PDVoice Buddy logo PDVoice Buddy BETA
Plain language, no jargon

How to use PDVoice Buddy

For tablets and phones (Android) and for computers (Windows and Mac).

What it does

Parkinson's makes voices quieter without the person noticing. You feel like you're speaking normally; the room hears a whisper.

PDVoice Buddy listens to the room and shows you one thing: a glowing dot. Bright means your voice is carrying. Dim means it's fading, and it's time to push a little.

That's the whole app. No exercises, no scores, nothing to read while you're mid-sentence.

It works out how loud the room is and asks you to rise above it — and it also asks you to reach a normal conversational level, 60–70 dB. You have to clear both. That means a busy café asks more of you than a quiet kitchen, but a silent room still won't accept a whisper.

Nothing is ever recorded. It measures how loud the room is, about twenty times a second, keeps that one number, and throws the sound away. There is no recording to find, because none is ever made.

The tablet version and the computer version are the same app, with the same measurement and the same settings. It works in English and Spanish, and normally just matches your device — see Language in Part 4 if you'd rather change it.

Part 1 — Getting it onto a tablet or phone (Android)

PDVoice Buddy isn't in the Play Store yet, so Android will try to stop you three times while installing. None of the warnings mean anything is wrong — they appear for every app that doesn't come from the store.

  1. Tap the download link. If your browser says the file can't be scanned or may be harmful, choose "Download anyway".
  2. Open the downloaded file — tap it in the notification, or find it in Files > Downloads.
  3. If Android says your browser isn't allowed to install apps, tap "Settings" on that message, switch on "Allow from this source", then press Back.
  4. If you see a warning about an unsafe app or an unknown developer, tap "More details" or "Install anyway", then Install.
  5. Tap Open, and allow the microphone when asked.

If you get stuck

No "Download anyway" option
Pull down the notification shade and tap the download, or open Files > Downloads and tap the file there.
"App wasn't installed"
An older copy is already there. Uninstall PDVoice Buddy, then retry.
Can't find "Allow from this source"
Settings > Apps > Special app access > Install unknown apps > choose your browser > switch it on.
Play Protect won't let me
Tap "More details" first — the Install anyway option is hidden until you do.

Part 2 — Getting it onto a computer (Windows)

There's no real installation — it's a single file.

  1. Download PDVoice Buddy.exe and put it somewhere you'll find again. Your Desktop is fine.
  2. Double-click it.
  3. Windows will probably show a blue box saying "Windows protected your PC". This is expected — it only means the app doesn't come from a big software company. Click "More info", then "Run anyway".
  4. Allow the microphone when asked, or the light can't work.

A small pill appears in the corner of your screen. After a second or two it's listening.

To make it easier next time: open the gear and turn on "Open at login". Then it starts by itself and there's nothing to remember.

Part 3 — Using it (both versions)

The first few seconds

When it starts it says "Listening to the room" for a second or two. That's it learning what your room sounds like with nobody talking. If you move to a different room, or the room gets much noisier, pause and unpause it so it relearns.

Just talk

Watch the dot out of the corner of your eye.

Bright and glowing
They can hear you. Keep going.
Dim and small
You're fading. Speak up.
Growing and shrinking
It follows every word, so you can see yourself getting louder before you reach the target.

Don't stare at it. The dot is meant for the corner of your eye, while your attention stays on the person you're talking to.

The buttons

Pause (two bars)
Stops it listening. Press it for private calls, or when you're watching television. Press again — it becomes a triangle — to start listening again.
Gear
Settings.
✕
Tablet: closes the app and releases the microphone (or use Stop in the notice at the top of the screen — the surest way to be sure it's stopped). Computer: hides it, still listening — the icon stays near the clock. To stop it completely, use Quit in settings.

On the full-screen size you can also tap or click anywhere to open settings. On a computer, Esc hides it.

Part 4 — Settings

Seven settings, and you'll probably only ever change the first. Microphone calibration is the one to leave alone unless a therapist asks you to. ("Where to put the device" below isn't a setting — it's placement advice, and it's worth reading.)

