Accessibility features aren’t exactly the most well-known pieces of the modern smartphone puzzle. And yet, they might be the pieces with the greatest potential to make a meaningful impact on someone’s life.

For anyone facing issues with hearing, vision, or other senses, Android’s accessibility options can help bring the outside world closer and allow for forms of interaction that simply wouldn’t be possible without such technology.

Here’s a tour of Android’s most significant accessibility features and what they can do for you.

(For each item, you’ll find separate sets of instructions for the standard version of Android, as Google provides it and for the heavily modified version of the software that Samsung ships on its phones.)

Make reading easier

We’ll start with the simplest but at times most consequential adjustments of all: those related to reading and interacting with the words on your smartphone’s screen.

• You can increase the size of the text all throughout Android by opening the Accessibility section of your system settings and then tapping Text and display > Font size. If you’re using a Samsung phone, tap Visibility enhancements > Font size and style.
• If you’d rather magnify text only as needed, tap the Magnification option within the main Android Accessibility settings menu and activate the toggle next to Magnification shortcut. On Samsung phones, the same option can be found within the Visibility enhancements menu of the Accessibility area. Once activated, a small accessibility button will appear on your screen; tap it and then tap the area you want magnified.

• You can make the text on your phone bold by default and thus easier to see by looking for the Bold text toggle in that same Text and display area — or with Samsung, looking for the Bold font toggle in the Font size and style menu.
• Alternatively, you can enable high-contrast text — which adds a highlight-like layer around the outside of every letter to make it stand out more from the background — by seeking out the High contrast text toggle in the Text and display area of Android’s Accessibility settings. On Samsung phones, the equivalent option is within the Visibility enhancements area of the Accessibility settings.
• If you have trouble seeing certain colors, the Color correction and Color inversion options may help. Both are located within the Text and display area of Android’s Accessibility settings or Samsung’s Visibility enhancements area, with Samsung.
• And finally, if you want to increase the size of everything on your screen — not just the words but all visible elements — pull up the Display size option in the Text and display area of Android’s Accessibility settings, or the Screen zoom option in the Visibility enhancements area of Samsung’s Accessibility settings.

Text-to-speech features

Android has some surprisingly advanced systems for listening to text on your screen.

• The TalkBack feature lets you have everything on your screen read aloud. Open the Accessibility section of your phone’s settings and tap TalkBack to get it up and running. Just toggle it on; a tutorial on how to use TalkBack will be immediately spoken to you (and will also appear in text on the screen). Note: don’t bypass the tutorial unless you’ve used TalkBack before; it can take some getting used to if you’re a beginner.
• For a more selective text-to-speech experience, try Android’s Select to Speak system. It allows you to tap or outline specific items on your screen and have those — and only those — areas read aloud by using an on-screen accessibility button. You can find and enable it within the main Accessibility settings menu on devices using Google’s version of Android; Samsung, for some reason, has opted to omit this option from its version of the software.

• If you’re having trouble understanding your phone’s text-to-speech dialogue, look for the Text-to-speech output option at the bottom of Android’s Accessibility settings — or, somewhat vexingly, for the Text-to-speech option with the General Management section of Samsung’s system settings. There you’ll be able to adjust the specific speech rate and pitch of the voice that talks to you.

Speech-to-text features

Maybe you have trouble hearing and would benefit from converting the sound around you into words on your screen. Well, Android’s got some options there, too.

• The Live Caption system that’s available on any phone running 2019’s Android 10 release or higher will create real-time captioning for any audio playing on your phone — video, a podcast, or even an active call. Press either of your phone’s physical volume keys and then, using the pop-out volume panel, tap the icon that looks like a rectangle at the bottom of the panel to enable it. (On Samsung phones, you’ll first have to tap a three-dot menu icon within that on-screen volume panel to find the option.) Just be sure to turn Live Caption off if you no longer need it to avoid unnecessary battery drain.calls

• Live Transcribe, meanwhile, can create on-the-fly captioning for anything you’re hearing around you in the real world. In your phone’s settings, go to Accessibility > Live Transcribe, or just search for it within settings. Toggle it on, and you’ll enable an accessibility button that will live on your screen; tap it to start the transcription. If you can’t find the feature, you can download the standalone Live Transcribe app to add it to your device.
• If you want to be made aware of sounds (as opposed to words), Android’s Sound Notifications system is precisely what you need. It’ll monitor for important sounds such as smoke alarms or baby cries and then give you a visual alert whenever any such noise is detected. Look for Sound Notifications in your phone’s main Accessibility settings menu or within the Hearing enhancements subsection on a Samsung phone to enable it.

