TalkBack for Android: what is this program and how to work with it? TalkBack - what is the Android program and how to use How to disable the talkback function.

TalkBack for Android: what is this program and how to work with it? TalkBack - what is the Android program and how to use How to disable the talkback function.

05.07.2021

In this article I will tell you what the TalkBack program is for on your Android phone or tablet, as well as learn how to use it.

This article is suitable for all brands that produce phones on Android 10/9/8/7: Samsung, HTC, Lenovo, LG, Sony, ZTE, Huawei, Meizu, Fly, Alcatel, Xiaomi, Nokia and others. We are not responsible for your actions.

Attention! You can ask your question to a specialist at the end of the article.

What is TalkBack?

TalkBack is a program that voices all your actions on your Android gadget. The application is a Google service, it is built into the Android operating system by default. TalkBack and gets better every time.

This service will be a great way for visually impaired users to work with all the functions of the gadget in full. TalkBack is also suitable for motorists so as not to be distracted from the road.

Main features of Talkback

  • The application reads each key as you type.
  • Convert speech to text and vice versa.
  • Scoring of applications launched or selected by tap.
  • During each incoming call, the information about the caller is announced. There is also auto-scrolling of contact lists.
  • The user can select the appropriate combination of buttons for a specific action.
  • Gesture control.
  • The program is able to read any text that is in the browser or in a text file.
  • The distance sensor can be used to adjust the volume and tone of the sound.

In fact, the utility's functionality is much larger than that described. It will not be difficult for the user to determine how the given program functions. When the application is activated, scrolling is performed with two fingers.

TalkBack is a rather specific application, so it may not be useful for a healthy person. Due to the constant dubbing of actions, the utility quickly gets bored, users immediately try to turn it off on gadgets.

How do I use Talkback?

The application settings have clear and detailed instructions that are easy to use. Users often learn quickly and work successfully with the utility.

The most difficult thing here is to get used to it; to activate any action, the user needs to double-press a key or button, and work with the touchscreen must be done with two fingers.

Let's consider the most popular and useful features of the program:

  • The "Explore by touch" option allows you to pronounce the name of the program with a single touch on the screen of its shortcut. To start the selected program, you just need to touch it.
  • "Sound phonetic symbols". This function is useful, it allows you to virtual keyboard recognize characters. By touching a letter on the keyboard, the user will hear the word with which it begins.
  • "Shake to read." By shaking the device, the user will be able to activate the reading of text from the screen of the gadget in voice.

How do I turn on TalkBack?

When the software is activated, including with the use of the quick turn-on function, Talkback will be able to give notifications by vibration, voice and sound about events, and read the text from the gadget's screen. During the first launch, you need to connect headphones to the device, then you do not need to do this by changing the settings.

To launch the application, you need to touch and hold the settings screen with two fingers. The tablet or smartphone recognizes this command and activates it. To activate the program on a device with Android 4.0 system, you need to draw a closed triangle on the settings screen.

Unlocking the program

If the Talkback application is activated on the device, there are two ways to unblock it. To do this, slide two fingers up and down the display and, if necessary, specify the unlock code.

The second way is to use audio prompts. Find the unlock button located in the middle of the bottom of the display, then double-click on it.

How do I stop Talkback?

In the settings of the utility, you can pause its operation. This is done according to the instructions:

  • We reveal context menu programs.
  • We select "Pause reviews". This item is located in the upper left corner of the radial menu.
  • Then this action should be confirmed.

If necessary, you can uncheck the "Always display this warning" checkbox, which in the future will allow the program to be suspended immediately.

Disable Talkback on Android

Disabling the program is pretty straightforward. Consider ways for a gadget on Android without tweaks and for a device Samsung Galaxy based on TouchWiz.

Instructions for Android without adjustments:

  • We go into the settings.
  • Then we find the item "Accessibility". We open it.
  • We select "Talkback".
  • Turn off the program by moving the lever.
  • We confirm the action.

Instructions for Samsung Galaxy:

  • Let's go to the settings.
  • As in the previous situation, we find the "Accessibility" menu.

Which allows visually impaired people to use smartphones and tablets. It is designed to provide voice guidance to everything that happens on the display. The utility reads out the text. When you click on some icon, it says what exactly you have chosen. In addition, it has a huge set of functions. But the various parameters are hard to understand without instructions. Learn more about Talkback: what it is, how to enable, configure or disable it.

