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How to Turn Off the Narrator on Roku

Disable Roku’s Screen reader in Settings or toggle it with four quick Star-button presses. Learn how to prevent the shortcut from reactivating it.
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To stop Roku from reading menus and on-screen text aloud, open Home > Settings > Accessibility > Screen reader and turn Screen reader off. If its shortcut is enabled, press the remote’s Star (*) button four times quickly to toggle it off. Roku now calls this feature Screen reader; it was previously called Audio Guide.

Turn off Roku Screen reader in Settings

  1. Press Home on your Roku remote.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Select Accessibility, then Screen reader.
  4. Set Screen reader to Off.

This setting controls Roku’s text-to-speech feature, which reads interface text, menus and dialog aloud. Roku’s instructions are available in its Screen reader support guide.

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Use the Star button shortcut

When the shortcut is enabled, press the remote’s Star (*) button four times quickly. The button is below and to the right of the directional pad. The four-press shortcut toggles Screen reader, so it can turn the feature on or off.

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Stop the shortcut from turning Screen reader on accidentally

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Screen reader and turn off the Shortcut option. With the shortcut disabled, four Star-button presses will not toggle Screen reader. You can still change the main Screen reader setting from this menu.

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If Screen reader is missing from Settings

Roku’s accessibility information says Screen reader is available on Roku TVs and players currently sold in the United States and Canada, with Roku OS 7.5 or later required to enable it. Support can vary by model and region, so those requirements should not be assumed to cover every Roku device or market. Roku recommends checking for a software update if a listed device does not show the feature. See Roku’s accessibility overview and its device and Screen reader guidance.

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