Annoying VoiceOver Bug in Kindle App

Hi. Sorry to be one of those people, air quotes, but i have not seen this at all. I'm sure it will be fixed soon. If there's a particular passage of something like Harry Potter wherein I could see this behavior I'd be thrilled to say, yep this is wicked strange. sorry I'm not of more help.

Sometimes what we are actually getting is an optical character representation of a book, and those will definitely have errors. I've bought books and returned them for this issue. It would be good to check something you've read a while back that didn't have these problems and see if it still doesn't.

Hi, I also am experiencing this and as you mention, this seems specific to purchased Amazon content. These are not books that have undergone character recognition, I just tried it with a book that I finished reading last weekto confirm: sections that I could read last week have the words without spaces thing happening this week. The interesting thing is if I drag my finger down the page to read line by line, the books read fine. Only with continuous reading or with a braille display do I encounter this issue. Just for the heck of it, I changed the font and this made it worse, but again, only when trying to continuously read. I tried reporting this to Amazon, but after four chat reps and two telephone reps, I wasn't able to make any progress other than one rep unhelpfully submitting general feedback that I would like to go to the previous version. Tomorrow I'll see if I can find a way to report this more directly, but for now, just know that you're not the only one experiencing this with purchased content.

I tried the same book on my pc and phone, the pc one didn't have spacing issues, and the phone did. I don't know who's problem this one is to fix. Unlike previous posters, I can get the same problems by swiping a word at a time as with continuous reading.

i'm experiencing this bug as well and have reported to amazon. it is also running words together in braille as well.

Does anyone know the best way to report bugs like this to Amazon? I tried using their support chat which lead me to a phone call, which lead me to three different reps, which lead to an enhancement request being submitted, which I'm sure will lead to nothing. If anyone knows the correct channel to submit accessibility bugs to the Kindle team, I'd love to report if only so that they're aware that this really is affecting multiple people.

oh My God!!!! This issue started for me earlier on this morning. Everything was working fine and then all of a sudden the issues started and I was really confused. I’Ve been trying All Day to find out any information about this issue and finally came here. I’M so glad I’M not the only one experiencing it. Does anyone know how or if there is a way to fix this issue? I literally use my Kindle app every single day, I’Ve Felt really lost today not being able to use It Lol…

I am having the same problem. It sounds like it is slurring words. It cannot handle any contractions. It is definitely only the Kindle app on the iPhone. I can read the same books on my iPad with a different version of Kindle. It is not book specific it is Kindle version specific.

I tried other content on my phone, such as emails and newsletters, and the voiceover is working perfectly.

As I Mentioned Yesterday… I Use The Kindle App Every. Single. Day!!!! And I’M Currently Really Struggling Without It… Yes I Can Use AppleBooks, But All Of My New Content Is On The Kindle App And I Rely On Kindle Unlimited For A Lot Of My Reading.

I feel the same. really miss the kindle app. I reported this issue to Amazon yesterday but I'm far from convinced they understood what I was talking about. really hoping a new update gets pushed out soon that resolves this. in the meantime how accessible are apple books?

The pc version is working fine, so at least that's something.

AppleBooks On The IPhone Using VoiceOver Is Fully Accessable… :)

I don't know how to contact the Kindle app developers directly but anyone who does may wish to tell them that the problem we're all facing occurs with the last word in any line of text being joined without a space to the first word in the next line. Perhaps this fact may allow the devs to pinpoint and fix the issue. I keep checking the app store for updates but as yet there's nothing from Kindle.

I agree the problem occurs when the text goes to the next line on the screen. The last word on the line gets joined to the first word on the next line without a space.

Also paragraph breaks seem to be ignored.

To mitigate the problem a little, I've changed the text as small as it will go and turn my phone horizontally to landscape mode. The problem still occurs, but less frequently.

I am unable to find a contact to report a bug. The option in the app store does not work.

if amazon can't help us through customer services maybe mass 1 star reviews on the app store might at least get the issue in front of the app developers.

I have had some luck leaving bad reviews on apps and explaining the problem.

thanks for the tip about decreasing the font size and having the phone in landscape mode. it's made a big difference.