Talkback makes smartphone use available to visually impaired people

Features of Talkback

The utility was created by Google. With its help, people who see poorly will be able to work fully. If you enable this application, it will accompany almost all user actions with speech, sounds or vibration. Here is a list of the main features of Talkback:

  • Reading text from the screen. There are several voices to choose from.
  • Sounding of keys and buttons when pressed.
  • Description of everything that happens on the display. The program says what exactly you are viewing now.
  • Working with incoming calls. The utility will tell you who is calling.
  • Explore by touch. If you click on any folder or application, it will be announced what you are going to open.
  • Autoscrolling lists.
  • Controlling keyboard shortcuts, gestures, shaking. To enable or disable text playback from the display, you need to shake the device.
  • Automatic volume control if there is a distance sensor.

Talkback is not standard application, and the built-in option. Almost all Android devices have it. This function can be removed as unnecessary, because many users do not even know about its existence, and it takes up space in permanent memory.

If you need this program, but for some reason it is absent or does not work correctly, you can download it from Play Market... In this case, it will be installed like any other application.


You can download Talkback app from Play Market

Customization and use

  1. Go to the "Accessibility" of the device. Where they are located depends on Android version... Either "Settings - My Device", or just "Settings".
  2. In this menu, click on "Talkback".
  3. To turn it on, flip the switch to "ON" mode. It will turn green. This is done differently in older OS versions. It is necessary not only to activate this option, but also to put a tick in the "Accessibility" item to allow their use.
  4. In the "Talkback" section, check the options you want.

Here is a list of some of the settings and features:

  • Explore by touch. If you click once on any application, its name will be pronounced. To start, you need to touch it again.
  • "Shake to read." Shake your device to read the text on the screen.
  • "Sound phonetic symbols". If you hold down a symbol on the virtual keyboard, the program will say some word starting with this letter ("A, stork", "B, beaver" and so on).
  • Management of a combination of buttons, gestures.

The app has detailed instructions which can be found in the settings. It's easy to use. You just have to get used to the fact that it takes two clicks to launch something.


Talkback lets you use your touch device literally by touch

How to disable?

If you have studied, have tried different settings and accidentally launched this application, it will not be so easy to get rid of it. Or the device at the first launch suggested that you enable this function, and you, not knowing what it is, agreed to activate Talkback. How do I remove it after that?

For blind people, this utility is almost the only way to use a smartphone or tablet. But if you can clearly see what is displayed on the screen, the voice guidance will interfere. When the program is active, you have to double-click on the icons to open something. Because of it, the interface can significantly slow down. Continuous dubbing will drain the battery faster. Therefore, it is best to use this option only when you really need it.

Here's how to turn off Talkback on Android:

  1. Go to "Settings". You need to click on the icon twice. The first time is to hear the voice prompt, the second is to open. To swipe, swipe the screen with two fingers instead of one.
  2. Find Accessibility (on Android2 and earlier, this section is under the My Device tab).
  3. Open Talkback.
  4. Move the switch to the "OFF" position. To do this, press it twice again.
  5. Confirm the action to disable the utility.

It will not work to remove it completely in this way, since it is part of the system. If you are going to flash the device yourself, find the talkback APK file in the archive with the firmware and erase it.


Talkback makes the life of visually impaired people a lot easier.

The preinstalled program can be removed manually if you have root rights. They give access to system files and allow you to edit them. Download a utility for "root" (for example, Kingo Root or GingerBreak) and any file manager... , and you can erase unnecessary .apk directly from the internal Android folders.

When you don't need voice prompts, Talkback is inconvenient. If you accidentally activated it, you can turn it off. In an inactive state, Talkback will not affect performance or interfere with the device.

At using Android smartphone users are sometimes faced with the fact that their device begins to voice all the text that is present on the screen. The names of applications, buttons, text in sms messages and the browser are read out. All elements that the user clicks on are also voiced. At the same time, to interact with the controls, they need to be pressed twice, and not once, as usual. The Talkback program is responsible for this behavior of an Android smartphone. Now we will tell you what this program is, why you need it on Android, and how to turn it on and off.

TalkBack logo.

