Customizing VoiceVista with VoiceOver

This guide explains how to change VoiceVista's settings while iPhone VoiceOver is on. It also explains what each change means during walking, riding in a vehicle, exploring, and following a route.

VoiceVista provides location information but does not identify every obstacle or guarantee a safe route. Continue to use a cane, guide dog, orientation and mobility skills, and your own judgment.

VoiceOver and VoiceVista use two different voices

VoiceOver reads buttons, switches, headings, and other items on the screen. VoiceVista separately speaks location callouts such as road names, nearby places, and directions to a beacon.

• Changing Voice Settings in VoiceVista changes VoiceVista callouts. It does not change the VoiceOver voice or VoiceOver speaking rate.
• To change VoiceOver itself, use the iPhone Settings app, then Accessibility, then VoiceOver.
• VoiceVista may briefly wait for VoiceOver to finish before playing a settings preview. This prevents the two voices from speaking over each other.

VoiceOver gestures used in this guide

• Move to the next item: swipe right with one finger.
• Move to the previous item: swipe left with one finger.
• Activate the focused item: double-tap with one finger anywhere on the screen.
• Read whether a switch is on or off: pause after VoiceOver reads the switch. Double-tap to change it.
• Adjust a slider: focus the slider, then swipe up or down with one finger. VoiceOver announces the new value. Wait briefly to hear VoiceVista's audio preview.
• Choose from a menu: double-tap the setting, swipe right through the choices, and double-tap the desired choice.
• Go back one screen: find and double-tap the Back button near the upper-left corner. A VoiceOver two-finger scrub also performs Back in most screens.
• Jump through a long screen: use the VoiceOver rotor to select Headings, then swipe up or down. Section headings such as “POI Sensing Ranges” make the settings easier to navigate.

Settings take effect as soon as they are changed. There is no Save button.

Open VoiceVista Settings

1. Open VoiceVista.
2. Move through the tab bar until VoiceOver says Settings, tab. You can swipe right repeatedly or explore near the bottom-right of the screen.
3. Double-tap Settings.
4. Swipe right through the settings. VoiceOver announces each setting's name, current value, and control type.

The first control is Allow Automatic Callouts. The remaining customization screens are under the Preference heading.

Allow Automatic Callouts

When Allow Automatic Callouts is on, VoiceVista automatically announces relevant surroundings as you move. These can include POIs, roads, intersections, house numbers, and GPS information, depending on the other settings in this guide.

When it is off, unsolicited surroundings callouts stop. User-requested information, route guidance, and an active beacon can still produce audio. Turn it off when you need a quieter experience, and turn it on when you want continuous environmental awareness.

POI Settings

Open Settings, then POI Settings. A POI is a point of interest, such as a shop, bus stop, crossing, entrance, or other mapped feature.

Choose which POIs are announced

Open Walking Scenario, Driving Scenario, or Exploring Scenario, then turn each supercategory on or off.

• Walking Scenario controls automatic POI callouts while walking.
• Driving Scenario controls automatic POI callouts while in a vehicle.
• Exploring Scenario controls results from commands such as “What's around me?” and “What's ahead?” It also has Enter and Exit Sound Effects.

The available supercategories are Places, Landmarks, Bus Stops, Information Points, Mobility Facilities, Safety Spots, Objects, and Pedestrian Crossings. Turning a category off reduces clutter but can hide useful mapped features in that category. For example, keeping Mobility Facilities and Pedestrian Crossings on can prioritize mobility-related information, while turning Places off can reduce announcements about businesses.

Use Supercategory Definitions on the POI Settings screen when you want VoiceVista's detailed explanation of what belongs to each category.

Change what each POI callout contains

• Distance and Direction to the POI adds where the POI is relative to you. Turn it off for shorter callouts; leave it on when spatial context is important.
• Category of the POI adds the POI category. Turn it off for less speech; leave it on when the name alone may be ambiguous.

