How To Turn Off Narrator On Vizio Smart TV

If you’ve been using Vizio TVs for a long, you will realize it has a voice narrator feature that reads out content from the TV screen to viewers. This narrator is especially used by the elderly and visually impaired people who have problems seeing what is on their screens. The voice narrator is popularly known by many as TalkBack and although it’s beneficial to some users, most often it turns out to be a disturbance to viewers who really do not need it. So, in case you wish to turn off this narrator on your Vizio TV but have been unable to do so in the past, this article is right here to help you do exactly that.  

You can turn off the narrator on your Vizio TV by disabling the feature in the Accessibility Menu of your TV’s Settings. Changing the Settings on your Vizio TV is a simple process and normally only requires the use of your TV remote. 

In this guide, I will explain the steps you can use to turn off the TV narrator so read on for more information on how to successfully disable this feature on your TV. 

Vizio TV Troubleshooting

Why is My TV Narrating to Me Vizio?  

Vizio TVs that were made in 2017 and afterward originally come along with the audio narrator preinstalled in them. As I said earlier, the essence of the voice narrator is to assist people who have problems with their sight and as a result, miss out on the exciting shows most people enjoy on their TVs. 

The Talkback feature only narrates the content on the screen if it is enabled. If your Vizio TV is narrating to you, it means the Talkback setting has been enabled on your device. 

The audio narrator may have been switched on or enabled with or without your knowledge. 

If you are using a universal TV remote, it is possible for the TV remote to turn on the TalkBack feature without your knowledge. Some universal remotes have a single button which when pressed will usually switch on all the Accessibility options on your TV. 

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The voice narrator is one such option that gets enabled by pressing the button.  

If the feature is turned on by accident and you really do not need it, you should turn it back off using the steps that I’ll be discussing later in this article.

This will ensure that your TV viewing experience is not interrupted. 

How Do I Get Vizio TV to Stop Narrating?

Now let’s get to the real deal. If you want to turn off the voice narrator on your Vizio TV, you can follow these steps:

  1. Press the Menu button on your Vizio TV remote. 
  2. Navigate to Systems on your TV. This can be done by pressing the arrow buttons on your remote. 
  3. Once you get to Systems, select it by pressing Enter on the remote. 
  4. Further navigate to Accessibility with arrow buttons and press the enter button on your remote to select it. 
  5. A menu of several Accessibility features will be displayed on your screen. Use the arrow buttons to select TalkBack from the list of options.
  6. Change the setting to OFF to disable the voice narrator. 
  7. Exit the setting by pressing Exit on the remote. 

If you go through these steps successfully, you will have the voice narrator turned off on your device in no time and you will be able to enjoy your shows without any interference. 

What Should I Do If Vizio TV Narrator Does not Turn Off?

The steps for turning off the voice narrator on Vizio TVs are very simple so one will expect that you will not have so much of a problem turning the narrator off. 

However, the steps may not turn out as planned and the narrator may not turn off even after using the steps above to the latter. 

If you find yourself in this situation, do not worry because I am going to provide you with some options to implement in case the narrator refuses to turn off. 

Generally, you should reset your TV to factory settings if you encounter such problems. The downside to this method is that you will lose your passwords and data but your TV’s system will come as new as when it was first purchased. 

You can reset your TV by using the remote or by pressing the reset button. 

To reset your TV using the remote, use the following steps below:

  1. Press the Menu button on your Vizio TV remote. 
  2. Depending on your TV’s model, navigate to Systems or Settings using the arrow buttons on your remote. 
  3. Select Reset & Admin and press Enter on the remote. 
  4. Choose Reset TV to Factory Settings and press Enter on your remote.

Your Vizio TV will reboot after these steps and the TalkBack feature should be turned off after the TV restarts. 

If your TV’s model has the reset button, you can reset your Vizio TV by pressing on the reset button, which is normally located behind the TV, with a pointed object for about 15 seconds. 

The TV will shut down and restart. The voice narrator should be turned off by itself after the TV restarts. 

Why Are All The Shows On ABC Being Narrated?

The TalkBack feature is designed in such a way that it uses text-to-speech technology to read texts that are displayed on your screen aloud to the viewer. 

The feature usually narrates key texts such as the menu items that are displayed on the TV screen. 

Some TV programs support the TalkBack feature, which allows the voice narrator to read out texts that have been inserted into the program once the feature has been turned on. 

The ABC began implementing the TalkBack feature in some of its programs in 2018. 

Some of ABC’s programs that support voice narration include Bachelor In Paradise, Grey’s Anatomy, America’s Funniest Home Videos, The Great American Tag Sale With Martha Stewart, and Jeopardy! National College Championship, Home Economics, Celebrity Family Feud, and The American Rescue Dog Show. 

If you do not like the voice narration in any of the programs, you can turn it off using the steps I described earlier. 

Conclusion 

The Vizio Smart TV TalkBack feature was introduced by Vizio to help people with sight difficulties access TV entertainment. When the feature is activated, it reads out texts that are displayed on the screen to the hearing of its viewers. 

If you find the narration disturbing, you can always turn it off by disabling it your TV settings. In case the narrator fails to turn off even after using the steps I described above, you should reset your TV to factory settings in order to give it a clean start otherwise contact the customer service of Vizio for assistance with your device. 

Josephine

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