Why is dictation not working on my Chromebook?

Dictation on a Chromebook can fail for four reasons: it is off, the cursor is not in an editable field, the language you speak does not match the device language, or it has turned itself off after silence. Check these in that order, because the first three take seconds to confirm.

Check that Dictation is turned on

Dictation is off until you switch it on. In Settings, go to Accessibility, then find Keyboard and text input, and turn on Dictation ¹. The feature is described by Chromium's developer documentation as an accessibility feature for typing and editing text by voice ².

Once it is on, you can start it with Search + D, or by clicking the microphone icon in the status tray. The same two methods turn it off again ³. If Dictation does not respond, press Search + D once and try again.

Check that the cursor is in an editable field

Dictation types only where the cursor sits in an editable field, such as a text area or an input box ⁴. A page can look like a text box without being one, so a click on the text can leave the cursor somewhere that accepts no text. Click into the box you want to fill, then speak again.

Check that your language matches the device language

Speech will not work when the language you speak is not the device language ⁵. If you speak Spanish on a Chromebook set to English, for example, Dictation will not type what you say. Change the device language, or change the language you dictate in, then try a short test sentence. We did not verify the exact menu path for the language setting on current ChromeOS releases, so look for the language options in Settings and check them against Google's current help.

Check that Dictation has not turned itself off

Dictation turns itself off when it has recognized no speech for a short period ⁶. The documentation does not give that period, so do not plan around a specific length. If the microphone went off while you were thinking, press Search + D and continue.

Check whether a phrase ran a command

When Dictation recognizes a spoken command, it runs the command as well as it can. Otherwise, it types the recognized words as they are ⁷. A word you meant as text can therefore trigger an action if it matches a command. Say the sentence another way, then check the field again.

If none of the four checks works

The Chromium documentation we read names no further causes, and we did not find a documented fix beyond these four checks. If the Chromebook belongs to a school or an employer, its settings may be managed, and the administrator or help desk can tell you whether Dictation is locked off. Note the ChromeOS version and the language you use, because you will need both to describe the problem.

Two related questions may help. The question on whether Chromebook dictation works offline explains what the sources say about offline use, which matters if the failure appears only when Wi-Fi is off. The question on punctuation explains how spoken marks and new lines behave, which is useful when text appears but not as you meant.

For the full set-up steps and the other limits of the feature, read the guide to Chromebook dictation. The term Dictation (ChromeOS) explains the feature's name in the settings, and the overview of dictation in your apps covers the wider subject.