Customise Android settings for TalkBack

The Quick Settings panel has common device settings, like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and aeroplane mode.

To open Quick Settings:

• When your device is locked: From the top of the screen, two-finger swipe down.
• When your device is unlocked: For notifications, from the top of the screen, two-finger swipe down. Then, for Quick Settings, two-finger swipe down again.

To open Settings:

• From your home screen: Two-finger swipe up. In the apps screen, explore by touch to find Settings and double tap. You can also use the search box to search for Settings.
  • Apps are often listed in alphabetical order.
• With Google Assistant: If you've turned on 'Hey Google' on your device, say, 'Hey Google'. Then say, 'Open Settings'.
• In the Quick Settings panel: Explore by touch to find Settings, then double-tap.

Accessibility volume controls TalkBack's speech volume level. It's part of Android's standard volume control.

• When TalkBack is turned on, the volume keys control your media volume. To change TalkBack volume, put one finger on the touchscreen and press either the volume up or volume down keys.

When you turn off auto-rotate, your screen orientation doesn't change based on your movements.

1. On your device, open Settings .
2. Select Accessibility.
3. Find and turn off Auto-rotate screen.

With this setting, you can end a call when you press the power button on your device.

Important: You might be unable to lock your device with the power button when this setting is enabled, like when your phone is in your pocket.

1. On your device, open Settings .
2. Select Accessibility.
3. Find and turn on Power button ends call.

1. To open the TalkBack menu, in one stroke, swipe down and then right.
   • On devices with multi-finger gestures, tap once on the screen with three fingers.
2. Select TalkBack settings.
3. Update any of the following settings:

Verbosity settings control how much information TalkBack gives you. With high verbosity, you get more speech feedback and with low verbosity, you get less. For example, with the high preset, the keys that you enter are always spoken. With the low preset, entered keys aren't spoken.

1. Select Verbosity.
2. Choose a preset: High, custom or low.
   • With the custom preset, you can individually choose what TalkBack speaks.
3. You can customise the amount of punctuations spoken regardless of the chosen preset. In TalkBack 15.0, you can choose all, most or some.
   • All: Speak the punctuations and symbols in the text.
   • Most: Speak the common punctuations used, such as parentheses, colons and asterisks.
   • Some: Only a few punctuations or symbols will be spoken, such as the ampersand symbol in 'this & that'.

Tip: To adjust this setting with reading controls, you can add this as an option in Customise menus Customise reading controls. Learn more about reading controls.

Sound feedback is brief audio that you get as you navigate your device. This is also known as an earcon. By default, sound feedback volume is set to 50% of your TalkBack speech volume.

To change your sound feedback volume:

1. Go to your TalkBack settings.
2. Select Sound and vibration Sound feedback volume.
3. Choose a volume:
   • Match speech volume
   • 75% of speech volume
   • 50% of speech volume
   • 25% of speech volume

Audio ducking lowers the volume level of media and other audio so that TalkBack's spoken feedback is easy to understand. Audio ducking is on by default.

To turn audio ducking on or off:

1. Select Sound and vibration.
2. Select Audio ducking.
3. Turn Audio ducking on or off.

By default, TalkBack speaks password characters that other people might hear. You can change the setting so that your phone doesn't speak characters in secure fields unless you have headphones connected.

To turn this setting on or off: Select Speak passwords.

• When Speak passwords is on: TalkBack speaks password characters as you type.
• When Speak passwords is off: TalkBack speaks password characters only when you're connected to headphones.

To install languages:

1. To open the TalkBack menu, in one stroke, swipe down then right.
   • On devices with multi-finger gestures, tap on the screen with three fingers.
2. Select Text-to-speech settings Language.
3. Choose a language.

To switch between languages while you use TalkBack, use any of these options:

• The TalkBack menu: In one stroke, swipe down then right.
  • On devices with multi-finger gestures, tap on the screen with three fingers. Then, select Spoken language.
• A physical keyboard: Press Alt + Ctrl + L.
• A gesture: To assign a gesture to the 'Change spoken language' command, open TalkBack settings and select Gestures.