to hear. Each has a descriptive name, so you know which is which. Each has a mono and stereo version, and the file names show which is which. The audio files are .aiff format, playable with any half-decent media player (I prefer and use VLC).
I am sure these instructions can be adapted for an iDevice with an appropriate choice of archive manager, but I always do these kinds of things on PC.
Jailbreaking
I used to do this in 2014 and it was a lot of fun. Sadly, I don't know how active the jailbreaking community is anymore, and it's getting harder and harder as Apple continues patching vulnerabilities.
Jailbreaking in of itself is fine, at least in the United States for personal use. After all, it's your device, so you should be able to do whatever you want to it. The main problem is pirating apps, which is of course not legal or recommended. Changing VoiceOver sounds on your own device is harmless. If you want to go back to stock iOS, perform a DFU restore using a computer.
Jailbreaking is a lot of fun
In fact, I would even jailbreak my 17 Pro Max if it was supported. I miss the old days of jailbreaking my SE first gen so so much. Sure, it voids warranty, but so do a lot of other things. Having never had to use my warranty I wouldn't mind it at all.
Thanks for the demo.
Not something I'm into, but it wonders me yet that you can't customize sounds. It could be potentially useful. I'm thinking specifically of one of the recent betas where the Voiceover typing sound was really quiet, to hear some people tell it, my phone can only run 18, because it's super old.
Apple's weird with sounds anyway. On the Mac if I have sounds turned off and mute Voiceover, then unmute it, sounds come back. So I left them on and muted it today for some reason, and now that I've unmuted it, sounds are gone. I can just toggle Voiceover sounds back on, it's not like they were deleted or anything, it's just odd.
To check, I just toggled muting, and now sounds are back.
Wish they'd just make this possible natively.
It always seemed like such a basic concept, allowing us to essentially have our own wallpapers.
I used to do this during the jailbreak days and miss it so much!
As for voiding warranty, restore and you'll be fine.
iOS 18 old? :-)
I’m sorry I think that’s hilarious that somebody on here said that their phone can only run iOS 18 because it’s so old. It’s only one operating system different from where we are now. I think that’s hilarious. The oldest iOS I ever had was iOS 10 an iPhone 5 which I no longer have but it worked great for a while. I mean, it was really only for like web, browsing, and music and stuff like that but it’s still my current Apple Music so it’s pretty cool.