Using the Focus 14 Blue, Focus 40 Blue, and Focus 80 Blue with iOS

Pairing the Focus Blue Display

Note: The fifth generation Focus blue requires iOS 11 or later.

To establish a Bluetooth connection between the Focus Braille Display and an Apple iOS device, do the following:

  1. Power on the Focus Blue.
  2. On the iOS device, open Settings, Bluetooth, and make sure Bluetooth is on.
  3. Double tap the Back button to return to Settings and then scroll to and double tap on Accessibility. Note that if you are still using iOS 11 or 12, the Accessibility settings are located under General.
  4. Scroll to and double tap VoiceOver to open the VoiceOver settings.
  5. Scroll to and double tap on Braille to open the Braille settings. The iOS device will start searching for a braille display.
  6. Swipe past "Choose a Braille Display" and the device should say "Searching." The Focus name will show here when it is found.
  7. Once the display is found, double tap on the name to open the pairing screen. On the iOS device, type 0000 then double tap the Pair button, located in the upper right corner, to establish the connection.

Once the Focus has been paired, if you power on the display before taking the iOS device out of standby, the display will automatically connect. Remember to lock the device before turning off the Focus to ensure that braille auto detection works properly the next time you want to use braille.

Focus Blue Commands for iOS

The following sections list iOS commands that can be performed from the Perkins-style keyboard as well as other controls on the Focus Blue displays.

Note: Press K CHORD, DOTS 1-3 and the SPACEBAR, to activate VoiceOver Help. You can then press various controls on the Focus to learn how they work with VoiceOver without actually performing the command. When you are finished, press B CHORD, DOTS 1-2 and the SPACEBAR, to exit VoiceOver Help.

Navigation Commands

Chord Command Function
DOT 1 CHORD Move to previous item
DOT 4 CHORD Move to next item
DOT 2 CHORD Pan braille left
DOT 5 CHORD Pan braille right
DOTS 1-2-3 CHORD Move to first item
DOTS 4-5-6 CHORD Move to last item
DOTS 1-2-4 CHORD Finds and places focus on an item on the current screen that matches specified text (after typing the text to search for, press DOTS 1-5 CHORD to perform the search)
DOTS 1-3-5 CHORD Scroll right
DOTS 2-4-6 CHORD Scroll left
DOTS 3-4-5-6 CHORD Scroll up or open the notification center when focused on the status bar
DOTS 1-4-5-6 CHORD Scroll down or open the control center when focused on the status bar
DOTS 2-3-4 CHORD Moves to the status bar
DOTS 2-3 CHORD Select previous rotor setting
DOTS 5-6 CHORD Select next rotor setting
DOT 3 CHORD Move to previous rotor item
DOT 6 CHORD Move to next rotor item
DOTS 1-2-5 CHORD twice quickly Launches the App Switcher
DOTS 1-2-3-4-5 CHORD Toggles Quick Nav on and off

Reading Commands

Chord Command Function
DOTS 1-2-3-5 CHORD Read all starting at selected item
DOTS 2-4-5-6 CHORD Read all, starting from the top
DOTS 1-2-3-4 CHORD Pause or continue speech

General Commands

Chord Command Function
DOTS 1-2 CHORD Activates the Back button, if present
DOTS 1-4-5 CHORD or DOT 7 CHORD Activates the Delete key
DOTS 1-5 CHORD or DOT 8 CHORD Activates the Return key
DOTS 1-2-4-5 CHORD Cycles among Six-dot, Eight-dot, and Contracted Braille output
DOTS 2-3-6 CHORD Cycles among Six-dot, Eight-dot, and Contracted Braille input
DOTS 1-2-5 CHORD Activates the Home button (press twice quickly to launch the App Switcher)
DOTS 1-3-4 CHORD Toggles speech on and off
DOTS 2-3-4-5 CHORD Activates the Tab key
DOTS 2-3-5-6 CHORD Select text
DOTS 2-3-5 CHORD Unselect text
DOTS 3-4-5 CHORD Volume up
DOTS 1-2-6 CHORD Volume down
DOTS 2-3-4-5-6 CHORD Output text style

Focus Blue Specific Commands

Command Action
CURSOR ROUTING BUTTON Double tap the selected item
CURSOR ROUTING BUTTON above a status cell If status cells are enabled, provides a message that describes how to interpret the information presented in the status cells (pressing a cursor router button not above a status cell dismisses the message)
LEFT NAV ROCKER UP Move to previous rotor item
LEFT NAV ROCKER DOWN Move to next rotor item
LEFT NAV MODE BUTTON Activate current item
RIGHT NAV ROCKER UP Move to previous item
RIGHT NAV ROCKER DOWN Move to next item
RIGHT NAV MODE BUTTON Activate current item
LEFT PANNING BUTTON Pan braille to the left
RIGHT PANNING BUTTON Pan braille to the right
LEFT SELECT BUTTON Activates a Back button if present
RIGHT SELECT BUTTON Start or stop current action (For example, answers and hangs up a phone call, starts and stops music or video playback, start and stop the stopwatch, starts and stops video recording, take a picture, start and stop Voice Memo recording, pauses and resumes Voicemail playback, or stops custom Voicemail greeting recording)
LEFT ROCKER BAR UP Scroll up
LEFT ROCKER BAR DOWN Scroll down
RIGHT ROCKER BAR UP Scroll left
RIGHT ROCKER BAR DOWN Scroll right

Visit the Apple website for more information about using Braille with VoiceOver on iOS.