Ok so this is not a 'fix' for those of you having issues with VoiceOver and Kindle for iOS. It is, however, a 'possible' work-around. With the Alexa app for iOS, you can have said app read aloud your Kindle books using the Alexa voice. Not only is this going to give you a pleasant listening experience, but you can actually use your phone in a multitasking situation since VO will not be doing the reading. 😃

HTH.

I only started experiencing that weird bug yesterday with VoiceOver and with the Braille display. Words run together in weird ways. I hope there is a fix for this!

I'm not sure if I've had this bug or not since I haven't used Kindle this week yet. However, I did notice that the tedious long wait between pages when on continuous read is back. That is driving me a bit nuts. It's certainly leading me to get books on any platform but Kindle whenever possible since the app can be so unreliable off and on.

Oh!!! My iPod does that constantly and it drives me nuts. My phone, not so much, but with the weird running together bug, it is still annoying.

Hey EveryOne… I Gave In And Purchased A Book Through AppleBooks Since I Just NeededSomething To Read… The Problem That I Am Having Is I Have Forgotten How To Get VoiceOver To Read A Book!!!! LMAO!!!! I Tried 3Finger Swipe Left/Right, 3Finger Up/Down, And 2Finger Up/Down, Left/Right But It Is Reading The Whole Page InCluding The Menue At The Top, + It Will Only Read The First Paragraph… I Feel So Stupid!!!! What Am I Doing Wrong?!?!?!?! Thank You… :)

I don't know how to get vo to read a book in apple books either!

Not sure why you all are having difficulties with Apple Books on your iPhones/iPads, but this seems to work for me. Your mileage may vary..

1. Launch a book from your Library from within the Books app.
2. Use the Gesture to 'Read from top'. I believe by default, it is a swipe down with 2 fingers.
3. Win! 😎📘

Note 1, swiping left or right with 3 fingers will turn pages back and forth respectively. In my case, the 'read from top' will auto turn pages as it reads on.
Note 2, Go to settings > Books and disable auto hyphenation.

HTH.

Hi. I'm having the same issue and have tweeted at Amazon on twitter. Hopefully that helps and gets the issue in front of the devs. Apple books is a no go for me, even trying the suggested steps as above. Audio books make me pass out, so those aren't an option either. Really missing my books :(

Yeah… Even With TryIng The Above Reading Steps… I Am Still UnAble To Read A Book WithIn AppleBooks… Thank You For Tweeting Amazon… :)

I have spent the last little while talking/tweeting with amazon.
On twitter, amazon refered me to a hellp guide on using kindle with a braille display. I told them that I do not use one, and that this is with Voiceover. I have been refered to their chat service. In the last 10 minutes I have
Checked the appstore for updates to the kindle app and found that my app was last updated on 24/08/2023. Gone to settings and checked that my phone software is up to date. Been asked to turn it off and on again. Thanks, IT crowd.
Taken some initiative to experiment on my own, by removing the kindle app off my phone, restart the device and reinstall kindle. Been advised to do what I had just done by the amazon agent. Died of laughter as the agent called it a "scream" reader. Torn my hair out in frustration, as all this time arguing and pushing for the issue to be fixed is not time spent reading :( Finally, finally. Been told to wait 24-48 hours, before opening/logging into the kindle app again, as it should be "fixed." Should, probably mean won't, so we'll just have to persevere until it is fixed. Now, I shall go listen to an audio book, and hope the problem is fixed soon.
Hang in there, my reading friends!

Thank You So Much For Fighting Through The Stress Of Contacting Amazon ToDay… Yeah I Am Severely Physically Disabled As Well As Being Totally Blind… And ThereFore I Am Limited To What I Can Do On A Day-To-Day- Bases… And Not Being Able To Read Right Now Is A Reay Big Deal To Me… Reading Keeps My Mind From Focusing On My High-Levels Of Pain That I Experience… I Am So Pissed-Off Right Now…

How Amazon cosmetics ability of this badly is beyond me. This is disgraceful.

Has anyone tried my advice from my first post in this thread, about using the Alexa app to read Kindle books? I realize it requires some extra steps but I feel in the end it should be a decent work-around.

Illegally Sighted YouTube video on using this trick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhLd5vCM6hk

HTH.

I’ve been doing everything I can think of to fix this. Made an account here to follow and add. I’ve tried every voiceover setting, kindle setting, and tried on iPad. My mom is not having this issue, she has a newer iPhone and mine is iphone 11. I will ask if her app updated. I also read daily and am desperate to get this fixed.
Edit: Forgot to add, yes I’m using Alexa to read currently and it works but definitely not the same. Hope Amazon fixes soon.

