How do I enable and disable the Screen Reader on my Samsung Galaxy smartphone?
On Samsung smartphones you can activate a Screen Reader to provide audible feedback to assist blind and low-vision users with their phones. Screen Reader uses a Voice Assistant that will describe what you touch, select and activate, giving you maximum control over your phone, even if you can't see it.
This feature has previously been called TalkBack.
Please note: the Voice Assistant for the Screen Reader is different to the Bixby voice assistant. Find out more about Bixby and how to use it
The Screen Reader feature is now active. The controls of your device will have changed and all of your actions will be read aloud by the Voice Assistant.
Once Screen Reader has been activated, the process of controlling your smartphone will change, making it harder to accidentally press the screen and adding useful features for low-vision users.
When you interact with an item on the screen, a rectangular focus box will surround it. You can then use tap and swipe gestures to control the focus.
- To hear what's directly under your finger: tap and drag your finger around the sceen
- To activate an item: double tap with one finger
- To move the focus box to another item on the screen: swipe left or right with one finger
- To move to the next or previous page: swipe left or right with two fingers
- To scroll up or down the list: swipe up or down with two fingers
- To scroll up or down through screen content: with one finger, swipe from left to right to scroll up, or right then left to scroll down
- To move the focus box to the top or bottom of the page: with one finger, swipe up then down to go to the first item, or down then up to go to the last
You can find out more about how to interact with and use Screen Reader by completing the tutorial in the Screen Reader settings.
Once the Voice Assistant has been activated, your smartphone will control differently. In general, you will have to tap once to select an item with a blue focus box, then tap twice on the screen to interact with it. Follow the steps below to disable the Screen Reader feature.
The Screen Reader feature is now disabled and the Voice Assistant will stop dictating your actions. Your phone will also revert to the original controls.
If you're experiencing unusual behaviour on Samsung mobiles, tablets or wearables, you can send us an error report or ask us a question in the Samsung Members app.
This allows us to take a closer look at what is happening. The data is anonymised and only held for the duration of the investigation. Find out more about sending an error report through the Samsung Members app.
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