Speak-to-Chat,
on or off

What Speak-to-Chat does

When the headphones hear you speak, they make room for the conversation, then return to your music when you stop. What exactly happens depends on the model:

The MDR-1000X, WH-1000XM2 and WH-1000XM3 don't have Speak-to-Chat. If music stops on one of those, the cause is something else: see Sony headphones keep pausing.

Speak-to-Chat is off when the headphones are new.

Turn it off on your Mac

1. Open Open Sound Connect with your headphones connected.
2. Go to Voice (⌘3).
3. Turn off Speak-to-Chat.

You can also click the headphones icon in the menu bar and switch Speak-to-Chat there, or choose it in the Headphones menu. The app shows these controls only when your headphones report Speak-to-Chat. Since the setting lives in the headphones, it stays off when you go back to your phone.

Keep it, but make it less eager

If you like the idea but it reacts too often, change how it behaves on the Voice page instead of turning it off:

• Voice detection: Auto, High or Low. Low makes it react less readily.
• Ends after: how long it waits after you stop talking before your music comes back: Short, Standard, Long or Don't end automatically. When the headphones report the times, the app shows them; on a WH-1000XM4 that's about 15 seconds, 30 seconds and 1 minute. Sony's default on the WH-1000XM5 is about 15 seconds.

Why it keeps turning back on

Speak-to-Chat doesn't switch itself on, so if it keeps coming back, something is turning it on:

• An accidental gesture (XM4, XM5). Two fingers resting on the touch panel for a moment, for example while you adjust the headphones, can count as the on/off gesture. Listen for the voice guidance when it happens. If it keeps happening, turning off Touch Sensor Control Panel on the Wearing page stops touch gestures, this one included, but also the taps and swipes you use for playback.
• A scene. A scene can turn Speak-to-Chat on or off. Check your scenes on the Scenes page (⌘5), especially ones with an On connect, Schedule or App trigger. The starter scene Deep Focus turns it off.
• Another device. Sony's app on your phone, or another computer, can change it too. The last change wins.

Calls over the cable

When you use the headphone cable, the headphones' microphone isn't used: Sony says to talk through your phone's microphone. On the XM4 and newer, Sony also says to turn Speak-to-Chat off for calls over the cable, or you may not hear the other person. More on calls: Sony headphones for meetings on a Mac.