How to Use the Google Voice Access App to Control Your Android Device Hands-Free
Google recently launched a new accessibility feature for Android devices, the Voice Access app. Voice access goes beyond the voice commands already recognized by Google Assistant, allowing you to also control the touch and gesture interfaces of your Android phone (and most apps).
To help you get started, we’ve put together a quick start guide for the Voice Access app, including examples of some of the most useful commands and features you should know.
How to start using voice access
Before you can start controlling your device with voice commands, you need to make sure you can launch the app. Voice access requirements are lenient: your device requires Android 5.0 Lollipop or higher.
You can check your system version by opening the settings menu and going to Settings> System> About System and then scrolling down the page. However, if you are using a new device and / or have run a system update within the past three or four years, you should be able to run the application.
Then download the voice access app from the Play Store . After the installation is complete, you need to grant the app the required permissions. You will be prompted to do this the first time you install and launch the app, or you can open your device settings, go to Accessibility> Voice Access and turn on Voice Access.
When you open the app for the first time, you will receive a small tutorial that explains its main functions, as well as interactive examples that will allow you to test the different voice commands you can use.
After completing (or skipping) the tutorial, you can now use voice access anytime: just say “Ok Google” or press the “Voice access, tap to start” button in the notification menu. To turn off Voice Access, all you have to do is say “Thank you Google” or “Stop listening.”
What functions can voice access perform?
Now that you have the app installed and running, let’s take a look at some of the more useful phrases that Voice Access recognizes. You can find a complete list of possible commands by saying “What can I say” or “Show all commands” when Voice Access is enabled. You can also find a complete list on the google support page.
Menu navigation and application management
Perhaps the most useful feature of voice access is that it makes touch user interfaces fully accessible using voice commands.
When voice access is started, all screen elements are assigned a number. For example, when using Google search, you can “click” on the various buttons that are commonly used to start a search, or automatically fill in the search bar by saying the appropriate number. Likewise, you can open apps and other features from your device’s home screen by saying the app’s on-screen number or “open [app name]”.
Other gesture-based operations, such as scrolling a page in Chrome, can be done, for example, by saying “scroll down / up” or “swipe left / right.”
This feature was available in almost every app we tested, with the exception of games: voice commands either could do little or the feature was completely absent. But to be honest, voice commands wouldn’t be a great way to control games anyway.
For most apps and basic smartphone features, especially Google’s own offerings, voice access worked very well. We were even able to use it to fill in the crossword puzzle piece in the official New York Times crossword puzzle app and to navigate the chat channels in Slack and Discord.
Write with and without keyboard
In messaging and email apps, or in general any app where you need to use the keyboard, you can simply speak and turn your words into text. Once you have said, you can use phrases such as “replace”, “redo”, “delete”, or “capitalize” to edit the text.
We found this feature to be a little finicky compared to controlling the app with your voice, especially when trying to select certain parts of the text to delete, but after some practice it became easier. When you have problems getting Android to recognize a word or phrase (for example, you are trying to enter an unintuitive email address), you can simply open the keyboard and use the “press” voice command to press individual keys.
Customize settings and access notifications
You can also use phrases to quickly access almost every key parameter or function on your phone. Examples include Turn Wi-Fi On / Off, Show Notifications, and Mute Sounds. You can even turn off your device by saying “Turn Off”.
Google Assistant
You can also use the previously known Google Assistant commands, such as Set Timer, or ask specific search-related questions, such as Show me the best breakfast near me.