How to completely disable TalkBack on Xiaomi: 5 working ways

TalkBack is a useful feature for people with disabilities, but accidentally turning it on can make using a Xiaomi smartphone a nightmare. Double taps, voice prompts and altered navigation interfere with the phone’s usual way. Unfortunately, standard disconnection through the menu does not always work due to the features of the MIUI interface, especially if you activated the mode accidentally.

In this article, we will explore all possible ways to deactivate TalkBack, from basic to hidden methods for emergency situations, learn how to turn off the function through settings, gestures, and what to do if a Redmi, POCO or Mi smartphone does not respond to touch.

Why does TalkBack turn on on its own?

Many Xiaomi users experience TalkBack activation without their knowledge, most often for three reasons:

• 🎯 Triple pressing of the power button - in MIUI The default is a gesture that allows you to quickly turn on special features. You just need to press the lock button three times quickly to activate the mode.
• 📱 Error when updating the system - after installing a new version MIUI Sometimes special features settings are reset and TalkBack is turned on automatically.
• 👶 Children or Accidental Pressing – If a smartphone falls into the hands of a child, the probability of activating the function through the Settings menu is high → Special facilities.

Interestingly, on some POCO and Redmi models (such as the POCO X3 Pro or Redmi Note 11), TalkBack can turn on even after resetting to factory settings, due to the features of the MIUI 13/14 firmware, where the function retains its state regardless of the reset.

Method 1: Standard shutdown through settings

If you can interact with the screen in any way, try disabling TalkBack in the standard way. In MIUI, the way to setup depends on the firmware version, but the general scheme is this:

1. Open the Settings menu (cog icon).
2. Go to the Special Opportunities section (some models call it Universal Access).
3. Select TalkBack (or Screencaster in older versions of MIUI).
4. Move the slider to the off position.
5. Confirm the action in the window that appears by pressing OK.

Important: TalkBack is different, so to select a menu item, you need to first touch it with your finger (hear the voice confirmation), then double-press it. If you can't, use a two-finger tap to scroll through the screen.

Battery charge over 30% | Wi-Fi connection (for alternative ways) |Remember password from Mi Account (in case of reset) |Check whether screen is locked-->

⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi models 12T redmi K50 s MIUI 14 standard shutdown may not work due to a bug in the firmware. In this case, use Method 3 (disconnection through Safe Mode).

Method 2: Disconnecting by gestures (if the screen is unresponsive)

If TalkBack has blocked normal screen work, try using gestures for special features. MIUI set up several combinations:

• 👆 Two-fingered conduction up - opens the notification panel (from there you can get into the settings).
• 👇 Two-finger conduction down - unwraps the curtain of quick settings.
• ☝️ Triple press with two fingers – turns off TalkBack (does not work on all models).
• 🔄 Circular movement with two fingers - returns to the main screen.

In practice, gestures don’t always work, especially on older models (Redmi 4X, Mi A1). If nothing works, move on to the next method.

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If the gestures don’t work, try connecting your smartphone to your computer and controlling it via Mi PC Suite or adb. This will help bypass TalkBack’s limitations.

Method 3: Disconnecting through Safe Mode

If TalkBack has completely blocked access to settings, try downloading your smartphone in Safe Mode, which disables all third-party apps, including TalkBack (if it was activated as a system feature, not through third-party software).

Instructions:

1. Turn off the smartphone with a long press on the power button.
2. When the Xiaomi logo appears, press and hold the Volume Down button.
3. Keep it until the system is fully loaded (the inscription Safe Mode will appear at the bottom of the screen).
4. Now open Settings → Special features and turn off TalkBack in the standard way.
5. Restart the device to exit safe mode.

This method works on 90% of Xiaomi models, except for some devices with MIUI for POCO (for example, POCO X3 NFC), where Safe Mode may not disable system services.

Method 4: Voice use (for MIUI 12 and later)

In the firmware of MIUI 12 and above, the TalkBack voice control feature appeared. If the screen does not respond to touch, you can try to turn off the mode with voice:

1. Say loudly, “OK Google, turn off TalkBack” (if Google Assistant is enabled).
2. Or use the command, "Hey Siri, turn off the screen announcer" (on some models with MIUI for the global market).
3. For Chinese firmware, try "TalkBack" (works with XiaoAI).

This method has limitations:

• ❌ It does not work if the Internet is disconnected (voice commands require a connection).
• ❌ On Redmi models 9A and POCO M3 Voice control disabled by default.
• ❌ If TalkBack was enabled through settings rather than voice, the command may not work.

If voice commands don't help, the last reliable way is to reset your settings.

Method 5: Hard reset (if nothing helps)

If all previous methods failed, you'll have to reset your settings to factory settings, which will delete all data from the device, but it'll be guaranteed to turn off TalkBack.

• 🔋 Battery level above 50%.
• 📱 You remember the data from the Mi Account (required to unlock after resetting).
• 🔐 You have a backup of important data (photos, contacts).

Instructions for discharge:

1. Turn off your smartphone.
2. Press the Power and Volume buttons simultaneously before the Mi logo 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 process is complete, select Reboot.

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi models with a locked bootloader (Redmi Note 8 Pro, Mi) 9T) After reset, you may need to enter your Mi Account data. If you do not remember the password, it will be impossible to unlock the device!

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Resetting is a last resort, and before you do that, try connecting your smartphone to your computer and disabling TalkBack via ADB (the instructions are available on the 4PDA and XDA Developers forums).

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Many users make the same mistakes when trying to disable TalkBack, and here are the most common ones:

Another common problem is that TalkBack turns on again after the reboot, and it's because of a failure in the MIUI settings, to avoid relapse.

1. After disabling the function, check if TalkBack AutoRun option is activated in the special features settings.
2. Update the firmware to the latest version (bugs with spontaneous inclusion are often fixed in patches).
3. Turn off the triple-press gesture on the power button in Settings → Buttons and gestures.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions