Having Voice Control on your Chromebook can be convenient and helpful, but if you don’t want to use it, you can always turn it off. There are several ways to do this. You can turn off Google Assistant, the special ChromeVox feature, or the “Hey, Google!” activation.
It’s all easy to do with the settings of the Chromebook. So, here’s how to disable Voice Control on your Chromebook in a few easy steps.
How to turn off Google Assistant on Chromebook
If for some reason you don’t want to use Google Assistant or it bothers you, then in this case Google offers a fairly simple way to disable it. To do this, follow these steps:
- First of all, turn on your Chromebook and open the “Settings” menu.
- After that, go to the “Search and Assistant” section located in the sidebar.
- Then, click on the “Google Assistant” option.
- Finally, switch the toggle to turn off Google Assistant.
Once you have completed these steps, you will disable Google Assistant on your Chromebook. You have also to be aware that you can also enable an incognito mode on your Chromebook.
How to disable ChromeVox on Chromebook
ChromeVox is an accessibility feature that allows users to navigate the interface using verbal prompts. Basically, it’s an enhanced screen reader in the form of a speaker for people with low vision that reads everything on the screen and helps them use Chrome OS.
If your Chromebook reads every little thing displayed on the screen, you can turn that off. To disable ChromeVox follow these steps:
- Open the “Settings” menu on your Chromebook.
- Then, go to the “Advanced” section and select “Accessibility”.
- After that, click on the “Manage accessibility features” option.
- Finally, just turn off the “Enable ChromeVox (spoken feedback)” feature.
Once you have completed these steps, you will disable the ChromeVox feature on your Chromebook. Moreover, you should know that there’s a way to turn off the touch screen on your Chromebook if you don’t need it.
How to turn off Hey Google activation on Chromebook
If you don’t want to disable Google Assistant completely, you can disable only the “Hey Google” function to protect yourself from accidental activations. To do this – follow the steps below:
- Open the “Settings” menu.
- After that, go to the “Search and Assistant” section located in the sidebar.
- Then, click on the “Google Assistant” option.
- Finally, just turn off the Hey Google option and close the Settings app.
Of course, disabling the “Hey Google” activation always leaves the option to activate Assistant by opening the launcher on your Chromebook. Alternatively, you can also activate Google Assistant by pressing and holding the lower left launcher icon on the screen.
How to disable Voice Control on Chromebook if none of the above helps
If you still can’t get rid of the voice prompts after making all the adjustments, or if your Chromebook still responds to your voice, there are solutions for those cases too. First, contact customer service at the store where you bought the device.
If the chat or phone advice doesn’t help, head to a service center and take your Chromebook in for repair. There may be something wrong with the OS. Sometimes, your Chromebook even don’t want to turn on, because of such problems.
If the cause isn’t your handling of the device, but a factory defect or system error, and your warranty period is still valid, you’ll get your device fixed for free.
Of course, before you bother someone, it’s not unreasonable to repeat the methods described above. Sometimes, when it seems like you’ve done everything right, you might still have missed something.
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Is Google Assistant always listening to you?
One of the biggest problems with Google Assistant is how much it “listens” to you. If you think about how it works, it is clear that it is “always listening. After all, if it wasn’t, how would it hear your voice commands?
The good thing is that you don’t have to use the “Hey, Google” command to launch Google Assistant. Devices that rely on voice input (like smart speakers) need it, but many other devices don’t.
For example, if you use the Assistant on your phone, you can turn off the “Hey, Google” detection setting and only run it manually. Some devices also have physical microphone mute switches, so you can turn off their ability to listen.
However, if you use voice commands to wake up Google Assistant, it should always listen to you. You should know that Google Assistant only starts recording when it hears the command “Okay, Google”.