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Disabling Talkback [SOLVED]

hstroph

Android Enthusiast
Oct 18, 2012
743
147
Perhaps some of you have enabled Talkback (Settings->Accessibility->Talkback {on}) and are wondering how to turn it off. Here's how:

1) Selections are made by long-tap then double-tap. Remember that, as you'll need it multiple times!
2) Select the Home screen (Remember the select technique?)
3) Select the app waffle-iron. (Remember?)
4) Use two (2) fingers to swipe through to the Settings icon, then select it. (Yeah, that's the ticket ... I remember now!)
5) Two-finger swipe to select Accessibility.
6) Select Talkback.
7) Select {on|off} toggle.
8) Select confirmation "OK".

You're free! Free at last!

I spent about a half-hour on the phone with Google Support this morning, and it was as much of a mystery to them as it was to me, although I had spent a previous half-hour discerning the long-tap double-tap technique. Young Joe at Google helped tremendously by directing my attention to the app waffle (since nether of us could pull-down notifications), then the two-fingered swipe to get to the Settings icon.

Damn, that was a painful morning! Hopefully things will be easier now for anyone else who falls into Talkback-disable hell.
 
It certainly seems that it's a problem ... the Google Support guy named "Joe" was also flummoxed by it, but working together for about 1/2 hour we finally got it solved as described.

Maybe a person with partial or no vision would approach it in a different, perhaps more intuitive way? Certainly Google has many people working on the interface, at least some of whom are presumably sight-impaired.
 
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Perhaps some of you have enabled Talkback (Settings->Accessibility->Talkback {on}) and are wondering how to turn it off. Here's how:

1) Selections are made by long-tap then double-tap. Remember that, as you'll need it multiple times!
2) Select the Home screen (Remember the select technique?)
3) Select the app waffle-iron. (Remember?)
4) Use two (2) fingers to swipe through to the Settings icon, then select it. (Yeah, that's the ticket ... I remember now!)
5) Two-finger swipe to select Accessibility.
6) Select Talkback.
7) Select {on|off} toggle.
8) Select confirmation "OK".

You're free! Free at last!

I spent about a half-hour on the phone with Google Support this morning, and it was as much of a mystery to them as it was to me, although I had spent a previous half-hour discerning the long-tap double-tap technique. Young Joe at Google helped tremendously by directing my attention to the app waffle (since nether of us could pull-down notifications), then the two-fingered swipe to get to the Settings icon.

Damn, that was a painful morning! Hopefully things will be easier now for anyone else who falls into Talkback-disable hell.
 
Upvote 0
Perhaps some of you have enabled Talkback (Settings->Accessibility->Talkback {on}) and are wondering how to turn it off. Here's how:

1) Selections are made by long-tap then double-tap. Remember that, as you'll need it multiple times!
2) Select the Home screen (Remember the select technique?)
3) Select the app waffle-iron. (Remember?)
4) Use two (2) fingers to swipe through to the Settings icon, then select it. (Yeah, that's the ticket ... I remember now!)
5) Two-finger swipe to select Accessibility.
6) Select Talkback.
7) Select {on|off} toggle.
8) Select confirmation "OK".

You're free! Free at last!

I spent about a half-hour on the phone with Google Support this morning, and it was as much of a mystery to them as it was to me, although I had spent a previous half-hour discerning the long-tap double-tap technique. Young Joe at Google helped tremendously by directing my attention to the app waffle (since nether of us could pull-down notifications), then the two-fingered swipe to get to the Settings icon.

Damn, that was a painful morning! Hopefully things will be easier now for anyone else who falls into Talkback-disable hell.
OMG !!! Thank you!!! That was the most annoying thing EVER!!! Your instructions are clear and worked the first time.
 
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Perhaps some of you have enabled Talkback (Settings->Accessibility->Talkback {on}) and are wondering how to turn it off. Here's how:


Damn, that was a painful morning! Hopefully things will be easier now for anyone else who falls into Talkback-disable hell.

