How to enable the text-to-speech screen reader on your Roku® streaming device
Roku® streaming devices include a text-to-speech screen reader that helps users, particularly those with visual impairments or blindness, to navigate the Roku interface and on-screen menus. When the screen reader is activated, the text, menu items, and other on-screen dialog are read aloud.
- Note: The screen reader was previously known as Audio Guide.
On what products is the screen reader available?
The screen reader and related features are only supported in the United States on the following products.
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If you have one of the models listed above and do not find the screen reader feature, please do a manual software update.
Is the screen reader available during setup of my Roku device?
During setup of your Roku streaming player or Roku TV, the screen reader is available on the Language screen which is the first screen you see after you connect and power on your Roku device. To turn on the screen reader, press Star 
on your remote four times. If you have a Roku voice remote, you must first pair your remote to connect it to your Roku player. If you cannot control your Roku device, learn what to do if you are having problems with your remote.
How to enable the screen reader on your Roku device
The screen reader can be turned on or off by pressing Star on the Roku remote four times quickly. The Star button is located below and to the right of the directional pad on the Roku remote. The directional pad is plus-shaped and is in the center of the remote.
How to navigate the Roku interface using the screen reader
When the screen reader is turned on, it reads the name of the current screen and your location on that screen, identifies prime actionable elements, and describes options available to you. For example, on the home screen, if you hear “In main menu, Home button, 1 of 9” it means, you are on in the main menu; the highlighted item is Home, and it is identified as a button because it is an actionable item. The "1 of 9" portion indicates Home is in position 1 of 9 items in a list. You can navigate through this menu by pressing up or down. Pressing OK 
on your remote takes you into the Home screen. The OK button is situated at the center of the directional pad on your remote.
Please note, there are a few instances when items are arranged in a grid. For example, in Home, the channels that you have installed are arranged in a grid with three channels in a row. In that case, you will hear “In Home, Netflix, button, 1 of 15, in a grid”. You can navigate using the right and left buttons on the directional pad of your remote. These channels are arranged in the order in which they were installed. However, you can rearrange the order of the channels by moving them.
How to change screen reader settings
You can customize your screen reader experience by going to Settings, then Accessibility, and then Screen reader. The various configurations available to you are as follows:
Screen reader on/off
- Turn the screen reader on or off. This is the same as pressing Star four times.
Speech rate
- Speech rate allows you to customize the speed at which the screen reader reads out text. There are four speech rate settings – Slow, Normal, Fast, Very Fast. When you navigate to a particular setting, the screen reader gives you a sample of how it sounds at that speed. To select a specific speech rate, you must press OK on your Roku remote.
Volume
- Allows you to change the volume of the screen reader with respect to the TV volume.
Shortcut
- When the screen reader shortcut is enabled, you can quickly press Star four times to turn the screen reader on or off from any screen. When the shortcut is disabled, pressing Star on your remote four times does not turn on the screen reader.
Related features
- To hear critical dialogue easier without constantly needing to adjust volume, learn more about how to you can use dialog enhancement on a Roku TV.
- To boost dialogue separately from background sounds without also increasing the overall loudness of a scene, check out how you can use speech clarity with a Roku audio device.