Hello, since I have an iPhone 7, I decided it was time for a new one and ordered a 16 pro max. But the new ones don't have a home button, how do you start VoiceOver when you take it out of the box?
The power button replaces the home button as the button used for the accessibility shortcut. During setup, clicking the power button three times quickly will turn on voiceOver. After setup, go into accessibility settings and down to the bottom. There, make certain that you have VoiceOver selected as the only thing which uses the shortcut. If more than one thing is selected, VoiceOver won't start speaking until after you indicate that this is the option you want out of what is selected. There's no way to do that if you can't hear or see the choices. I learned that the hard way after setting up hearing aids. The process adds them to the accessibility shortcut automatically so you need to go in and remove them. You can also ask Siri to turn on VoiceOver. It is also possible to set the action button on the latest iPhones to work as a shortcut for VoiceOver or other accessibility features. You'd then hold down the action button briefly to trigger turning VoiceOver on or off. I prefer triple clicking the power button for Voiceover and using the action button for other things.
Hi there,
On newer phones, to toggle voiceover on and off simply press and release the side/lock button three times.
You can also map turning voiceover on/off to the action button, should you so wish. Or, you can use backtap. However, it's sensitive so I wouldn't recommend doing it this way.
Siri will turn VO on after the phone is set up. But during the setup process, that won't work. As others have said, triple clicking the side button 3 times will do it.
If the Accessibility Shortcut includes multiple items, you can easily navigate by dragging your finger across the screen. The device will announce each item as you move over it, eliminating the need to have VoiceOver set as the sole selected option.
I can confirm that it's possible and that options are narrated as you find them with your finger. Once you find the option and hear it spoken, lift your finger to activate the shortcut. Nothing tells people that this is possible or that they should feelaround the bottom of the screen to find the options. Frankly, I think blind people are much better advised to have VoiceOver be the only option. Particularly, new users and people who find exploring the touchscren to be a struggle. I'll definitely be pointing this out in my book. I've owned an iPhone for well over a decade and never found out about this possibility.
I generally teach the quick triple press of the power button for this, but what I can't remember right now is whether the default accessibility shortcut is set to VoiceOver straight out of the box or not. I make a point of setting it such that it is the default for the quick triple press.
Most of my clients use Siri to enable/disable VoiceOver. I set up the accessibility shortcut mostly for myself or family members who need to turn voiceover off now that Siri has become selective about whose voice she will respond to (for which, I'll add, I'm grateful).
Hello, I can now boast that the phone arrived and the voice over started as you said with 3 clicks of the power button.
I have one question, but I have no sound on the camera when taking pictures, where can I turn it on?
Reset the settings on an iPhone quite recently and had to do it several times for certain reasons, so VoiceOver is enabled if you tripple-press the Home or Power/Lock/Side button during setup, but then I had to assign the accessibility shortcut to VoiceOver in the settings.
Thank you very much for the answers, I fixed the sound with the camera.
When setting up facial recognition, should the attention function be turned on or not, are there any instructions during the setup?
Yes unless you can directly look at the camera then turn it off. Lot more hit and miss if you leave it on. Yes there are helpful instructions as you set it up via VoiceOver.
FaceID will give you instructions during the setup process. Be forewarned however, the instructions may be a little confusing. Just hang in there, and you will eventually get it going for you. Also, don't bother with the attention feature. Like Holger says, that is for the sighted world.
Never had issues with faci ID without the attention. When I chil on my couch and grab the phone and look it works well. As long the camera sees your face you are set up. Same for bed at night, face ID works. Like I stated never use attention. Setting up face ID is easy. There are podcast within AppleVis about it.
I thought the attention option was for eye contact. Hence you need to look directly at the camera. When turned off which I think Apple suggest for most VI people it just sees the face and you don't need to directly look at it. To be honest, I've tried it both ways and didn't really see any difference. Just turned off as I can't be bothered to go back in and turn it on again and when VO is on it automatically starts with attention turned off.
Does anyone have a problem with notifications, VoiceOver announces them but there is no sound. On Facebook, it tells me the notification but there is no sound. On Viber, when you receive a message, there is either no sound or it is very quiet. The contacts are also missing in Viber, I set it to full access to contacts but it is no use.
I reinstalled Viber, the same thing.
