How do you disable the Voice Access keyboard shortcut?

Microsoft documents no Voice Access shortcut that starts or stops the feature, so there is no start shortcut to disable. Its getting-started guide lists two keyboard shortcuts for Voice Access, Alt+Shift+B and Alt+Shift+C, and both change the listening state or the microphone, not whether the feature runs. The shortcut people usually mean is Windows key + H, which starts voice typing, a separate feature. Microsoft's pages do not describe turning that shortcut off, so the practical fix is to turn Voice Access off and avoid the keys.

Microsoft lists two keyboard shortcuts, and neither starts the feature

Microsoft's guide to getting started with Voice Access gives three ways to change its state: voice commands, keyboard shortcuts and mouse clicks. The keyboard shortcuts are only for the microphone. Alt+Shift+B switches Voice Access between sleep and listening ¹. Alt+Shift+C turns the microphone off and back on ². Neither is listed as closing the bar or stopping the feature from starting.

Microsoft lists Turn off voice access as a spoken command that closes the feature ³, and says that closing it removes the bar from the top of the screen ⁴. So a shortcut is unlikely to be the cause if the bar keeps appearing. Check the startup settings, as explained in our question on why Voice Access keeps popping up.

Microsoft's pages do not describe a way to remap or switch off Alt+Shift+B or Alt+Shift+C. We did not find a documented setting for them, so we do not give steps. Third-party keyboard tools can change what a key does, but we did not check any of them, and they affect every app on the PC.

Windows key + H starts voice typing, not Voice Access

On Windows 11, you turn on voice typing by pressing Windows key + H on a hardware keyboard, or the microphone button on the touch keyboard ⁵. This is the shortcut most people mean when they ask about a Voice Access shortcut. It belongs to voice typing, which is a different feature with its own commands.

To stop voice typing, you say a command such as Stop listening, or you press the microphone button on the voice typing menu ⁶.

When Voice Access is already running, Windows key + H does not start voice typing. Microsoft says Windows tells you that you can use Voice Access for typing instead ⁷. This can look like the shortcut is broken or pointing at the wrong feature, but it is the expected behavior while Voice Access is open.

Microsoft does not document turning off Windows key + H

We did not find a Microsoft page that describes turning off the Windows key + H shortcut itself. The voice typing settings have a gear icon in the voice typing flyout, and it lists the Voice typing launcher, which Microsoft describes as the option that lets you quickly use voice typing when you are in a text box ⁸. Microsoft's description does not say that the launcher switch disables Windows key + H. Some third-party guides say it does, and we did not verify that claim, so do not rely on it.

It depends: what you actually want to stop

The steps depend on which key you are pressing and what you want to happen.

If you only want Windows key + H to work again, turn Voice Access off first. Microsoft's pages say the shortcut is blocked while the feature runs, so closing Voice Access is the change that matters.

What to do

1. To stop Voice Access, say Turn off voice access, or switch Voice access to Off in Settings, then Accessibility, then Speech.
2. To keep the feature open but silence it, say Turn off microphone. That turns off the microphone, not the feature.
3. To stop it from opening at sign-in, clear both startup checkboxes in the same Speech settings. The steps are in our question on why Voice Access keeps popping up.
4. If Windows key + H is the problem, see our guide to dictation not working on Windows, which covers the cases where the shortcut does not respond.

The full list of off switches is in our guide to turning off Voice Access. For a question on removal, read whether you can uninstall Voice Access. Terms used here are explained in our glossary entries for Win+H and Voice Access.