Use Voice Access commands

You can use these commands on any screen.

General commands

• Open [app]
• Go back
• Go home
• Show notifications
• Show Quick Settings
• Show recent apps

Voice Access help

• What can I say?
• Show all commands
• Open tutorial
• Show numbers
• Hide numbers
• Show labels
• Hide labels
• What is [number]?
• Stop Voice Access
• Send feedback

Settings

• Turn on Bluetooth
• Turn off Bluetooth
• Turn up volume
• Turn down volume
• Turn [media/alarm/phone] volume up
• Turn [media/alarm/phone] volume down
• Mute
• Silence
• Unmute
• Mute [media/alarm/phone] volume
• Unmute [media/alarm/phone] volume
• Turn device off

Assistant

You can speak commands to the Google Assistant, such as:

• Hey Google, set timer for [amount of time]
• Hey Google, turn on the torch
• Hey Google, when was the Empire State Building built?
• Hey Google, who created Google?

Voice Access numbers

To show an overlay of numbers next to everything on your screen that you can interact with, say 'Show numbers'. If you don't know the name for something, say 'Show labels' to see suggestions.

For example, you might see the number 7 next to a Save button, like this: . To select the Save button, you could say any of these commands:

• 7
• Save
• Tap 7
• Tap Save

If two items on your screen have the same text label (such as two 'Options' menus), you can say the number instead of the word. Also, if a text label is long or difficult to pronounce, saying the number might be easier.

If you're not sure which item on your screen goes with a number, you can say 'What is [number]?' For example, 'What is 7?'

Search in apps

If you're in an app with a search field, you can say something like 'Search for [shoes]' to search in that app for shoes.

Answer calls

If you receive a call, you can answer it by saying 'Answer call'.

Use these commands to tap, scroll and make other gestures with your voice. Replace the sample words in [brackets] with your own commands.

Touch gestures

• Tap [OK]
• [OK]
• Long press [item]
• Switch on [item]
• Switch off [item]
• Expand [notification]
• Collapse [notification]

Swipe gestures

• Scroll [up, down, left, right]
• Scroll [up, down, left, right] on [item]
• Scroll to top
• Scroll to bottom
• Swipe forwards
• Swipe backwards

Note: This feature requires Android 7.0 or later. Learn how to check your Android version.

In some apps, it's easier to navigate using a grid than by clicking specific objects. A grid is also helpful if something that you want to click doesn't have a number. 

1. To start grid selection, say 'Show grid'.
2. To make the grid bigger or smaller, say 'More squares' or 'Fewer squares'.
3. To interact with the grid, say a number or use commands. For example: 
   • '3'
   • 'Tap 7'
   • 'Swipe right' or 'Swipe left'
   • 'Scroll up' or 'Scroll down'
   • 'Swipe 5 up'
   • 'Swipe left on 12'
   • 'Pinch in'
   • 'Pinch out'
4. To hide the grid, say 'Hide grid'.

Note: This feature requires Android 7.0 or later. Learn how to check your Android version.

Use these commands to zoom or magnify to see your Android device's screen better.

Start magnification

• Start magnification
• Start zooming

Zoom in or out

• Magnify
• Zoom in
• Enhance
• Zoom out

Pan up, down, left or right

• Scroll [up, down, left, right]
• Pan [up, down, left, right]
• Move [up, down, left, right]
• Go [up, down, left, right]

Stop magnification

• Stop magnification
• Stop zooming
• Cancel zooming

Use these commands to type, edit and format text with your voice.

Voice Access shows a blue border around editable text fields to show that you can start typing and editing. If the blue border doesn't appear around a text field, say the number next to the text field.

Tips:

• Replace [word or phrase] with your own commands.
• Starred commands (*) work for characters, words, sentences, lines, paragraphs or pages.

Type text

• Type [word or phrase]
• [word or phrase]
• Undo
• Redo
• Insert [word or phrase] before [word or phrase]
• Insert [word or phrase] after [word or phrase]
• Insert [word or phrase] between [word or phrase] and [word or phrase]
• Format email 
  • Note: This command formats nearby text as an email address, if possible. For example, to format the text 'info at company dot com' as an email address ([email protected]) say 'format email'.
• Stop editing

Replace text

• Replace [word or phrase] with [word or phrase]
• Replace everything between [word or phrase] and [word or phrase] with [word or phrase]
• Capitalise [word or phrase]
• Uppercase [word or phrase]
• Lowercase [word or phrase]

Delete text

• Delete
• Delete all
• Delete [word or phrase]
• Delete to the beginning
• Delete to the end
• Delete selected text
• Delete from [word or phrase] to [word or phrase]
• Delete [3] words*
• Delete the next [5] sentences*

Move the cursor

• Go to the beginning
• Go to the end
• Move after [word or phrase]
• Move before [word or phrase]
• Move between [word or phrase] and [word or phrase]
• Right [4] characters*
• Left [6] words*

Select text

• Select all text
• Unselect all text
• Select to the beginning
• Select to the end
• Select [word or phrase]
• Select from [word or phrase] to [word or phrase]
• Select [5] sentences*
• Select the next [6] lines*

Cut, copy and paste

• Cut
• Copy
• Paste

Show or hide the keyboard

• Show keyboard
• Hide keyboard

To stop Voice Access, you can do any of the following actions:

• Touch anywhere on the screen.
• Say 'Stop listening'.
• Turn the screen off. To save battery, Voice Access automatically stops when the screen is off.
• Open your notification shade, then tap Touch to pause.
• If you've set up a Bluetooth switch, you can press the switch to stop Voice Access.
• If you've turned on 'Time out after no speech' in Voice Access settings, wait 30 seconds.

Note: To turn off the Voice Access app entirely, go to Settings  Accessibility Voice Access.