If your iPhone reads each letter or word aloud as you type, an accessibility feature called Typing Feedback is turned on, or in some cases VoiceOver. It’s useful for people who have trouble seeing the screen, but surprising if you turned it on by accident. This guide shows how to turn it off and how to tell which feature is doing the talking.
Quick Answer
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > Typing Feedback and turn off Characters, Character Hints, Speak Words, Speak Auto-text, and Speak Predictions. If the whole screen is being read and taps work differently, turn off VoiceOver instead.
Turn Off Typing Feedback
- Open Settings.
- Tap Accessibility.
- Tap Spoken Content.
- Tap Typing Feedback.
- Turn off the options that are on:
- Characters (software and hardware keyboards): speaks each letter.
- Character Hints: says phonetic words like “A, alpha.”
- Speak Words: says each word after you finish it.
- Speak Auto-text: announces autocorrections and capitalizations.
- Speak Predictions: reads predictive text suggestions when you touch and hold them.
On older iOS versions, the path may be Settings > General > Accessibility > Speech > Typing Feedback.
If VoiceOver Is On
With VoiceOver, your iPhone reads everything on screen, and you tap once to select and double-tap to activate. To turn it off:
- Say “Hey Siri, turn off VoiceOver,” or
- Triple-click the side button (or Home button) if the Accessibility Shortcut is set to VoiceOver, or
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver, tap the VoiceOver switch once to select it, then double-tap it to turn it off.
Check Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and remove VoiceOver if you keep turning it on by accident.
Other Features That Speak
- Speak Selection and Speak Screen (Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content) only read aloud when you choose to, such as selecting text and tapping Speak or swiping down with two fingers from the top.
- Announce Notifications reads messages through AirPods or CarPlay; turn it off in Settings > Notifications > Announce Notifications.
- Dictation converts speech to text but doesn’t speak back.
On a Windows PC, text-to-speech works differently; see how to turn on text-to-speech in Windows 10.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Typing Feedback get turned on?
It’s easy to enable while exploring Accessibility settings, or it can be restored from a backup or turned on by someone else.
Why does my iPhone still speak after turning these off?
VoiceOver or a third-party keyboard with its own voice feedback may be active. Check VoiceOver and your keyboard app’s settings.
Will turning this off affect Siri?
No. Siri and its voice responses are separate.
Summary
- Open Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > Typing Feedback.
- Turn off Characters, Character Hints, Speak Words, Speak Auto-text, and Speak Predictions.
- If the whole screen is read, turn off VoiceOver.
- Remove VoiceOver from the Accessibility Shortcut to avoid turning it on accidentally.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.