Hearing Aid Compatible Phones: How to Check a Phone Before You Buy

How to check if a phone is hearing aid compatible

Start with the exact model number, not the product name. Under 47 CFR 20.19, a phone that gets a physical change "must be given a model number designation distinct from that of the handset model prior to its alteration." The number on the box is what ties a phone to its certification.

Read the outside of the box. For a certified model, the printed label has to say "that the handset model is certified as hearing aid-compatible." It also has to say whether the phone meets telecoil or Bluetooth requirements, which Bluetooth standard it includes and, for a model certified to the 2019 ANSI standard, its conversational gain with and without hearing aids. Conversational gain is a volume measure, so a higher or lower figure on the box says nothing about whether the phone will pair with your aid.

Look the model up on the company's website. A manufacturer or carrier with a public website must post "a list of all currently offered handset models, including each model's marketing name/number(s) and the FCC ID number," along with the standard used to certify it. The same list has to state telecoil status and the Bluetooth technology for each model. It covers phones currently offered, so an older or secondhand phone may have dropped off. For those, use the FCC ID and ask the company directly.

Ask a person. The same rule requires that website to name a department staffed with "knowledgeable employees who can answer consumer questions about the hearing aid compatibility" of its phones. Give them the model number and the FCC ID, and ask which Bluetooth technology that model uses.

Try the phone with your own aid. Where a model has wireless technologies or bands that were not tested, the FCC's required notice tells buyers: "It is important to try the different features of this phone thoroughly and in different locations, using your hearing aid or cochlear implant, to determine if you hear any interfering noise." We would run that step on any model. Ask about the return or exchange policy first, because that notice sends buyers to the service provider or retailer for the answer.

Where each company posts its list

The rule sends you to each company's own list, so here is where to start. We read these pages in October 2026, and we copy no phone name or rating from them, because each list changes as models come and go.

• Google: its Pixel hearing aid compatibility page, linked in the sources at the end of this page, has the table described further down.
• Motorola: a "Hearing Aid Compatibility" link sits under Legal & Policies in the footer of its US home page.
• TCL: its compatibility page says a chart shows the rating for each of its devices.
• Cricket Wireless: its accessibility page gives lists of current and recent compatible devices.
• Boost Mobile: its help page has tables of phones it currently offers or recently offered.
• Appalachian Wireless: its chart page sets out its compatible models.

• Apple: its iPhone hearing aid compatibility page, linked in the sources at the end of this page, has tables by model.
• AT&T: its support page, also in the sources, leads to a list of currently sold compatible phones.
• Verizon: its accessibility page for hearing lists its compatible phones with their ratings.
• Samsung: its US accessibility page points to a separate link for compatibility information, so ask Samsung if you can't find your model.

T-Mobile's pages didn't load for us. The rule applies to any maker or carrier with a public website, so search its site for "hearing aid compatibility" and match the list against the model number on your box.

Hearing aid compatible cell phones: what the FCC requires, and when

Not every phone on sale today is certified. For models a manufacturer offers before its next phase date, the rule sets a share: at least 85 percent of them must be hearing aid-compatible. A phone in the store can fall in the remaining share, so the check above still matters.

The next stages are dated by who sells the phone, as the table shows. For handset manufacturers, the new requirements cover models offered "after December 14, 2026." Nationwide carriers follow "after June 14, 2027," and other carriers "after June 13, 2028." All three dates were still ahead when we read the rule in October 2026, so treat them as scheduled and read the label on the phone in your hand.

Once a stage applies, the rule asks for three things across the seller's models: 100 percent meeting the acoustic requirement, at least 85 percent meeting the telecoil requirement, each with an earlier rating accepted as the alternative the rule names, and at least 15 percent having Bluetooth technology. Those shares describe a company's lineup. They tell you nothing about one particular phone, and only that phone's label and listing can answer for it.

The last date in the table concerns paperwork. The final Form 655 filing window for manufacturers closed on July 31, 2026. A filing reports on a company's compliance over a period, and it is not a test of a phone with any hearing aid.

M and T ratings on older phones

You can still meet both notations. A model certified under an earlier standard before December 13, 2024 "may continue to be offered for sale or use, as long as the Commission permits." So a phone bought new may carry M and T ratings, while another on the same shelf shows the newer format.

The FCC rule ties the letters to two kinds of connection: it speaks of an "M3 acoustic rating" and a "T3 telecoil rating" under a previous standard. M goes with acoustic coupling. T goes with telecoil coupling, so it only comes into play if your aid has a telecoil. Your hearing care provider can tell you whether it does.

The newer format works differently. Google says on its Pixel page: "ANSI C63.19-2019 does not use the M and T ratings of ANSI C63.19-2011." Instead, it writes, the standard requires phones to "meet or exceed a single threshold for each type of test." A phone certified that way is reported as meeting each test, with a conversational gain figure.

No number on one scale can be read as a number on the other, and we offer no conversion chart. If you are comparing an older phone with a newer one, compare what each states about telecoil and Bluetooth, then try both with your aid.

Hearing aid compatible Android phones and Samsung models

The check is the same on any brand, because the rule applies by company and by model. The same goes for Android phones in general and for one Samsung model in particular: you end up at the model code on the box, then the list the company has to post.

Google's Pixel table shows what a listing like this looks like and why the code matters. Its Pixel 8a row carries two model codes, each with its own FCC ID and its own conversational gain figures, under one phone name. The same row marks each connection type, with "A" for acoustic coupling, "T" for telecoil coupling and "BT" for Bluetooth coupling, and it names the Bluetooth modes: ASHA and HAP. Those two names are what you take to your aid's maker when you ask about a pairing.

This page keeps no chart of phones. A chart here would age while the seller's own list has to stay current, so that list is the one to read, and a pairing question goes to the company behind the aid.

Free phones for hearing impaired people: what state programs offer

Free phone offers run through state equipment programs, each with its own list of devices and its own conditions. Two official pages show how much they can differ, and neither is a national rule.

New Mexico's program "lends telecommunications devices at no cost to qualifying New Mexico residents." Its page lists a total household income of $50,000 or less, residency in the state and documented hearing or speech loss. It adds a condition people miss: "You must have a landline telephone for an amplified phone or internet for an iPad." The devices it names include amplified telephones and iPads, so ask directly if you want a mobile phone.

Minnesota's phone-device page describes amplified phones and captioned phones, and says: "Some captioned phones need internet service and some do not." A captioned phone is a separate route from a hearing aid compatible handset, and our captioned telephone page covers who pays for what.

Before you apply anywhere, ask three questions. Is the device loaned or yours to keep? Which phone line or internet service must you already pay for? Is a mobile phone on the list at all? The program's answer applies to you; this page calculates no eligibility.