Using a screen reader

APRS Connect works with TalkBack on Android and VoiceOver on iPhone. Nothing needs switching on in the app: if your screen reader is running, this is how the app behaves.

What is read aloud

Buttons have names. Back, Close, Send, Templates, New message, the map controls and the filter button are all announced by what they do.
The RF and IS indicator at the top right of most screens reads as one sentence, such as "Radio connected, APRS-IS connecting". If a TNC's battery is low, it says so.
New messages in an open conversation are spoken as they arrive: "Message from N0CALL", then the text. A message you sent is announced when it reaches an end: delivered, rejected or not delivered. The steps in between are not spoken, so the app does not talk over you.
Unread counts are read on the tab bar and on each conversation in the Messages list.
Station symbols are read by name, such as "Car" or "Digipeater", and each station says whether it was heard on RF, over the internet, or both.
Short notes that appear and leave by themselves, such as "Copied" or the result of a beacon, are spoken when they appear.

Some things are done by eye with a long press or a drag. With a screen reader they are in the actions menu instead (in TalkBack, swipe up then right, or use the TalkBack menu; in VoiceOver, swipe up or down on the item).

A conversation in the Messages list: More options opens mute, archive, block and delete.
A message in a conversation: More options opens message detail, copy text, delete, and for a message still on its way, stop sending and retransmit. A message that was not delivered also offers Retry.
A tile in the More menu: Move earlier and Move later rearrange the tab bar. Each move swaps the tile with its neighbour, and the new position is spoken.
A tile on the Dashboard: Move earlier and Move later swap it with its neighbour, Make small, Make wide, Make tall and Make large change its shape, and Remove takes it off. Add tiles, under the last tile, puts tiles back. A tile's chart is adjustable: swipe up or down on it to step through its days.

Sheets

Every sheet that comes up from the bottom of the screen starts with a Close button. On iPhone the two-finger scrub closes it as well.

Instead of the map

The map is a picture, and picking a point on it is done by eye. The Stations tab holds the same stations as a list, and each row reads the callsign, the symbol, how long ago it was heard, and its distance and bearing from you. Sort by distance to hear what is nearest first.

On the Map tab itself, the controls are named: Map layers, Zoom in, Zoom out, Follow my position. While a screen reader is running there is one extra control, Drop a pin at the centre of the map, which stands in for holding a finger on a point.

The packet log

Each row in Packets reads as who sent it, what kind of packet it is, when, and how it was heard, rather than the raw line. Open the row for the full packet, laid out field by field. See Packet log.

If something is not read properly

Tell us. Feedback in the app reaches the developer directly, and reports from operators who use a screen reader are how this page came to exist.

Last updated 27 September 2026