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TTS Troubleshooting Guide

Having issues with Text-to-Speech on IReader Desktop? This guide covers common problems and their solutions.

TTS Not Starting

Voice Model Not Downloaded

Symptom: TTS button is grayed out or shows an error when clicked.

Solution:

  1. Go to Settings → Text-to-Speech → Voice Models.
  2. Download at least one voice model for your preferred language.
  3. Wait for the download to complete.
  4. Restart the reader view and try again.

Audio Device Issues

Symptom: TTS starts but no sound is heard.

Solution:

  1. Check your system volume and ensure it's not muted.
  2. Verify your audio output device is working (test with other apps).
  3. On Linux, ensure ALSA or PulseAudio is properly configured.
  4. Restart IReader Desktop and try again.

Playback Issues

Choppy or Stuttering Audio

Symptom: Audio playback is interrupted or stutters frequently.

Solution:

  1. Close other resource-intensive applications.
  2. Try a lower-quality voice model (requires less processing power).
  3. Ensure your system meets the minimum requirements (4GB RAM).
  4. Check for system updates and install any pending updates.

Audio Cuts Off Mid-Sentence

Symptom: TTS stops unexpectedly during playback.

Solution:

  1. Check if the chapter content is properly loaded.
  2. Try reloading the chapter (close and reopen).
  3. Verify the voice model file is not corrupted:
    • Go to Settings → Text-to-Speech → Voice Models
    • Delete the problematic model
    • Re-download it

Wrong Language Being Spoken

Symptom: TTS uses the wrong language for the content.

Solution:

  1. Ensure you've downloaded the correct language model.
  2. Set the appropriate default voice in Settings → Text-to-Speech → Default Voice.
  3. Some books may have mixed-language content; manually switch voices as needed.

Word Highlighting Issues

Highlighting Not Working

Symptom: Words are not highlighted during TTS playback.

Solution:

  1. Enable highlighting in Settings → Text-to-Speech → Highlighting.
  2. Check if the highlight color is too similar to your background (adjust in settings).
  3. Restart the reader view.

Highlighting Out of Sync

Symptom: Highlighted words don't match the spoken audio.

Solution:

  1. Pause and resume playback to resync.
  2. If the issue persists, stop TTS and restart from the current position.
  3. Report persistent sync issues on GitHub.

Voice Model Issues

Download Fails

Symptom: Voice model download fails or gets stuck.

Solution:

  1. Check your internet connection.
  2. Ensure you have sufficient disk space (50-200MB per model).
  3. Try downloading a different model first.
  4. Restart IReader Desktop and retry the download.
  5. If the issue persists, download models manually from the IReader releases page.

Model Sounds Robotic

Symptom: Voice quality is poor or unnatural.

Solution:

  1. Try a higher-quality voice model (Medium or High quality).
  2. Adjust playback speed (sometimes slower speeds sound more natural).
  3. Experiment with different voice models for your language.

Performance Issues

High CPU Usage

Symptom: IReader Desktop uses excessive CPU during TTS playback.

Solution:

  1. Use a lower-quality voice model (requires less processing).
  2. Close other applications to free up system resources.
  3. Ensure your system meets the recommended requirements.
  4. Check for IReader updates that may include performance improvements.

Slow TTS Initialization

Symptom: TTS takes a long time to start playing.

Solution:

  1. This is normal for the first use after launching the app (model loading).
  2. Subsequent uses should be faster.
  3. If consistently slow, try reinstalling the voice model.
  4. Ensure your disk is not nearly full (affects read performance).

Platform-Specific Issues

Windows

Audio Driver Issues:

  • Update your audio drivers from Device Manager.
  • Try switching between different audio output devices.
  • Run Windows Audio Troubleshooter.

macOS

Permission Issues:

  • Grant IReader microphone/audio permissions in System Preferences → Security & Privacy.
  • Restart IReader after granting permissions.

Linux

Audio System Issues:

  • Ensure ALSA or PulseAudio is installed and running.
  • Check audio permissions for the IReader process.
  • Test audio with: speaker-test -t wav -c 2

Still Having Issues?

If you've tried the solutions above and still experience problems:

  1. Check for Updates: Ensure you're running the latest version of IReader Desktop.
  2. Review Logs: Check application logs in Settings → Advanced → View Logs for error messages.
  3. Report a Bug: Open an issue on GitHub with:
    • Your operating system and version
    • IReader Desktop version
    • Voice model being used
    • Steps to reproduce the issue
    • Any error messages from logs
  4. Ask the Community: Join the IReader Discord for help from other users and developers.