How do I get my Android to read text out loud?
Android devices offer text-to-speech (TTS) as an accessibility feature to read text aloud for users who have difficulty reading on-screen text. With TTS, your Android phone or tablet can convert text from apps, webpages, and more into natural sounding audio. Android’s text-to-speech engine is provided by Google and creates high quality voice output. TTS allows blind and visually impaired users to access digital content through speech. It also helps individuals with learning disabilities like dyslexia by reading text for them. Overall, Android’s built-in text-to-speech capability empowers users and improves accessibility.
Check if Text-to-Speech is Enabled
The first step is to open the Settings app on your Android device and go to the Accessibility section. Here you can check if Text-to-Speech is enabled.
To get started, open the Settings app on your home screen or app drawer. Scroll down and select “Accessibility.”
In the Accessibility settings, look for the “Text-to-speech output” option. Make sure this is toggled on. If it is off, tap the toggle to turn on Text-to-Speech.
You can also customize the Text-to-Speech engine, language, speech rate, pitch and more in the Text-to-speech output settings. Make any changes to suit your preferences.
Once Text-to-Speech is enabled in Accessibility, your Android device will be able to read text aloud using its built-in speech synthesizer.
Install a Text-to-Speech App
One of the easiest ways to get text-to-speech on your Android is to install a dedicated text-to-speech app. There are many high quality options available on the Google Play Store. Apps like Voice Aloud Reader offer advanced text-to-speech features and natural sounding voices.
Text-to-speech apps allow you to import documents, eBooks, web articles and more, and have the content read aloud to you. They offer settings like playback speed, voice selection, and highlighting synced to speech. Some apps even allow you to export the audio files.
Many of the top text-to-speech apps are free to download. Options like Voice Aloud Reader have free versions with in-app purchases to unlock additional features. Paid apps like NaturalReaders Text to Speech ($14.99) provide a one-time purchase for the full experience.
Installing a dedicated text-to-speech app gives you access to a wide range of customizable voices and features compared to what’s built into Android. Browse the Play Store to find an option suited to your needs.
Use Select to Speak
One of the easiest ways to get your Android device to read text aloud is by using the built-in Select to Speak feature. Select to Speak was introduced in Android 10 and allows you to have text on your screen read aloud to you. Here’s how to use it:
Open your device’s Settings app and go to Accessibility. Tap on Select to Speak and toggle the switch on to enable it. You can also customize options like language, speech rate, and pitch on this screen.
Once enabled, you can highlight text in any app by pressing and holding on a word. Your device will read the selected text out loud. You can drag the selection handles to expand or reduce the amount of text to be read.
Select to Speak works on Android system screens, web pages, ebooks, documents, and more. It’s one of the easiest ways to get instant text-to-speech on your Android device without installing any additional apps.
For more details, check out Google’s guide on Using Select to Speak.
Use Voice Assistant
One of the easiest ways to get your Android device to read text out loud is by using your phone’s built-in voice assistant, such as Google Assistant or Bixby. Simply activate your voice assistant and say a command like “Hey Google, read my messages” or “Hi Bixby, read this page aloud.” Your voice assistant will then read the text from your messaging app or webpage using text-to-speech.1
You can also activate a hands-free auto-read mode with Google Assistant by saying “Hey Google, turn on auto read.” This will cause Assistant to automatically read any new messages you receive while driving.2 Overall, using your voice assistant provides a quick and easy way to get text read aloud without having to dive into your device’s accessibility settings.
Read Text from Apps
Many apps on Android support text-to-speech functionality to read text out loud. This allows you to have content from apps read aloud using your device’s default text-to-speech engine.
For example, in the Chrome browser app, you can have web pages read out loud. To do this, open a web page in Chrome, tap the 3-dot menu button in the top right, then tap “Read aloud” 1. Chrome will then start reading the content of the web page out loud using your device’s text-to-speech settings.
Similarly, other apps like Google Play Books, Samsung Internet, Microsoft Edge, and News apps have built-in “Read aloud” or “Text-to-speech” features to read text from those apps out loud.
Adjust Speech Settings
Customizing the speech speed, language, and voice is easy on Android. Here’s how to adjust the text-to-speech settings:
Open the Settings app and go to Accessibility > Text-to-speech output. Here you can select the preferred text-to-speech engine, language, speech rate, and pitch. Try changing the speech rate to adjust how quickly the text is spoken. Select the language to determine pronunciation and accent.
To change the voice, tap on the settings icon next to the selected engine. This will show all the available voice options. Listen to samples of each voice to choose the one you prefer. Some voices are region or language specific.
According to Google’s Accessibility Help, voices such as “English (United States) – Female (high quality)” offer a more natural sounding voice. Avoid voice options labeled “(basic)” for lower quality speech.
Customizing these text-to-speech settings allows you to optimize the spoken text to suit your needs and preferences. Adjust speed for quicker or slower narration. Change languages for proper pronunciation and inflection. Pick a natural voice that is pleasant to listen to.
Text Selection Tricks
Here are some tips for easily selecting text on your Android device to have it read aloud:
In most apps, you can select text by long pressing on a word. This will highlight the word and bring up a toolbar with copy, select all, and other options. Tap “Select All” to have the entire paragraph or section read.
You can also double tap on text to select the entire paragraph or section. This is useful for quickly selecting a block of text to be read.
Drag the selection handles to expand or reduce your text selection as needed. You can select a single word, line, paragraph or multiple paragraphs.
Try using Magnifier mode for precise text selection. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Magnification and turn it on. You can then triple tap the screen to zoom in and easily select text.
On web pages, long press on a link or image to have the option to select just the surrounding paragraph or entire article read aloud.
You can also copy text to the clipboard, then tap the “Speak” button when it appears to have it read. Useful for reading snippets or passages.
Practice selecting text in your favorite apps to find what works best. With some tricks, you can quickly select text for reading aloud.
Troubleshooting
If you are having issues getting text-to-speech to work properly on your Android device, here are some solutions for common problems:
Check your Android’s language and speech settings – Make sure text-to-speech is enabled, the correct language is selected, and speech rate/pitch are set to your preference.
Check your internet connection – Many text-to-speech engines rely on an internet connection. Try toggling airplane mode on/off to reset the connection.
Restart your device – A simple reboot can clear up underlying software issues that may disrupt text-to-speech.
Update your Android OS and apps – Older versions of the OS and text-to-speech apps may have bugs affecting speech.
Clear app cache/data – Sometimes corrupt data causes text-to-speech problems. Try clearing cache/data for the app.
Check for text-to-speech compatibility in apps – Not all apps support speech, and you may need to use the system-wide speech tools like Select to Speak.
Test microphone access – Speaking and listening work together. Make sure the app has microphone permissions enabled.
Conclusion
Android’s text-to-speech capabilities allow you to have content on your device read aloud in a variety of languages and voices. With just a few taps, you can enable and customize text-to-speech to suit your needs.
In summary, first check that text-to-speech is enabled in your device’s settings or accessibility menu. You can then use features like Select to Speak to have text read aloud from any app. Install specialized TTS apps from the Google Play Store for more voices, languages, and customization. Adjust the speech rate and pitch to your liking in your device’s text-to-speech settings. Useful tricks like selecting paragraphs or using the Google Assistant can streamline reading text out loud.
With the right setup, Android’s built-in text-to-speech can read websites, ebooks, documents, and more. Take the time to customize voices and speech settings to maximize listening convenience and accessibility. Text-to-speech makes it possible to multitask or rest your eyes while still consuming content from your Android device.