Why is the dictation shortcut not working on my Mac?

A Dictation shortcut that does nothing on a Mac usually comes down to one of two things: the key you press is not the shortcut Dictation is set to use, or a setting blocks Dictation from starting. You can tell them apart in under a minute. Start Dictation from the Edit menu in a text app. If that works, the shortcut is the problem. If it does not, the feature is the problem.

The guide to Mac Dictation shortcuts covers every way to start Dictation, and this page covers only what to do when the shortcut fails.

Test Edit > Start Dictation to separate the key from the feature

Apple gives three ways to start Dictation on a Mac: the Microphone key, the Dictation keyboard shortcut, or Edit > Start Dictation ¹. The menu route does not depend on any key, so it is the cleanest test. It exists only in apps that show it, so use a text app with that menu item.

If the menu route starts Dictation, the feature works, and the fault is the key or its setting. If the menu item is missing, or it starts nothing, the fault is in the feature, and the shortcut is not the place to look first.

Check that the key you press is the shortcut in Keyboard settings

The key label on your keyboard does not show which shortcut is set. Open System Settings, go to Keyboard, then Dictation, and read the Shortcut setting. Press that combination, not the one you remember. The guide to changing the Dictation shortcut shows how to set a new one.

The fn key has its own option. Apple lists four choices for "Press fn key to": Change Input Source, Show Emoji & Symbols, Start Dictation and Do Nothing ². If the option is Do Nothing, a double press of fn does nothing, whatever the Dictation shortcut says. If it is Start Dictation, the double press starts Dictation, and Apple says you may first be asked to enable Dictation ³. A prompt is therefore a sign that Dictation is off, not that the key is broken.

Holding the Microphone key opens Siri, not Dictation

Pressing and releasing the Microphone key starts Dictation, but pressing and holding it activates Siri, if Siri is enabled ⁴. A held press can look like a dead key when Siri opens instead. Press it once and release.

If the Dictation key is in the top row, holding fn while you press it gives the standard F-key action instead ⁵, as the question on where the dictation key is explains. Press the key without fn.

Dictation may be off, or Voice Control may be doing its job

Dictation can be turned off in Keyboard settings. Go to Dictation, then turn it on or off ⁶. If it is off, no shortcut will start it, and a prompt may appear when you press the fn key twice.

Voice Control is the other common blocker. When Voice Control is on, you use it to dictate text, and standard macOS Dictation is not available ⁷. A shortcut that does nothing on a Mac with Voice Control turned on is behaving as designed. Turn Voice Control off in its own settings if you want Dictation back.

Another shortcut may be using the same keys

When two shortcuts use the same combination, the new one does not work. Apple says that if you assign a keyboard shortcut that already exists for another command or app, your new shortcut will not work ⁸. Look in Keyboard Shortcuts settings for the conflict, and choose a different combination for Dictation if you cannot tell which one to change.

The microphone and language can stop Dictation before it starts

A shortcut can start Dictation and still produce nothing if the microphone is wrong. Keyboard settings include a Microphone source menu. On Automatic, your Mac listens to the device it thinks you are most likely to use ⁹. Select the microphone you are speaking into.

If the language does not match your speech, Dictation can produce nothing useful, so set the language and region to match what you say.

What to do, in order

1. Start Dictation from Edit > Start Dictation in a text app. If it starts, the feature works, so go to step 2. If it does not, go to step 3.
2. Read the Shortcut setting under Keyboard settings, Dictation, and press that combination. Then read the fn key option. Set it to Start Dictation if you want the double press. If the shortcut still fails, go to step 4.
3. Check the feature: that Dictation is on, that Voice Control is off, that the microphone source is right, and that the language matches your speech.
4. Look for a conflict: a warning icon, or another app or macOS shortcut that uses the same keys. Change one of the two.

If the menu route also fails after step 3, the fault is in the feature, not the key. Apple's full checklist is on the Dictation help page, and our Mac Dictation troubleshooting page walks through the same causes. A related question covers the same problem on Windows and Mac. The question of where the dictation key is on a Mac explains the Microphone key itself.

For the wider subject, read the overview of Dictation on Mac. The terms used here are defined in the Apple Dictation and Microphone key entries.