Customize Narrator Voice in Windows 10

Narrator White Icon

Narrator is a screen-reading app built into Windows 10. Narrator lets users with vision issues to use PC and complete common tasks. The user can change its voice, adjust the speaking rate, pitch, and volume. Here's how it can be done.

Microsoft describes the Narrator feature as follows:

Narrator lets you use your PC without a display or mouse to complete common tasks if you’re blind or have low vision. It reads and interacts with things on the screen, like text and buttons. Use Narrator to read and write email, browse the Internet, and work with documents.

Specific commands let you navigate Windows, the web, and apps, as well as get info about the area of the PC you're in. Navigation is available using headings, links, landmarks, and more. You can read text (including punctuation) by page, paragraph, line, word, and character as well as determine characteristics like font and text color. Efficiently review tables with row and column navigation.

Narrator also has a navigation and reading mode called Scan Mode. Use it to get around Windows 10 using just the up and down arrows on your keyboard. You can also use a braille display to navigate your PC and read text.

Windows 10 allows to customize options for Narrator. You can change its keyboard shortcuts, personalize Narrator's voice, enable Caps Lock warnings, and more.

In Windows 10, you can change the voice for Narrator, adjust the speaking rate, pitch, and volume.

To change the Narrator voice in Windows 10, do the following.

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Go to Ease of Access -> Narrator. 
  3. On the right, turn on the toggle option Narrator to enable it.
  4. In the Personalize Narrator's voice section, choose one of the available voices. Also, you can try to unlock extra voices.

Change the Narrator Voice with a Registry Tweak

  1. Open the Registry Editor app.
  2. Go to the following Registry key.
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Narrator\NoRoam

    See how to go to a Registry key with one click.

  3. On the right, modify the string (REG_SZ) value SpeechVoice. Set to the full name of an available voice, e.g. Microsoft David - English (United States).
  4. To make the changes done by the Registry tweak take effect, you need to sign out and sign in to your user account.

Change Narrator Voice Speed

  1. In Settings, to go Ease of Access -> Narrator.
  2. On the right, adjust the position of the Change voice speed slider.
  3. Alternatively, open the Registry editor at the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Narrator.
  4. Change the SpeechSpeed 32-bit DWORD value to a number between 0 to 20 for the voice speed you want. Note: Even if you are running 64-bit Windows you must still create a 32-bit DWORD value.

Change Narrator Voice Pitch

  1. In Settings, to go Ease of Access -> Narrator.
  2. On the right, adjust the position of the Change voice pitch slider.
  3. Alternatively, open the Registry editor at the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Narrator.
  4. Modify or create a new 32-bit DWORD value SpeechPitch to a number between 0 to 20 for the voice pitch you want. Note: Even if you are running 64-bit Windows you must still create a 32-bit DWORD value.

You are done.

Change Narrator Voice Volume

  1. In Settings, to go Ease of Access -> Narrator.
  2. On the right, adjust the position of the Change voice volume slider to set the voice sound level you want.
  3. Alternatively, open the Registry editor at the key  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Narrator\NoRoam.
  4. Modify or create a new 32-bit DWORD value SpeechVolume to a number between 0 to 100 for the voice volume you want. Note: Even if you are running 64-bit Windows you must still create a 32-bit DWORD value.

That's it.

Related articles:

Support us

Winaero greatly relies on your support. You can help the site keep bringing you interesting and useful content and software by using these options:

If you like this article, please share it using the buttons below. It won't take a lot from you, but it will help us grow. Thanks for your support!

Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Exit mobile version
Using Telegram? Subscribe to the blog channel!
Hello. Add your message here.