My Smart TV Is Talking To Me: 7 Ways To Fix It (2023)

I keep hearing these voices in my home…

Until, “Aha!”

Finally, I found the source:

It’s my TV. I knew I wasn’t crazy.

And you know what else I’m not?

Standing idly by…

Because I also figured out how to get it to shut up.

Keep reading to discover:

7 quick ways to stop your TV from talking.
How to disable Voice Guide in 5 major TV brands.
Which external devices are most likely to cause your TV to speak.
Why your TV describes what’s happening on-screen while watching a show.
And so much more…

Why is my smart TV talking to me?

Your smart TV is talking to you because of its blind-assist features. These are the Voice Guide or Descriptive Audio settings on your TV. It can also be due to devices connected to your TV or a stuck voice assistant button.

How do I stop my Smart TV from talking? 7 ways to fix it

#1: Turn off Voice Guide

One of my favorite things in the past few years is how accessible things are for disabled folks.

We’ve made ramps for those who can’t walk. We’ve made hearing aids for those who can’t hear.

And now?

Manufacturers have made TV available for those who can’t see.

Pretty cool, huh?

But I bet that the first thing on your mind is:

“How were they able to do that?”

By getting the TV to talk to the person.

Now, that brings us to why your TV is talking to you.

Does it talk back to you when you do the following:

Adjust your volume.
Change your settings.
Connect a different output.
Switching to a different channel.

If so, you may have Voice Guide on.

This is a feature on most TVs that allow audible instructions for blind people.

Here’s how you can turn this feature off on most mainstream smart platforms:

For Samsung TVs (Tizen OS):

Press the Home button on your remote.
Go to Settings or All Settings.
Head to General or General & Privacy.
Under Accessibility, select Voice Guide Settings.
Disable Voice Guide.

For Sony TVs (Android OS or Google OS):

Press the Home button on your remote.
Go to Settings.
Head to Accessibility.
Tap Services.
Disable Talkback and Screen Reader.

For LG TVs (webOS):

Press the Settings button on your remote.
Go to General.
Head to Accessibility.
Set Audio Guidance to Off.

For Vizio TVs (SmartCast OS):

Press the Menu button on your remote.
Go to System.
Head to Accessibility.
Disable Talk Back.

For TCL TVs (Roku OS):

Press the Home button on your remote.
Go to Settings.
Head to Accessibility.
Set Screen Reader to Off.

#2: Disable Descriptive Audio on streaming apps

Continuing with features that assist blind people…

Do you ever wonder how they can watch movies or TV shows?

It’s quite genius really…

What streaming apps do is have Descriptive Audio.

Along with the primary audio of the show…

Apps add secondary audio that explains what’s happening on the screen.

Now, if your TV starts to describe the scene to you…

This feature is most likely your culprit.

The only question left is:

How can you turn this off?

Simple. Just follow these instructions:

For Netflix

Boot up Netflix.
Select a show you want to watch.
Press the Enter or OK button on your remote and then the Up button.
Tap Audio & Subtitles.
Go to Audio.
Switch to any option that doesn’t have “Audio Description” on it.

For Amazon Prime Video

Open Amazon Prime Video.
Select a show you want to watch.
Press the Enter or OK button on your remote and then the Up button.
Tap Audio Languages.
Switch to any of your preferred options without the [Audio Description] tag.

For Disney Plus

Boot up Disney Plus.
Select a show you want to watch.
Press the Enter or OK button on your remote and then the Up button.
Go to Audio.
Choose an option without the “Described Audio” tag.

Note: Alternatively, if you’re interested in having Descriptive Audio on your movies…

You can refer to this list of films and shows with available Audio Description on Disney Plus.

For YouTube TV

Go to your Home page.
Open your Settings menu.
Under Accessibility, select Talkback.
Disable Talkback.
Save the changes.

You may also be interested in: YouTube App Not Working On Samsung TV

#3: Mute TV before turning it off

One time, I was alone at my home…

And then, out of the blue, I hear a voice:

“Failure to connect.”

It took me a while to track down that the problem was my smart TV.

But I couldn’t pinpoint what exactly is the problem.

After a while, I found a bandaid solution…

A way to temporarily shut your TV up if you can’t figure out what’s causing the talking.

And that’s to simply press the Mute button on my remote before shutting the TV down.

#4: Disconnect all devices

“Failure to connect.”

After a while, those words keep coming back.

That’s how I knew that I had to pinpoint the issue finally.

As it turns out, it wasn’t the TV.

Sure, it was the one doing the talking.

But the devices connected to it are causing it.

They were just using the TV as a mouth because they were connected.

Now, this is a list of devices most likely to make your TV speak:

Gaming consoles.
Streaming devices.
Smart appliances, especially smart speakers.

#5: Unstuck Voice Assist button

What’s the voice on your TV saying?

Is it:

“Waiting for instructions.”

…followed by a beep?

If so, the problem isn’t your TV…

It’s your remote.

More specifically, the Voice Assist button.

Here’s an example of why you might’ve arrived at this situation:

I know it’s fun to eat food while watching movies.

But those crumbs can accumulate below the buttons of your remote.

Not only that, but dust particles also tend to stick to electronics.

As a result?

Your Voice Assist button could be sending signals to your TV by itself.

To fix this, why not clean your entire remote? Here’s how:

Temporarily set aside the rubber or plastic buttons on your remote.
Put a drop of pure alcohol into the space where the buttons were.
Use a cotton swab to clean every crevice of your remote.
Let it dry.
Repeat until it’s spotless.

Now, if you want a different method of cleaning your remote…

Check this video out:

#6: Unplug your TV

Your TV could make all types of noises when not in use.

Yes. Even if it’s turned off.

That’s because it’s not really powered down…

It’s just on Standby Mode.

So, don’t be surprised if voices come from your TV at night.

Especially if your TV has notifications on.

The only fix for this?

Unplug your TV when you’re not using it.

At least, that way, no charges are coming to your TV…

Therefore, nothing to power it with.

#7: Factory reset your TV

According to scientists, every system must have a failsafe.

Something that can fix or mitigate your problem in the worst-case scenario.

And I’m happy to report that all TVs have a failsafe too…

But they’re called a factory reset.

This reset will get rid of all your data…

However, in exchange, it’ll also remove all glitches and errors on your system.

Here’s the trouble:

Like disabling Voice Guide, the factory reset process differs for each brand.

Worry not, for I’ll guide you through most of them.