Thank you so much for this post. I was driving today & accidentally enabled TalkBack (long, annoying $%^^&&* story). Got home & found your post via Google -- finally solved the problem.

Thanks again.
 
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Perhaps some of you have enabled Talkback (Settings->Accessibility->Talkback {on}) and are wondering how to turn it off. Here's how:

1) Selections are made by long-tap then double-tap. Remember that, as you'll need it multiple times!
2) Select the Home screen (Remember the select technique?)
3) Select the app waffle-iron. (Remember?)
4) Use two (2) fingers to swipe through to the Settings icon, then select it. (Yeah, that's the ticket ... I remember now!)
5) Two-finger swipe to select Accessibility.
6) Select Talkback.
7) Select {on|off} toggle.
8) Select confirmation "OK".

You're free! Free at last!

I spent about a half-hour on the phone with Google Support this morning, and it was as much of a mystery to them as it was to me, although I had spent a previous half-hour discerning the long-tap double-tap technique. Young Joe at Google helped tremendously by directing my attention to the app waffle (since nether of us could pull-down notifications), then the two-fingered swipe to get to the Settings icon.

Damn, that was a painful morning! Hopefully things will be easier now for anyone else who falls into Talkback-disable hell.
====================================================================
Brillant hstroph! Thank you very much, & thanks to AndroidForums.com.
 
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Hi everyone. I did this maybe 5-6 times but that annoying voice still keeps talking. how many times do we have to turn it off? it just keeps turning on! Please help! my phone is S2.

EDIT: Alright, I turned it off, exit and when I re-opened it was back on so I double tapped again when it was off, it asked if I want to turn it on so I double tapped "cancel" and voila!

EDIT2: I just realized that No Led is turned off when I do it this way. So, it's still not solved for me.
 
Last edited:
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Perhaps some of you have enabled Talkback (Settings->Accessibility->Talkback {on}) and are wondering how to turn it off. Here's how:

1) Selections are made by long-tap then double-tap. Remember that, as you'll need it multiple times!
2) Select the Home screen (Remember the select technique?)
3) Select the app waffle-iron. (Remember?)
4) Use two (2) fingers to swipe through to the Settings icon, then select it. (Yeah, that's the ticket ... I remember now!)
5) Two-finger swipe to select Accessibility.
6) Select Talkback.
7) Select {on|off} toggle.
8) Select confirmation "OK".

You're free! Free at last!

I spent about a half-hour on the phone with Google Support this morning, and it was as much of a mystery to them as it was to me, although I had spent a previous half-hour discerning the long-tap double-tap technique. Young Joe at Google helped tremendously by directing my attention to the app waffle (since nether of us could pull-down notifications), then the two-fingered swipe to get to the Settings icon.

Damn, that was a painful morning! Hopefully things will be easier now for anyone else who falls into Talkback-disable hell.
Well I just got new s6 and when I switched on it was in the very very very annoying TalkBack mode.
After over half an hour I found it with help above but slight change in menus ( maybe updated android version).
So here it is:
Settings->Accessibility->Vision->Galaxy TalkBack set to Off.

Holy moly that killed me.

I was ready to throw the phone away.
 
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Hi. I've just come across this thread regarding the disabling of Talkback and it's unwillingness to play ball. When i encountered the same problem earlier i, like
most people tried to 'back-track' and turn the feature off. So i went Settings - Accessibility - Dexterity and Interaction - then at the top of the screen, slide the green button left to the 'off' position. I thought that was that, but when i returned to the Home Screen, there was still an active 'hand' icon telling me Talkback was still active. Damn. So, here's the fix . . try Settings - Accessibility - Dexterity and Interaction. On that page you'll see 'Assistant menu'. Open that and turn it ON ( then you you will be told that 'Talkback will be disabled if Assistant menu is on'. So click 'O.k.' and 'bingo' everything returns to normal . . . Hope this works.
 
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