Maybe we can petition Amazon to add a 'Read Aloud' feature to the Kindle app.

/end Wishful thinking. 😃

I have not, and do not intend on using Alexa to read to me, as I do not find it an enjoyable reading experience.

not a big fan of Alexa reading to me either. I have the voice I like and really struggle with using another voice. great though if it works for some people. I've found the best but far from ideal work arround was one suggested earlier in the thread of putting the font to the smallist font available then turning your phone to landscape mode. this makes the lines of text longer so the words run together less. it's not great at all but i have found it just about suitable for now.

First of all, I actually started using the Alexa app. It's not ideal, but it works. I had to speed her up quite a bit, lol. But she does read well. Also, the font and landscape did not work for me on the kindle app.

Same issue here.

Emailed Amazon via their accessibility contact form, received an apologetic response, and was told that my mail would be forwarded to the Devs. Let’s see.

Have you tried going into the reading settings on a book, and choosing the 'Ragged' alignment? I am sure this will anger some of you, but I am not having the issues you all are with Kindle. I guess that is why I keep suggesting Alexa as a temporary work-around.

Anyways, set your alignment to Ragged and give it a try. Again, this will anger some of you, and I apologize for that, but my Kindle and Apple Books apps read Ebooks just fine, whether I am manually page turning or letting the 'Read from top' VO function turn the pages for me.

HTH. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Edit: I forgot to mention, for what its worth. I am running iOS 16.6 on an iPhone SE 2nd Gen (2020 model).

I Have Just Checked, And I Am On The Exact Same Phone As You, With I AlSo Have IOS16.6. I Have Also Just Tried The ‘Ragged Alignment’, And Still There Are No Changes… I Have Tried The Alexa ReadIng Aloud, And Yes AlThough It Does Work And Thank You So Much For The Suggestion… I’M Just Not A Fan Lol. :)

No worries. I just wish I had some better advice for everyone concerning this particular issue. I have no idea why Apple Books and Amazon Kindle work for me. They just do. 🫤

Refresh your App Store and update the Kindle app :)

Make sure you refresh your updates section. The release notes specifically mention this bug. I just tested it and it's working perfectly.

As others have posted, a fix is now available via the App Store. For those who may have automatic updates enabled, the version that seems to have the fix is 6.85.

I really appreciate that the release notes for 6.85 specifically mention the accessibility issue. The reason I appreciate this is that so often, accessibility issues get lumped into what is often just called "general but fixes and improvements" and I'm left wondering whether an accessibility issue actually got fixed or not. So, if you're someone from Amazon who happens to be reading this thread, thank you for fixing the bug and thank you for being transparent about what was actually fixed.

I Am So Glad That It Appears To Be Getting Fixed For Some People… I Have Just Literally Checked My UpComing Updates On The AppWtore, And Nothing As Of Yet For The Kindle App…

OMFG!!!! As I Just Mentioned I Checked My App Atore For An Update Just BeFore I Posted My Last Comment… And There Was No Update… I Literally Just Went Back After I Just Posted My Last Comment And There Was An UpDate!!!! OMFG!!!! I Am Literally Fulfilled!!!! Lol…

All That Is Left To Say To Each And Every Single One Of You Is…

Happy Bloody Reading… And Good Night… :)

Glad this has been sorted, for those Kindle junkies out there. Awful bug to contend with! For me, I can't stand Kindle, though I've bought many books over the years. Apple books, super integrated, mostly rock solid, and you can actually buy directly in the app, surely a crucial win.

Per what i've experienced it also happens in kindle unlimited. This bug is nasty for sure.
Ok, just downloaded the update and its indeed fixed.

Yes! I can also confirm that the kindle bug is fixed with the new update. I am so thankful for AppleVis and these forums.

I'm having the same issue. What I've discovered when using my Braille display though, is basically what voice over is saying. For example, my sentence is "I went to the shops". Voice over reads as "Iwent to theshops". When I'm using my Braille display to read Kindle books, the words literally run together, which I find super irritating. I have to run my fingers over the words several times to read properly, which means less fluid reading for me. When I'm just using voice over, I find it hard to understand.