How do you see audio messages as text in iMessage and Google Messages?

On an iPhone, you turn nothing on. From iOS 17, Messages shows a transcript underneath an audio message on its own ¹. Both people in the conversation need iOS 17 for it to appear ². On Android, Google Messages has a Voice Message Transcription option that you switch on in its settings ³. The transcript then appears under the audio message, hidden until you tap it ⁴.

This answer covers reading audio someone sent you. It does not cover typing by voice into a reply, which uses the microphone on your keyboard. For that, see our guide to voice typing in WhatsApp and messaging apps and the overview of dictation on phones and tablets.

iPhone shows the transcript automatically from iOS 17

Messages on iPhone needs no setup. Open a conversation that contains an audio message and look underneath it. The iPhone Life how-to guide on the feature says that you do not need to enable any special settings, because the feature works automatically ⁵. Apple's own Messages help did not show this wording when we looked, so treat the guide as a secondhand account.

The requirement that catches people out is the version on both phones. Transcripts need iOS 17 on the sender's phone and on yours. If the other person is on an older version, or you are, the transcript will not appear.

To check a conversation:

1. Open Settings, then check that the iPhone is running iOS 17 or later ².
2. Ask the sender to check the same thing on their phone.
3. Open the conversation and look for the transcript under the audio message.

The sources we could read do not list which languages Messages transcribes. If your language is unusual, send or receive a short test message in that language and see whether a transcript appears.

Google Messages needs one setting, then a tap

On Android, the feature is an option in Google Messages that you turn on. Android Central's steps are these ³:

1. Open Google Messages and tap your profile picture.
2. Go to Message settings and look for the Voice Message Transcription option.
3. Toggle the option on if it is not already on.

Once it is on, an audio message you receive arrives with a transcript. The transcript is hidden by default. Tap it to read the text ⁴.

Menu names differ between phones and software versions, so look for the option name rather than a fixed path. The same article says the feature is rolling out to more Android phones, so if the option is missing, update your phone and check again ⁶.

Where the transcript is made depends on the app

Google says audio messages are not sent to the company and are processed on the device ⁷. Android Central reports that statement, and Google's own Messages help page could not be read for this answer, so check Google's current wording if this matters to you.

For iPhone, the sources we read do not say where the Messages transcript is made. Apple's statement that Keyboard settings show whether dictated audio is processed on the device covers dictation, not the transcript under an audio message, so it does not answer this question ⁸. If you need to know, read Apple's current privacy material for Messages before you rely on it.

When you will not see a transcript

Most missing transcripts have one of four causes. Work through them in this order:

The sources we read do not give an accuracy rate for these transcripts. Before you act on a transcript that matters, such as a time, a place or a number, play the audio and check it.

Transcripts and voice typing are different tools

A transcript reads a voice message someone sent you. Voice typing writes your own words into a message box. If you want to reply by voice, use the microphone on the keyboard, which the guide to voice typing in WhatsApp and messaging apps covers step by step.

Transcripts from WhatsApp work differently, with their own setting. The questions on converting WhatsApp voice messages to text and on WhatsApp transcripts that do not work cover that case. For sending a text without touching the phone, see how to send a text by voice, hands-free, and for dictation that stops working in WhatsApp, see why voice typing is not working in WhatsApp.

Terms used here are defined in our glossary: voice message transcripts, Gboard and Google voice typing.