A voice download stopped
The app saysDownload stopped. Check your connection.
Tap Retry once you’re back online. Wi-Fi is recommended but not required, and you can keep using the app while a voice pack downloads.
Help centre
How can we help?
Answers for ReadSong on iPhone and iPad: adding your own documents, voices and languages, listening offline, and ReadSong Pro.
Getting started
From your page to a voice.
ReadSong reads your own documents aloud with natural voices that run on your iPhone. The first chapter of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is already in your library, so you can try it straight away. It’s free to listen to as often as you like.
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Add a document
In the library, tap Add and pick where the text comes from: Files (PDF, EPUB, Word, Markdown, RTF, text), Scan pages, Photo, Web page, Clipboard, or Write or paste.
From Files, Mail and other apps, share a document and choose “Open in ReadSong”. Everything is processed on your iPhone.
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Pick a voice
Open a document and tap the voice’s name in the player. Every voice has a short preview that plays at once, so you can listen before you choose.
English, Spanish and French voices are built into the app. Other languages use Supertonic 3, a one-time 165 MB download (Wi-Fi recommended). The reading language is detected for you; change it with Language in the player.
The first time you listen in French, ReadSong downloads an 83 MB pronunciation model once. After that, French works offline too.
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Press play
Tap play, or tap any sentence to start reading from there. The sentence sits on a soft band, and each word lights up as it’s spoken.
Choose a speed from 0.75× to 2×, set the sleep timer, and lock your phone: ReadSong keeps reading, with lock-screen controls. Next time, each document opens where you left off.
Questions
Quick answers.
Offline listening, your files, the voices and ReadSong Pro, in a few lines each.
The basics
Is it really offline?
Yes. The voices run on your iPhone, not on a server. English and Spanish work in airplane mode from the very first launch.
French needs a one-time 83 MB pronunciation model the first time you listen. Other languages need a one-time voice download (Supertonic 3, 165 MB). After that, you can listen anywhere. Only web imports, voice downloads and buying or restoring Pro use the internet.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. Your documents, and the speech made from them, never leave your iPhone. There are no ReadSong servers and no account. Everything stays in the app’s private storage.
The Privacy Policy lists the few times the app uses the network at all.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up of any kind. Purchases go through your Apple Account.
Does it work on iPad?
Yes. ReadSong runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 18 or later.
How much storage does it need?
The English, Spanish and French voices are built into the app (about 140 MB). Supertonic 3, for the other languages, is a one-time 165 MB download. French adds an 83 MB pronunciation model on first use. Japanese and Chinese Kokoro voices are separate downloads.
You can remove downloaded voices any time: Settings, then Voices, then Voices and downloads
Your documents
Which files can I add?
PDF, EPUB, Word (DOCX and DOC), RTF, HTML, Markdown and plain text. You can also add web articles from a link, photos and screenshots, printed pages scanned with the camera, and text you paste or type.
From Files, Mail and other apps, use “Open in ReadSong”.
Does it read scanned PDFs and photos?
Yes. If a PDF has no text layer, ReadSong recognises the text on your iPhone with Apple’s Vision framework. Photos, screenshots and camera scans work the same way.
Can it read Kindle or Apple Books purchases?
No. Store-bought ebooks are copy-protected (DRM), and ReadSong can’t read DRM files. Kindle formats (MOBI, AZW) aren’t supported. DRM-free EPUBs work, along with PDFs and documents you own.
Can it read web articles?
Yes. Paste a link with Web page, or copy one and use Clipboard. ReadSong fetches the page directly, keeps the article and skips menus and footers. Links to PDF and EPUB files work too.
Pages behind a login or a paywall can’t be fetched: the app never signs in or keeps cookies.
Voices and languages
Which languages can it read?
32: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese (Mandarin), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.
The app itself is also translated into these 32 languages. To change it: Settings, then Language, then App language
Does it use Siri or Apple’s voices?
No. ReadSong brings its own neural voices, Kokoro and Supertonic 3. They run on your iPhone through the open-source FluidAudio library.
Can it read mixed-language text?
Yes. A passage in another alphabet (Greek or Cyrillic in an English book, say) is read in its own language when that voice is on your phone.
For languages that share an alphabet, turn on Detect language changes for that document, under Language in the player.
Listening
Does it keep reading with the screen locked?
Yes. Playback continues in the background and on the lock screen, with lock-screen controls and a sleep timer that can stop at the end of the chapter.
How does the highlighting work?
The sentence being read is highlighted and each word lights up as it’s spoken. With the built-in English, Spanish and French voices the timing is word-exact. Other voices estimate it closely.
You can also underline the spoken word (Settings, then Text) or highlight only the sentence (Settings, then Reading).
Can I fix how a word or name is pronounced?
Yes: Settings, then Voices, then Pronunciations, then Add a word Write the word, then spell it the way it sounds. Rules apply to every document, in one language or all of them.
