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Changing Text-To-Speech Settings for The "Speak" BlockUpdated 3 days ago

In some situations, you may want to adjust the text-to-speech playback for the "Speak" block in the block canvas. The Sphero Edu app does not directly generate the audio for the "Speak" block. Rather, it sends data to the operating system of your device to process the audio. This means you must change setting in the operating system of your device if you want the "Speak" block to sound or behave differently.

Since this is an operating system level change, the steps to adjust the text-to-speech playback will vary per platform. Below are instructions for our various apps:

iOS:

To change text-to-speech settings on iOS, do the following:

  1. Access the iOS settings app
  2. Select the "Accessibility" section
  3. Select "Spoken Content"
  4. You can then change the type of text-to-speech voice that's used.

Below are visual steps to help provide context:


iOS Text-to-Speech Visual Guide

Android and Chrome OS:

Many Android devices have different setting screen layouts. Depending on the model or version of Android you are running, you may see something slightly different from the steps below. However, the following steps should generally work:

  1. Access the Android settings app
  2. Select the "Accessibility" section, or the equivalent on your Android device
  3. Select the "Text-to-speech output" section, or the equivalent on your Android device
  4. You can then change the text-to-speech engine you wish to use, language, voice type, speech rate, and pitch (or the available options on your device)

Below are visual steps from two different Android devices to help provide context:

Google Pixel 4 Example

Android Text-to-Speech Visual Guide 1

Samsung Galaxy S9 Example

Android Text-to-Speech Visual Guide 2
On Chromebooks:
When using the Android app on Chromebooks, there is an additional step you must take. Before following the above steps, you must first ensure that you are accessing the Android specific settings rather than the Chrome OS settings. You can do this by going to Chrome OS settings > Apps > Google Play Store > Manage Android Preferences. After opening Android preferences, you can then follow the above Android steps.

macOS:

To change text-to-speech settings on macOS, do the following:

  1. Open the Sphero Edu app (version 6.4.0 or newer)
  2. Once you are past the sign in and onboarding screens, select app settings (gear icon) in the top right
  3. Select the "Canvas Text to Speech Playback Voice" setting and select your preferred voice for your region.
 NOTE:
The available in-app text-to-speech options are based on two factors; the voice packs you have installed on your Mac and the packs that the operating system provides our app via their API. If you want more options, you can go to macOS Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content, and download additional voice packs. However, do note that the operating system does not always provide all downloaded packs via their API. This means that your in-app voice options may not reflect what you have installed for your operating system.

Below are visual steps to help provide context:

macOS Text-to-Speech Visual Guide


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