Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones sometimes face the unexpected situation: the device begins to voice every action, pronounce app names and require double tap to unlock. This phenomenon, known as TalkBack mode or "Screen announcer", is often activated accidentally when cleaning the screen or in your pocket. For many users, especially the elderly or visually impaired, this feature is useful, but in normal mode it makes controlling the gadget almost impossible.
There are several reasons why the phone has spoken, and it could be the system accessibility feature included in the settings, or the specific voice-over option for SMS and incoming calls, which is characteristic of the MIUI shell and HyperOS. It's important to distinguish between these states, because the methods of deactivating them are radically different, and if you ignore the problem, the operation of the device turns into torture, and random actions can lead to the deletion of important data.
In this article, we will go into all possible scenarios for voice tracking, learn how to quickly exit blind printing, how to disable intrusive message reading from specific applications, and how to adjust system settings to keep the phone silent at inappropriate moments. We will look at both standard methods through the menu and the hidden capabilities of the engineering menu.
⚠️ Warning: If your phone is locked and requires complex gestures to unlock because of TalkBack enabled, don't try to randomly press buttons.This could result in the device locking over time or resetting security settings.
Emergency Disconnect TalkBack without access to the menu
The most critical situation is when TalkBack is activated on a locked screen, in which the phone responds to single taps with frame highlighting and voice comment, but does not perform an action. To unlock the device and get into the settings, you need to know special combinations or gestures. Often users panic and try to turn off the phone, which does not always effectively solve the problem the next time you turn on.
On most modern Xiaomi models with MIUI 12/13/14 shell and HyperOS, there is a quick way to deactivate: you need to simultaneously press two volume buttons (increase and decrease) and hold them for 3-5 seconds. If the function was activated through the hot keys, this action will turn it off instantly, the system will give a voice confirmation or vibration signal of a successful shutdown.
If the button combination didn't work, maybe another control method is activated in the settings. In TalkBack mode, navigation changes: a single click highlights an item (voices it), and a double click anywhere on the screen activates the allocated one. A two-finger swipe also works to scroll through the pages. Using these gestures, reach the notification curtain or power button to try to find the switch.
What to do if the volume buttons do not work?
There's another nuance about Google Assistant, which is that sometimes it's the voice assistant that takes control and starts dictating the contents of the screen in response to a voice command, so you can clearly say "Switch off Screensaver" or "Switch off TalkBack" if the microphone is active, but you can't rely on voice control in a chaotic situation.
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The most reliable way to urgently turn off voiceover is to simultaneously clamping both volume buttons for 3-5 seconds.
Set up special capabilities in the system
Once you successfully unlock the device, you need to lock in the result and prevent accidental activation of the function in the future. You need to go to the deep settings menu. The path may vary slightly depending on the firmware version, but the logic remains the same for all Redmi and Xiaomi smartphones. You need to find the section responsible for advanced system settings.
Go to Settings, then select Advanced Settings. In the list that opens, look for Special Opportunities (or Special Opportunities) and this is where all the tools for people with disabilities, including TalkBack, Increase and gesture control, are concentrated. If you see an active slider opposite TalkBack or Screen Narrator, you need to put it inactive.
There are often additional settings hidden inside the special features menu that can get in the way, such as the Special Opportunity Shortcut feature, which allows you to turn on TalkBack by triple tapping the screen or power button. If you accidentally turn on this option, the phone will "talk" every time you carelessly touch it, and it's recommended to turn off all shortcuts and fast commands in this section.
- 📱 Open Settings and go to Advanced Settings.
- 🔊 Find the Special. Opportunities section and select the Vision tab.
- 🚫 Switch the TalkBack slider to the "Off" position».
- 🔒 Turn off the “Special Features Shortcut” option to avoid accidental activation.
It's worth noting that new versions of HyperOS have a slightly different interface, and it can be called "Accessibility." If you can't find the right switch, search for the settings, type "TalkBack" or "Director" into the search bar, and the system will redirect you to the right section, which is faster than wandering through the menu, especially if the interface is not familiar.
☑️ Checking availability settings
Elimination of voice incoming messages and SMS
Special attention should be paid to the situation when the phone does not go into blind access mode, but begins to read text incoming SMS or instant messenger messages with a voice, this often happens when the Bluetooth headset is connected, the car system is connected, or when the phone is in Do Not Disturb mode with the sleep settings, in the MIUI shell, the voice function is responsible for this.
