How to stop Microsoft Narrator from starting

Turn off Narrator

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Use keyboard shortcuts. With the keyboard shortcut for Narrator (this setting is enabled by default), you can turn off Narrator while the program is on by holding down the key Ctrland ⊞ Winwhile pressing ↵ Enter. You will hear the Narrator voice say "Exiting Narrator".

If the keyboard shortcut doesn't work, try the rest of the methods.

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Exit the Narrator window. If the program is currently on, you can exit by clicking the Exit Narrator action at the bottom of the Narrator window (or clicking the X in the upper-right corner of the window).

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Force disable Narrator. If Narrator doesn't stop reading text on the screen long enough for you to take action, you can force it to shut down by:

Press Ctrl+ ⇧ Shift+ Escto open the Task Manager program.

Find and click the Screen Reader option in the program list on the Processes tab.

Double-click End task in the lower-right corner of the window.

Disable Narrator

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Open Start . Click the Windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen.

If Narrator is running, opening Start will cause Narrator to read aloud various options including the name of Cortana (intelligent personal assistant). Cortana will launch and start listening for audio input, so it's best to turn off Narrator before doing this step.

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Open Ease of Access Center. Enter ease of accessthen click Ease of Access Center at the top of the Start window.

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Click the Use the computer without a display link. The link is just below the "Explore all settings" heading in the middle of the page.

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Uncheck the "Turn on Narrator" box near the top of the window. This tells your computer that you don't want Narrator to pop up every time you log in.

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Click Apply near the bottom of the page. Your settings will be applied.

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Click OK to confirm your changes and exit the menu. Narrator will no longer pop up when you log in to your computer.

Lesley Montoya

Update 20 June 2024