- Speech settings
- Changing the speech language
- Downloading a speech language voices
- Additional speech engines
- Voice notifications
- Battery charge status
- Presenting charging time
- Presenting charging current
- Background activity
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1. Speech settings
- System - no change
The application will use Android system speech settings (engine, language, voice, speed, pitch),
often called "text to speech" or TTS for short, available in each version of Android system.
The localization depends on the Android version and manufacturer, check for example:
Settings -> General management -> Text-to-speech
Settings -> System -> Language & input -> Text-to-speech output
- Application - (language)
When you select this option, which is selected by default,
the application will use the system text to speech engine,
but will also try to set the voice language to the same language as the application interface.
- Enter custom
To customize own speech settings independent from system, choose this option,
and customize own parameters (engine, language, voice, speed, pitch)
directly in application.
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2. Changing the speech language
The app sets the visible interface language to match your device's language.
You can only change the speech language.
To do this, go to the app's "Speech Settings" and from the "Settings" list select "Enter custom".
Then, find your language in the "Locale" list.
The "(+)" sign next to the language indicates that the app supports the language and includes a speech translation for it.
A list of languages supported by the app can be found here.
An unsupported language is marked with a "(-)" sign, it does not have translations for speech messages.
You can use it, but you must add your own translation to notifications.
Select the language and, while connected to the internet, test it by clicking the "Play" button.
In the "Engine" list, you can change the speech engine if the default engine doesn't support your language.
For some speech engines, you may need to download the missing language first.
See the next section.
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3. Downloading a speech language voices
A downloaded speech language voice is marked with a "(+)" sign in the "Voice" list,
an undownloaded voice is marked with a "(-)".
An undownloaded voice will require an internet connection for playback.
To download voices from the app, go to "Speech Settings" and click the "Download" button.
If you have multiple speech engines installed, you will be prompted to select a speech engine.
You should then see a list of speech languages for the selected engine.
Select a language, a list of downloadable voices may appear.
Select a voice or voice packs and click the download button.
If your language is not listed,
check the speech engine's documentation to see if it supports the language you are looking for.
Typically, the speech engine allows you to download voices outside the application, directly from its own menu.
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4. Additional speech engines
Most android devices have pre-installed speech engines.
The most common are:
You can install additional speech engines and voices of your choice.
Some voices may require additional payment. You can try for example:
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5. Voice notifications about battery health, charging level, connected charger.
The latest version adds the ability to change the interval between voice notifications for charging level and temperature.
Previously, the app repeated the battery level in 1% increments at a predefined interval,
which could be too frequent on fast chargers.
Now you can modify this interval yourself. By default, it's set between 5-20% depending on the level,
but you can set it to 1%, as in previous versions of the app, or any other value you prefer.
Preferences - section Alarms/notifications with sound/voice
The app notifies you with a voice prompt when changes occur or when events such as device unlocking or time change.
- Switch Notify on changes in health, charging, charger
You'll hear a voice message when a parameter changes,
e.g., health status changes, charger connection, charge level changes,
or temperature exceeds a certain limit.
- Switch Notify on unlock button
After unlocking the device, you'll hear a full voice message about its health status,
connected charger, and detailed charge level.
- Switch Notify on time
You will hear a full voice message at regular intervals, similar to the one for unlocking.
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6. Battery charge status 100% versus full
When you charge your device and it reaches 100% load,
you can see that it will still be in charging state,
and you will still see significant charging current (when the device supports).
Battery full charge status is when the device finishes charging the battery,
you should not see any charging current
and the device starts drawing power directly from the charger.
Keep in mind that it may take some time to reach this state
and requires the right cable and charger.
We noticed that some devices never reach this state,
and some with a long delay.
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7. Presenting charging time
The exact time the charger was connected/disconnected is displayed above the charger icon in the format:
(d) hh:mm,
where hh represents the hour,
mm represents the minute,
and optional d represents the day, which will be displayed if the day is different than today.
Clicking this time will switch to a countdown timer with a progressive time.
You'll see the number of hours and minutes that have passed since the charger was connected/disconnected.
Each time the charger is disconnected or connected, the time is reset to zero.
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8. Presenting charging current
Not every device shows the correct charging current.
A minus sign (-) before the current should appear during discharging,
the absence of the sign means charging, the battery is gaining energy.
It should be noted that some devices can have the opposite logic.
It is also possible that some weak chargers or USB are not able to provide enough power,
so you may see that the device is losing power even when connected to the charger.
Just try using a different cable or a charger with higher power.
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9. Background activity
Remember that every application in the background uses some power.
Every android device has battery saving procedures,
that are designed to save battery power.
The system may try to stop some apps from running in the background,
especially when the device is disconnected from the charger.
To avoid this behaviour, check the various system app settings, for example:
"Allow background activity"
"Ignore battery optimization"
"Remove from optimized applications"
If you only need the application as a charging assistant,
you can manually close the application once it's done charging.
Use the cross in upper right corner to completely close the application,
along with the notification.
Preferences - section Background activity
This section controls various parameters of the app's background operation.
The app enters background mode when it's not visible on the screen, for example, after launching another app or locking the phone.
While running in the background, the app displays important information in the form of system notifications.
- Switch Automatically mute when device sound is turned off
The app responds to device muting, for example, by turning off the sound directly or by activating "Do Not Disturb" mode.
If the app is not visible, the app's sound will be muted, and the app will stop speaking.
This option is very convenient, for example, when going to sleep or in a meeting.
We don't have to search for the app and turn off the sound directly in the app.
The app will respond to the device's sound being turned off.
- Switch Show system notifications
This option displays system notifications with basic app information (charge level, health, battery temperature).
You cannot disable this option if you want the app to run in the background.
- Switch Run background service
The app will run as a background service.
For advanced users, you can check the background services in your phone's developer options.
You can find instructions on how to enable developer settings in your phone's documentation or search the internet or YouTube.
- Switch Automatic start after device restart
The app will automatically restart after your phone restarts.
Due to background app restrictions, automatic restart may not work on newer Android versions,
such as 15 (VanillaIceCream) and 16 (Baklava).
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