Change POI Sensing Ranges

Under POI Sensing Ranges, choose a range from 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 metres, or the equivalent in the selected units, for each supercategory.

A larger range announces that type of POI sooner and can produce more callouts. A smaller range limits announcements to nearby items. In driving mode, VoiceVista multiplies these ranges by six so that information arrives earlier at vehicle speed.

Change POI voice and sounds

• Voice Settings changes the VoiceVista voice, volume, and speaking rates. See “Voice Settings” below.
• POI Sound Settings changes the non-speech cue volume. Each category and Markers has its own switch. Turning a category's sound off keeps its spoken POI text but removes its identifying sound.
• Sound Effects List lets you listen to and learn the available cues.

Beacon Settings

Open Settings, then Beacon Settings. A beacon is directional audio or haptic feedback that points toward a selected destination.

• Distance and direction to the beacon adds spoken distance and direction information.
• Spatial sound from the direction of beacon enables the directional beacon effect. Headphones give the clearest left-right spatial information.
• Melodies when arrived and departing plays start and end cues. Turn it off for a quieter transition.

Beacon Sensing Ranges

• Auto-Unmute: a newly started beacon begins muted and becomes audible after you enter this range. A larger range starts beacon audio farther from the destination; a smaller range keeps it quiet until you are closer.
• Auto-Mute: the beacon becomes quiet again when you enter this near-destination range. A larger value silences it sooner; a smaller value keeps it active closer to the destination.

Auto-Unmute choices are 10,000, 800, 400, 200, or 100 metres. Auto-Mute choices are 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 metres. VoiceOver announces values in the unit style selected under General Settings.

Beacon Central Sound Angle

Angle controls the centered zone when you point toward the beacon. Choices are 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 degrees. A smaller angle requires more precise alignment. A larger angle makes the sound appear centered across a wider range of headings.

Beacon volume and style

Double-tap Beacon Sound Settings.

1. Focus Beacon volume and swipe up or down to adjust it. VoiceVista plays a delayed preview while VoiceOver is running.
2. Swipe through Beacon Audio Styles. Double-tap a style to select it and hear a demonstration. VoiceOver identifies the selected style as checked.
3. On supported iPhones, Haptic Wand and Haptic Pulse are available under Beacon Haptic Styles. Haptic feedback works only while the phone is unlocked and VoiceVista is open.

Audio styles include Original, Current, Flare, Shimmer, Tactile, Ping, Drop, Signal, and Mallet variants. Slower variants pulse less frequently and may be less busy, but provide fewer directional updates.

Route Settings

Open Settings, then Route Settings.

Waypoint Switching Distance controls how close you must be to a route waypoint before guidance advances to the next one. Choices are 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 metres.

A larger distance advances sooner and can help when GPS positions wander or a waypoint is hard to reach exactly. A smaller distance requires a closer approach and can be more precise, but guidance may remain on the current waypoint longer.

Navigation Settings

Open Settings, then Navigation Settings. These settings concern calculated turn-by-turn navigation, which is different from switching between waypoints in a saved route.

• Announce hint when approaching turnpoints enables advance turn instructions.
• Turnpoint Hint Distance controls how early the instruction is spoken. Choices are 40, 45, 50, 55, or 60 metres. Use a larger value for more preparation time and a smaller value for later prompts.
• Default Transport Type can be Ask Every Time, Walking, Automobile, or Any. This changes how routes are calculated. Ask Every Time is useful if your mode changes often.
• On supported iOS versions, Avoid Tolls and Avoid Highways influence route calculation. These preferences may produce a longer route and depend on the map provider's data.

Road Information Settings

Open Settings, then Road Information Settings.

Intersection Options

• Allow Intersection Callouts enables automatic intersection announcements.
• Include Unnamed Roads includes mapped roads without names. This can provide more complete information but also more speech.
• Enqueue If Other Callouts Active waits behind an active callout. When it is off, an intersection callout can interrupt what VoiceVista is currently saying. Turn it on for complete, orderly speech; turn it off when intersection timing is more important.

