Aaarggg! How do I stop the speaking bar from appearing on my iPhone screen?

By Bruce Harrell, 23 March, 2023

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hi All,

Seriously aggravated Bruce, here. Something calling itself either "minimize speaking bar" or "expand speaking bar" keeps showing up on my iPhone screen, and it's getting pretty aggravating. I will thank any applevis user a thousand times if she or he can tell me how to stop it from ever showing up again.

Incredibly grateful for your help,

Bruce

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Comments

By Holger Fiallo on Friday, March 24, 2023 - 04:27

Did you close all apps? Maybe an app that focus on media and youneed to close app. Close all of them and try restart.

By sockhopsinger on Friday, March 24, 2023 - 04:27

Is it in a particular place on the screen? Is there a certain command or certain gesture that activates it? If it was a drinking bar, I'd be all for it. Not so certain I like the idea of a speaking bar though.

By Holger Fiallo on Friday, March 24, 2023 - 04:27

Which phone? If is the one without a home button, from buttom of phone slide up until you hear click keep up until yu hear another.

By Bruce Harrell on Friday, March 24, 2023 - 04:27

I closed everything in the app switcher and rebooted my iPhone 10S. Since then, the speaking bar seems to be gone. Thing is, though, is it going to come back every time I use media? And if not, why not, and if so, how do I turn off the speaking bar once and for all?

Many thanks for your fast replies. smile

By Yvonnezed on Friday, March 24, 2023 - 04:27

This is a feature called Speak Screen, which you can get to under spoken content in the accessibility option in settings. The idea is that if you swipe down with two fingers from the very top of the screen it starts speaking the screen, and puts that bar up. If you toggle speak screen off in settings, it shouldn't happen anymore, I don't think.

By Roxann Pollard on Friday, March 24, 2023 - 04:27

Just a little additional information about the speak screen feature. Somehow, I inadvertently turned that thing on myself, a long time back. Highly annoying to say the least. Once this is turned off, don't be concerned that the two finger swipe down won't read your screen, because it performs just fine. The differences is when the speak screen bar is turned on, then it gives you some version of a fast forward rewind kind of thing, I think, anyway. When you turn this off, do a two finger swipe down on your screen, it will simply start reading your text, as desired.

HTH

By Georgina V on Friday, March 24, 2023 - 04:27

Once you’re in spoken content, make sure the speach controller is turned off.

By Igna Triay on Friday, March 24, 2023 - 04:27

From my experience, whenever you trigger the speak screen and it says, no speakable content could be found on screen, is when this seems to occur , where the speaking bar just stays smack dab in the screen without a way to make it go away, at least not without a reboot of the device. However when speak screen has content, pressing stop or letting speak screen finish reading the content will make the speak bar go away on its own, from what i've been able to test.