Windows Dictation Not Working? Fixes for Win+H

If you press Windows key + H ( Win+H) and nothing happens, or voice typing starts and then types nothing, the cause is one of five things, and Microsoft's documentation covers each of them. The microphone is wrong or blocked. Online speech recognition is off. There is no internet connection. The language you speak is not installed. Or Voice access is running and holds the same shortcut. Check them in that order. The steps below are for Windows 11 unless a row or sentence says Windows 10.

Find your symptom in the table, then go to the section it points to. The sections that follow give the exact menu paths and the source for each check.

For the basics of the feature, read our guide to Windows voice typing. This page is only about fixing it.

Check the microphone first: a blocked or wrong input device stops dictation before it starts

A tool cannot type what it does not hear, so the microphone comes first. Microsoft's troubleshooting page for voice typing starts by asking you to confirm that the microphone you want is selected in Settings ¹.

1. Select Start, then choose Settings > System.
2. Select Sound > Input, and choose the device you speak into.
3. Say a few words in a text box and watch whether they appear.

If the microphone is right but voice typing still refuses to start, the app may not have permission. Microsoft says voice typing needs microphone access, which you turn on under Privacy & security > Microphone ². In Windows 11, apps can use the microphone only when Microphone access is turned on under Privacy & security, App permissions, Microphone ³.

If the text box stays empty after you speak, Microsoft says to adjust the input level of your microphone ⁴. If the words appear but come out wrong, try a headset. Microsoft suggests a headset or external microphone when you are using the built-in microphone ⁵.

Voice typing needs online speech recognition switched on and a working internet connection

Voice typing needs an internet connection. Microsoft says voice typing converts speech to text using online speech recognition ⁶. To use it, you need to be connected to the internet, have a working microphone, and have your cursor in a text box ⁷.

Online speech recognition is a separate switch. In Windows 11, you turn it on or off under Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Speech ⁸. If the switch is off, Microsoft says that only device-based features, such as Narrator, are available ⁹. If voice typing does nothing and the switch is off, switch it on and try again.

On Windows 10, an archived copy of Microsoft's dictation article gives the same internet requirement: your PC must be connected to the internet to use dictation ¹⁰. The archived article does not describe the speech switch, so check your network connection first on Windows 10.

The local option is device-based speech recognition. In Windows 11, Microsoft says it processes your voice on the device and sends no voice data to Microsoft ¹¹. Voice typing does not use that path, so the internet check matters every time you dictate. Voice typing and Voice access differ in exactly this way, and the table shows where they differ.

Use the table to decide which tool you are trying to use. If you pressed Windows key + H and got Voice access instead of voice typing, the section on Voice access below explains why.

A language that is not installed blocks voice typing, but a speech pack is not always the cause

When the language you speak is not supported, Microsoft says voice typing is not available and tells you to install a supported one ¹². Microsoft lists 46 languages and regional variants for voice typing in Windows 11 ¹³, so a language missing from that list is not one Microsoft supports for voice typing.

Microsoft also says that speech recognition features are not required for voice typing to work ¹⁴. A speech pack is the set of language files that Voice access downloads ¹⁵, so do not assume a missing speech pack is what stops voice typing. What Microsoft's voice typing steps describe is adding the language. To add a voice typing language, select Start > Settings > Time & language > Language & region, then choose Preferred languages and Add a language ¹⁶.

If voice typing is not available in your language, Microsoft's troubleshooting page says to press Windows logo key + Spacebar and choose one of your available languages ¹⁷.

Before you give up on your language, compare the lists. The chart shows how many languages and variants each Windows option lists.

Microsoft's Voice access setup page lists 15 languages and dialects ¹⁸, but its Voice access FAQ names only four languages ¹⁹. The two pages disagree. The setup page is the more detailed one, so check the list on your own PC. Windows 10 dictation accepts speech in 13 language variants, but its dictation commands work only in US English ²⁰. On Windows 10 the list is shorter and the commands are English only, so a speaker of another language there may need a different tool.

Voice Access blocks the Windows key + H shortcut while it runs

This is an easy cause to miss. If Voice access is running and you press Windows key + H, voice typing does not start. Windows tells you to dictate with Voice access instead ²¹. The shortcut appears to do nothing, and the cause is a different feature answering the same key.

While Voice access is listening, say Turn off voice access or Close voice access ²² to stop it. Then press Windows key + H again.

Microsoft's pages do not name other apps that take this shortcut. If Voice access is off and Win+H still does nothing in a text box, work through the microphone and language checks above before you look for a conflict elsewhere.