Audio adjustments

While we’re on the subject of sound, take a few seconds to explore Android’s audio-related accessibility options.

• Sound Amplifier enhances the audio around you to reduce background noise and make distant conversations easier to hear when you’re wearing headphones. You’ll find it in Android’s Accessibility settings menu or within the Hearing enhancements subsection of those same settings on Samsung devices. Once on the Sound Amplifier page, you can toggle it on to create an accessibility button, or just open the app and adjust it to suit your needs (for example, you can boost high or low frequencies).
• If you have limited hearing in just one ear, tap Audio adjustment in the main Accessibility menu — or look toward the bottom of the Hearing enhancements subsection on Samsung devices. There, you can direct all audio to the left or right speaker and also enable a Mono audio option that makes sure all audio plays to both sides (instead of being split into separate channels, as often occurs with recordings).

• And if you wear hearing aids, search your system settings for Hearing aids (or in the settings, go to Accessibility > Hearing aids) to get them paired with your phone and uncover all the associated options.

On-screen interaction enhancements

Last but not least, Android has some powerful options for making it easier to interact with the elements on your screen.

• Voice Access is an expanded version of Android’s voice control system. It gives you a whole host of extra commands for moving around your system, scrolling through web pages, and editing text. Search your system settings for Voice Access (or go to Accessibility > Voice Access), and then toggle Use Voice Access on to enable it. What will follow will be a series of explanations of what it can do and how you can tweak it to best serve your needs. You may want to check out this Google help document for a complete list of available commands.

If you can’t interact directly with your phone — in other words, if you need to use something other than touch or voice — you can try Android’s Switch Access feature, which can be found in the Accessibility > Switch Access section. This allows you to either attach a physical switch (via USB or Bluetooth) to help you navigate your phone, or use facial gestures such as raised eyebrows. Once you’ve enabled the feature, you should find yourself in an automatic setup guide; if you’re using facial gestures, it will help you choose which gestures will perform which tasks. If you don’t immediately see the guide, tap the Settings button on the Switch Access page and then tap Open setup guide.
[Note: since this article was originally written, Switch Access has been made into a separate app because, according to the “What’s new” section of the app, “This version of Switch Access will be able to support new features.” In order to update to the new version, you can go to the Play Store and install the Switch Access app. But be aware that, when we installed it, we found that we now had two versions of Switch Access in our Accessibility menu: one under the Downloaded apps subhead labeled “New version” and the older version under the Interaction controls subhead. So until Google fixes that, things may be a bit confusing.]

• The Accessibility Menu option puts all sorts of system controls into an easily accessible on-screen menu — everything from volume and brightness controls to a Google Assistant activation button and even a one-tap screenshot function. You can find the switch to enable it in the main Accessibility settings menu or find the Samsung equivalent under Assistant menu in the Interaction and dexterity area of Samsung’s Accessibility settings.

• Android’s timing controls allow you to increase the amount of time it takes for a long-press to be registered, increase the amount of time pop-up notifications and alerts remain visible before vanishing, and instruct your phone to automatically click on something for you when you hold your finger onto it for a certain number of seconds. You can find those options under Timing controls in Android’s main Accessibility settings menu or track down the Samsung equivalents within the Interaction and dexterity submenu in a Samsung phone’s Accessibility area.
• And if you ever have trouble finding and hitting the on-screen button to end a call, look in the System controls section of Android’s Accessibility settings — or the Answering and ending calls section within the Interaction and dexterity area of the Accessibility settings on a Samsung phone. There you’ll find an option to end any active call by pressing your phone’s physical power button (or volume-up button, with Samsung).

