Is it possible to set up Select to Speak without Talk Back?

Makrus

I have difficulties processing large amounts of text and Select to Speak on stock Android (Oneplus 8 IN2017, if that matters) is a gamechanger. One of the first things I did after installing GrapheneOS was checking out the accessibility settings. I cannot figure out how to set it up in the same way I had before.

With the OnePlus8 running regular Android, I could set up STS (select to speak) without having to use TB (Talk Back) this was almost perfect, as I could draw a box over compatible text fields and have it read out loud. The only way I can find to use this feature is as a part of the whole TB tool in Graphene which is only frustrating. Operating the device is slow and noisy when it is not needed. The accessibility menus are not 1:1 between Android and GOS, so I am at a loss for what yo do.

Makrus

Solved. Leaving this update in case others have this issue and search for a fix.

I did not realize Select-to-Speak was something that could be downloaded from Play/Aurora store rather than a feature built into Graphene's accessibility settings. Downloading "Android Accessibility Suite" along with a text to speech engine (RHVoice from F-Droid or Google's Speech Recognition and Synthesis) was required, as these do not come pre-installed with Graphene. With voices downloaded once and then network permissions revoked from all applications, everything has been working as expected.

de0u

Makrus Thanks for reporting back and including details that will likely help other people.

Robduarte

Hmm, I installed "Android Accessibility Suite" and was able to turn on Select to Speak. Unfortunately, anything I select in any app responds with "No text found in that location". @Makrus did you have have that issue at any point or does it just work for you?

Makrus

Robduarte I experience this in some apps, not all. Some websites, not all. Some PDFs, not all. It seems dependant on how text is presented on the app/site/file. Idk if there's a workaroaubd for this; I just accept it. The "Read text on images (beta)" feature doesn't seem to work in any scenario but I would think something like that would solve it.

It's likely that the app you're using displays text in a way that Select to Speak can't detect.

Edit: I see you said "any" app you try this in has problems and that I have not experienced. I'd try reinstalling the accessibility suite and if that doesn't work I'd feel very sad because I don't have teck skills to troubleshoot further.