Voice typing that cuts out mid-sentence has different causes from voice typing that never starts

If voice typing starts and then stops, the question is what stopped it. Microsoft documents several causes, and one more is often reported but not documented.

Microsoft says you can stop voice typing by saying a command such as "Stop listening," or by pressing the microphone button on the voice typing menu ²³.

Voice typing also has a wait-time setting. It controls how long voice typing waits before it carries out a voice command, and Microsoft says it gives more accurate recognition whether you speak slowly or quickly ²⁴. You change it from the gear icon on the voice typing flyout. If it finishes your sentences too early or too late, adjust this setting before you change anything else.

Keep the cursor in the text box while you speak. Microsoft lists a text box with the cursor in it as one of the requirements for voice typing, so click into the box before you press Windows key + H ⁷.

Wait for the alert before you speak. Microsoft says voice typing starts listening automatically when you turn it on, and that you should wait for the Listening alert before you start speaking ²⁵.

Voice typing needs an internet connection ⁷ and converts speech using online speech recognition ⁶, so a dropped connection can also stop it.

Some third-party guides say voice typing stops by itself after a period of silence. Microsoft's pages list only the manual stop commands and do not describe an automatic timeout, so do not rely on that explanation. If it happens to you, press Windows key + H again to restart it. For the full question, see why voice typing keeps stopping.

Voice Access download errors need internet access, a Store check and the 9001 update

Voice access is a separate feature from voice typing. Its first setup downloads the language files it needs, and Microsoft says you must be connected to the internet for that download the first time you set up your PC ²⁶. Those files are used for on-device speech recognition ²⁷. After the download, Voice access controls the PC and writes text by voice without an internet connection ²⁸.

If setup stops with the message "We can't download the required language files right now," Microsoft says this can mean the PC has no access to the Microsoft Store app catalog during setup ²⁹. Its check is to see whether you can access the Microsoft Store app and download apps from it ³⁰.

If you see error 9001 in Voice access, install the latest updates first. Microsoft's Voice access release notes say that issues where an error state of 9001 was encountered have been fixed ³¹. The notes do not give the version that contains the fix, so update Windows and check Voice access again before you go further. The full troubleshooting path for Voice access is in our guide to Voice access on Windows 11, and the question why Voice access is not working covers the same checks.

If you are still using the older Windows Speech Recognition feature, see our guide to Windows Speech Recognition before you troubleshoot it.

The flow below puts the checks in the order to make them.

When nothing works, restart, update, and consider a different tool

If every check passes and voice typing still fails, restart the PC, sign in again, and run this test in a plain text box such as Notepad:

1. Click in the text box so the cursor is blinking in it.
2. Press Windows key + H, and wait for the Listening alert.
3. Say a short sentence, such as "This is a test," and check whether the words appear.
4. Say Stop listening, then check that the text stayed in the box.

If the test passes in Notepad but fails in another app, the problem is that app's text box, not the dictation tool. If it fails in Notepad too, go back to the microphone, online speech and language checks above, and then install the latest Windows updates. Microsoft has fixed at least one Voice access problem through an update, as the 9001 fix above shows.

If you need help from your IT administrator or from Microsoft Support, these details make the problem quick to diagnose:

• The exact error text, word for word, and the step that produced it.
• Whether the PC is a personal device or a work or school device.
• Whether Voice access was running when voice typing failed.
• Whether the microphone, online speech or language setting is greyed out or locked on your PC.

Windows 10 is a special case. It reached the end of support on October 14, 2025, and after that Microsoft no longer provides technical assistance, feature updates or security updates ³². If your PC still runs Windows 10, it will not get feature updates, and it will not get security updates unless it is enrolled in a paid Extended Security Updates program, which is available to some customers. A different tool may be the practical answer.

If you need dictation that works without the internet, note the difference: voice typing needs the internet every time, while Voice access works offline after its first setup. For a fuller comparison of offline options, see offline speech to text on Windows. For a list of tools, see the best dictation software for Windows. Yap, which we make, is one dedicated dictation app for Windows, and you can read about it at the Windows page for Yap.

If a symptom in this guide does not match what you see, the question pages go deeper on one case at a time: why Win+H is not working, why voice typing is stuck on initializing, how to allow microphone access, and why voice typing keeps stopping. Microsoft's documentation does not describe an "initializing" state, so for that symptom the checks above are the documented ones.

If you use a Mac as well, the causes are different. Read why Mac dictation is not working, or the general dictation not working guide for causes that apply to every device.