Update January 9th, 2023, 4:45PM ET: This article was originally published on July 14th, 2022, and has been updated to add information about the new Switch Access app.

Chrome OS isn’t the most option-packed operating system around, but there are some things you can do to make your Chromebook’s desktop look and work the way you want.

Ready?

Customize your Chromebook’s wallpaper

First, let’s tackle your desktop’s basic appearance:

• Right-click anywhere on your Chromebook’s desktop and select Set wallpaper from the menu that appears.
• Click on one of Google’s categories to see a selection of preset images, or click the My Images option to choose an image from your own local storage.
• If you want your wallpaper to change to a new image every day, click the Change Daily button that’s available at the top of any of Google’s category pages. (That option, unfortunately, isn’t currently available with your own images.)

Customize your browser’s background

You can also personalize the page that comes up every time you open a new tab in your browser:

• Open a new tab in Chrome and click the Customize Chrome button (or the pencil icon) in the browser’s lower right corner.

• Select Background to choose an image from Google’s collection or Upload from device to pick an image from your own local storage, then follow the prompts to find and confirm the image you want.
• Select Color and theme to change the look of the border of your browser and its background. You can choose from a number of preset themes, or click on the circle with the dropper icon, and you can choose custom colors.

Customize your Chromebook’s shelf

Last but not least, take control of the Chrome OS shelf — the dock-like row of shortcuts at the bottom of your screen. Start by selecting exactly what icons appear in that area:

• Open your app drawer (by clicking the circle icon in the lower-left corner of the screen and then clicking the upward-facing arrow on the partial drawer that appears). Right-click any item in the list and select Pin to shelf.

• If you want to add a website, open the site, click the three-dot menu icon in Chrome’s upper right corner, and then select More tools, followed by Create shortcut.

If you want the site to open in an app-like window, without the usual browser elements on top, click the Open as window option in the Create shortcut? pop-up window that appears. Then click the blue Create button.

• Drag and drop any of the icons in the shelf to change their position.
• Have you decided that you don’t want the icon in your shelf after all? Right-click on the icon and select Unpin.

And one final pair of possibilities: If you want your shelf to appear on the left or right side of your screen instead of at the bottom, right-click anywhere inside it, select Shelf position, then select Left or Right. And if you want your shelf to remain hidden by default and appear only when you mouse over it, right-click the shelf and select the Autohide shelf option.

Update May 27th, 2022, 9:30AM ET: This article was originally published on October 12th, 2019, and has been updated to account for slight changes in the OS.

Chromebooks are pretty different from traditional laptops in a lot of ways — and not just because of their software.

The most obvious physical difference? Chromebooks feature keyboards with a variety of Chrome OS-specific functions, which means they don’t have standard keys like F1 or even Caps Lock. Depending on your style of working, that could be a welcome change or a massive pain.

If you aren’t thrilled with that arrangement, though, don’t despair. You can actually remap a fair number of your Chromebook’s keys and dramatically change how you use your device.

To get started, simply head into the Keyboard section of your Chromebook’s settings:

• Click the clock in the lower-right corner of the screen.
• Tap the gear-shaped icon in the panel that appears.
• Scroll down to the Device subhead and click the Keyboard option.

There, you’ll see a list of keys you can customize:

• The Launcher key (also called the Search key)
• The Ctrl key
• The Alt key
• The Escape key
• The Backspace key
• The Assistant key (on Pixelbooks only)

Each key can be remapped to handle any of the following functions:

• Launcher / Search (the Chrome OS app drawer and search prompt)
• Ctrl
• Alt
• Caps Lock
• Escape
• Backspace
• Assistant (on devices where Google Assistant is available)

To remap any key, just click the box alongside it and select whatever function you’d like it to have. You might want to change the Launcher (or Search) key back to a Caps Lock, for instance. Or, if you like having the Launcher key in its default role but still miss Caps Lock, you might want to assign the Caps Lock function to your Escape or Assistant keys.

If you have any Chromebook other than the Pixelbook (which, as mentioned before, has a dedicated Google Assistant key) and want easier access to Assistant, you might consider assigning the Escape key or even the Launcher key to handle that function.

