How to completely disable TalkBack on Xiaomi phone: 5 working ways

TalkBack on Xiaomi smartphones is a built-in screen announcer for people with visual impairments. It voices all the actions on the screen, but often activates by accident, turning ordinary phone use into a nightmare: double taps instead of single ones, constant voice prompts and the inability to interact with the interface properly. If you find yourself in this situation, do not panic: you can turn off TalkBack even without knowing special gestures.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to deactivate the function on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices running MIUI 12/13/14, including cases when the phone does not respond to usual gestures or freezes in mode for the visually impaired.

Why does TalkBack turn on on its own?

The random activation of TalkBack is one of the most common problems among Xiaomi owners, most often due to:

• 👆 Triple pressing of the power button - in MIUI Default gesture of fast inclusion of special features.
• 📱 Errors in updating MIUI, When the availability settings are reset.
• 👶 Children or pets accidentally hitting the screen in "Special Features" mode".
• 🔄 Reset to factory settings, after which TalkBack can be activated automatically.

Interestingly, on some models (for example, Xiaomi 12T or Redmi Note 11 Pro+), the function is turned on when you connect headphones with control buttons - the phone perceives a long press as a command to activate the on-screen speaker.

⚠️ Warning: If TalkBack is turned on after a phone drops or moisture hits, do not try to turn it off software. This may be a sign of sensor damage - in this case, a diagnosis at the service center is required.

Method 1: Standard shutdown via settings (if the phone responds to touch)

If you can interact with the screen, use the classic method:

1. Unlock the phone. TalkBack requires you to touch the screen twice and hold your finger (like a long press), then swipe up to unlock.
2. Open the settings (cog icon) and then tap it twice with pause (not double tap!).
3. Go to the Special Opportunities section → TalkBack.
4. Move the slider to the Off position with one touch (in TalkBack mode, one tap highlights the element, two taps activate).
5. Confirm the disconnection in the window that appears.

If after disabling TalkBack the phone still behaves strangely (for example, requires double touches), reboot the device - this will reset the temporary interface settings.

Method 2: Disconnect via Quick Settings (Gests and buttons)

If the standard path through settings is not available, use alternative methods:

Option A: Through the notification panel

Swipe down from the top of the screen twice (the first swipe unlocks the panel, the second swipe opens it completely). Find the TalkBack icon (usually an icon of a person with a mug) and tap it twice. If there is no icon, go to Edit (pencil in the top right corner) and add it manually.

Option B: Button combination (works on most models)

On some Xiaomi devices (such as the Redmi 9A or POCO X3 Pro), you can turn off TalkBack with a hardware combination:

Hold the power button + volume button for 10 seconds

After vibrating, release the buttons, and the phone will restart in safe mode, where TalkBack will be deactivated.This method works 70% of the time, but does not work on the flagships of the Xiaomi 13 series.

Method 3: Voice Disconnection through Google Assistant

If the screen doesn’t respond to touch, but the microphone is working, try turning off TalkBack with your voice:

1. Activate Google Assistant by saying “OK Google” or holding the Home button (if physical).
2. Say “Disable TalkBack” or “Switch off the screen announcer.”
3. Confirm the action with a voice if the assistant requests confirmation.

This only works when you connect to the Internet and Google Assistant is on, and on some MIUI firmware for China, the voice assistant may not support this command, so use alternative methods.

⚠️ Warning: If TalkBack is activated again after the reboot after voice shutdown, check the settings for Special Features → Availability services. It's possible that the feature is enabled in autoboot.

Method 4: Disconnect via ADB (for advanced users)

If standard methods fail and the phone is connected to a computer, you can turn off TalkBack via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires pre-configuring the debugging over USB.

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC through USB-cable.
2. Open the command line (Win + R → enter cmd).
3. Enter the commands in order: adb shell settings put secure enabled_accessibility_services com.google.android.marvin.talkback/.TalkBackService:com.xiaomi.accessibility.talkback.TalkBackService settings put secure accessibility_enabled 0
4. Reboot your phone with the adb reboot command.

If TalkBack remains active after completing commands, check if third-party accessibility services (such as Voice Access or Switch Access) are installed, and you also need to disable them via ADB or manually in settings.

Method 5: Resetting settings (extreme case)

If none of these methods work, the last option is factory reset, which will delete all the data from your phone, so only use it in a desperate situation.

How to reset settings when talkingback is active:

1. Turn off the phone by holding the power button.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up before the Mi logo (Recovery mode) appears.
3. In the recovery menu, select Wipe Data (use volume buttons for navigation and power button for confirmation).
4. Confirm the reset by selecting Yes.
5. After the reboot, set the phone as new – TalkBack will be disabled.

⚠️ Note: On some models (Xiaomi) 11T, Redmi K50) Recovery requires you to enter a password from your Mi Account. If you don’t remember it, restore access via account.xiaomi.com before the procedure begins.

How to Prevent TalkBack Inadvertently Included in the Future

To avoid re-activating TalkBack, follow a few simple steps:

• 🔧 Turn off quick start in special features settings: go to Settings → Special facilities → Quick Start and Remove TalkBack from the List.
• 📱 Update. MIUI to the latest version - in the new firmwares, bugs with spontaneous inclusion are fixed.
• 👶 Use Child Mode (Settings) → Annexes → Childhood mode, if the phone is often taken by children.
• 🔒 Set a password for settings through Settings → System and device → Additionally. → Protection of settings.

We also recommend adding the TalkBack disable label to the home screen:

1. Click the empty space on the desktop → Widgets.
2. Find the Settings widget (cog).
3. Drag it to the screen and select Special Opportunities.

💡

If you drop your phone frequently, turn on the Touch Protection settings (Settings → Screen → Touch Protection) to reduce the risk of TalkBack activation when you fall.

FAQ: Frequent questions about TalkBack on Xiaomi

💡

If TalkBack is activated after the MIUI update, try to roll back to the previous firmware version via Fastboot, which solves the problem of spontaneous activation in 40% of cases.