How to Turn Off Voice Access in Windows 11

To stop Voice Access straight away, say Turn off voice access, or open Settings, go to Accessibility, then Speech, and set Voice access to Off. Microsoft lists the spoken command ¹, and a third-party guide describes the Settings switch, saying the bar disappears and Windows stops listening ².

Switching it off is not always the end of it. If the automatic-start checkboxes are still ticked, Voice Access can open again the next time you start your PC ³. This guide covers each off switch we could verify in Windows 11, and it says where Microsoft's own pages stop. The steps describe Windows 11 version 22H2 or later ⁴, the range Microsoft gives for the feature.

For the other voice features on the PC, see our overview of dictation on Windows, the guide to Windows voice typing, and the guide to Voice Access commands.

The Voice Access toggle in Accessibility settings turns it off at once

Use the Settings switch when you want the feature off until you turn it on again. The switch lives in the same place where you turned Voice Access on. Microsoft's setup page says you can start Voice Access from Settings or from Windows search ⁵. The off position of that switch is the same control, and the third-party guide we checked describes turning it off by the same route ².

1. Open Start, then select Settings.
2. Select Accessibility, then select Speech.
3. Set Voice access to Off.

Turning off the switch removes the bar from the screen and stops Windows listening ².

If you only want to stop Voice Access listening for a moment, a spoken command is quicker. Microsoft lists five phrases that close it: Turn off voice access, Stop voice access, Close voice access, Exit voice access and Quit voice access ¹. The command for the microphone alone is different. Turn off microphone switches off the Voice Access microphone, and Voice access wake up or Unmute makes it listen again ^{6 7}.

The table shows the three options we found. Only the first two stop the feature. Saying "Turn off microphone" is the one to use when you want to pause listening and keep the feature open.

Voice Access keeps coming back when it is set to start automatically

Microsoft's pages do not say that closing Voice Access changes the setting that starts it again. Microsoft gives two checkboxes for this, and each one is a start rule. The first is Start voice access before you sign in to your PC, which starts the feature before the sign-in screen ⁸. The second is Start voice access after you sign into your PC ⁹. Microsoft says the checkboxes are for launching the feature automatically every time you start your computer ³.

Microsoft places these checkboxes next to the steps that start Voice Access from Settings, so you can clear them there. With both cleared, Microsoft's pages imply the feature opens only when you start it yourself. They do not say what happens after you switch the feature off, so a ticked checkbox is the most likely reason Voice Access returns. That is our inference, and it is the first thing to check if the feature keeps opening.

After you clear both checkboxes, switch Voice Access off, restart the PC and check whether the bar appears. Restarting is our suggested test. Microsoft's pages do not describe it.

Voice Access can also open from Windows search, which Microsoft's setup page lists as a way to launch it ⁵. So a search that opens Voice Access counts as starting it, and you should avoid that search while you want the feature off.

To make sure it stays off, work through these steps in order:

1. Say Turn off voice access, or switch Voice access to Off in Settings.
2. Clear both automatic-start checkboxes in the same Speech settings.
3. Restart the PC and check that the bar does not appear.
4. Do not search for "voice access" in Windows search while you want the feature off.

Win+H cannot start Voice Access, and it reports a conflict while Voice Access runs

Some people look for a shortcut that toggles Voice Access, and the shortcut that matters most is Windows key + H. That shortcut starts Windows voice typing, not Voice Access. On Windows 11, you turn on voice typing by pressing the Windows key + H on a hardware keyboard, or the microphone button on the touch keyboard ¹⁰.

If Voice Access is already running, Windows does not start voice typing when you press Windows key + H. Microsoft's FAQ says that in that case you get the message "You can use voice access for typing too. Select a text box and start dictating." ¹¹. So the shortcut does not start Voice Access, and voice typing appears not to work while the feature is open. The message implies that closing Voice Access lets Windows key + H start voice typing again. Voice typing has its own stop command. To stop it, you say a command such as "Stop listening" or press the microphone button on the voice typing menu ¹².

We did not find a keyboard shortcut in Microsoft's pages that starts or stops Voice Access. Some third-party sites describe shortcuts that apply only to preview builds of Windows 11. We did not verify those, so we leave them out. The question on disabling the Voice Access shortcut covers this in more detail.

The Voice Access bar cannot be moved, and it goes when the feature closes

The bar is the strip that shows what Voice Access hears. Microsoft says it cannot be moved. It is fixed at the top of the main screen ¹³.

