Why is talk to text not working on Google Messages?

Talk to text works in Google Messages because Messages uses the keyboard you type with. The microphone you tap in the message box belongs to that keyboard. So when talk to text fails in Messages, the cause is almost always the keyboard: it is not the default keyboard, it has no permission to record, or its language does not match the phone. Check those three before you reinstall anything.

Messages has no microphone of its own, so the keyboard decides

Google's Gboard help describes voice typing for any app where you can type. You open the app, tap a text field, and tap the microphone at the top of the keyboard, then speak when you see "Speak now" ¹. The help gives Gmail and Keep as examples of apps where this works ². In Messages, the microphone appears on the same keyboard whenever that keyboard is the one you are typing with.

That is why the test is simple. If the microphone appears on your keyboard in Messages, the keyboard is working and the problem is in the settings below. If the microphone is missing, the keyboard you are using does not offer it, and switching to your default keyboard usually brings it back.

Permission is the most common cause of silence

The first time the keyboard uses the microphone, Android asks for a recording permission with three choices: While using app, Only this time and Don't allow ³. If you tapped Don't allow, the microphone will appear but record nothing. Go to Settings, Apps, the keyboard app, Permissions, then Microphone, and set it to allow recording. The steps vary slightly by Android version, so use the menu names your phone shows.

This is the same permission logic as the rest of Android, and the microphone guide explains how to check it on each platform.

The language setting can stop advanced voice typing

Google's advanced voice typing is a separate mode, and it has its own rule. To use it, your primary Gboard language and your device language must be the same ⁴. If they differ, the feature will not start the way you expect. Google also says that on some Pixel devices you type with your voice by using Advanced voice typing ⁵, so on a Pixel, look for that option in the keyboard's settings if the standard microphone is missing.

Switching languages during dictation works through the toolbar. Gboard's voice toolbar has the language abbreviation at the bottom left, and tapping it lets you select another language ⁶. Use that if your text comes out in the wrong language rather than not at all.

Do not confuse talk to text with voice message transcripts

Google Messages has a second feature with a similar name: transcripts of voice messages you receive. Those are a different feature from talk to text. Google says audio messages are processed on the device, so the transcripts stay on the phone ⁷. The setting is in Message settings, under the profile picture, as Voice Message Transcription ⁸.

So if you want to speak a reply, you need the keyboard microphone. If you want to read a voice message someone sent you, you need the transcription setting. A failure in one does not mean the other is broken.

It depends on the phone and the keyboard

• Microphone missing: the keyboard is not Gboard, or it is not your default. Switch keyboards in settings, then open Messages again.
• Microphone there, no text: the recording permission is set to Don't allow, or another app is holding the microphone.
• Text is wrong or in another language: check the language toolbar and the language match.
• Transcription option missing: the voice message transcription option is still rolling out to more phones, so a phone may need a system update before it appears.

Samsung and other phones may use a different default keyboard and different menus. The Android voice typing guide covers the keyboard basics, and the messaging app guide covers the same approach in other apps.

What to do

1. Tap the message box in Messages and look at the top of the keyboard for the microphone.
2. If it is missing, switch to Gboard in your keyboard settings, then open Messages again.
3. Tap the microphone, and say a short test sentence when you see "Speak now".
4. If you see the microphone but no text appears, open Settings, the keyboard app's permissions, and set the microphone to allow recording.
5. If the wrong language comes out, change the language on the voice toolbar.
6. If the problem persists, the Android guide to fixing voice typing lists the steps for each cause.

If you are not sure which keyboard is active, the Gboard entry explains what the keyboard is and where it appears.