Android: TalkBack Settings

Overview

You can customize TalkBack settings to better match your accessibility needs and personal preferences.

Procedure


Step 1: Open TalkBack settings

  1. Open your device's Settings appSettings
  2. Open Accessibility, then TalkBack.
  3. Open Settings.


Step 2: View or change TalkBack settings

Note: Settings vary by device and TalkBack version. If your settings are different from the ones described below, refer to Settings in earlier TalkBack versions below. 

Speech

Setting

Description

Options
Text-to-speech settings Choose your preferred text-to-speech engine, language, speech rate, and pitch.  Learn more about text-to-speech settings.
Verbosity

Set the TalkBack speech verbosity.

Choose how much speech feedback TalkBack provides:

Custom (default): Lets you fine-tune individual speech preferences. 

High: Quickly enables most speech feedback features. 

Low: Quickly disables most speech feedback features. 

 Custom; High; Low
Use proximity sensor

If your device has a proximity sensor, you can silence TalkBack.

Phones: Wave your finger on the proximity sensor.

Tablets: Touch any application on the screen. Touch the screen again to restart TalkBack.

 Proximity sensor silences speech; Proximity sensor does not control speech
Shake to start continuous reading Shaking the device enables continuous reading. Disabled; Very light; Light; Medium; Hard; Very hard
Speak passwords Choose whether TalkBack speaks password characters without headphones. On; Off                            Learn more about how to Speak passwords. 

Other Feedback

Setting

Description

Options
Sound and vibration

Customize:       

  • Sound feedback
  • Sound feedback volume
  • Audio ducking
  • Vibration feedback                                                                                             
 On, Off
Sound volume Available when Sound feedback is turned on. Controls the sound volume of speech and other sounds created by TalkBack relative to the system’s volume. -Match media volume -75% of media volume -50% of media volume -25% of media volume
     

Navigation

Setting

Description

Options
Explore by touch Touch the screen to hear what’s beneath your finger.
This setting is enabled by default. When disabled, your device won’t respond to shortcut gestures or speak items when touched touch exploration.		 On, Off
Automatically scroll lists

When enabled, lists automatically scroll during linear navigation (when swiping to move between items). 

Note: In Android Accessibility Suite 8.1 and up, this is the default setting.

 On, Off
Single-tap activation To activate a focused item, tap it once instead of double-tapping. On, Off
Show context menu as list Select this setting to show the global and local context menus as lists instead of circles. Learn more about the global and local context menus. On, Off
TalkBack tutorial Review a tutorial on TalkBack. Touch to launch the tutorial
Gestures Select this setting to change the meaning of TalkBack gestures. Learn more about TalkBack gestures.
Custom labels Use this setting to manage any custom labels that you've created with the local context menu, including import and export. Learn more in Global and local context menus.

Miscellaneous

Setting

Description

Options
Keyboard shortcuts Change settings for TalkBack keyboard shortcuts. Learn more about TalkBack keyboard shortcuts.
Dim screen when TalkBack is enabled If enabled, screen brightness is reduced to near zero when TalkBack is active.
For the first three minutes, you can turn off screen dimming by quickly pressing the volume up and down buttons three times. During this time, on-screen instructions explain how to disable the dimming feature.		 On, Off
Dim screen shortcut Quickly press both volume keys three times to toggle screen dimming on or off. On, Off

 

Find your TalkBack version 

  1. Open your device's Settings app Settings.
  2. Open Apps, then TalkBack.
  3. The version number is at the top of the screen (such as version 8.2).

Settings in earlier TalkBack versions 8.2 & Below

Auto-Scroll Lists: Lists can scroll automatically as you swipe through items in linear navigation. This is turned on by default in newer versions.

Shake to Read: Shake your device to have TalkBack start reading aloud from your current position.

Enhanced Focus Navigation: When you move to a new screen, focus goes to the first interactive item. If you've been there before, focus returns to where you left off. This is also enabled by default in Android Accessibility Suite 8.1 and up.

Dim Screen When TalkBack is On: Reduces screen brightness for privacy while using TalkBack. You can access this feature from the global context menu.

Dim Screen Shortcut: Press the volume up and down buttons quickly three times to dim or restore screen brightness.

Speech Volume Control: Adjust TalkBack’s speech volume independently, or set it to match your media volume.

Announce Caller ID: Hear the name or number of incoming callers before answering.

Suspend/Resume Shortcut: Hold both volume keys to temporarily pause or resume TalkBack.

Resume Behavior: Choose how TalkBack behaves when it resumes after being paused.

Contact Information:

IT Help Desk Contact & Zoom Desk
In Person: Hardman & Jacobs Undergraduate Learning Center - Room 105
Phone: 575-646-HELP (4357)
Email: help@nmsu.edu



Zoom Link: https://nmsu.zoom.us/my/nmsuithelpdesk
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Zoom with us M-F 8am-5pm 

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