Change your VoiceOver settings on iPad

You can customize the settings for VoiceOver, such as the audio options, language, voice, speaking rate, and verbosity.

Adjust the VoiceOver volume and other audio options

To increase or decrease the volume, press the volume buttons on iPad.
To set other audio options, go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Audio, then set options such as the following:
- Sounds: Adjust and preview sound effects.
- Audio Ducking: Temporarily reduce media playback volume when VoiceOver speaks.
- Send to HDMI: Route audio to externally connected devices, such as an instrument amplifier or a DJ mixer.

Set the VoiceOver language

Change the primary language: VoiceOver uses the same language you choose for your iPad. To choose a different primary language, go to Settings > General > Language & Region, then tap Add Language.
Switch languages using the rotor: See Control VoiceOver using the rotor on iPad.
Automatically detect languages: VoiceOver can switch voices for text in different languages. Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Speech, then turn on Detect Languages.

Adjust the speaking voice

Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver, then do any of the following:

Adjust the speaking rate: Drag the Speaking Rate slider.
Choose a voice: Tap Speech > Voice, then choose a voice. To download an enhanced voice, tap .
Adjust the pitch: Tap Speech, then drag the slider. You can also turn on Pitch Change to have VoiceOver use a higher pitch when speaking the first item of a group (such as a list or table) and a lower pitch when speaking the last item of a group.
Specify the pronunciation of certain words: Tap Speech > Pronunciations, tap , enter a phrase, then dictate or spell out how you want the phrase to be pronounced.
Note: You can dictate only if you turned on Enable Dictation in Settings > General > Keyboards.

Set how much VoiceOver tells you

Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Verbosity, then do any of the following:

Change how VoiceOver speaks punctuation: Tap Punctuation, then choose a group. You can also create new groups—for example, a programming group in which “[” is spoken as “left brack.”
Change how VoiceOver reads notifications: Tap System Notifications. By default, VoiceOver reads notifications, including incoming text messages, as they occur—even if iPad is locked. Unacknowledged notifications are repeated when you unlock iPad.
Choose additional options: Have VoiceOver speak hints, uppercase letters, embedded links, and more. VoiceOver can even confirm rotor actions and tell you when the flashlight is turned on.

Customize VoiceOver settings for an activity

You can customize a group of VoiceOver settings for an activity, such as programming. Then, when you open certain apps or adjust the rotor, the settings for speech, audio, verbosity, typing, navigation, and braille are applied automatically.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Activities.
Choose an existing activity or tap Add Activity.
Adjust the settings, then below Automatic Switching, do any of the following:
- Apply the settings for certain apps: Tap Apps, then select the ones you want this setting to apply to.
- Apply the settings for certain contexts: Tap Context, then select one or more contexts, such as Word Processing, Messaging, or Console.

Use flat or grouped navigation

Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Navigation Style, then choose one of the following:

Flat: VoiceOver moves sequentially through each item on the screen when you use the move next and previous commands.
Grouped: VoiceOver moves through items and groups of items on the screen. To move into a group, use a two-finger swipe right. To move out of a group, use a two-finger swipe left.

Adjust VoiceOver visuals

Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver, then turn on any of the following:

Large Cursor: If you have difficulty seeing the outline around the selected item, you can enlarge and thicken the outline.
Caption Panel: The text spoken by VoiceOver is displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Use Quick Settings to adjust VoiceOver from anywhere on iPad

When VoiceOver is turned on, you can access Quick Settings by doing a two-finger quadruple tap.

To customize Quick Settings, do the following:

Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Quick Settings.
Choose the settings you want, or drag to reorder settings.

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iPad User Guide