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How to use text to speech on Android

4 minute read · updated October 28, 2026

5 sources: 1 peer-reviewed research, 4 product documentation

Open Settings, tap Accessibility, then Select to Speak, and turn on the Select to Speak shortcut. Swipe up with two fingers (or tap the Accessibility button), then tap or drag over text to hear it. Speed and voice live under Accessibility > Text-to-speech output, and Chrome can read a page through More > Listen to this page.

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Android has three separate ways to hear text, and they suit different jobs. Select to Speak reads what you point at in almost any app. Chrome's Listen to this page reads a whole web article. The Text-to-speech output settings control the voice and rate that the phone uses. They can help with a long article on a commute, a form you want read back before submitting, or tired eyes. Google notes that some Select to Speak steps work only on Android 11 and up.[1]

Turn on Select to Speak

Set up Select to Speak

  1. Open your device's Settings app.
  2. Tap Accessibility, then tap Select to Speak.[1]
  3. Turn on Select to Speak shortcut. To pick a different shortcut, tap Select to Speak shortcut again.
  4. Start Select to Speak with your shortcut: a two-finger swipe up (three fingers if TalkBack is on), or the Accessibility button.[1]
  5. Tap a word, line or image to hear it, drag your finger across several items, or tap Play to hear everything on the screen.

When the player is open, Google says you can pause, skip forward or back, and raise or lower the speed with its buttons. If you use an external keyboard on Android 17 or later, Action + Alt + S turns Select to Speak on or off.[1]

Change the voice and speech rate

Adjust text-to-speech output

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Select Accessibility > Text-to-speech output.[2]
  3. Choose your preferred engine, language, speech rate and pitch.
  4. Press Play to hear a short sample. To add a language, select Install voice data and choose it.[2]

Google notes that the engine list varies by device. It may include Google's engine, the phone maker's own engine, and any engine you have downloaded from the Play Store.[2] If a menu name on your phone does not match the ones here, type it into the search bar at the top of Settings.

Have Chrome read a web page

Listen to a page in Chrome for Android

  1. Open Chrome and go to the page you want to hear.
  2. At the top right, tap More, then Listen to this page.[3]
  3. Tap the player, then tap 1.0x to change the playback speed.
  4. In Standard playback, tap Options to choose a Voice or turn Highlight text & auto scroll on or off.[3]
  5. Tap Close to stop.

Google says playback keeps going if you switch tabs or lock the screen. Standard playback reads every word, while AI playback turns the page into a podcast-style conversation and is the default where it is offered. Standard playback needs the Chrome setting Make searches and browsing better turned on.[3]

For long articles there is also a separate Google app called Reading mode, which strips a page down and reads it aloud with its own voice and speed settings. It is covered on changing text size and spacing on Android.[4]

Troubleshooting

  • Select to Speak is missing from Accessibility. Google suggests updating Android Accessibility Suite from Google Play, then trying again.[1]
  • It reads in one browser but not another. Google notes Select to Speak might not work with every mobile web browser.[1]
  • Reading stops when you scroll or change apps. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Select to Speak > Settings and turn on Read in background.[1]
  • Listen to this page is not in the menu. Google says the feature is not available on every website yet; if it is missing, that page cannot be played.[3]
  • The voice reads in the wrong accent or language. Install voice data for the language you need under Text-to-speech output.[2]

For text copied from a PDF or elsewhere, the focus reader reads pasted text aloud and dims all but the current line.

Quick answers

Can Android read text from a photo or printed page?

Google says you can point the Google Camera app at text, start Select to Speak, and drag across the text to hear it, in a list of supported languages that includes English, Spanish and French.[1]

How do I slow down the Android reading voice?

Lower the speech rate under Settings > Accessibility > Text-to-speech output.[2] The Select to Speak player and the Chrome player also have their own speed controls.[1][3]

Is Select to Speak the same as TalkBack?

No. TalkBack is a separate Android feature. Select to Speak reads only what you choose, and Google gives it a three-finger swipe instead of two when TalkBack is also on.[1]

Review status

Source-checked, not expert-reviewed

Drafted with AI assistance. Each factual claim was checked against the source it links to on 2026-10-28. No clinician, psychologist or dyslexia specialist has reviewed this page. See the claims register.

Sources

  1. [1]Use Select to Speak on Android. Google Accessibility Help. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  2. [2]Text-to-speech output (Android Accessibility Help). Google Accessibility Help. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  3. [3]Use Listen to this page mode in Chrome (Android). Google Chrome Help. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  4. [4]Get started with Reading mode on Android. Google Accessibility Help. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  5. [5]Does use of text-to-speech and related read-aloud tools improve reading comprehension for students with reading disabilities? A meta-analysis. Wood SG, Moxley JH, Tighe EL, Wagner RK. Journal of Learning Disabilities 51(1):73-84. doi:10.1177/0022219416688170, 2018. Accessed 2026-10-28. Peer-reviewed research

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