How to turn off voice control on Chromebook

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Valeriy Odintsov
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How to turn off voice control on Chromebook
Nathan Dumlao / Unsplash

Recently, Chromebooks have been gaining popularity among users. This is because they are inexpensive, compact, and can solve many problems. Despite the disappearance of such a class of computers as the netbook, manufacturers have not left trying to make a compact laptop available so that everyone can have one, like a toothbrush.

And a few years ago, Google spotted and exploited this niche by releasing Chrome OS, an operating system with advanced features but low hardware performance requirements. Just like any other device, the Google Chromebook has its bugs and problems. And some problems may be related to voice control. Well, the good news is that you can always turn it off, and here’s how.

What is Google Assistant?

Google Assistant is a popular, well-established voice assistant. It performs more than a million functions, many of which can change the way you receive and use information. One of those features is the ability to set up parental controls. There’s no denying that its presence in users’ lives has completely changed the way they live, work, and interact with the world around them.

Google Assistant is even more useful when it comes to personal results. If you let it access your Google account and other services, it can provide more than just general information. For example, you can ask if there are any events on your calendar, find out the weather forecast, send messages, and more.

Google Assistant is also incredibly useful with smart home devices. It can interact with several popular smart home brands, including Philips Hue, SmartThings, Nest, Ring, WeMo, and many more. Just look for the “Works with Google Assistant” or “Works with Google Assistant” logo.

Of course, it also connects to other Google products like Chromecast. It’s also built into the Chromebook. However, it doesn’t always satisfy its users.

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How to disable Google Assistant on Chromebook

Having a voice assistant on your device can be handy and helpful, but if you’re worried about privacy or just don’t want to use it, you can always turn it off. The ability to disable the digital assistant on various handheld devices, such as Chromebooks, can be especially useful.

Voice control isn’t always preferable to standard control methods such as remote controls, control via your phone, or buttons on your TV and set-top box, if available. Sometimes it can only get in the way.

However, 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 be able to 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. Essentially, it’s an enhanced screen reader in the form of a speaker for blind people that reads everything that’s happening on the screen and helps them use the Chrome OS.

If your Chromebook reads out every little detail displayed on the screen, this feature may need to be turned off so your Chromebook stops talking. If you want to disable ChromeVox, you have to 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 be able to disable the ChromeVox feature on your Chromebook.

How to disable Hey Google activation on Chromebook

If you don’t want to disable Google Assistant completely, you can, of course, disable only the “Hey Google” function to protect yourself from accidental activations. To do this, you have to follow these steps:

  • 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.

Once you have completed these steps, you will be able to disable Hey Google activation on your Chromebook. 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 fix a voice control problem 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 the support team at the store where you bought the device.

If chat or phone consultations don’t help, head to a service center and have your Chromebook repaired. There may be something wrong with the OS. If the cause is not 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 anyone, it’s not unreasonable to repeat the above methods. Sometimes when it seems like you’ve done everything right, you might miss something and make a mistake because of it. This can happen even if at first glance the case is quite simple.

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Does Google Assistant always listen to you?

One of the biggest problems with Google Assistant is how much it “listens” to you. When you think about how it works, it becomes clear that it’s “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 “Okay, Google” command to launch Google Assistant. Devices that rely on voice input (like smart speakers) require it, but many other devices don’t need it.

For example, if you use the Assistant on your phone, you can turn off the “Okay, Google” detection setting and run it only manually. Some devices also include physical microphone mute switches, so you can disable their ability to listen.

However, if you use voice commands to wake up Google Assistant, it should always listen to you. The important thing, however, is that the Google Assistant only starts recording when it hears the “Okay, Google” command.

This is similar to the way dogs understand language. They can be trained to recognize their name and other commands. However, they also have ears, so although they hear everything you say, they only understand a few words.

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