In the mobile operating room Android system there is a program called Talkback. This program is included in the standard set software Android, so it is available on most devices and almost all firmwares. The purpose of the Talkback app is to help visually impaired users. This is done by dubbing everything that happens on the smartphone screen.

Talkback performs the following functions:

  • Speaking of all text that appears on the smartphone screen, including speaking text in the browser or in files;
  • Sounding of inscriptions on buttons and other interface elements of Android and other applications;
  • Incoming call message, receiving and ending calls;
  • Help with editing and typing;
  • Help with entering other information;
  • Smartphone control using gestures;

How to enable Talkback on Android

The Talkback application turns on quite simply, which, by the way, is often the reason for accidentally enabling this option. In order to turn on Talkback, you need to hold down both volume keys and hold them for three seconds. As a result, a pop-up window with two options should appear on the screen: "" and " Deactivate quick start". To enable Talkback select the option " Use quick power on».

This will enable the Quick Start Talkback feature. Now you need to hold down both volume keys again for 3 seconds. After that, Talkback will be turned on and a voice message will appear stating that Talkback is working. In order to start using Talkback features, click on any element of the Android interface and you will hear a voice message that will explain what it is and how to activate it.

If you were unable to turn on the Talkback program using the volume keys, then you can do it through android settings... To do this, open the application " Settings"And go to the section" Special abilities".

Next, open the subsection “ Talkback».

And turn on the switch " Talkback". in the same way.

If you have Android 4.0, then to enable Talkback, you need to activate the switch “ Talkback", Return to the previous page and activate the option" Explore by touch". In Android 3.2 and below, you need to activate the " Specialist. Opportunities" and " TalkBack».

How to turn off Talkback on Android

Thanks to its capabilities, Talkback can greatly help Android users who have vision problems. But if this program accidentally turns on a regular user, then it will only create additional problems for him. Therefore, users often ask how to turn off Talkback on Android.

The easiest option is to use quick shutdown.... To do this, hold down both volume keys and hold them for 3 seconds, just as described above, in the section on turning on the Talkback program. If the quick enable option works, then such an action will disable Talkback. A voice message will appear stating that Talkback is disabled.

If you cannot turn off the Talkback program using the volume keys, then this can be done through the settings. Everything here is exactly the same as in the case of inclusion, which we described a little above. Open the Android settings, go to the section " Accessibility - Talkback"And turn the switch" Talkback"To position" Turned off».

It should be noted that if the Talkback program is working, then in order to activate the switch, you need to click on it twice (make a double click, as on a computer).

There is an application that helps people with vision problems. This is TalkBack. Usually, it is already installed in all smartphones. It differs from its counterparts in that it fully interacts with the Android shell.

Perhaps you once accidentally turned on the actions of the program using the function buttons, or using the tab in the smartphone settings under the name "Special abilities"... In this case, the decision will be easy. If you are not going to use the application, you can uninstall it.

What you need to know

When enabled Android control voice, you can move around the system by pressing the desired button twice. You can scroll through the menu by using 2 fingers at the same time. The steps described below are slightly different in different versions operating system... But the meaning is the same.

Option 1: Instant shutdown

When the voice assistant is activated, you can quickly turn it off and on. This happens using the buttons of the smartphone. Thus, it is easy to work in different modes, switching from one to another. What should be done:

    1. Unlock the device while holding down the volume buttons «+» and «-« for a couple of three seconds until you feel vibration. In the case of old version OS (4.x), the volume buttons are usually replaced by the power button of the device. If the previous action is not successful, hold down the button On off... After the vibration, you need to have time to put one finger, and the second at the same time, until the completion screen appears.
    2. After that, the voice assistant will display a message stating that it has been disabled.

This method will work only if you have previously installed on the buttons quick start service. You can check their installation as follows:

    1. Go to the settings of your smartphone.
    2. Find the tab "Special abilities" and go there.

    1. There you need to find the tab responsible for the buttons. It can be called "Quick start"... If there is Off then turn on by dragging the slider.

    1. Depending on the version of the operating system, it is possible to enable access by buttons on the locked screen. That is, without entering a password or PIN code with a pattern, you have access to quickly enable the service with the buttons.

Option 2: Using settings

If you cannot use the first method due to damage to the mechanical buttons of the device, then you can directly disable this application.

    1. To do this, you need to go directly to the device settings themselves.
    2. Next, go to the tab "Special abilities".

