How to set your preferred default audio and subtitle language on Apple TV

This tutorial shows you how to set your preferred default audio and subtitle languages on Apple TV, as well as the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Apple TV box, screen and Siri remote

About audio and subtitle language on Apple TV

Audio: By default, videos you start watching on Apple TV play in their original audio language.

Subtitles: If what you’re playing is in a different language than your Apple TV’s language, then automatic subtitle kicks in based on the language of your Apple TV (Settings > General > Apple TV Languages).

However, you have two options if you prefer to watch the content or read subtitles in another language:

  • Change the audio and subtitles language right on the video player screen.
  • Change the default audio and subtitle language.

Now, if you have to watch a one-off video in another language, then it isn’t a big deal to change the audio and subtitle language from the video player screen using the subtitles button and the audio button.

Choose subtitles and audio language while watching on Apple TV

But, if you always want to enjoy TV shows and movies in a specific language, then you should change the default audio and subtitle settings of your Apple TV. After that, your Apple TV will automatically play videos in the preferred audio language (if available) and also display the subtitles in the chosen language. Here’s how to do that.

Set default audio language on Apple TV

  1. Open the Settings app on your  TV.
  2. Select Video and Audio.
  3. Scroll down to Audio Language and select it.
  4. Now, pick the audio language you want, except Auto.
Change Audio Language settings on Apple TV

From now on, Apple TV will play shows and movies in the dubbed audio language you chose in step 4.

Set default subtitle language on Apple TV

  1. Go inside  TV Settings.
  2. Select Video and Audio.
  3. Scroll down to Automatic Subtitles and click once to turn it Off.
  4. Next, click Subtitle Language.
  5. Select the language you want to see all your video subtitles in.
Set default subtitle language on Apple TV

Important to note:

1) Even though you can set your default audio and subtitle languages, they will work only when available. For example, suppose you set the audio and subtitles language to French, but the TV show you’re trying to watch is not available with French audio, nor it has subtitles available in French. In this case, that show will play in its original audio language. You can see a show or movie’s supported audio and subtitles languages in its description section on Apple TV.

Audio and subtitles languages on Apple TV

2) The settings you choose above apply to the Apple TV app and similar Apple apps like iTunes/Movie Store. They may not affect third-party apps, as most third-party apps have their own audio and subtitle settings.

3) The subtitle language you see in previews/trailers may depend on your country/region and be unaffected by the language you choose above.

Tip: Don’t want to see subtitles at all on Apple TV? Turn off Automatic Subtitles and select Off for Subtitle Language. After this, subtitles won’t appear when you start watching.

Change the default audio language for the Apple TV app

In the above section, we talked about changing the audio language on Apple TV – a small, physical video streaming device from Apple. Now, we will go over how to change the default audio language if you watch content in the  TV app on your other devices like smart TVs, iPhone, iPad, or computer.

iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down and tap TV.
  3. Tap Audio Language and select your desired language.
Audio Language for TV app on iPhone

Mac or PC

You can select the audio language while the video is playing inside the Apple TV app on Windows PC or Mac by using the audio button from the bottom right of the screen.

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