Is the narrator’s voice in Windows 10 bothering you? Here are three simple methods to turn off the narrator in Windows 10 & 11.
For a long time now, Windows had several built-in accessibility features and options to make sure differently-abled people can use the computer as smoothly as possible. With each version of Windows, Microsoft added and improved a lot of accessibility features. One such accessibility feature is the Narrator. As you can tell from the name, the Narrator reads everything on the screen and help you navigate the operating system. When needed, the Narrator functionality in Windows is hugely helpful.
However, it can sometimes pop up unnecessarily and start yelling at you all the things on the screen. Though not a big problem, it can be a bit annoying at times. In that case, you have to turn off the Narrator manually.
The good thing is, like with most things in Windows, there are multiple ways to turn off the narrator temporarily or permanently. Without further ado, let me show to do it.
Jump to:
- Turn off Narrator from Settings
- Turn off Narrator from Narrator Settings
- Permanently Turn off Narrator
Turn off Narrator from Settings
The easiest way to turn off the narrator is via the Settings app. All you have to do is flick a button, and you are done. Here is how.
- Open the Settings app.
- Select “Ease of access.”
- Select the “Narrator” option on the sidebar.
- Turn off the “Narrator” option.
- Close the Settings app.
Detailed steps:
First, open the Settings app in Windows 10. You can either press the “Start key + I” shortcut or click the “Settings” (gear) icon in the Start menu’s left sidebar. After opening the Settings app, go to the “Ease of access > Narrator” page. On this page, turn off the “Narrator” option under the “Use Narrator” section.
As soon as you do that, the Narrator is switched off instantly. You can now safely close the Settings app.
Turn off Narrator from Narrator Settings
You can switch off the narrator directly from the Narrator Settings window. Here is how.
First, press the “Ctrl + Start + Enter” shortcut to open the Narrator application. After opening it, click the “Turn off narrator” button. As soon as you do that, the narrator will be switched off instantly, and the application will also be closed.
Permanently Turn off Narrator
You can permanently turn off the narrator by modifying the permissions of the narrator application. This is very helpful if you don’t want to use a narrator.
Open the File Explorer, paste “C:\Windows\system32” in the address bar, and press Enter. In the system32 folder, find the “Narrator.exe” file, right-click on it and select the “Properties” option.
Go to the “Security” tab in the Properties window and click the “Edit” button under the “Group or user names” section.
Next, select “Users” under the “Group or user names” section and select the “Deny” checkbox next to the “Full Control” option under the “Permissions for Users” section. Click the “Ok” button in both windows.
Note: You can also select your user name too.
Finally, restart Windows, and you will no longer see the Narrator.
Important note: If you cannot select the Deny checkbox, it is possible you don’t have ownership of the file. Take ownership of the Narrator.exe file and follow the steps again.
That is it.
I hope that helps.
If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.
