Windows Speech Recognition doesn’t work [Fixed]

Speech recognition is a relatively new but important feature in Windows computers. This option allows you to voice type and give commands to use applications in Windows. However, in some cases, the Speech Recognition Setup may not work. If speech recognition doesn’t work on your Windows 11/10 computer, then please read this article for the resolutions.

Voice recognition not working

Speech Recognition helps you do various things on your computer. From opening a program to dictate text in any text editor – you can do everything using this functionality. However, if it doesn’t work on your computer, the following suggestions may be handy for you.

Windows Speech Recognition doesn’t work

The main causes of Speech Recognition not working are hardware related issues, software/system permissions, missing or corrupt system files, issues with drivers, etc. If you encounter this problem on your computer, then please try the following solutions sequentially to fix the same:

Re-enable Speech Recognition
Check for hardware related issues
Check if the correct microphone is connected
Check for microphone permissions
Increase the input volume of your microphone
Check speech language
Turn on Online Speech Recognition using Registry
Change Group Policy settings
Disable hotkey changer software
Reinstall microphone (if external)
Run the Recording audio troubleshooter
Perform SFC scan
Troubleshoot in Clean Boot State
Miscellaneous solutions

1] Re-enable Speech Recognition

Even if you have turned on the Speech Recognition in Windows Settings, a bug or glitch could disable it automatically. It happens when you use a Beta or Dev Channel build. That is why it is recommended to verify the setting or re-enable it in Windows Settings.

To re-enable Speech Recognition in Windows 11, follow these steps:

Press Win+I to open Windows Settings.
Switch to the Accessibility tab.
Click on the Speech menu.
Toggle the Windows Speech Recognition button to turn it on.

Then, check if you can use Speech Recognition on your computer or not.

2] Check for hardware related issues

If there are issues with the microphone hardware or the USB connections then no matter what you try on your computer, the speech recognition will not work properly. In this case, we advise you to check your microphone with another computer to isolate the cause with the hardware. If the microphone works fine with another computer, then you can try further solutions.

3] Check if the correct microphone is connected

Ideally, the preferred microphone for any function on the computer is the default microphone of the laptop and if it is not attached then you would have to attach an external one. In the latter case, a Windows computer may or may not detect an external microphone. To confirm this, try the following.

Right-click on the Start button and select Settings from the menu.
In the Settings window, go to the System tab on the list on the left-hand side. In the right pane scroll down to Sound and click on it.
Now scroll down to the Input section and check which microphone is connected and currently in use. It can be judged by checking the radio button.

If your mic is not connected, then click on add device and connect your Input microphone. Make sure that it is the one on which the radio button is checked after connecting.

4] Check for microphone permissions

Right-click on the Start button and select Settings from the menu.
In the Settings window, go to the Privacy and Security tab on the list on the left-hand side.
In the right pane, scroll down to App permissions, and click on Microphone.
Turn the switches on for Microphone access and Let your apps access the microphone.

Also make sure that the switch is turned ON for the application for which you need the speech recognition.

5] Increase the input volume of your microphone

Usually, the volume of the output devices like speaker and headset is visible in the system tray itself. However, you will have to change the microphone volume through the Settings panel. In case the microphone volume is low, the issue in discussion can appear since the computer might not be able to recognize your speech. In this case, you can increase the microphone volume as follows.

Right-click on the Start button and select Settings from the menu.
Go to the System tab on the list on the left-hand side and then go to the Sound option on the list on the right-hand side.
Scroll down to the Input section and you can use the slider to increase the volume.

6] Check speech language

Another reason for your software not recognizing the speech to the microphone could be that you might have selected the wrong language for speech recognition. This can be checked and fixed as follows.

Right-click on the Start button and select Settings from the menu.
Go to the Time and Language tab on the list on the left-hand side.
In the right pane, scroll down and click on Speech.
Check the speech language and change it if is incorrect.

Although Speech Recognition works with many languages, if you understand English, it is recommended to set English as the primary language. At times, a bug or glitch may block you from using speech recognition when you use any language other than English. That is why it is recommended to follow this guide to change Windows language back to English.

7] Turn on Online Speech Recognition using Registry

If you get this problem with Online Speech Recognition, you must verify the Registry settings. It is possible to enable or disable online Speech Recognition using Windows Registry. If you deactivated this feature in the past, you might encounter the aforementioned problem. That is why follow these steps to turn on Online Speech Recognition using Registry:

Press Win+R to open the Run prompt.
Type regedit > click the OK button.
Click on the Yes button.
Navigate to this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Speech_OneCore\Settings\OnlineSpeechPrivacy
Right-click on OnlineSpeechPrivacy > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Set the name as HasAccepted.
Double-click on it to set the Value data as 1.
Click the OK button.
Close all windows and restart your PC.

After that, you can use online Speech Recognition without any error.

8] Change Group Policy settings

There is a Group Policy setting that helps you prevent or block users from enabling Speech Recognition on Windows 11/10 PC. If you enabled this setting earlier, you could not turn on the same option from Windows Settings. That is why follow the following steps to allow the user to enable online speech recognition:

Search for gpedit.msc in the Taskbar search box.
Click on the individual search result.
Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Regional and Language Options.
Double-click on the Allow users to enable online speech recognition services setting.
Choose the Enabled or Not Configured option.
Click the OK button.

After that, you can turn on or off online speech recognition without any problem.

9] Disable hotkey changer software

Windows 11/10 allows users to activate Speech Recognition using a hotkey, Win+Ctrl+S. However, if you have used the same keyboard shortcut to open something else or execute a different command, you won’t be able to use Speech Recognition. That is why it is suggested to check the hotkey changer software or keyboard shortcut changer software minutely.

10] Reinstall microphone (if external)

If you use an external microphone, it is recommended to reinstall it. You can do the following:

Unplug the microphone from your computer first. Restart your computer and re-plug it in.
If you haven’t installed the driver, it is suggested to do that. However, if you have already installed the corresponding driver, you can remove it first and reinstall the same.
Verify if your microphone is in working condition. You can use the same microphone with another computer.

11] Run the Recording audio troubleshooter

The Recording Audio troubleshooter is an excellent tool to check for problems related to microphone and speech recognition. You can run it as follows.

Right-click on the Start button and select Settings from the menu.
In the Settings window, go to the System tab on the list on the left-hand side.
In the right pane, scroll down and click on Troubleshoot. On the next page, select Other troubleshooters.
From the list of troubleshooters, select Run corresponding to the Recording Audio troubleshooter.

12] Run SFC scan

If everything else fails, it could be quite possible that the system files are missing or corrupt. In this case, you can consider performing an SFC scan on your computer. The SFC scan will replace the missing and corrupt files and fix the problem of speech recognition not working.

13] Troubleshoot in Clean Boot State

It is quite possible that an external software might be interfering with speech recognition on the intended software. This case can be isolated by troubleshooting the computer in the clean boot state. While in the clean boot state, no other third-party software will launch at the startup itself. In this case, you can identify the problematic software and halt it while using the speech recognition function.

14] Miscellaneous solutions

You can also try solutions like moving to a quieter place, using an external microphone instead of your laptop’s microphone, updating drivers, etc.

Read: How to disable Speech Recognition feature in Windows

How do I turn on my microphone?

First of all, the hardware of the microphone should be plugged and turned on. Some external microphones may have a switch to turn them on but most of them are simply plug and play. If your external microphone requires a separate power supply, make sure that the same is connected. Usually, windows will recognize the hardware and it will be turned on automatically. If that does not happen, you can use the Realtek audio player or Windows Settings to turn it ON manually.

Read: Best Speech Recognition software for Windows 11/10

What is a microphone used for?

A microphone is simply an audio input device for sending an audio input to the computer. The audio input can be used for recording, voice typing, instructing the system, etc. Usually, these days laptops come with inbuilt microphones.

Windows Speech Recognition is not available for the current display language

If you get Windows Speech Recognition is not available for the current display error in Windows 11/10, you need to set English as the default language. If you have used any regional language or anything else as the primary display language, you may encounter the aforementioned error on your computer.

That is why follow these steps to set English as the default Windows display language in Windows 11:

Press Win+I to open Windows Settings.
Click on the Time & language tab.
Select the Language & region menu.
Expand the Windows display language drop-down menu.
Select English from the list.

However, you must install the English language first. For that, you can click the Add a language button, select English (United States) and click the Next button to get started with the installation process.

Following that, you can choose it from the drop-down menu.

How do I set up voice recognition on Windows 11?

To set up Voice Recognition or Speech Recognition on Windows 11, you need to open the Windows Settings panel first. Then, go to the Accessibility tab and click on the Speech menu. Following that, toggle the Windows Speech Recognition button to turn it on. Then, you can press Win+Ctrl+S to open the respective panel.

Why is my Windows Speech Recognition not working?

There are many reasons why Speech Recognition might not be working on your computer. For example, if it is turned off in the Windows Settings panel, you cannot use it by pressing the Win+Ctrl+S shortcut. On the other hand, it could be a microphone issue as well. If you use a third-party app, an internal conflict can also cause the same issue.

Does Windows 11 have a talk-to-text feature?

Yes, like Windows 10, Windows 11 also has a talk to text features included. For that, you do not need to install third-party programs or services. You can press Win+H to open the corresponding panel and start talking. Everything will be typed automatically in any text editing or word processing application.