TalkBack and advanced Android accessibility settings

Once you’ve tried the basic settings, these more advanced options can help further. The first part covers TalkBack, Android’s built-in screen reader — how to turn it on or set up a shortcut, and the gestures used to navigate with it. The second part runs through the Visibility Enhancements menu, including high contrast themes and fonts, colour inversion, colour correction, magnification and reduced motion.

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Advanced Settings – Accessibility Menu

Some more advanced phone settings to make your phone more accessible.

TalkBack

TalkBack is androids version of Voice Over. It can be set to always on or it can be set to a shortcut so you can toggle it on or off when needed. To get to the TalkBack settings:

Go to Settings → Accessibility → TalkBack

Once in this menu you have a few options to choose from, the first just being On or Off, which is the setting for always on. If you would like to choose when you use the feature you will have to select TalkBack Shortcut. This allows you to choose which method you access the setting. You have 3 options:

• Tap accessibility button *
• Press and hold Volume up and down keys for 3 seconds
• Press Side and Volume up keys

*You can have this icon set to your navigation bar or floating in a position of your choice.*

TalkBack has a bit of a learning curve to it as it does change the way you use your phone. When you press on something there will be a box that appears over the text you clicked on this will be read aloud to you, in order to select the box you will have to press on the selected text a second time.

There are also gestures that you use to navigate the function.

Swipe Left to Right – next item/ move down

Swipe Right to Left – previous item/ move up

Double tap screen – press button / select link

Alternatively you can –

Volume Down Key – next item

Volume Up Key – previous item

Hold Volume Down Key – select item

Visibility Enhancements

This allows you to change how the phone and text is displayed.

Go to Settings → Accessibility → Visual Enhancements

In this menu you can change:

• Display mode – Default, High contrast and large display.

• High contrast theme – this will change the phones theme, it can be set to none, Yellow and Blue

• High contrast fonts – Will change all fonts to high contrast

• High contrast keyboard – This will change how your keyboard looks

• Highlight Buttons – Will highlight buttons to make them easy to recognize.

• Colour inversion – Reverse the colours on your screen, so light colours appear dark and vice versa

• Remove animations – Prevent some screen effects. Useful if you are sensitive to screen movement.

• Reduce transparency and blur – Reduce visual effects on dialogues and menus to make them easier to use.

• Colour correction – Can be useful when you want to see colours more accurately or remove colours to help you focus.

• Magnification – Will enable screen zoom and allow you to set up a shortcut for this feature.

• Magnifier – Magnify your surroundings using your phone camera.

• Pointer size and colour – If you have pointer enabled this will change the settings.

• Font size and style – Allow you to change font settigns

• Screen Zoom – Change the settings for how far in the screen is zoomed.

For further information or help please don’t hesitate to contact me on bex.wood@mysightyork.org or call 01904 636 269.