When I was setting up my phone, I gave it to transfer all my settings from iCloud.
The App Store is different on iOS 18 than iOS 15, how can you see in the App Store which applications have an update? I don't know if I explained it, as in iOS 15, you can see the applications that have an update.
1. Open App Store on your iPhone.
2. Starting at the top-left of the "Today" screen, will be a heading with the date, like Today, January 16, Heading. Swipe to the right one time, then tap on "My Account".
3. On the account screen, swipe right until you find a list of apps that either have an "Update" button next to them, or have already been updated.
IMO if you're around other people often or want the same level of security as a sighted person, you should under no circumstances disable attention. I appreciate mobility impairments might make this feature impractical or impossible to use, but if you're otherwise not restricted I don't see why you'd leave it disabled; you've already set up FaceID after all. And disabling attention means that it's incredibly easy for someone to swipe your phone past your face to unlock it. Not worth trading the risk for the ease as far as I'm concerned.
For most people, all that it requires is that you open your eyes a little more than what feels natural (in my case at least). Perhaps it slightly restricts what angles you can unlock at due to the eye contact? But it hasn't impacted how/where I unlock my phone.
TL;DR: Definitely not just a feature for people who can see.
Sounds like some of these are app-specific issues. If following these general tips doesn't work, try contacting support directly.
RE: notifications: it could be your phone is set to mute, or that your ringtone volume is down. Check your Sounds & haptics settings. Otherwise, perhaps VoiceOver is set to duck other audio? Go to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Audio>Audio Ducking to check and configure.
RE: Viber: Never used it unfortunately so won't be of much help. If it's contact detection feature works like most other instant messengers though, perhaps you just have no new contacts that also use Viber? Unless it's like WhatsApp and uses your contacts for messaging?
RE: App Store: Click on the My Account button in the top-right-hand corner, then scroll down to the Automatic App Updates heading to view upcoming updates.
Before looking for the update buttons on the account page, swipe down with three fingers; this refreshes the page and the updates shown will be those that are available now, instead of when the last check was done automatically. Just a little tip, for the impatient.
Holger, Siri has never worked at all for me during initial setup. I can only assume it's because Siri hasn't yet been enabled, and also because Wifi and Cell network haven't been set up yet. So the device has no connectivity. These are just guesses though. I've always had to triple click the side button.
I use the require attention feature. Sometimes it just takes a second longer, and I have to open my eyes a bit wider, or that's what it seems like. But I feel a little more secure with that enabled, especially if I'm around lots of other people. I generally keep my phone on me physically, but if I were ever to accidentally put it down with other people around, I'd rather have that bit of extra security. Granted, it's not likely someone sighted could do much with my phone since Screen Curtain is on and brightness is always set to 0.
Well I never leave my phone far away from me. Like I stated no issues. Now with iOS 18, I use face ID for some apps. Bank, email, planning to do so with message. Makes it more secure.
I never update the way that has already been outlined. I'm sure that works, but instead, from my home screen, I double tap and hold on App Store, and then choose updates from there. The other way works too, and it's nice to have multiple ways of doing the same thing.
By default, if you just want to copy the last text spoken, quadruple tap with three fingers on your screen to automatically copy the last text spoken. Then, to paste, use the rotor until you find the word "edit" swipe up or down until you find "paste", and then double tap.
Alternatively, if you go into settings, accessibility, VoiceOver, rotor, rotor items, and select "text selection", you can adjust the rotor until you find "text selection", then swipe up or down to decide between characters, words, etc. then swipe left or right to start selecting text. Once you have text highlighted, adjust the rotor until you find the word "edit", and then swipe up or down until you find the word "copy". Double tapping this will copy all of the text you selected, then follow my steps above to paste.
Comments
Power button
Tripple click the power button. I believe by default it is set as the accessibility button for VO
full explanation
The power button replaces the home button as the button used for the accessibility shortcut. During setup, clicking the power button three times quickly will turn on voiceOver. After setup, go into accessibility settings and down to the bottom. There, make certain that you have VoiceOver selected as the only thing which uses the shortcut. If more than one thing is selected, VoiceOver won't start speaking until after you indicate that this is the option you want out of what is selected. There's no way to do that if you can't hear or see the choices. I learned that the hard way after setting up hearing aids. The process adds them to the accessibility shortcut automatically so you need to go in and remove them. You can also ask Siri to turn on VoiceOver. It is also possible to set the action button on the latest iPhones to work as a shortcut for VoiceOver or other accessibility features. You'd then hold down the action button briefly to trigger turning VoiceOver on or off. I prefer triple clicking the power button for Voiceover and using the action button for other things.
