Brown Noise Generator
Deep, rumbly brown noise that plays without gaps or ads. Press play, then use the ten faders to make it deeper or softer. It keeps going with your screen locked.
What is brown noise?
Brown noise is named after the botanist Robert Brown and the random motion he studied. The name has nothing to do with the color. Its energy falls by 6 dB for every octave you go up, so the low end dominates. It sounds like a distant waterfall, heavy rain on a roof or the inside of a jet cabin, with far less hiss than white noise.
Most of its energy sits in the bottom few octaves, below about 250 Hz. On the faders above, that's the four on the left. It still reaches all the way up to the treble, just much more quietly.
The Brown preset above sets that slope across the ten octave faders. Start there and move the faders until it sounds right to you.
Shaping your brown noise
To make it deeper, lower the 4k, 8k and 16k faders until the hiss is gone. You'll be left with a soft rumble.
Phone speakers can't play the 31 and 63 Hz bands, so brown noise can sound thin or quiet on them. Raise the 250 and 500 Hz faders a little, or switch to headphones or a speaker.
If a steady sound starts to feel flat, turn on Drift. Each band slowly swells and fades, a bit like surf.
Why people use it
Brown noise covers low, rumbling sounds well: traffic, a neighbor's television through the wall, a humming fridge. A lot of people find its deep tone easier to fall asleep to than the brighter hiss of white noise.
It's also popular for focus, and many people with ADHD say it helps them concentrate. The research on that is still thin, so try it as background sound rather than as a treatment for anything.
Play brown noise all night with the screen off
If you've been falling asleep to a 12-hour brown noise video with a black screen, this does the same job without the video. Your browser builds the sound as it plays, so it never runs out, and no ads cut in during the night. Lock your phone and the screen goes dark while the sound keeps going. You can pause it from the lock screen.
To stop it after you've fallen asleep, set the sleep timer. Pick 5 minutes to 8 hours or type in your own time, and the sound fades out over the last few minutes. On a tablet or laptop, tap Black screen to darken the page while it plays.
Gear for brown noise
Most of brown noise sits in the low bands, where phone speakers are weakest.
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Bedside speaker with real bass
A speaker that can play 31 to 125 Hz lets you hear the rumble that makes brown noise sound brown, even at a low volume.
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Sleep headphones
These put flat speakers inside a soft headband. You can wear them lying on your side, and the rumble won't wake anyone else.
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Standalone sound machine
If you keep your phone out of the bedroom, look for a machine with a deep or brown setting. Many only offer fan sounds.
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Questions
What's the difference between brown, pink and white noise?
They differ in how much low end they have. White noise has equal energy at every frequency and sounds like hiss. Pink noise drops 3 dB per octave and sounds like steady rain. Brown noise drops 6 dB per octave and sounds like a deep rumble.
Is it OK to play brown noise all night?
Many people do. Brown noise hasn't been studied on its own, but its close relative has: in a 2026 University of Pennsylvania study, pink noise at 50 dB cut REM sleep by about 19 minutes a night in 25 adults. Brown noise is also a broadband sound, so the same caution applies. Keep it quiet, and try the sleep timer so it stops after you fall asleep.
Is a fan brown noise or white noise?
Usually closer to brown or pink noise. Most of a fan's sound is a low and mid-range whoosh, with less of the high hiss that white noise has. Try the Box fan preset and compare it with Brown.
How do you make brown noise?
Press Play on this page. Technically, brown noise is white noise passed through a filter that takes away 6 dB of energy per octave, which is the same as adding up white noise over time. The faders here do that one octave at a time.
Does brown noise help with tinnitus?
It might, but brown noise is mostly low rumble, and tinnitus is often a high-pitched ring. A sound with energy near the pitch you hear tends to cover it better, so also try White or the Grey preset on the home page. An audiologist can help you find the right sound.
Does it loop or have gaps?
No. Your browser generates the noise live instead of playing a recording, so you won't hear a gap or seam where a track starts over.
Does it keep playing when I lock my phone?
Yes. It plays like a music track, so it keeps going with the screen locked and you can pause it from the lock screen. The built-in browser inside some apps may still stop it. If that happens, open this page in Safari or Chrome.
How loud should it be for sleep?
Quieter than you think: about the level of a soft shower in the next room. If you're using it all night, set it just loud enough to cover the sounds that bother you.