How to Turn Off VoiceOver on an iPhone

Regaining Control of Your Screen

VoiceOver is a powerful, industry-leading accessibility feature built into every iPhone. Designed for users who are blind or have low vision, it fundamentally changes how the touchscreen works. Instead of tapping an app icon to open it, tapping an icon tells the iPhone to read the name of the app aloud. To actually open the app, the user must double-tap the screen.

While VoiceOver is an incredible tool for those who need it, accidentally turning it on when you do not need it can be an incredibly frustrating experience. Suddenly, your phone starts talking to you, your standard swipes no longer work, and you cannot even enter your passcode to unlock the device because a single tap no longer registers as a button press.

If you are stuck on the lock screen with a black box appearing around whatever you touch, do not panic. Your phone is not broken; you just need to disable VoiceOver. There are three ways to do this, ranging from a simple voice command to manually navigating the settings menu.

Method 1: Use Siri (The Quickest Method)

If Siri is enabled on your iPhone, you do not even need to unlock your device or navigate the confusing touchscreen to fix the problem. This is by far the easiest method.

1. Activate Siri. Depending on your iPhone model, either say “Hey Siri” loudly and clearly, or press and hold the Side button (on iPhones with Face ID) or the Home button (on older iPhones with Touch ID).
2. When you hear the Siri chime or see the Siri animation at the bottom of the screen, clearly say: “Turn off VoiceOver.”
3. Siri will respond with “OK, I turned off VoiceOver.”

The black boxes will immediately disappear, the phone will stop talking, and your touchscreen will return to its normal behaviour.

Method 2: Use the Accessibility Shortcut

Apple includes a physical shortcut to quickly toggle Accessibility features on and off, which is usually how people accidentally enable VoiceOver in the first place (often when the phone is bouncing around in a pocket or bag). You can use this exact same shortcut to turn it back off.

1. Locate the physical buttons on your iPhone.
   • If your iPhone has Face ID (no home button), locate the Side button on the right edge.
   • If your iPhone has a Home button, locate the physical Home button at the bottom of the screen.
2. Press the button three times quickly in rapid succession.

If VoiceOver was mapped to this shortcut, a small menu might pop up, or the phone will simply announce “VoiceOver off.” If nothing happens, proceed to Method 3.

Method 3: Manually Navigate the Settings Menu

If Siri is disabled and the physical shortcut didn’t work, you must manually navigate to the Settings app to turn the feature off. You must remember the golden rule of VoiceOver navigation: Tap once to select an item (and hear it read aloud), then double-tap anywhere on the screen to activate that item. To scroll up or down, you must use three fingers simultaneously.

1. Unlock your phone: Press the Home button or swipe up from the bottom of the screen. When the passcode screen appears, tap the first number of your passcode once (it will say the number aloud), then double-tap the screen to enter it. Repeat this for all digits.
2. Once on the home screen, find the Settings app. Tap it once (a black box will appear around it), then double-tap the screen to open it.
3. Scroll down the Settings menu. (Remember: place three fingers on the screen and swipe up to scroll).
4. Tap Accessibility once to highlight it, then double-tap to open it.
5. Tap VoiceOver at the top of the screen to highlight it, then double-tap to open it.
6. Tap the green toggle switch next to VoiceOver to highlight it, then double-tap the screen one final time.

The switch will turn grey, VoiceOver will immediately shut down, and you can resume using your iPhone normally.