Tutorial · Task guide
Narrate Chapters and Voice Your Characters with TTS: Engines, Voices, and Cost
Before you start
- For online voices: a BYOK provider with a speech-synthesis model enabled, or a signed-in official-channel account with credits. The free system engine needs neither.
- For chapter narration, an imported book; for character voices, an ongoing chat or a Companion.
- Media volume up—no sound is more often a model or volume issue than a bug.
Where to find it
Reader > control bar > ListenReader > long-press paragraph > selection toolbar > More > AudioChat > + panel > Read aloudChat > ⋮ menu > VoiceCompanion profile > Their voiceMe > AI Models & Services > Default model configuration > Speech synthesis
Step-by-step
Set up a speech model once (skip for the free engine)
Open Me → AI Models & Services → Default model configuration and set the Speech synthesis row. If the picker is empty, configure a provider key under Model providers and add a speech model there. On the provider page, the multimodal capability tester can run one real speech call to verify the key works. StepFun accounts note: the provider settings offer separate open-platform and Step Plan endpoints—pick the one your key actually belongs to, the app will not switch for you.
✓ The Speech synthesis row shows a model name.
Listen to whole chapters
In the Reader, tap the page center, then Listen on the control bar. The full-screen player has four bottom entries: Engine, Voice, Cache, and Text. Under Engine choose Android system TTS (free, offline) or an online speech model; under Voice pick the voice. Cache can pre-download segments for smoother playback, and a mini player stays after you leave.
✓ Playback starts and continues across paragraphs; the mini player survives leaving the page.
Give one passage a voice-over
Long-press a paragraph, then selection toolbar → More → Audio. This generates a narration audio file with your configured speech model and inserts it after the passage, playable while reading—unlike the free system read-aloud, it is a real synthesis call. A confirmation sheet shows the model and parameters before anything is billed.
✓ An audio player appears under the selected passage and replays without a new charge.
Make character replies speak
In a chat, the + panel's Read aloud speaks the latest reply. For a persistent setup, open ⋮ menu → Voice: set the Voice model, pick the voice (remembered per model), enable Auto narration to speak every new reply, and turn on Read dialogue only to skip narration text.
✓ New replies play in the chosen voice when auto narration is on.
Give a Companion its own voice
On the Companion profile, Their voice picks a per-companion voice from the current speech model's catalog. Under Promises with them → Voice notes, enabling 'Voice notes from them' lets some replies arrive as voice-note bubbles: synthesis happens the first time you tap play, replays come from cache. Cloned voices you created appear in a My Voices group at the top of these pickers.
✓ A voice note plays in the selected voice on first tap and replays instantly afterwards.
How to know it worked
- The Engine sheet clearly shows which engine is active—system (free) or online (billed).
- Chapter playback continues across segments and the cache list fills as it plays.
- A passage voice-over stays with the paragraph and replays from cache without new charges.
- Each online synthesis appears in the API request log with its cost.
Cost, data, and irreversible-risk notes
- Android system TTS is free and works offline. Online voices synthesize per segment and bill per segment—BYOK through your own key, official channel in credits (1 credit = US$0.0001). Continuous playback and prefetch keep synthesizing and billing as you listen.
- Cached audio replays free. Switching to a different online voice re-synthesizes segments for the new voice and bills again; switching between local voices is free. Auto narration in chat is one synthesis per new reply; a Companion voice note bills once on first play.
- If playback stops or a synthesis is interrupted, the segment call may already have been billed even though you heard nothing. Check the API request log (filter TTS) before assuming failure; cached segments that did arrive replay free.
- The narrated text is sent to the speech provider you selected. Generated audio files and caches are stored locally.
Troubleshooting
Read aloud is grayed out, or tapping it says a model must be configured
Likely cause: No speech-synthesis model is set—the top cause of 'no sound'. In chat, the Voice model card being empty grays out read-aloud.
What to do: Set Me → AI Models & Services → Default model configuration → Speech synthesis, or pick a Voice model in the chat's Voice sheet. For chapter listening you can switch the Engine to Android system TTS and listen free without any setup.
The key is configured but synthesis fails with 'invalid or lacks permission'
Likely cause: The key is wrong for this endpoint. StepFun in particular has separate open-platform and Step Plan entrances, and a key for one is a 401 on the other.
What to do: On the provider settings page, select the endpoint matching your key's plan, then run the speech test in the multimodal capability tester until it passes.
Listening stops mid-chapter with a balance or rate-limit message
Likely cause: On BYOK, the provider's own balance is empty (this is not Foreverse credits), or requests are coming too fast; per-segment billing simply stops when the upstream refuses.
What to do: Top up with that provider or wait out the rate limit, then resume—already-cached segments replay free. If the voice model was retired (model not found), pick another voice.
Switched voices and got billed again, or the voice didn't change
Likely cause: Caches are kept per voice, so a new online voice means re-synthesizing segments; in chat the voice choice is remembered per model, so switching models can bring a different voice back.
What to do: Expect re-synthesis after changing online voices—playback continues from the current segment. Check the Voice row after switching models, and use local voices when you want free experimenting.
Frequently asked questions
Can I listen without paying anything?
Yes. In the listening player set Engine to Android system TTS: local, offline, and free. Online voices are the paid upgrade, billed per synthesized segment.
Does replaying the same passage charge again?
No. Synthesized segments are cached, and replays—including a Companion voice note after its first play—are free. New charges come from new text, a different online voice, or continuous playback synthesizing further segments.
Can characters use my own voice?
Yes, clone it under Me → advanced settings → AI Models & Services → My Voices (your own voice only, with an explicit consent step). The clone then appears in a My Voices group in the Reader, chat, and Companion voice pickers; synthesis with it bills through the provider that hosts the clone.
Sources and verification
- Reader guide · Foreverse · Verified
- Roleplay Chat guide · Foreverse · Verified
- Agent and Companion guide · Foreverse · Verified
- Models and Usage guide · Foreverse · Verified
Coverage and verification
| Platform | Android Reader, Roleplay Chat, and Companion |
|---|---|
| App version | v76+ |
| Path verified |
Third-party names and logos mentioned on this page belong to their respective owners. 文中提及的第三方名称与标识归各自所有者所有。