How do you turn off VoiceOver on a Mac?

VoiceOver is Apple's screen reader, the feature that speaks what is on the screen. To turn it off, press Command-F5. Apple lists that key first under "Turn VoiceOver on or off" in its VoiceOver guide for Mac ¹. If the shortcut does nothing on your keyboard, the same guide gives two other routes, and a pause key if you only want the speech quiet.

The steps below follow Apple's VoiceOver User Guide for Mac, whose version selector lists macOS 27 and macOS Tahoe 26. Menu names can change between macOS releases, so check them against your own screen.

If you are looking for Voice Control or dictation instead, the answer is different. Those features have their own switches, covered in the section on other voice features below.

Press Command-F5, or Touch ID three times, to switch VoiceOver off

Apple's first method takes one keystroke:

1. Press Command-F5 on your keyboard.
2. If your Mac or Magic Keyboard has Touch ID, you can instead press and hold Command, then quickly press Touch ID three times ¹.

Apple lists the same key under turning VoiceOver on or off, so the keystroke works in both directions. If you want VoiceOver back, press it again.

Use System Settings when the shortcut does not respond

System Settings does not depend on a key combination, so it is the fallback when Command-F5 fails on your keyboard.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Accessibility in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
2. Click VoiceOver, then switch it off ².

This route takes longer than the keystroke, but it works without the top row of keys, and it shows you the switch you are changing.

The Accessibility Shortcuts panel is a third route

Apple also offers a panel that switches accessibility features on and off. Press Option-Command-F5 to open it, or, on a Mac with Touch ID, quickly press Touch ID three times. Then press Tab until you hear the VoiceOver option, and press Space ³. This is the route to use if you already rely on the Accessibility Shortcuts panel for other features.

Pause the speech with Control if you only need quiet

Turning VoiceOver off removes the feature. If you only need the Mac to stop talking for a moment, pause it instead. While VoiceOver is on, press the Control key to pause its speech, and press Control again to resume ⁴. Pausing leaves VoiceOver running, so it is not the same as turning it off. Apple also notes that if you move the VoiceOver cursor after you pause speech, VoiceOver begins speaking the item under the cursor.

If Command-F5 does nothing, check the function keys and shortcut conflicts

Two causes come up in Apple's own documentation, and either can stop the shortcut from working.

• Function keys need Fn. By default, a VoiceOver command that uses a function key also needs the Fn key ⁵. On an Apple keyboard, holding Fn with a top-row key performs the action assigned to the F key, instead of the feature printed on the key ⁶. Try holding Fn with Command-F5. Apple's VoiceOver page lists Command-F5 without Fn, so this is a test to run on your Mac, not a documented step, and we could not run it on a Mac for this page.
• Another shortcut uses the same keys. Apple says that if a keyboard shortcut already exists for another command or app, your new shortcut will not work, and you must change one of the two ⁷. If a third-party app or a custom shortcut uses Command-F5, change or remove that one.

If neither cause applies, the System Settings route above is the reliable fallback.

It depends: the other voice features have separate switches

VoiceOver is only one of several voice features on a Mac, and turning it off does not change the others.

• Voice Control runs the Mac by voice. It has its own switch in the same Accessibility pane, covered in how to turn off Voice Control on a Mac.
• Dictation types what you say. Its switch is in Keyboard settings, covered in how to turn off voice typing.
• Siri can turn VoiceOver on ⁸, but we did not find a spoken request for turning it off in Apple's documentation, so use the keyboard or System Settings to switch it off. Siri voice commands on a Mac covers what Siri can do on the Mac.

If you use VoiceOver and Voice Control together, Apple suggests headphones so that Voice Control hears only you ⁹, which is worth knowing before you switch either one off. Read Voice Control on Mac for the full set of Voice Control steps, and the Mac dictation hub for the other guides on this topic.

What to do

1. Press Command-F5, or hold Command and press Touch ID three times if your Mac has Touch ID.
2. If nothing changes, open System Settings, go to Accessibility, click VoiceOver, and switch it off.
3. If you only need silence, press Control to pause the speech, and press it again to resume.
4. If the keys do nothing, hold Fn with Command-F5 and check whether another shortcut uses the same keys.

The VoiceOver glossary entry explains the feature in more detail. Apple also publishes its VoiceOver guide in German, at support.apple.com, for readers who prefer that language.