How do you turn off dictation on a Mac?

To turn off Dictation on a Mac, open System Settings, go to Keyboard and then Dictation, and turn it off. Apple says that on a Mac you turn Dictation on or off from the Dictation section of Keyboard settings ¹. This is a separate control from your Siri settings ², so changing Siri does not change Dictation.

The steps below follow Apple's Dictation guide for macOS 27 ³. If you are not sure you are in the right place, the how to use Dictation on a Mac guide shows the same path in context.

Turn Dictation off in System Settings in three steps

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
2. Go to Dictation.
3. Turn Dictation off. Then check that the Microphone key or your Dictation shortcut no longer starts it.

On older releases the names differ. On macOS Monterey 12, Apple's guide placed Dictation in the Dictation pane of Keyboard preferences ⁴. Check the labels on your own Mac, because the screens differ between versions.

Turning off Siri does not turn off Dictation

Siri and Dictation are separate features with separate controls. Apple's steps for turning off Siri on a Mac open the Siri pane of System Settings and end with the Turn Off Siri button. Those steps do not mention Dictation ⁵. If you turn off Siri and Dictation still works, that is expected, and you still need to change the Dictation setting.

The reverse also applies. Turning off Dictation does not turn Siri off. A long press of the Microphone key still activates Siri, if Siri is enabled ⁶, so a keyboard that has the key can still reach Siri after you turn Dictation off. For the Siri side, see our question on whether Siri can take dictation on a Mac.

Stop the Microphone key and fn key from starting Dictation

The Microphone key and the fn or Globe key are the two keys that can start Dictation by accident. They behave differently, so handle them separately.

• Microphone key. Press and release the key to start Dictation. Press and hold it to activate Siri ⁶. Turning Dictation off stops the short press. It does not stop the long press reaching Siri.
• fn or Globe key. In Keyboard settings, the option for this key sets what it does. Choose Do Nothing and pressing the key does nothing ⁷. On some Macs the option is labelled Press key to rather than Press fn key to, so look for the option that contains "key to".

Keep Dictation on but switch off Auto-punctuation

Many people do not want Dictation off. They only want it to stop adding commas and question marks. That is a separate setting. In the Dictation section, use the Auto-punctuation switch. Once it is off, Dictation still types your words, but it no longer inserts commas, periods and question marks on its own ⁸.

Change the shortcut instead of removing it

If another app uses the same keys, or the shortcut starts Dictation when you do not want it to, change the shortcut rather than turning the feature off. Apple lets you customize the key combination that starts and stops Dictation ⁹. Click the Shortcut pop-up menu in the Dictation section, then choose a shortcut from the list ¹⁰, or choose Customize and press the keys you want.

It depends: an option may be missing or locked

If you cannot find the Dictation section, or the switch will not change, a restriction may be set on your user account. The steps for finding and fixing that are in why Mac dictation is not working.

What to do next

Turn Dictation off in Keyboard > Dictation, then press the Microphone key or your shortcut in a text field to confirm nothing starts. If you only wanted fewer automatic changes, turn off Auto-punctuation instead. If you want the feature back later, turn it on in the same section. For how the feature works when it is on, read what Dictation on a Mac is, or the full Mac dictation guide.