To turn this off, go to Settings → Special Options → Hearing (or Listening) and you’ll find Voice. Inside this menu, you can flexibly adjust when your phone should be speaking, for example, you can leave voice acting only for incoming calls, but you can stop reading messages, or you can turn off the function completely.
Often users complain that the phone reads messages even when the screen is off. This behavior is regulated in the same menu. Make sure the "voice even when the screen is off" check box is removed. It's also worth checking the settings of the particular application through which the messages come. Viber, Telegram or WhatsApp may have its own internal notification and voice settings that override the system.
⚠️ Attention: The voiceover function can consume battery power faster, as it uses the speech synthesizer and speaker at every notification. If you don't use it all the time, it's best to keep it off.
If the problem is only with certain contacts, they may have assigned ringtones or voice-activated notifications. Check the contact card in the phone book. Sometimes third-party calling apps installed from Google Play may have their own voice-activation settings for callers that need to be turned off inside the app itself.
Disabling voice dialing and Google Assistant
Another reason for the phone to talk is when the voice dial or Google Assistant is activated, and the user can accidentally hit a button or say a key phrase, and then the phone starts listening or responding, which is not a malfunction, but can be annoying in a quiet environment, and you can turn it off through Google settings or system settings.
To turn off voice dialing in the call, open the Phone app, click three dots in the corner and select Settings. Find Voice dial and select Off. This will prevent dialing when you say the contact name. If you are concerned about constant Google Assistant activity, go to Google Settings → Search and Google Assistant →
In the assistant menu, find Hey Google and Voice Match, where you can turn off voice activation response, check the Notifications section in the Assistant settings, and turn off voice responses if you don't need them, which will make interaction with the device quieter and more private.
And don't forget about Google Translate or other translators, which can be run in the background with an active microphone. If your phone suddenly starts to respond to speech, check the running apps. Close the unnecessary processes through the multitasking menu to prevent third-party software from interfering.
Set-up of notifications and operating modes
Sometimes, the chatteriness of a smartphone is the result of misconfiguring operating modes such as In the Car, Sleep or Game, in which the system can automatically turn on voiceovers for user convenience, such as In the Car, the phone can read all incoming aloud messages so that the driver is not distracted from the road.
Check the active modes in Settings → Sound and Vibration → Modes (or Digital Well-Being) if In-Car mode is activated, try switching to Normal or setting the rules for the current mode. Make sure the automation rules don't include TalkBack or Voiceover when you connect to the car's Bluetooth headset.
You should also look at the Mi AI app or other Xiaomi system assistants, which can have their own voice-guided settings, go to the assistant settings and turn off options like Voice-feedback or Voice-over, which is especially true for users who don't use voice control but accidentally activate it.
| Function | Wherever | What's he doing? | How to turn off |
|---|---|---|---|
| TalkBack | Special Opportunities → Vision | Full voiceover of the interface for the blind | Two volume buttons or settings menu |
| Voiceover | Special Opportunities → Hearing | Reading SMS and calls | Switch in the "Voice" menu |
| Voice set | Phone → Settings | Voice dialing | Select "Off" in the settings of the call |
| Google Assistant | Google settings | Voice responses and activation | Turn off Voice Match and Voice Match |
By analyzing a table, you can quickly identify the source of the problem, and if the phone just calls the name of the caller, it's a "Hearing" section, if it dictates every word on the screen, it's "Vision," and accurate diagnostics can solve the problem in seconds without going through all the settings at random.
Resetting settings and engineering menu
In rare cases where a software failure results in voice functions cycling or the inability to change settings (they may be “gray” or not responsive to touch), a more radical approach is required. One effective method is to reset special features through an engineering menu or a complete reset of the device.
You can use the engineering menu code to access the advanced settings. Open the Phone app and type ##6484##. In the CIT menu that opens, you can check the speaker and microphone, but this method is not always suitable for resetting availability settings. Recovery menu is more effective, but it will delete all data.
If the problem isn’t critical, try simply clearing the Settings or Special Opportunities app data. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find the system app you want, and click Clear → Clear all data. This will return the availability settings to factory values without losing personal files.
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Before performing a full reset, make sure to back up important contacts and photos, as this procedure will completely remove all data from the phone’s internal memory.
After resetting, the phone will restart. When you first set up, the system may ask if you need to turn on accessibility features. Be careful at this stage and select "Skip" or "Do Not Turn on" so that the problem does not return immediately. Read the welcome screens carefully, as important switches often hide there.