This means there is nothing to drag or resize. It also means there is no position setting to change. Microsoft's pages do not describe a setting that hides the bar while the feature stays on. The bar leaves the screen when you turn the feature off ², or when you close it with a spoken command ¹.

If the bar is in your way, your choices are the ones above: close Voice Access, or turn off the microphone and leave the feature open. Neither changes the bar's position.

Microsoft's pages describe switching Voice Access off, not removing it

Voice Access is a feature of Windows 11, and it replaced Windows Speech Recognition. Microsoft says it replaced Windows Speech Recognition in Windows 11 version 22H2 and later in September 2024, and Speech Recognition remains in older versions of Windows ¹⁴. Microsoft's list of deprecated Windows features dates the deprecation of Windows Speech Recognition, and its replacement by Voice Access, to December 2023 ¹⁵.

Microsoft's pages describe turning the feature off, closing it and stopping it from starting. They do not describe removing it. We did not find a Microsoft page that explains how to uninstall Voice Access, so we do not give steps for that. The question on uninstalling Voice Access explains what the pages do say.

Turning off Voice Access does not turn off the other voice tool on the PC. Voice typing needs an internet connection, a working microphone and the cursor in a text box ¹⁶, while Voice Access works without an internet connection once its setup is done ¹⁷. Windows voice typing supports 46 languages and regional variants in Windows 11 ¹⁸, and it starts with Windows key + H once Voice Access is closed. The chart compares the language counts in the three Windows voice features Microsoft documents.

The chart shows that Voice Access covers fewer languages than voice typing. The Windows Speech Recognition figure comes from Microsoft's command page ¹⁹, and Voice Access's figure comes from its setup page ²⁰. Voice typing has the longer list, with 46 languages and variants ¹⁸ against 15 for Voice Access ²⁰, but voice typing needs an internet connection ¹⁶.

For plain dictation into a text box, the built-in voice typing is often enough, so you may not need Voice Access at all. If you want dictation that runs on your own computer, Yap, which we make, is an on-device dictation app for Mac and Windows. Built-in tools are enough for many people, so compare them before you install anything.

Language files may stay on the PC after you switch Voice Access off

Voice Access needs its language files before it can recognize speech. Setup downloads the files for the language you choose, and Microsoft says the files are used by on-device speech recognition ²¹. First-time setup needs an internet connection ²². After setup, Microsoft says Voice Access controls the PC and writes text by voice without an internet connection ¹⁷.

The third-party guide we checked says the downloaded language files stay on the computer after you turn Voice Access off ²³. Microsoft's pages do not say what happens to the files when the feature is switched off, and we did not find a documented method for deleting them. Treat the guide's statement as a secondary report.

Microsoft's own pages also disagree on the language list. The setup page lists 15 languages and dialects ²⁰, while the FAQ says Voice access is currently available in English, Spanish, French, and German ²⁴. The setup page is the more detailed list. Check the list on your own PC before you rely on any single language.

We found no Microsoft policy that switches Voice Access off on managed PCs

On a work or school PC, an administrator may control Voice Access, and the off switch you can reach may be locked. We searched for a Microsoft policy that controls Voice Access specifically and did not find one in the pages we could open. The Microsoft pages we read describe the Settings switch and the sign-in checkboxes, not a policy setting.

If the switch is greyed out or the checkboxes do not change, ask your IT administrator. They can see what policies apply to your device, and we cannot see them from here. Do not change registry values or policy settings on a managed PC without their approval.

Microsoft's voice typing troubleshooting page covers problems with voice typing, which is a separate feature from Voice Access. For problems with Windows key + H, see our guide to dictation not working on Windows. For the feature's wider privacy position, see our guide to what happens to voice data.

Sources and limits of this guide

Most of the steps come from Microsoft's Voice Access pages as they read when we checked them. The Settings switch for turning Voice Access off comes from a third-party guide, because Microsoft's setup page documents turning it on and does not describe the off position in the same words. We could not test the steps on a live Windows 11 PC for this guide, so check the labels on your own screen if they differ.

Most of the steps above come from Microsoft's own pages. The third-party guide is cited only where Microsoft's pages stop, and each claim from it is labelled as such. We separate the two so you can check the official source first.

Some questions are still open, and we say so rather than guess. Microsoft does not document a keyboard shortcut that starts or stops Voice Access. It does not document removing the feature. It does not document a policy that controls it on managed PCs. The question on why Voice Access keeps popping up sets out what does and does not explain the behavior. Terms used here are explained in our glossary entries for Voice Access, Win+H and Windows Speech Recognition.