Road Name Options

• Allow Road Name Callouts enables periodic road-name announcements.
• Verbose Mode allows the same road name to be repeated after an intersection. Turn it off to reduce repetition.

Road Name Sensing Interval

Distance Interval choices are 1, 3, 9, 27, or 81 metres. A smaller interval checks and calls out road information more often, creates more speech, and can significantly increase battery use. In driving mode, the interval is multiplied by six.

House Number Settings

Open Settings, then House Number Settings.

• Allow House Number Callouts enables house-number announcements in walking and driving modes.
• Digit By Digit reads a number as separate digits. For example, 123 may be spoken as “one two three” instead of “one hundred twenty-three.” This may make unfamiliar addresses easier to verify.
• Distance Interval choices are 10, 30, 90, 270, or 810 metres. A smaller interval can provide more frequent house-number information; a larger interval reduces callouts. Driving mode multiplies the interval by six.

GPS Information Settings

Open Settings, then GPS Information Settings.

• Allow GPS Information Callouts enables periodic GPS reports in walking and driving modes.
• GPS Speed, GPS Altitude, GPS Latitude and longitude, and GPS Accuracy each add that field to the report. Enable only what you need to keep reports short.
• Distance Interval choices are 50, 100, 200, 400, or 800 metres. A smaller value reports more often. Driving mode multiplies the distance by six.
• Accuracy Threshold determines when VoiceVista warns that location accuracy is poor. Lower numbers demand a more accurate GPS fix and can cause more warnings. A very large threshold effectively suppresses most warnings.

GPS data can be inaccurate, especially indoors, near tall buildings, or when the sky is obstructed. Treat coordinates, speed, altitude, and accuracy as estimates.

General Settings

Open Settings, then General Settings.

Language

Double-tapping Language opens VoiceVista's page in the iPhone Settings app. Use the app language control there, if available. Return to VoiceVista after choosing the language. This changes VoiceVista's interface and localized callout text; it does not change the VoiceOver language.

Style Settings

• Units of Measure selects metric or imperial values. It changes spoken and displayed distances throughout VoiceVista.
• Direction Style controls how callouts describe direction: None, Absolute Direction such as north or southwest, Relative Direction such as left or behind, Clock Position, or Degrees Direction. Choose the system that is easiest for you to interpret while moving. None creates shorter callouts but removes verbal direction details.
• External Maps App selects Apple Maps or Google Maps when opening a location outside VoiceVista. Google Maps must be installed to use it successfully.

Sensing Settings

• Close By Threshold choices are 1 through 5 metres. It defines how near something must be before VoiceVista treats it as close by. A larger value applies “close by” sooner.
• Sensing Interval choices are 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 seconds. A shorter interval refreshes surroundings more often but can significantly increase battery use. A longer interval saves work and may delay updates.

Voice Settings

Open Voices and Sounds, then Voice Settings.

1. Focus Voice volume, On foot speaking rate, or In vehicle speaking rate.
2. Swipe up to increase the focused value or down to decrease it.
3. Stop swiping and wait about two seconds. VoiceVista plays a sample after VoiceOver finishes speaking.
4. Swipe to a voice name. VoiceOver also announces its language or region.
5. Double-tap the voice. VoiceVista selects it and plays a preview; the selected voice receives a checkmark.

On-foot and in-vehicle rates are separate because faster travel can require faster delivery. Avoid a rate that makes important details hard to understand.

While this screen is open, VoiceVista temporarily silences automatic callouts and an active audio beacon so previews are clear. They resume when you leave the screen. If VoiceVista offers an enhanced voice, it explains that higher-quality voices can be downloaded from iPhone Settings, Accessibility, Spoken Content.