There’s one more keyboard remapping option worth noting: beneath that list of customizable keys, you’ll see a setting called Treat top-row keys as function keys. If you activate the toggle alongside that, the specialty keys on the top row of your Chromebook’s keyboard — the commands for going back, reloading a page, maximizing a window, and so on — will be transformed into standard F1-style function keys. You’ll still be able to access their specialty functions in that scenario but only if you first hold down the Launcher key and then press them.

Update May 25th, 2022, 2:30PM ET: This article was originally published on October 21st, 2019, and has been updated with a few slight clarifications about the Launcher / Search key.

You might not know it from glancing at a Chromebook, but Google’s Chrome OS is in a constant state of evolution.

The operating system receives minor updates every two to three weeks and major releases every six weeks. And, at any given moment, Google’s staff is working on features and software enhancements that most people won’t see for a matter of weeks — or months.

Here’s a little secret, though: if you’re feeling adventurous, you can gain access to those unreleased enhancements. All it takes is the flip of a virtual switch in your Chromebook’s settings, and you’ll have all sorts of interesting new options at your fingertips.

First, it’s important to understand exactly what’s involved so you can make an educated decision about which setup makes the most sense for you.

Understanding the Chrome OS channels

Chrome OS actually exists in four separate development channels. The software you see on your Chromebook varies considerably depending on which channel you choose:

• The Stable channel is the polished and ready for prime time version of the software that all devices use by default.
• The Beta channel is updated weekly and receives new features about a month ahead of its Stable sibling.
• The Developer channel is updated as frequently as twice a week and sees stuff that’s actively being worked on and has undergone only a small amount of testing.
• Finally, the Canary channel is what Google describes as the “bleeding edge” Chrome OS path — a channel that receives daily updates prior to any widespread testing and can be accessed only by a Chromebook that’s switched into a special developer mode (which, somewhat confusingly, has nothing to do with the Developer channel).

The Stable channel is the safest option and what the vast majority of people should use — particularly those who need to know their computers will always work flawlessly without any hiccups or unexpected glitches.

If you’re feeling adventurous and don’t mind a bit of a risk, the Beta channel is a good way to get a peek at unreleased features without too much instability. The odds of running into something funky are certainly higher than with Stable, but, by and large, elements in Beta are fairly well-developed and just in the final phases of testing.

Most day-to-day users would be well advised to stay away from the Developer channel since it receives updates as they’re built and is quite likely to contain bugs. And, as for the Canary channel, if you’re not sure whether you ought to be using it, the answer is probably no.

Changing your Chrome OS channel

Once you’ve decided which channel you want to try, here’s how to make the switch:

• Open your Chromebook’s settings.
• Click About Chrome OS in the menu on the left, then click Additional details.

• Look for the category Channel and click the Change channel button. That’ll cause a pop-up to appear that lets you select the Stable, Beta, or Developer channel. (Canary, remember, is available only if your device is in Developer mode — a level of access that opens the door to more advanced forms of OS modification but also disables some of the software’s standard layers of protection. It requires several extra steps to enable and, again, isn’t advisable for most Chromebook users.) 

• Click the channel you want, then click the blue Change channel confirmation button that appears.
• Click the left-facing arrow at the top of the screen to get back to the About Chrome OS page. When you see the Restart button appear near the top of the page (it may take a minute or two), click it.

And that’s it: as soon as your Chromebook finishes restarting, you’ll be on your new channel with all your accounts, files, and preferences in place just like you left them.

If you ever decide you want to move back to the Stable channel, repeat that same process and select Stable.

Just note that moving in that direction — from a higher channel to a less experimental one — generally requires you to Powerwash your Chromebook. Powerwash means all of your information and data will be erased, and you’ll have to sign in anew and start over.

The one exception: if your Chromebook is connected to a work- or school-based G Suite account, your data won’t be deleted and the change won’t take place immediately. Instead, you’ll have to wait until the lower channel catches up to the higher one in version number, which could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

Update May 20th, 2022, 9:30AM ET: This article was originally published on October 15th, 2019, and has been updated to account for changes in the OS.