Tripple Click the side button
Hi there,
On newer phones, to toggle voiceover on and off simply press and release the side/lock button three times.
You can also map turning voiceover on/off to the action button, should you so wish. Or, you can use backtap. However, it's sensitive so I wouldn't recommend doing it this way.
Siri
Siri also can turn VO on
Siri won't work during setup
Siri will turn VO on after the phone is set up. But during the setup process, that won't work. As others have said, triple clicking the side button 3 times will do it.
Thank you!
Thank you!
regarding the accessibility shortcut
If the Accessibility Shortcut includes multiple items, you can easily navigate by dragging your finger across the screen. The device will announce each item as you move over it, eliminating the need to have VoiceOver set as the sole selected option.
Brooke
interesting. I do recall using siri to turn VO to set my iphone went I got a new one.
multiple items on accessibility shortcut
I can confirm that it's possible and that options are narrated as you find them with your finger. Once you find the option and hear it spoken, lift your finger to activate the shortcut. Nothing tells people that this is possible or that they should feelaround the bottom of the screen to find the options. Frankly, I think blind people are much better advised to have VoiceOver be the only option. Particularly, new users and people who find exploring the touchscren to be a struggle. I'll definitely be pointing this out in my book. I've owned an iPhone for well over a decade and never found out about this possibility.
It allso applies to the newier i ads as well
It allso applies to the new i pads with out a home button as well
Starting VoiceOver on an iPhone with no physical home button
I generally teach the quick triple press of the power button for this, but what I can't remember right now is whether the default accessibility shortcut is set to VoiceOver straight out of the box or not. I make a point of setting it such that it is the default for the quick triple press.
Most of my clients use Siri to enable/disable VoiceOver. I set up the accessibility shortcut mostly for myself or family members who need to turn voiceover off now that Siri has become selective about whose voice she will respond to (for which, I'll add, I'm grateful).
Hello, I can now boast thatā¦
Hello, I can now boast that the phone arrived and the voice over started as you said with 3 clicks of the power button.
I have one question, but I have no sound on the camera when taking pictures, where can I turn it on?
rotor
rotor and sounds turn it on
My Experience
Reset the settings on an iPhone quite recently and had to do it several times for certain reasons, so VoiceOver is enabled if you tripple-press the Home or Power/Lock/Side button during setup, but then I had to assign the accessibility shortcut to VoiceOver in the settings.
Thank you very much for theā¦
Thank you very much for the answers, I fixed the sound with the camera.
When setting up facial recognition, should the attention function be turned on or not, are there any instructions during the setup?
attention function
I have it off.always had done so. No issues with using face ID. Mostly is for those who can see the screen.
Turn off attention
Yes unless you can directly look at the camera then turn it off. Lot more hit and miss if you leave it on. Yes there are helpful instructions as you set it up via VoiceOver.
Face ID instructions
FaceID will give you instructions during the setup process. Be forewarned however, the instructions may be a little confusing. Just hang in there, and you will eventually get it going for you. Also, don't bother with the attention feature. Like Holger says, that is for the sighted world.
I have better luck
I have better luck with attention on. Go figure. I don't think it's a sighted verses blind thing, but there's just my own thought.
Lee
Never had issues with faci ID without the attention. When I chil on my couch and grab the phone and look it works well. As long the camera sees your face you are set up. Same for bed at night, face ID works. Like I stated never use attention. Setting up face ID is easy. There are podcast within AppleVis about it.
Interesting
I thought the attention option was for eye contact. Hence you need to look directly at the camera. When turned off which I think Apple suggest for most VI people it just sees the face and you don't need to directly look at it. To be honest, I've tried it both ways and didn't really see any difference. Just turned off as I can't be bothered to go back in and turn it on again and when VO is on it automatically starts with attention turned off.
