Change Voice Access settings

To view or change your Voice Access settings:

Details about each setting are below.

Help

Voice Access commands: See a list of all commands. You can also open this list by saying 'Show all commands'.
Help and feedback: Read help articles, and send feedback, errors or bug reports to Google.
Open tutorial: Open the Voice Access tutorial. You can also open the tutorial by saying 'Open tutorial'.

Require verbs: When this setting is on, you need to use a verb (such as 'Tap', 'Click' or 'Open') for Voice Access commands. For example, you'd need to say 'Open Gmail' or 'Tap compose' instead of just 'Gmail' or 'Compose'.
Time out after no speech: Pause Voice Access after 30 seconds of no speech.

Activation button: Start Voice Access from any screen with a Voice Access button.
Listening behaviour on screen wake-up: You can choose from several options:
- Always start listening: Voice Access always starts listening when you use your device.
- Start listening unless paused: Voice Access always starts listening unless you have said 'Stop listening' previously.
- Never start listening: Voice Access only starts listening when you tap the Voice Access notification or button.
Activate for incoming calls: Automatically turn on Voice Access when you receive a call. This setting is on by default.
Active during calls: If you want to keep Voice Access on during phone calls, turn on this setting. This setting is off by default.
Cancel on touch: When this setting is on, Voice Access stops when you touch the screen. When this setting is off, you can touch the screen without affecting Voice Access.
Show keyboard when stopped: Show an on-screen keyboard when a text field is selected and Voice Access is stopped.

Set up Voice Access: Go to the setup flow.
Configure activation key: Use a physical button, such as a keyboard key or Bluetooth switch, to start or stop Voice Access. To use this setting, first connect a keyboard or switch to your device using USB or Bluetooth. Then, on the Activation key screen, choose the following settings:
- Assigned key: Press the key or switch that you want to use to start and stop Voice Access.
- Behaviour: Choose how you'd like to use your key or switch. The default setting is to tap to start Voice Access, then tap again to stop. You can also choose to press and hold to start Voice Access, then release to stop.
Recognise common icons: When this setting is on, and you say 'Show labels', you'll see labels with the names of common icons, such as the back button.

To change the settings listed below, select More options.

Play feedback sounds: When this setting is on, Voice Access plays feedback sounds, such as when the microphone starts listening or when an error message is displayed.
Verbosity: Choose how much feedback Voice Access provides (all feedback, only on errors, or no feedback).

Label contrast: Change the opacity of on-screen labels. Choose lightest, light, medium or dark.
Number labelling: Choose which on-screen controls have number labels (all items on the screen, or only items without text labels).
Show borders: Show borders around anything on the screen that you can interact with.

Grid selection: Turn on grid selection and show the grid. Learn more about grid selection.
Grid size: Change the density of the grid.

For more help with Android accessibility, contact the Google Disability Support team.