How to Get Ebooks to Read Aloud on iPhone or iPad

Last Updated: March 29, 2019 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to make your iPhone or iPad read ebooks aloud using the Speak Screen accessibility setting with Siri.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Enabling Speak Screen

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You'll usually find it on the home screen.
It's in the third group of settings.

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It's near the middle of the screen.
It's under the "VISION" header.
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Slide the "Speak Screen" switch to On

. Now that this feature is on, you can use two fingers to swipe down on any screen with text (such as an ebook) to make Siri read the text aloud.
- You can adjust the speaking rate by moving the slider towards the turtle icon (slow) or the rabbit icon (fast). You can also add specific pronunciations by clicking on Pronunciations at the bottom of the page.
- To learn how to customize Siri's speaking voice, see How to Change Siri's Voice on an iPhone.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Using Speak Screen with an Ebook

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1
Turn off Auto-Lock temporarily. Since Siri will be reading text from the screen, you'll need to make sure the screen doesn't automatically lock while the ebook is open. Here's how to disable Auto-Lock: ^{[1]
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- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap Display & Brightness .
- Tap Auto-Lock .
- Tap Never .
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to a power source to ensure the constantly-on screen doesn't drain the battery.
You can use any ebook reader you wish, such as iBooks or the Kindle app. ^{[2]
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If the book is not already open to the page you want Siri to start reading aloud, navigate to that page now.
Siri will begin reading the text on the screen and automatically flip to the next page. ^{[3]
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Use the Speak Screen panel to adjust your settings as you read. It's the gray panel at the center of the screen.
- Tap the pause button at the center of the panel to pause the reading and minimize the panel. To restart the reading, tap the arrow icon on the side of the screen to re-open the panel, then tap the play button.
- Tap the turtle button to slow down the reading, and the rabbit icon to speed it up.
- Tap the rewind button on the panel to restart the current block of text, or the fast-forward button to skip to the next block. ^{[4]
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It's at top-right corner of the panel.
For security purposes, return to the Display & Brightness area of the Settings app and select your desired Auto-Lock time.