How loud you need to be

Five choices, from Gentle to Strong. Normal conversation sits between 60 and 70 dB, and that's what these are built around:

Gentle — about 57 dB
just below conversational, for starting out
Easy — about 60 dB
a relaxed voice
Normal — about 63 dB
conversational — where most people should be
Firm — about 66 dB
projecting deliberately
Strong — about 69 dB
strong projection

The dot needs your voice to clear TWO bars at once: above the room, and above the level in that list. In a noisy restaurant the room is what's holding you back. In a silent living room the level is — which is the point, because being louder than a silent room proves nothing.

Pick one you can already manage. If the dot is dark most of the time, the setting is too high — go down a step. You want a dot that's lit more often than not. If you're working with a speech therapist, ask them where to set it, and raise it a step every week or two rather than all at once.

Where to put the device

About an arm's length away — roughly three feet, or a metre. This matters more than it used to: a microphone hears a quieter sound the further away it is, so a tablet across the room will think you're too quiet when you aren't, and one right under your chin will think you're fine when you're not. On the table in front of you is right. On a shelf across the room is not.

Colour, size, and the rest

Colour
Mint, amber, sky or white — whichever you notice most easily.
Size — Full screen
A large dot in the middle. Easiest to see across a room. On a tablet this can also run as the screensaver, so a docked tablet becomes a permanent desk light with nothing to launch.
Size — Small pill
A narrow bar that floats on top of whatever else you're doing. Drag it wherever you like; it remembers. It has its own pause, gear and ✕ buttons. The first time you choose it on a tablet, Android will send you to a settings screen to allow it — allow it, then come back.
Microphone calibration
Leave this alone unless the dot is wrong everywhere you go. It's here for a therapist with a real sound level meter who wants the numbers to line up. Press Reset if you change it and regret it.
Language
English or Spanish. "Automatic" follows your device, which is how it arrives and is correct for most people. Change it if the device is set to one language but you'd rather read the other.
Open at login (computer only)
Starts it automatically when you turn the computer on. Recommended.

In the car (tablet and phone only)

A device cannot tell whether you're driving or in the passenger seat, so it has to ask.

Not in a car
normal.
I'm a passenger
the dot stays on. Nobody is steering.
I'm driving
the screen goes dark and you get a short buzz when your voice drops. Nothing to look at.

Important: this resets every time you open the app. If you're going to drive, set it to "I'm driving" each time. A moving light in a driver's line of sight is dangerous and against the law in many places.

Part 5 — Leaving it running

Tablet or phone

While it's listening there's a notice in the top bar — that's Android's rule, not a choice; any app using the microphone has to show one. Tap it to come back to PDVoice Buddy. To stop it completely: the ✕ on the pill, or close the app.

Computer

It's meant to be left on. Hiding it with ✕ keeps it listening. The icon near the clock (on Windows you may need to click the small arrow to see hidden icons) shows it's running — click it to show or hide, right-click for Settings and Quit.

Part 6 — If something's wrong

The dot never lights up, even when I speak up
First check where the device is — an arm's length away, not across the room. Then, if it's still dark, the setting is probably too high. Open settings and go down a step or two.
The dot lights up too easily
Check the device isn't right under your chin. If it's placed sensibly and still too easy, go up a step.
The dot is always lit, even when I whisper
Something in the room is noisy — a television, a fan, a dishwasher, or the fan inside the computer itself. Turn it off if you can, then pause and unpause so it relearns the room.
It says "Listening to the room" and stays that way
Give it two seconds. If it doesn't change, pause and unpause.
It says "No microphone", or the dot doesn't react at all
Check the microphone is allowed — Android: Settings > Apps > PDVoice Buddy > Permissions > Microphone. Windows: Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone > allow desktop apps. Mac: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone. On a computer with several microphones, it may be listening through the wrong one — change the default input device in your sound settings.
I chose Small pill on the tablet and nothing happened
Android needs permission for a floating pill. Tap Small pill again and it'll take you to the right screen.
I can't find the pill
Tablet: open the app from its icon, switch to Full screen, then back to Small pill. Computer: look for the icon near the clock, behind the arrow for hidden icons.

One honest note

This is a homemade tool, not a medical device. It's good at telling louder from quieter in one place, and at nudging you toward a conversational level. The dB numbers are approximations from an uncalibrated microphone, not measurements — they will not match a real sound level meter, and no decision about treatment should rest on them.

Use it as a reminder. Set the level with your speech-language pathologist rather than guessing, especially if you're already doing speech therapy. If the dot helps you stay audible, that's the whole point. If it turns into one more thing nagging at you, close it and say so — it can be changed.

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