Windows 11 has a wide variety of features. It is currently Microsoft’s newest and most recent operating system. Windows 11 has a lot of Accessibility features. You can include voice control, text zoom in and out, resize cursors, visual effects and of course, you can include a Narrator in Windows 11.

The Windows Narrator is a very handy feature that is able to speak the text you see on the screen. It will be especially useful for people with vision problems. However, few people know that it can be started with a simple shortcut, in which case you may need information on how to disable it. You can do it just as easily with a keyboard shortcut, or you can go into the settings and disable it manually. There is also a way to disable it completely so it won’t turn on with a keyboard shortcut.

What is Narrator

The accessibility features have always existed in Windows. Because Microsoft’s policy is to be as user-friendly as possible, they often create features to make it easier to use your system. This includes features that give people with disabilities additional options. In Windows 11 also quite a few interesting new features have been added. For example, the company recently added Voice Access. This feature helps you control your computer by using your voice. The Narrator function has also evolved, which has been in Windows for a long time.

The Narrator is a feature that automatically speaks out the voice of any text that you point your mouse at. This is actually quite handy and can be used not only by people with disabilities. It can read the text in different languages at the same time and the different announcers switch very quickly. You can use it to speak small text or for example, if you want to read a book on your computer, you can quickly turn it into a voice book.

However, there are times when you accidentally turn on the Narrator and it’s a maximum distraction and a nuisance. This can be quite unpleasant, especially if you’re sitting at your computer at night and the speaker starts reading text loudly with the speakers. In fact, you can turn it off in the accessibility features menu or with a simple shortcut Windows key + Ctrl + N. However, there are nuances here too.

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How to turn on or off Narrator on Windows 11

If you need to enable or disable Narrator in Windows 11, it will be quite easy. To do this you can use the usual key combination Windows key + Ctrl + N. However, there are cases where the combination doesn’t work or you may get an error. In this case, you can control the Narrator manually using the settings. To do this you need to:

• Go to Settings with the Start menu or the Win + I key combination.
• Then in the side menu, you need to go to Accessibility.

• Here you need to go to the item Narrator.

• In the end, you just need to enable or disable the checkbox in the Narrator row.

As you can see, it’s pretty easy to do. Also below you can find a switch that allows you to enable or disable a key combination in order to run Narrator without having to go into settings. Also in the Narrator Home row, you can disable the automatic activation of the interactive Narrator helper, which is activated every time. Of course you need to remember to update your Windows 11 from time to time in order for this function to work correctly.

How to change the voice and language of Narrator

As I wrote above, the Narrator is available in many different languages. It can automatically switch when it sees different text. This means that if you for example use the Narrator with a French phrase, it will automatically switch to French and read in that language. However, you always have the option to change the speaker’s voice. You can choose between male and female options for different languages. You can also download different non-standard language packs. To do this, you need to:

• Go to Settings with the Win + I key combination.
• Next, you need to go to Accessibility using the side menu.

• This is where you need the Narrator option.

• After that, in the column Choose a voice in the pop-up menu you can select different standard voice packs for the languages that are installed on your system.

• It’s also possible to add several natural languages via the Add natural voices button. Only a few variants of the English language pack are available at the moment.

• You can also Add Legacy Voices.
• In this menu, you will see the item Voices, where in the pop-up menu, you can see a lot of different interesting voice options.

As you can see there are quite a few different voice options in the Narrator. You can choose anyone you like. Also in the legacy voices option, you can select the voice speed and download voice packs for other languages which aren’t installed in your system.

How read and interact with mouse working with Narrator

Another interesting feature that can make using the computer as easy as possible for visually impaired users or if you need to read a lot of small text is the read and interact feature. Its essence is that the Narrator immediately reads the text as soon as you hover over it. You can turn it on in the Narrator tab from the previous guide.

In the Read and interact with the screen using the mouse option, you need to check the box to enable this feature. Now when you enable the Narrator, it will automatically snap to your cursor. You may want to change it to make it more convenient for you to see it on the screen.

You can also use the Control your mouse with a keypad button to access the settings for your mouse. Here you can customize the use of the button, adjust the cursor, mouse speed, and more.

Read also:

• How to troubleshoot too quiet microphone on Windows 11
• How to enable/disable user account control (UAC) in Windows 11
• How to test your microphone on Windows 11

How to turn off the Narrator completely

There is also a trick that allows you to completely disable the Narrator function. This can be useful if you have problems with it or just don’t want it to suddenly start on your system. To do this you need to:

• In the start menu, find the Narrator app.
• Here, select Open File Location.

• Then right click on the Narrator app and open the Properties.

• In the popup window, you need to go to the Security tab and click on the Edit button.

• After that put a tick in the Deny column next to the Full control row. And click Apply to accept the changes.

After that, you can restart your PC and now Narrator will be completely disabled on your PC. As you can see this is quite easy to do. You won’t have to worry about the Narrator turning on at the most inconvenient moment and disturbing you.