Turn TalkBack on or off

The TalkBack screen reader gives you spoken feedback and notifications.

Contents

Option 1: Press both volume keys

You can use the volume key shortcut to turn TalkBack on or off. 

1. On the side of your device, find both volume keys.
2. Press and hold both volume keys for 3 seconds.
3. To confirm that you want to turn TalkBack on or off, press both volume keys again for 3 seconds.
   • If you turn on TalkBack when you set up the device, the volume key shortcut is also turned on. Learn how to enable accessibility shortcuts after device set up.

Tip: To permanently turn off the volume key shortcut, go to Settings  Accessibility  TalkBack. Then turn TalkBack shortcut to off. Learn how to change your TalkBack shortcut.

Option 2: With Google Assistant

1. In the Setup wizard or in settings, after you turn on Google Assistant, say “Hey Google.”
2. Say “Turn off TalkBack” or “Turn on TalkBack.”

Option 3: With device settings

1. On your device, open Settings .
2. Select Accessibility TalkBack.
3. Turn Use TalkBack on or off.
4. Select Ok.

Things to be aware of when TalkBack is on

• Tap to select an item, then double-tap to turn on.
• Use 2 fingers to scroll. 
• When "System navigation" is set to "Gesture navigation," for gestures like home, back, or recent apps, use 2 fingers instead of one. 
• By default, TalkBack speaks password characters to you. To make sure that your phone doesn’t speak characters in secure fields, you can change the setting. Learn more about spoken passwords.

Get more help

For more help with Talkback, contact the Google Disability Support team.