    1. Go to the section "Synthesis of speech"(may be called differently), and select TalkBack.

    1. Using the slider, drag from "Included" on the "Disabled".

It is also possible to disable the program as a service. In this case, it will remain on the device, but will not perform its functions while disabled. The instruction looks like this:

    1. To do this, go to the section "Applications" across "Settings".

    1. Find the application and click on it. We press the disable button. A window should appear with the removal of the program version to the original one. We confirm and wait.

    1. TalkBack is now disabled as a service and app. To turn it on, press the button in the same place. "Turn on" and we confirm.

    1. After that, if you go to "Settings", then "Special abilities", you will not find a disabled service. Also, it is not in the settings of the volume buttons.

  1. To resume all functions of the voice assistant, first you need to turn it on. How to do this is described above. Then go to PlayMarket and update it. Everything returned to its place.

Option 3: Complete deletion with superuser rights

If you have superuser rights (root-rights) on your smartphone, then this method will not be difficult for you. Usually, the device only has the ability to disable the application itself. Additional rights give you the ability to uninstall the program completely.

What is needed for this:

  • superuser rights;
  • working Play Market;
  • the name of the program to be removed.

First, go to PlayMarket and look for the Root App Deleter. Then we select it, click install and confirm. We are waiting for the installation to complete (it takes up to 1MB of space at the moment), and launch it.

There are several sections in the running application. We choose "System Applications"... Should bring up a window with a choice of one of two modes: "Newbie" and "Pro"... Click on "Profi"... Will list all system applications. In the upper right corner, click on the magnifying glass icon and enter the name of the application you want to remove. We find it and click. At the bottom of the displayed window, select the item "Uninstall"... Then we confirm permission to give root rights application and wait.

While TalkBack is beneficial for people with low vision, turning it on inadvertently can be inconvenient. Looking at the considered methods, you can see that it is quite simple to remove the discomfort from this application.

Many smartphone apps are intended for entertainment purposes. However, some of them help the user to a great extent, equipping the phone with a number of useful functionalities. TalkBack app belongs to the latter. Google employees were engaged in the production of this application, who made it free and easy to install.

For some smartphones, the installation of the application is provided in advance, that is, the user receives the gadget already with it. So what is this Android Talkback program? According to the manufacturer, the application is intended strictly for people with special needs, namely those who have low vision and need additional help. The bottom line is to voice any actions that the user takes on the smartphone. Almost all modern devices have installed program initially, and it is subject to constant standard updates.

What is TalkBack on Android and its main functions

Since the main description of the program is discussed above, let's analyze what functions the application performs. What is talkback for Android:

  • to sound the pressed keys. When dialing a number, it is convenient for people who are visually impaired;
  • to read out the content of a text message;
  • is a kind of caller ID, as it says information about an incoming call;
  • to voice contacts to make it easier to choose the one you need;
  • copes with the translation audio message into text, allowing you to speed up the process of entering messages;
  • says the name of the application that the cursor is hovering over;
  • to set some kind of voice-controlled hotkeys.

Let's clarify that the program has a wide variety of functions, but they are not as common as those described above. Of course, this is a rather specific application, but it will be a good helper when needed.

Having considered what Talkback is on Android, we will analyze how to enable and disable the program.

How do I disable the application?

In some smartphones this application enabled automatically, and some people may not like this sound. Therefore, a logical question arises: how to disable it?

In order to do this manipulation, follow the algorithm:

  • go to the "Settings" tab of your gadget;
  • find the item "Accessibility";
  • find the Talkback app;
  • turn it off with the slider in the OFF mode.

By doing the opposite, you can re-enable the program. For the convenience of using the application, you can find detailed instructions, which are written simply and clearly. Also, within the framework of the instructions, there is a short training that is carried out in advance before use.

The most useful features are:

  • when the touch makes it possible to hear the name of the application;
  • when, when shaking the smartphone, the voice reads the text on the screen, message or document;
  • scoring of individual characters.

In addition to using the application for people with disabilities, it is also suitable for drivers who cannot be distracted while driving. Such voice control makes it easier to use a smartphone, allows you to make calls and type text. Also, sounding the name and number of the caller allows you to decide whether you need to answer or the subscriber can wait. In this case, the driver is not distracted by the screen.

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