You can also skip citations, links, footnote numbers, or text in brackets and parentheses under Settings, then Don’t read aloud
Is it good for dyslexia or low vision?
It was designed with both in mind: word-by-word highlighting, the high-contrast Clarity page, the Atkinson Hyperlegible font, text up to 32 pt, adjustable line spacing, VoiceOver labels on its custom controls, and Reduce Motion plus an in-app Calm motion setting.
ReadSong Pro
What’s free, and what does Pro add?
Every voice and every reading feature is free to use, with a few minutes of listening each day (currently 3). The Alice in Wonderland sample chapter is always unlimited.
ReadSong Pro removes the daily limit and adds audiobook export. It costs $9.99 a month or $69.00 a year in the US; prices vary by country, and the App Store shows yours before you buy. There’s no free trial at the moment.
Can I make an audiobook?
Yes, with ReadSong Pro. Export a document as an .m4b audiobook with chapters from its table of contents (or a single .m4a), plus SRT and WebVTT captions timed to the voice. It’s made on your iPhone and shared wherever you like.
Start from Player, then Export or from the reader menu’s Export audiobook…
How do I cancel or restore?
Restore: Settings, then ReadSong Pro, then Restore purchases or Restore on the plans screen.
Cancel: Settings, then ReadSong Pro, then Manage subscription or iPhone Settings › your name › Subscriptions, at least 24 hours before renewal.
Refunds go through Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com. More in ReadSong Pro below.
Can I share Pro with my family?
Not at the moment: ReadSong Pro doesn’t support Family Sharing.
Troubleshooting
When something’s off.
What the app’s messages mean, and what to do next.
Voices and downloads
French asks to download something
That’s expected. The first time you listen in French, ReadSong fetches a one-time 83 MB pronunciation model for words that aren’t in its French dictionary. After that, French works offline.
The first sentence takes a few seconds
The app saysPreparing the voice…
After you install or update ReadSong, iOS prepares each voice for your iPhone once. The app does this in the background, but if you press play straight away, the first sentence can take a few seconds. Later starts are quick.
Running low on space
Settings, then Voices, then Voices and downloads shows how much space each voice pack uses. Tap Remove on one you don’t need: it downloads again the next time you use one of its voices.
The built-in English, Spanish and French voices show “Built into ReadSong” and can’t be removed. Deleting documents frees space too.
A sentence wouldn’t play
The app saysThe voice couldn’t read this sentence. Play to try again.
Press play to try again. If it keeps happening in one document, write to us with the file type, the voice and the language.
Listening
Playback stopped on the lock screen
ReadSong keeps reading with the screen locked or while you use other apps. If it stops, check two things:
- Today’s free minutes. On the free plan, the voice finishes its sentence and pauses when the day’s minutes run out, and playing from the lock screen pauses again until midnight.
- The sleep timer. When it runs out, reading stops after the sentence. Tap Sleep in the player and choose Turn off.
Listening paused after a few minutes
The app saysYou’ve listened to today’s 3 free minutes. Go unlimited, or come back tomorrow.
The free minutes reset at midnight, your local time. The Alice in Wonderland sample chapter is always free to listen to, and ReadSong Pro removes the limit.
An audiobook export stopped
The app saysKeep the app open until it finishes.
Listen to this document first, then make its audiobook.
ReadSong makes the audiobook on your iPhone, so keep it open until it’s done. Export works on the document that’s in the player: play it first, then choose Export.
A word or name sounds wrong
Teach the voices: Settings, then Voices, then Pronunciations, then Add a word Write the word, then spell it the way it sounds. The rule applies to every document, including speech already rendered ahead.
To keep citations, links or footnote numbers from being read, use Settings, then Don’t read aloud
Adding documents
A scanned PDF has no text
The app saysNo readable text was found in this PDF, even with text recognition.
ReadSong recognises the text of scanned pages on your iPhone automatically. This message means the scan is too faint, or the pages hold no text. Try a sharper scan, or use Scan pages with the camera in good light.
An ebook won’t open
The app saysThis e-book is copy-protected (DRM) and can’t be read aloud.
Ebooks bought from a store are copy-protected, and ReadSong can’t read them. DRM-free EPUBs work, along with PDFs and documents you own.
A file is password-protected
The app saysThis PDF is password-protected. Remove the password and import it again.
This Word document is password-protected.
Save a copy without the password in the app you made it with, then add that copy.
An old .doc file won’t open
The app saysThis .doc file is really an RTF document. Save it as .docx and import it again.
Some files named .doc aren’t Word 97–2003 documents. Open the file in a word processor, save it as .docx, and add the new file.
A web page won’t import
The app says one ofThe page took too long to load.
This file is too large to download.
No internet connection, or the site could not be reached.
The site’s secure connection could not be verified.
