Turn on Windows accessibility features

These features are free and already on your computer. You’ll find them under Start → Settings → Accessibility (the wording can vary a little depending on your version of Windows). Here are the ones people find most useful.

Making things easier to see

• Bigger text: Settings → Accessibility → Text size — drag the slider until it’s comfortable, then Apply.
• Magnifier: hold the Windows key and press + to zoom in; Windows and Esc turns it off.
• Larger mouse pointer: Settings → Accessibility → Mouse pointer and touch — make it bigger or change its colour.
• High contrast / colour themes: Settings → Accessibility → Contrast themes — easier on tired eyes.

Making things easier to hear

• Live Captions: turns speech in videos and calls into on-screen text (a newer Windows 11 feature). Settings → Accessibility → Captions.
• Mono audio: sends all sound to both ears equally — handy if you hear better in one ear. Settings → Accessibility → Audio.

Using your computer without a keyboard or mouse

• Narrator: reads aloud what’s on screen. Turn it on with Windows + Ctrl + Enter.
• Voice typing / dictation: press Windows + H and simply talk — your words appear as text. (Voice access, for controlling the whole PC by voice, is available on newer Windows 11 PCs.)

Making the screen calmer

• Reduce animations: Settings → Accessibility → Visual effects — turn off movement that can feel distracting.

For more, see Microsoft Accessibility and the charity AbilityNet, which offers free advice. A quick note: we support Windows and Android devices remotely, but not Apple Macs, iPhones or iPads.

Print / Save as PDF