How to turn off the narrator on Mac, Chromebook and Xbox
If a computer or console suddenly starts reading menus aloud, a built-in screen reader is on: VoiceOver on a Mac, ChromeVox on a Chromebook, Narrator on Xbox and Windows. They are essential for blind and low-vision people, and each has a keyboard or controller shortcut that is easy to press by accident.
Here are the shortcuts and settings from Apple’s, Google’s and Microsoft’s own help pages.
Mac: turn off VoiceOver
Press Command-F5. If your Mac or Magic Keyboard has Touch ID, you can instead hold the Command key and quickly press Touch ID three times. You can also ask Siri, or choose Apple menu, System Settings, Accessibility, VoiceOver and switch it off. Option-Command-F5 opens the Accessibility Shortcuts panel, where VoiceOver is one of the options.
Chromebook: turn off ChromeVox
Press Ctrl + Alt + Z on any page; the same keys turn ChromeVox on and off. On Chromebook tablets without a keyboard, Google describes holding Volume down and Volume up together for about five seconds to start ChromeVox.
Xbox: turn off Narrator
On the controller, press and hold the Xbox button until it vibrates, then press the Menu button; repeat the same steps to turn Narrator off. You can also press the Xbox button to open the guide and go to Profile and system, Settings, Accessibility, Narrator. With a keyboard, press the Windows logo key + Ctrl + Enter.
PS5: turn off the Screen Reader
On PlayStation 5, go to the home screen and select Settings, Accessibility, Screen Reader, then switch Screen Reader off. While it is reading, pressing the PS button and the triangle button together pauses or resumes speech. The screen reader speaks the console language and is available only in some languages.
Windows PC: turn off Narrator
On Windows the shortcut is the same as on a keyboard plugged into an Xbox: the Windows logo key + Ctrl + Enter turns Narrator on and off. Our guide to Microsoft Narrator covers its settings and voices in more detail.
Stop it from coming back
Almost every surprise screen reader is a shortcut pressed by accident: a key combination, a held controller button or three quick Touch ID presses. On Xbox you can turn on Warn me when turning Narrator on in the Narrator settings so the console asks first. If you need spoken audio rather than a screen reader, for example narration for a video, a text to speech engine that saves audio files is the better tool.