ReadSong fetches the page directly, waits up to 25 seconds and downloads up to 30 MB. Pages behind a login or a paywall can’t be fetched. If you can read the page in Safari, copy its text and add it with Clipboard or Write or paste.
A file type isn’t supported
The app says, for example“.mobi” files are not supported. Try PDF, Word, Markdown or text.
ReadSong reads PDF, EPUB, Word (.docx and .doc), RTF, HTML, Markdown, plain text and images. Kindle formats (MOBI, AZW), Pages, ODT, comics and audio files aren’t supported.
iOS asks “Allow Paste” every time
That’s iOS protecting your clipboard. Tap Allow Paste to let ReadSong read what you copied. The app reads the clipboard only when you ask it to.
Purchases
Purchases are turned off
The app saysPurchases are turned off on this iPhone. You can allow them in Settings → Screen Time.
Allow purchases in iPhone Settings › Screen Time, then open the plans again.
Restore finds nothing
The app saysNo ReadSong Pro purchase was found for this Apple Account.
Check that you’re signed in with the Apple Account that bought ReadSong Pro, then tap Restore purchases again.
The App Store can’t be reached
The app saysThe App Store can’t be reached right now. Check your connection and try again.
Buying and restoring need a connection. ReadSong remembers your last Pro status on your iPhone, so listening keeps working offline.
ReadSong Pro
Plans, restores and refunds.
Every voice and every reading feature is free to use. ReadSong Pro removes the daily listening limit and adds audiobook export.
Free
$0 free download
Every voice and language, a little every day.
- A few minutes of listening a day (currently 3), reset at midnight
- Every voice and every reading feature
- Importing, text recognition, pronunciations, sleep timer and voice downloads
- The Alice in Wonderland sample chapter, unlimited
ReadSong Pro
$9.99 a month
or $69.00 a year (that’s $5.75 a month), US prices
- Unlimited listening with every voice
- Audiobook export: an .m4b with chapters, or a single .m4a
- Captions in SRT and WebVTT, timed to the voice
- Renews automatically until cancelled. Cancel anytime.
Prices are in US dollars. Prices vary by country and currency, and the App Store shows your local price before you buy. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. ReadSong Pro renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. There’s no free trial at the moment, and Family Sharing isn’t supported. Use of the app is governed by Apple’s standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement, ReadSong’s Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.
Restore purchases
On a new iPhone or after reinstalling, sign in with the same Apple Account, then:
Settings, then ReadSong Pro, then Restore purchases
Or tap Restore at the top left of the plans screen. No ReadSong account needed.
Manage or cancel
Settings, then ReadSong Pro, then Manage subscription
Or iPhone Settings › your name › Subscriptions. Cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends; Pro stays on until the end of the period you’ve paid for.
Refunds
Refunds are handled by Apple, under Apple’s rules. We can’t issue refunds ourselves.
Find your way
Where to find it in the app.
Settings opens from the gear at the top of your library. “Player” is the full player of the document you’re listening to, and the reader menu is behind ⋯ at the top of a document.
- See plans and buy ReadSong Pro
- Settings, then ReadSong Pro, then See plans
- Restore purchases
- Settings, then ReadSong Pro, then Restore purchases
- Manage or cancel ReadSong Pro
- Settings, then ReadSong Pro, then Manage subscription
- See or remove voice packs
- Settings, then Voices, then Voices and downloads
- Download a voice pack ahead
- Settings, then Voices, then Voices and downloads, then Download or pick a voice in the player
- Teach a pronunciation
- Settings, then Voices, then Pronunciations, then Add a word or reader menu › Pronunciations…
- Skip citations, links and footnotes
- Settings, then Don’t read aloud
- Change a document’s reading language
- Player, then Language
- Change the app’s own language
- Settings, then Language, then App language
- Page colour, font, text size and layout
- Reader menu, then Page, Type, Layout or Settings › Appearance, Font, Text, Reading
- Calm motion, haptics and solid bars
- Settings, then Motion and feel
- Sleep timer
- Player, then Sleep
- Make an audiobook (Pro)
- Player, then Export or reader menu › Export audiobook…
- Replay the introduction
- Settings, then About, then Replay the introduction
Contact
Still stuck? Write to us.
Email is the way to reach ReadSong. A few details help us understand what happened.
Email us at fpankau@tutanota.com. The button below starts a message with those details ready to fill in.
ReadSong sends no crash reports or usage data, so we only hear about a problem when you tell us.
Helpful to include
- Your iPhone or iPad modelSettings › General › About › Model Name
- Your iOS versionSettings › General › About › iOS Version
- The ReadSong versionSettings › General › iPhone Storage › ReadSong
- The file typePDF, EPUB, Word, web page, photo… and whether it’s a scan
- The voice and languageAs shown in the player
- What you did, and what happenedA screenshot or screen recording helps. Attach a document only if you’re happy to share it.