Question Is it possible to bring back how TalkBack sounded like in different languages back in 2019?

[LuisLikesAndroid]

I remember they sound more rougher, it speaks faster, and it just sounds like... Low quality whenever I use TalkBack in different languages (e.g: Hungarian, Norwegian Bokmal, Hindi, Filipino, Welsh, etc) with no voice data downloaded. Also, when I turn the pitch to lowest or highest. The voice always whispers.

NOTE: I turn on Airplane Mode together with WI-FI so that the voice stays on low-quality, it becomes high-quality when a voice data downloads

But now, it sounds like a remastered version of the voices. They no longer sound rougher, it's like they cleaned it. And it no longer whispers when the pitch is at the lowest or highest percent even when there's no voice data downloaded.

I kinda like how it sounded before. Any way to get it back?

 

[VidJunky]

Welcome to Android Central forums.

I put your question to Google.

You're likely experiencing an update to Google's Text-to-Speech (TTS) engine, which introduced higher-quality voices and changed the "low-quality" default for offline use, making the older, rougher sounds harder to get back; this update removed the distinct whispering at extremes and improved clarity, so to get the old sound, you'd need to find a way to install an older TTS version, use different TTS engines like Acapela, or find specific voice packs, as Google's current system prioritizes cleaner, more natural voices.
Why This Happened

• TTS Engine Update: Google's speech services received an update around late 2022, upgrading their default offline voices to be clearer and less robotic, removing the distinct rough/whispering quality you enjoyed.
• Quality vs. Old Default: The older sound was essentially the base, unenhanced offline voice; the new update makes even the offline versions high-quality, so you can't easily revert to the exact low-quality sound without significant workarounds.

How to Get a Similar (But Not Identical) Experience

READ MORE HERE

In short, the "remastering" is an official update, so getting the old sound back involves finding alternative TTS solutions rather than reverting the built-in Google voices.

I know it isn't what you wanted to hear. Let us know if you try any other TTS apps and whether you liked them or not. Best wishes.