Other sound controls

• Beacon Sound Settings selects beacon volume and style as described earlier.
• POI Sound Settings controls the volume and category switches for non-speech cues. This is independent of VoiceVista voice volume and iPhone VoiceOver volume.

Head Tracking Headphones

Double-tap Apple AirPods to start the supported-headphones connection and calibration flow. Pair the headphones in iPhone Bluetooth settings first. VoiceVista asks you to face a test beacon so it can use head direction instead of requiring the phone to point forward.

After successful setup, the headphone button can mute or unmute the beacon with one click, call out your location with two clicks, and repeat the last callout with three clicks. Available behavior depends on the headphone model and connection.

Advanced Settings

Hide Hint Footers removes explanatory text at the bottom of many screens. It shortens VoiceOver navigation and reduces repetition, but removes useful descriptions such as battery warnings and setting impacts. Leave it off until you are comfortable with VoiceVista.

Shortcuts Settings

Open Settings, then Shortcuts Settings.

Siri Shortcuts

Open Siri Shortcuts, move through the available VoiceVista actions, and double-tap Add Shortcut. Added actions can be invoked by voice even when VoiceVista is not already running. Existing shortcuts offer Change or Remove.

Shake Motion Response

Choose None, What's My Location?, or Repeat Last Callout. A response provides quick access without finding a screen control, but accidental shakes may trigger speech.

Media controls

Enable Media Controls lets VoiceVista respond to headphone and lock-screen playback controls:

• Play or Pause: mute current callouts and toggle beacon audio when a beacon is set.
• Next: announce “What's My Location?”
• Previous: repeat the last callout.
• Skip Forward: turn automatic callouts on or off.
• Skip Backward: announce “What's Around Me?”

When media controls are enabled, VoiceVista cannot mix with podcasts, music, or other media. Starting another media app pauses VoiceVista audio until you return to VoiceVista. The switch is unavailable during active route guidance. Leave media controls off if listening to other audio at the same time is more important.

Suggested starting profiles

These are starting points, not safety recommendations. Test changes somewhere familiar and quiet.

Less speech while walking

1. Keep Allow Automatic Callouts on.
2. In Walking Scenario, keep only the POI categories most useful to you.
3. Turn off Category of the POI if names are usually clear.
4. Use smaller POI ranges.
5. Turn Verbose Mode off and increase the road-name and house-number intervals.
6. Leave intersection callouts enabled if they are useful for orientation.

Earlier information in a vehicle

1. Set the in-vehicle speaking rate to a comfortable, slightly faster value.
2. Enable only high-value categories in Driving Scenario.
3. Increase Turnpoint Hint Distance for earlier preparation.
4. Set Default Transport Type to Automobile if that is your usual mode.

Strong beacon guidance

1. Turn on spatial beacon sound and spoken distance and direction.
2. Use stereo or supported head-tracking headphones.
3. Choose a clearly distinguishable beacon style and comfortable volume.
4. Select an Auto-Unmute range that starts guidance early enough for the trip.
5. Use a smaller central sound angle only if you want precise directional alignment.

If a change does not sound right

• Confirm whether you changed VoiceVista speech or VoiceOver speech; they are independent.
• Check Allow Automatic Callouts on the main Settings screen.
• Check the relevant scenario and POI category switches.
• If POI text is present but its cue is missing, check POI Sound Settings.
• If the beacon is silent, it may still be outside the Auto-Unmute range, inside the Auto-Mute range, manually muted, or have spatial sound turned off.
• If VoiceVista becomes quiet while music is playing, check Enable Media Controls.
• If a selected voice disappeared, it may have been removed from iOS. Return to Voice Settings and select an installed voice.
• Use Settings, then Troubleshooting for location and sensor diagnostics, and Map Service Status to check VoiceVista's data services.

Change one setting at a time and try it in a familiar place. This makes its effect easier to identify and makes it simple to reverse if it does not suit you.