Does anyone have a problemā¦
Does anyone have a problem with notifications, VoiceOver announces them but there is no sound. On Facebook, it tells me the notification but there is no sound. On Viber, when you receive a message, there is either no sound or it is very quiet. The contacts are also missing in Viber, I set it to full access to contacts but it is no use.
I reinstalled Viber, the same thing.
When I was setting up my phone, I gave it to transfer all my settings from iCloud.
The App Store is different on iOS 18 than iOS 15, how can you see in the App Store which applications have an update? I don't know if I explained it, as in iOS 15, you can see the applications that have an update.
Re: App Updates
1. Open App Store on your iPhone.
2. Starting at the top-left of the "Today" screen, will be a heading with the date, like Today, January 16, Heading. Swipe to the right one time, then tap on "My Account".
3. On the account screen, swipe right until you find a list of apps that either have an "Update" button next to them, or have already been updated.
HTH.
FaceID Attention
IMO if you're around other people often or want the same level of security as a sighted person, you should under no circumstances disable attention. I appreciate mobility impairments might make this feature impractical or impossible to use, but if you're otherwise not restricted I don't see why you'd leave it disabled; you've already set up FaceID after all. And disabling attention means that it's incredibly easy for someone to swipe your phone past your face to unlock it. Not worth trading the risk for the ease as far as I'm concerned.
For most people, all that it requires is that you open your eyes a little more than what feels natural (in my case at least). Perhaps it slightly restricts what angles you can unlock at due to the eye contact? But it hasn't impacted how/where I unlock my phone.
TL;DR: Definitely not just a feature for people who can see.
RE: Does anyone have a problemā¦
Sounds like some of these are app-specific issues. If following these general tips doesn't work, try contacting support directly.
RE: notifications: it could be your phone is set to mute, or that your ringtone volume is down. Check your Sounds & haptics settings. Otherwise, perhaps VoiceOver is set to duck other audio? Go to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Audio>Audio Ducking to check and configure.
RE: Viber: Never used it unfortunately so won't be of much help. If it's contact detection feature works like most other instant messengers though, perhaps you just have no new contacts that also use Viber? Unless it's like WhatsApp and uses your contacts for messaging?
RE: App Store: Click on the My Account button in the top-right-hand corner, then scroll down to the Automatic App Updates heading to view upcoming updates.
Refresh Account Page for Recent Updates
Before looking for the update buttons on the account page, swipe down with three fingers; this refreshes the page and the updates shown will be those that are available now, instead of when the last check was done automatically. Just a little tip, for the impatient.
Holger, and also attention
Holger, Siri has never worked at all for me during initial setup. I can only assume it's because Siri hasn't yet been enabled, and also because Wifi and Cell network haven't been set up yet. So the device has no connectivity. These are just guesses though. I've always had to triple click the side button.
I use the require attention feature. Sometimes it just takes a second longer, and I have to open my eyes a bit wider, or that's what it seems like. But I feel a little more secure with that enabled, especially if I'm around lots of other people. I generally keep my phone on me physically, but if I were ever to accidentally put it down with other people around, I'd rather have that bit of extra security. Granted, it's not likely someone sighted could do much with my phone since Screen Curtain is on and brightness is always set to 0.
Brooke
Well I never leave my phone far away from me. Like I stated no issues. Now with iOS 18, I use face ID for some apps. Bank, email, planning to do so with message. Makes it more secure.
How do I mark copy and pasteā¦
How do I mark copy and paste text, I didn't find anything?
For app updates
I never update the way that has already been outlined. I'm sure that works, but instead, from my home screen, I double tap and hold on App Store, and then choose updates from there. The other way works too, and it's nice to have multiple ways of doing the same thing.
Re: Copy paste
By default, if you just want to copy the last text spoken, quadruple tap with three fingers on your screen to automatically copy the last text spoken. Then, to paste, use the rotor until you find the word "edit" swipe up or down until you find "paste", and then double tap.
Alternatively, if you go into settings, accessibility, VoiceOver, rotor, rotor items, and select "text selection", you can adjust the rotor until you find "text selection", then swipe up or down to decide between characters, words, etc. then swipe left or right to start selecting text. Once you have text highlighted, adjust the rotor until you find the word "edit", and then swipe up or down until you find the word "copy". Double tapping this will copy all of the text you selected, then follow my steps above to paste.
HTH.