Roku comes with voice narration features that play in between streaming as well as read your device’s screen. This feature may be of benefit to some while it may bother others. If you want to get rid of the voice narration feature, then you have to disable it.
In this article, we explain how to turn off the Narrator on a Roku streaming device or TV. You can either use the remote shortcut or disable the feature from the Accessibility settings. There are some Roku channels that also offer audio-guided content, which you can turn on or off during playback or from app settings.
Quick Guide!
- Quickly press the Star button four times in a row to disable/enable narration.
- Turn Audio Guide off or on from Settings > Accessibility > Audio Guide; on some versions, it may be Settings > Accessibility > Screen reader.
- Turn off the remote shortcut from Settings > Accessibility > Audio Guide > Shortcut > Disabled or on some devices Settings > Accessibility > Shortcut > Disabled.
Table of Contents
How to Turn Off the Narrator on Roku
This feature is disabled by default, but if you accidentally turn on Roku Narrator—also known as Roku Audio Guide—you have two options for disabling this feature.
1. Use the Roku Remote Shortcut
The quickest option to turn off narration on your Roku is to press the “star” button on your remote four times in a row. You will hear the message, “Audio guide is disabled,” confirmation statement is off.
Before you try this shortcut, make sure it’s enabled.
- You need to go to Settings > Accessibility.
- Look for the Audio Guide section of the Accessibility menu.
On some versions of Roku, this step may be unnecessary.
- Select Shortcut and toggle the selection from Disabled to Enabled.
If rapid-pressing the Star button doesn’t work or your remote is unresponsive, then you need to fix Roku remote issues.
2. Use Roku Accessibility Settings
Apart from the Roku remote, you can also turn off narration on your Roku from the Accessibility options. To do this, follow below the steps: –
- Go to Settings > Accessibility on your Roku.
- Under Audio Guide, select Audio Guide or Screen reader.
- Select Off to disable this feature. That’s all you have disabled the features successfully.
Why Is My Roku Narrating Movies?
The Roku Audio Guide describes Roku system interactions (your location on the screen, channel name, etc.) and navigation items within apps. Video narration is not included in this text-to-speech feature on Roku. If you hear descriptions of scenes and actions in movies or TV shows, you may have enabled an audio description track for that specific program.
How to Turn Off Descriptive Audio?
If you don’t want to hear the scene narration, check and change the audio track selection during playback in the app. Not all titles on streaming platforms come with descriptive audio. If you don’t see any other audio options, the app doesn’t have guided audio to turn on or off.
You can find this feature with descriptive audio from the Audio/Language or Accessibility settings on the Roku apps. Here’s how to do it in these popular apps.
- Apple TV: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio Descriptions > and select Off.
- Hulu: Press the Up button on your Roku remote > select Settings > Audio. Change the language to the original language without the audio description.
- Prime Video: Press the Roku remote Up button > Audio & Languages > and choose the available language without audio description.
- Netflix: Press the Down button on the remote to view the language options box. Change the selection from Language – Audio Description to a language without narration.
- HBO Max: Start watching something and then press the Play/Pause button on the Roku remote. Move down and choose the speech bubble. Under Audio, select a language. Press the Back button to save.
If changing the audio track doesn’t stop it, you may need to update or delete and reinstall the channel on your Roku.
How to Turn Off Video Description on Roku?
If you use a cable TV source with your Roku TV or player and view the video description feature on TV shows and movies, turn off the Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) settings. For example:
- On Xfinity X1: Choose Device Settings > Languages > Audio Language (SAP) Reset.
- With Spectrum TV for Roku: Open the app with the Roku remote and go to Settings > Preferences > Audio Language (SAP).
If you use a non-Roku Smart TV, you’ll also want to check the SAP preferences on the device. Look for this feature in the Audio or Accessibility area of your TV’s settings.
Common FAQs – Roku Narrator
- How to turn off closed captions on Roku?
Home > Settings > Accessibility > Caption Mode > Press Off. If closed captioning won’t turn off on your Roku after you change this setting, check the app-specific caption setting. Open a channel like Hulu on your Roku and play the content. Then bring up the options menu by pressing the “star” button and selecting Closed Captioning > Off.
- How to turn off Amazon Prime subtitles on my Roku?
You can turn off Amazon Prime Video subtitles on Roku during playback. Select a program to play > press the up button on your Roku remote > select Subtitles (speech bubble icon) > On > and then select Turn Off.
That’s all today! This is how you can turn off Narrator on Roku. If you have any queries then do share them in the comment box.
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