Use VoiceOver on Apple TV
VoiceOver lets you control Apple TV without seeing the screen. You use simple gestures on the touch surface of the Siri Remote to move around the screen, and listen as VoiceOver speaks each item you highlight.
VoiceOver has two modes:
Navigation: Speaks selected items on the screen as you navigate them using the Siri Remote.
Exploration: Holds the currently selected item so you can browse the screen with the Siri Remote. This lets you hear items and text elsewhere on the screen before selecting them.
Turn VoiceOver on or off
In Settings
on Apple TV, go to Accessibility > VoiceOver (or use the accessibility shortcut).See Add an accessibility shortcut to Apple TV.
Siri: Say something like:
“Turn VoiceOver on”
“Turn VoiceOver off”
Switch between navigation and exploration modes
Use two fingers to tap three times on the clickpad center (Siri Remote 2nd generation or later) or touch surface (Siri Remote 1st generation).
Use VoiceOver in navigation mode
As you drag your finger over the clickpad center (Siri Remote 2nd generation or later) or touch surface (Siri Remote 1st generation), VoiceOver speaks each menu or text item you select.
To move your selection, navigate up, down, left, or right.
To select an item, press the clickpad center or touch surface.
Activate VoiceOver rotor controls in navigation mode
The VoiceOver rotor lets you use gestures on the clickpad center (Siri Remote 2nd generation or later) or touch surface (Siri Remote 1st generation) to adjust VoiceOver controls such as speaking rate.
Tip: The Read Screen After Delay rotor control lets you hear any remaining text items on the screen, such as movie descriptions or actor listings.
Rotate two fingers around a point on the clickpad center or touch surface to open the VoiceOver rotor, which contains additional controls.
The available rotor controls vary, depending on what you’re doing. When you open the rotor, you hear a sound before VoiceOver speaks the currently selected control.
Do either of the following:
Switch to another control: Rotate two fingers left or right again.
Adjust a control: Swipe up or down. As you swipe, VoiceOver speaks the currently selected value (for example, “55 percent”).
For example, to adjust speech rate, rotate two fingers until the VoiceOver speech rate rotor control is selected. Then swipe up or down to increase or decrease the speech rate.
Perform a custom rotor action: Rotate two fingers until Custom Actions is selected in the rotor. Swipe up or down to hear each custom action, then press the clickpad center or the touch surface to perform an action.
To exit the rotor, swipe left or right, or wait approximately three seconds until you hear an exit sound.
Use VoiceOver in exploration mode
By default, items selected in exploration mode remain selected while you browse adjacent or other items on the screen. This allows you to get a closer look at what’s available on the screen.
As you drag your finger over the clickpad (Siri Remote 2nd generation or later) or touch surface (Siri Remote 1st generation), VoiceOver highlights and speaks each menu or text item you browse.
Do any of the following:
Hear the name of an item: Swipe left or right. The item also appears highlighted on the screen.
Select a highlighted item: Press the clickpad center or the touch surface.
The newly selected item remains selected until you browse and select another item.
Adjust the currently selected VoiceOver rotor control: Swipe up or down. See the task below.
Speak all items starting from the current text item to the bottom of the screen: Swipe down with two fingers.
Speak the items on screen, starting at the top: Swipe up with two fingers, or press and hold the Play button.
Pause or resume speaking: Tap once with two fingers to pause. Tap again with two fingers to resume.
Activate VoiceOver rotor controls in exploration mode
The VoiceOver rotor lets you use gestures on the clickpad (Siri Remote 2nd generation or later) or touch surface (Siri Remote 1st generation) to adjust VoiceOver controls such as speaking rate.
Tip: The Read Screen After Delay rotor control lets you hear any remaining text items on the screen, such as movie descriptions or actor listings.
Rotate two fingers around a point on the clickpad center or touch surface of the Siri Remote to open the VoiceOver rotor, which contains additional controls.
The available rotor controls vary, depending on what you’re doing. When you open the rotor, VoiceOver speaks the currently selected control.
Do either of the following:
Switch to another control: Rotate two fingers left or right again.
Adjust a control: Swipe up or down. As you swipe, VoiceOver speaks the currently selected value (for example, “55 percent”).
For example, to adjust speech rate, rotate two fingers until the VoiceOver speech rate rotor control is selected. Then swipe up or down to increase or decrease the speech rate.
Perform a custom rotor action: Rotate two fingers until Custom Actions is selected in the rotor. Swipe up or down to hear each custom action, then press the clickpad center or the touch surface to perform an action.