How to completely disable TalkBack on Xiaomi: smartphones and TVs

TalkBack (or “talk-back”) on Xiaomi devices is a built-in screen speaker for people with visual impairments. It voices all the actions on the screen: taps, swipes, notifications and even text in apps. Although this feature is extremely useful for its target audience, many users turn it on accidentally — for example, by clamping down a combination of buttons or through special settings. Once activated, TalkBack radically changes the control of the device: standard gestures stop working, and each tap requires double touch.

If you find yourself in a situation where Xiaomi (be it a smartphone on MIUI or an Android TV) has started to “talk” all the actions, don’t panic. You can turn off TalkBack in several ways, both through the standard menu and by using workarounds if the screen does not respond to touch. In this article, we will discuss all the current methods for devices in 2026, including models with MIUI 14/15 and HyperOS, as well as Xiaomi Mi TV and Redmi Smart TV.

Why TalkBack is enabled on Xiaomi and how to prevent it

The most common reason for TalkBack activation is by accidentally pressing the key combination. On Xiaomi smartphones, it is usually Hold the power button + increase the volume for 3-5 seconds. On TVs, the function can be activated through a triple press of the OK button on the remote or after updating the firmware when special features settings are reset.

Other common scenarios:

• 👶 A child or pet is pressed on the screen when the device is locked.
• 📦 After resetting to factory settings, TalkBack was activated automatically (characteristic for some versions). MIUI 12-14).
• 🔄 Update firmware returned settings special features to the values of "default".
• 🎮 Connecting a gamepad or other external input device caused a failure in the availability settings.

To avoid accidental activation, turn off the hotkeys for TalkBack:

1. Go to Settings → Special Opportunities → TalkBack.
2. Select Settings → TalkBack shortcut.
3. Turn off the option to Enable shortcut.

⚠️ Note: On some Xiaomi models (e.g, POCO F5 Redmi Note 12 – TalkBack is activated via Settings → Additionally. → Special facilities → Quick setup. Check all the sections related to availability.

Method 1: Standard shutdown via settings (for smartphones)

If the screen is responsive to touch, but TalkBack is interfering with normal operation, follow the following steps: note that when the speaker is active, gestures change:

• Single tap - highlights the element.
• Double tap – activates the element (analogue of conventional pressing).
• Swipe with two fingers up/down - scroll.

Instructions for MIUI 14/15 and HyperOS:

1. Unlock your phone (if the screen is locked, use a PIN or fingerprint – TalkBack does not block unlocking).
2. Swipe two fingers down from the top edge of the screen to open the notification bar.
3. Find the settings icon (cog) and make a double tap on it.
4. In the settings menu, swipe two fingers up to scroll the list to the Special Features section.
5. Select TalkBack (double tap), then move the slider to the position Open.
6. Confirm the action in the dialog window.

If after disabling TalkBack, the screen stopped responding to touch, restart the device by holding the power button for 10 seconds.

Method 2: Disconnect via Quick Settings (for MIUI)

On some MIUI firmware (e.g., Xiaomi 13T or POCO X5 Pro), TalkBack can be disabled via the Quick Settings Panel, which works even if the main settings menu is not available:

1. Swipe two fingers down from the top edge of the screen to open the extended notification bar.
2. Find the TalkBack tile (usually when the function is activated) and if it is not, swipe left/right to find it.
3. Make a double tap on the tile to turn off the function.

If TalkBack tiles are not in the quick settings, add it:

1. Open the notification panel and tap on the pencil icon (Edit).
2. Find it in TalkBack’s list and drag it to the active area.
3. Return to the notification panel and turn off the function with double tap.

💡

If the screen doesn’t respond to swipes with two fingers, try using one hand: put two fingers on the screen and swipe down as if you were drawing an “L.”

Method 3: Disable TalkBack on Xiaomi TVs (Mi TV, Redmi TV)

On Xiaomi TVs (Mi TV A2, Redmi Smart TV X, etc.), TalkBack is enabled via accessibility settings or random button pressing on the remote.

Method 1: Through the settings menu

1. Press the Menu (or Settings) button on the remote.
2. Go to Settings → All settings → Special features → TalkBack.
3. Select Disable and confirm the action.

Method 2: Hot keys on the remote

On some models (e.g. Mi TV Q2), TalkBack is turned off by holding the OK button for 5 seconds.

1. Press and hold Menu + Volume Down for 3 seconds.
2. In the menu that appears, select Disable TalkBack (use the Up/down buttons for navigation).

⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi TVs with Android firmware TV 11+ TalkBack may need to be rebooted after it's disabled. To do this, press the Power button on the remote for 10 seconds.

Method 4: Disconnect via ADB (for power users)

If TalkBack has blocked the screen and standard methods do not work, you can disable the function through the ADB (Android Debug Bridge requires a computer and USB-cable.

Step-by-step:

1. Install ADB Tools on your PC.
2. Turn on USB Debugging on your phone (if the screen is locked, skip this step - sometimes debugging is already on).
3. Connect your phone to your PC and open the command prompt (cmd in Windows or Terminal on Mac/Linux).
4. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must appear serial number of your device.
5. Disable TalkBack with command: adb shell settings put secure enabled_accessibility_services com.google.android.marvin.talkback/com.google.android.marvin.talkback.TalkBackService:com.xiaomi.accessibility/com.android.accessibility.talkback.TalkBackService Reset availability settings: adb shell settings put secure accessibility_enabled 0
6. Reboot the device: adb reboot

If TalkBack is activated again after the reboot, check the settings via adb shell settings list secure | grep accessibility and delete all related services.

Method 5: Resetting settings to factory (extreme case)

If none of these methods work, you'll have a hard reset, which will delete all the data from the device, so you can only use this as a last resort. On Xiaomi smartphones, the reset is done like this:

1. Turn off the phone by holding the power button.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up before the Mi logo appears.
3. From the Recovery menu, select Wipe Data → Wipe All Data (use volume buttons for navigation, power button for confirmation).
4. After resetting, the phone will restart in factory condition.

On Xiaomi TVs, the reset is performed through the service menu:

1. Turn the TV off the socket.
2. Press the Menu button on the remote and connect the power.
3. Hold Menu for 10-15 seconds until the service menu appears.
4. Select Factory Reset and confirm.

⚠️ Note: After resetting on Xiaomi TVs, you may need to reset your Google Account and connect to Wi-Fi. Prepare your login details in advance.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after TalkBack is disabled, users are experiencing side effects, and here are the most common problems and solutions.

1.The screen does not respond to touch after TalkBack is turned off

This is because of a glitch in the gesture settings.

• Reset the device.
• If it does not help, turn on and off left-handed mode again in Settings → Additional → Special features.

2.TalkBack turns on itself after the reboot

The reason is a damaged accessibility setting.

• Remove updates for Special Opportunities Services in Settings → Applications → Application Management → Three Points → Show System → Special Features.
• Turn off automatic updates for this app on Google Play.

3.There's no TalkBack item on the TV on the menu

Some models, like the Mi TV 4S, have a feature called Screen Speaker or Voice Assistant, and look for it under Sound or Language and Input.

4. The sound went missing after the blackout.

It's about resetting the audio settings.

• Check the volume level.
• Switch the sound profile to Settings → Sound → Sound modes.
• If the sound is missing completely, reset the sound settings through Settings → System → Resetting → Resetting the sound settings.

💡

If the device is unstable (hangs, overheats) after TalkBack is turned off, reset the cache via Recovery.This will not delete your data, but will clear temporary files that may have been damaged.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions