How to Turn On Voice Typing on Every Device

You do not need to install anything to start voice typing. Every current Mac, Windows PC, iPhone, Android phone and Chromebook ships with it, and so do Google Docs and Microsoft Word. On most of them it takes one setting and one shortcut: turn dictation on once, put the cursor where the words should go, press the key, and speak.

The short version, checked against each maker's own help pages on 16 October 2026:

• Windows 11: press Windows key + H to turn on voice typing ¹, with the cursor in a text box ².
• Mac (macOS 27): turn on Dictation in System Settings > Keyboard ³, then press the Microphone key, use the Dictation shortcut or choose Edit > Start Dictation ⁴.
• iPhone (iOS 27): turn on Enable Dictation in Settings > General > Keyboard, then tap the microphone on the keyboard ⁵.
• Android: in Gboard, tap the microphone at the top of the keyboard ⁶.
• Chromebook: turn on Dictation in Accessibility settings, then press Search + D ⁷.
• Google Docs: Tools > Voice typing ⁸, or Ctrl + Shift + S, which Google lists for Chrome browsers ⁹.
• Word: Home > Dictate, for Microsoft 365 subscribers ¹⁰.

The rest of this guide gives the exact steps for each platform, the first sentence to try, and the one setting (microphone permission) to check when nothing happens. For what dictation is and how it differs from transcription, start with What Is Dictation?; for the whole subject, see Dictation and Voice Typing.

Every major platform has voice typing built in, so start with the one you already own

The built-in tools are free, already on your device and good enough for most everyday writing. Start with the one on the device in front of you, and only look further when it fails you in a specific way (a missing language, an app it will not type into, or a need to work offline).

The reason to spend the minute is speed. In a Stanford and University of Washington study on an iPhone, people entered English text by speech at 153 words per minute, against 52 words per minute on the built-in keyboard, 2.93 times faster ¹¹. The gap held in Mandarin Chinese: 123 words per minute by speech against 43 with the Pinyin keyboard ¹².

Those were short, read-aloud phrases in a quiet room, so treat them as the speed of the input method, not of finished writing. The comparison for real work is in Dictation vs Typing, and the habits that make dictated text clean are in How to Dictate.

A built-in tool is enough when you write messages, notes, emails and first drafts in a common language. A dedicated app earns its place when you need one shortcut that types into every app on a computer (system-wide dictation), offline processing, or a language the built-in tool lacks. The options are compared in Free Dictation Software.

One table shows the setting and the shortcut on every platform

Each platform has a one-time setting and a start action. Windows and Google Docs need no setting at all; the others need one switch, once.

The rows are sourced in the sections below, one platform at a time. Two differences matter when you choose where to dictate:

• Where the speech is processed. iPhone Dictation runs on the phone in many languages with no internet connection ¹⁵, and a Mac processes general text dictation on the device and does not send it to Siri servers ¹⁶. Windows voice typing needs an internet connection ². More in Does dictation work without internet?
• Where the text can go. The operating system tools (Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Chromebook) type into almost any text field. The Google Docs and Word tools type only into their own documents.

For the shortcuts alone, see What is the shortcut for voice typing?

On a Mac, Dictation turns on in Keyboard settings and starts from the Microphone key, a shortcut or the Edit menu

Mac Dictation is off until you switch it on, once, in Keyboard settings. After that it works in any app where you can type.

Turn on Dictation in macOS 27

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar (scroll down if you do not see it).
2. Go to Dictation and turn it on.
3. Click Enable to confirm ³.
4. If macOS asks whether to improve Siri and Dictation, choose Share Audio Recordings or Not Now. Either choice leaves Dictation working.

Start and stop it

Click where the text should go, then do one of three things: press the Microphone key in the top row (on keyboards that have one), use the Dictation keyboard shortcut, or choose Edit > Start Dictation ⁴. Press and release the Microphone key; pressing and holding it opens Siri instead, if Siri is enabled ¹⁷, which is a common reason a first attempt seems to do the wrong thing. That key is the Microphone key.

You can also start Dictation with a double press. In Keyboard settings, the option for what the fn or Globe key does can be set to Start Dictation, which starts dictation when you press that key twice ¹⁸. You can also pick another shortcut from the Shortcut menu in the Dictation section, or make your own. Every option is in Mac Dictation Shortcut.

Current macOS accepts text of any length without a timeout, and you stop with Escape, the Microphone key or the shortcut ¹⁹. If you stop talking, Dictation turns itself off after 30 seconds without speech ¹³.

The full Mac walkthrough, including languages and the difference from Voice Control, is in How to Use Dictation on a Mac and Dictation vs Voice Control vs Siri. If the shortcut does nothing, see Why is the dictation shortcut not working? and our page on Mac dictation not working.

On Windows, Win+H opens voice typing in any text field

Windows 11 has nothing to switch on. Click into any text box, press Windows key + H on a hardware keyboard, or tap the microphone on the touch keyboard ¹, and wait for the "Listening" prompt before you speak. The shortcut is Windows key + H.

Three requirements must all be true: a working microphone, an internet connection and the cursor in a text box ². Windows voice typing uses Microsoft's online speech recognition, so it does not work offline.

To stop, say "Stop listening" or press the microphone in the voice typing menu ²⁰. Stopping a session does not turn the feature off; Win+H works again whenever you press it.

The gear icon in the voice typing window opens its settings, including the voice typing launcher, which offers voice typing when you are in a text box ²¹. The same menu has automatic punctuation, a profanity filter and the default microphone. On Copilot+ PCs, voice typing also offers fluid dictation, covered in Fluid Dictation, Copilot+ PCs and Windows on Arm.

Voice typing is not the same as Voice access, the Windows 11 feature that controls the whole PC by voice ( Voice Access in Windows 11). For everyday writing, Win+H is the one you want. The complete Windows guide, with every command, is Windows Voice Typing; fixes are in Windows Dictation Not Working?, and our walkthrough is How to dictate on Windows.

On both Mac and Windows, the built-in tool types where the cursor is, with one shortcut per platform. If you want the same shortcut on both, with speech processed on the computer, Yap, which we make, is one option ( download); the built-in tools are free and enough for most people.

On phones, the microphone key on the keyboard starts dictation

On a phone, voice typing lives in the keyboard. Wherever the keyboard opens, the microphone key is there, so it works in messages, email, notes and search boxes alike.

iPhone (iOS 27)

1. Open Settings, tap General, then Keyboard.
2. Turn on Enable Dictation, and tap Enable Dictation again if a prompt appears ⁵.
3. In any text field, tap the microphone on the onscreen keyboard and speak.

Dictation on iPhone is processed on the phone in many languages, and no internet connection is required ¹⁵. To stop, tap the microphone, say "Stop dictation", or stay silent: it stops by itself after 30 seconds ¹⁴. With Apple Intelligence in iOS 27, Dictation uses an on-device model to improve spelling, punctuation and capitalization in English on the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air or later ²².

Moving dictated text between devices is covered in How do you dictate on an iPhone and send it to a Mac?

Android with Gboard

Gboard is Google's keyboard and the default on many Android phones.

1. Open any app you can type in, such as Gmail or Keep, and tap a text field.
2. Tap Microphone at the top of the keyboard.
3. When you see "Speak now", say what you want written ⁶.

The first time, Android asks for permission to record, with three choices: While using app, Only this time or Don't allow ²³. Choose one of the first two. If you chose Don't allow, voice typing stays blocked until you allow the microphone for Gboard in the phone's app settings, so check that first when Android says voice typing has no permission.

Samsung Galaxy

Samsung phones offer two voice engines, Samsung voice input and Google Voice Typing, and Samsung voice input works only with the Samsung Keyboard ²⁴. Turn them on in Settings > General management > Keyboard list and default, then tap the Microphone icon on the keyboard toolbar and talk while it is active. The same Samsung page describes an Offline voice input section where you install offline language packs ²⁵. If the microphone icon is missing, check that one of the two engines is switched on in that list.

Phone dictation in Google Docs uses the same keyboard microphone; see How do you use voice typing in Google Docs on a phone?

On a Chromebook, one accessibility switch turns dictation on

ChromeOS keeps dictation in its accessibility settings.

1. Select the time at the bottom right (or press Alt + Shift + S), then Settings > Accessibility.
2. Under Keyboard and text input, turn on Dictation.
3. Click where you want to type and select Speak, or press Search + D (on some keyboards, Launcher + D) ⁷.

One rule trips people up: dictation does not work if the language you speak does not match the device language ²⁶. To dictate in another language, change it first ( How to Change the Dictation Language). Say "Cancel" to stop. More detail, including offline use, is in Chromebook Dictation.

In Google Docs and Word, dictation lives inside the app

Google Docs and Word have their own dictation, separate from the operating system's. It types only into that document, but it adds document-specific voice commands.

Google Docs on a computer

1. Open a document in a supported browser.
2. Click Tools > Voice typing. A microphone box appears.
3. Click the microphone when you are ready to speak ⁸.

The shortcut is Ctrl + Shift + S on Windows and ChromeOS, and Command + Shift + S on a Mac ⁹. Google's help page says the feature works with the latest versions of Chrome, Edge and Safari, and that the browser runs the speech-to-text service ²⁷. Google's shortcut list still labels the shortcut "available in Chrome browsers" ⁹, so the two pages name different browsers; if it fails in another browser, use the Tools menu or Chrome. Firefox is on neither list. If Voice typing is missing from the Tools menu at work or school, your administrator may have turned it off. Commands and limits are in Google Docs Voice Typing and voice typing in Google Docs.

Microsoft Word

In Word, choose Home > Dictate while signed in to Microsoft 365. On a Mac, Option + F1 also starts it ²⁸; on Windows, press Alt + ` (the backquote key, below Esc on US keyboards) or Alt+H, D ²⁹. The Dictate button exists only for Microsoft 365 subscribers ¹⁰, so a one-time-purchase copy of Word will not show it. On those copies, use the operating system's tool instead (Win+H or Mac Dictation), which types into Word like any other app. Details are in Dictate in Word and Dictate in Microsoft 365.

Free voice typing in a browser

Free voice typing on a web page can use the browser's own speech recognition, the Web Speech API. By default, speech recognition on a web page sends your audio to a server-based recognition service, so it does not work offline ³⁰. Google Docs voice typing is the best-known free option, and our free online dictation page runs in the browser with no account. Every option is compared in How do you voice type online for free?, and the technology in Web Speech API.

Consoles and VR headsets offer narrower voice input

Game consoles and headsets are where voice typing is least consistent, and the makers' own pages are the only reliable guide.

Meta Quest dictation has two modes: online dictation, only for users in the United States, and on-device dictation, an opt-in feature available worldwide ³⁴. Outside the United States, turn on the offline mode in the headset's voice dictation settings and download a language first. Xbox and PlayStation are covered in voice typing on game consoles and TVs

The first dictation should be a short sentence you already know

The first attempt tells you whether the setup works, so make it easy to judge. Say one short sentence you know by heart, at a normal pace, then read what appeared.

In supported languages, iPhone Dictation inserts commas, periods and question marks as you speak ³⁵, so "Can you call me back" should come out with a question mark on an iPhone. On a Mac, Dictation also adds certain punctuation automatically ³⁶, but Apple does not say which marks, so check the result. Where punctuation is not automatic, say it: "comma", "period", "question mark". The full lists are in Dictation Punctuation and Dictation Commands, and Does voice typing add punctuation automatically? covers which tools do it.

Three habits make the first sentence come out clean:

• Wait for the listening signal (the pulsing cursor on a Mac, "Listening" on Windows, "Speak now" on Android) before you speak, so the first word is not cut off.
• Say the whole sentence in one breath. Recognizers use the words around each word to pick between sound-alikes.
• Keep the microphone close and the room quiet. Whether a laptop microphone is enough is answered in Is a laptop microphone good enough for dictation?, and the hardware in Best Microphone for Dictation.

If the words are wrong rather than missing, the setup is fine and the next step is technique: How to Get Used to Dictation.

When nothing happens, check the microphone permission first

If the listening indicator appears but no text does, or the microphone key is grey, check the microphone permission before anything else. Each platform has its own switch:

On Windows 11, you need Microphone access turned on under Privacy & security, App permissions, Microphone ³⁷. On a Mac, you can decide which apps are allowed to use the microphone ³⁸, which matters for third-party dictation apps rather than Apple's own Dictation. In Chrome on a computer, when a website wants the microphone, you choose Allow while visiting the site, Allow this time or Never allow ³⁹. A site you once blocked stays blocked until you change it in the site settings ( site microphone permission).

Other blockers the makers document: no internet on Windows ², a language mismatch on a Chromebook ²⁶, and the wrong microphone selected in the dictation settings. The full checklist is in Dictation Not Working?, with Why does dictation work in some apps but not others? for app-specific failures. What each permission lets an app do is explained in Dictation App Permissions.

Turning voice typing off uses the same switch

Every setting above works in reverse. On a Mac, turn off Dictation in Keyboard settings; on an iPhone, turn off Enable Dictation; on a Chromebook, turn off Dictation in Accessibility. On Windows, voice typing runs only when you press Win+H, and turning off the voice typing launcher stops the prompt from appearing in text boxes. Step-by-step instructions for each platform, including Android keyboards, are in How do you turn off voice typing?

Voice typing is built into Mac, Windows and Chromebook computers, so Can you use talk to text on a computer? has a short answer: yes, for free, from the keyboard settings or one shortcut.