How do you reset dictation on iPhone?

I did not find a separate reset for Dictation on iPhone in Apple's pages. The steps Apple gives for system problems can be applied to Dictation, and they run from the lightest to the heaviest: restart, switch the setting, check Voice Control, then reset all settings. Stop at the first step that works.

Restart the iPhone before you change a setting

Apple says that if an iPhone has problems with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or other system features, "restart it first," and that you should reset all settings only if restarting does not help ¹. Apple's page does not mention Dictation by name, so applying the same order to Dictation is my reading of that advice. Restart the phone, then test in Notes.

Turn Enable Dictation off and on

Open Settings, tap General, then tap Keyboard. Turn on Enable Dictation, and if a prompt appears, tap Enable Dictation ². If the switch is already on, turn it off, then turn it on again, and test in Notes with the microphone key.

Turn off Voice Control if you want standard Dictation

Apple says that when Voice Control is on, "you use Voice Control to dictate text; standard iOS Dictation isn't available." ³ If standard Dictation is what you want, turn Voice Control off. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, then tap Voice Control ⁴.

Reset All Settings is the last step, and it keeps your data

Apple's path to the reset is Settings, then General, then Transfer or Reset, then Reset, then Reset All Settings ⁵. Apple says the reset "returns settings to factory defaults," and that "Your photos, messages, apps, and documents aren't deleted." ⁶

The reset changes more than Dictation. Apple lists the keyboard dictionary among the settings that Reset All Settings removes or returns to defaults ⁷, so read Apple's full list before you go ahead. After the reset, turn on Enable Dictation again. Apple links Dictation to the keyboard you type with, and says that "when you use a keyboard for another language, you can use Dictation in that language as well." ⁸ Add each language keyboard you need, then test in Notes.

What a reset does not fix

A reset also cannot add a language that your iPhone does not support. Before you reset, check the language and region in Apple's list, since the list changes by version. On a Mac, the steps are different, and they are covered in how to reset dictation on Mac.

If the reset does not help, write down what you tried

Keep a short note before you call Apple Support: the iOS version, the language and keyboard you use, the app where the key fails, and which steps above you tried, in order. A report with those details is quicker to act on than "dictation does not work." Also say whether the key is missing, greyed out or responds but types the wrong text, because each points to a different check in the guide to iPhone dictation that is not working.

If the Dictation key still fails after the reset, check the steps in the guide to iPhone dictation that is not working, which covers the key, the language, the network and the microphone in order. For the cause of a key that is greyed out, read why dictation is greyed out on the iPhone. If dictation stops in the middle of a sentence, read why iPhone dictation keeps turning off. For the subject as a whole, see dictation and voice to text on iPhone and Android.