Talk to text on Android is built into the keyboard. On most phones that keyboard is Gboard, and its voice typing works in any app with a text field: Messages, Gmail, WhatsApp, Chrome, Docs, a ChatGPT or Claude chat. This guide covers how to turn it on, how to use it well, what the spoken commands are, what the Pixel-only extras do, and what to check when it stops working. Everything below comes from Google's own Gboard help pages as they read today, and the Android version of each step is called out where Google calls it out.
The short answer: open any app you can type in, tap a text field, and tap the microphone at the top of the Gboard keyboard. When you see "Speak now," talk. Say "period," "comma," or "new paragraph" for punctuation, and tap the microphone again to pause. If the mic is missing, turn on Voice typing in Gboard's settings and give Gboard microphone permission.
What "talk to text" on Android actually is
There is no single Android dictation app. Speech to text lives inside whichever keyboard you use, so what you get depends on the phone:
- Gboard voice typing is Google's keyboard and the default on Pixel phones and most other Android phones. It is what this guide covers.
- Samsung Keyboard on Galaxy phones has its own voice input, and it can also use Google's. The steps are different enough that they get their own guide; for now, the mic on the Samsung Keyboard toolbar does the same job.
- Advanced voice typing and Rambler are Gboard features that only exist on Pixel phones (Pixel 6 and later, and the Pixel 11 series, respectively). They are covered below.
If you want the ranked list of apps instead of the built-in tool, read our roundup of the best speech to text apps for Android. This page is about getting the free one working.
How to turn on voice typing on Android (Gboard)
On many phones voice typing is already on and the mic is already on the keyboard. If it is not, three things have to be true: Gboard is your active keyboard, Voice typing is switched on inside Gboard, and Gboard has microphone permission. Here is each one, using the paths from Google's Gboard help.
1. Make sure Gboard is your keyboard
Install Gboard from Google Play if it is not on the phone (Google notes it is already the default on many Android devices, so check first). To switch to it from another keyboard, tap into any text field, touch and hold the Globe key at the bottom of the keyboard, and tap Gboard. If Gboard is not in that list, go to Settings, then System, then Keyboard, then On-screen keyboard, and turn on Gboard. Google notes that an update can remove it from this list, which is one reason the keyboard sometimes "disappears."
2. Turn on Voice typing in Gboard
Tap into a text field so the keyboard appears, tap Settings (the gear) at the top of the keyboard, tap Voice typing, and turn on Voice typing. The same screen has a Faster voice typing toggle, and on a Pixel 6 or later it holds the Advanced voice typing features switch covered below. If you do not see the gear in the keyboard's top bar, touch and hold the comma key and the settings gear appears in the small menu that pops up.
3. Give Gboard the microphone
The first time you tap the mic, Android asks for recording permission; choose While using the app. If you declined it once, or the mic now does nothing, open Settings, then Apps, then Gboard, then Permissions, then Microphone, and pick Allow only while using the app. That is the single most common fix for "voice typing stopped working."
How to use talk to text on Android
Google's steps for what it calls "Talk to write" are short:
- Open an app you can type in, such as Gmail or Keep.
- Tap a text field.
- Tap the Microphone at the top of the keyboard.
- When you see "Speak now," say what you want written.
The words appear in the field as you talk. Tap the microphone to pause, and tap it again to keep going. Google notes that talk to text does not work with every language, and that some of its steps need Android 7.0 or later.
Replace a word
When Gboard mishears a word, you do not have to retype the sentence. Open the message, touch and hold the wrong word, tap the Microphone, and when you see "Speak now," say the replacement. The new word drops in where the old one was.
The voice toolbar on tablets
On Android tablets, Gboard swaps the full keyboard for a small voice toolbar the first time you use voice typing. Tap the Keyboard icon to get the full keyboard back and the Minimize icon to return to the toolbar, which you can drag anywhere on the screen, including the sides. From the toolbar you can tap the mic to pause, tap the Emoji icon to pick an emoji, and tap a suggested voice command instead of saying it. To see the full list of commands for your language, tap the Menu icon or the language abbreviation (for example "EN") and tap Show voice commands.
Spoken punctuation and voice commands
Standard Gboard voice typing does not punctuate for you. You say it. Google's current list for Android is:
Say | You get |
|---|---|
"Period" | . |
"Comma" | , |
"Exclamation point" | ! |
"Question mark" | ? |
"New line" | a line break |
"New paragraph" | a blank line and a new paragraph |
Google notes that punctuation is not available in every language. Emoji work by name: say "smiley emoji" and Gboard inserts it. On phones with advanced voice typing (next section), punctuation becomes automatic and a set of editing commands is added.
Advanced voice typing on Pixel (Pixel 6 and later)
If you have a Pixel 6 or newer, including the Fold and Tablet, Gboard has a second, better mode that Google calls advanced voice typing features (older versions of Google's page called it Assistant voice typing; the feature is the same). To turn it on, tap into a text field, tap Settings at the top of the keyboard, tap Voice typing, and turn on Advanced voice typing features. A colorful microphone shows it is active.
What changes:
- Punctuation is automatic as you speak. If you would rather say it yourself, turn off Auto punctuation on the same Voice typing screen.
- Processing is on the device. Google states the text you speak stays on your phone and is not sent to its servers, with two exceptions noted below.
- The mic can stay on. Double-tap the keyboard mic to keep it listening across several messages. To stop, tap the mic, close the keyboard, or say "Stop." You can keep typing on the keyboard while the mic is open.
- Editing commands. "Delete last word" removes the last word, "Clear" removes the last sentence, "Clear all" clears the field, "Send" sends the message, and "Next" moves to the next form field. The Info button on the keyboard shows the full list.
- Fix a misheard word by tapping it, then speaking, typing, spelling it out, or picking a suggested alternative.
- Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. On Pixel 6 and later, automatic language detection is on by default; turn it off with Auto-switch language in Voice typing settings, or switch manually with the Globe key.
Two newer layers sit on top of this, with tighter device requirements:
- Fix it (Pixel 8 and later, English, United States, needs a connection): say "Fix it" or tap the suggestion Gboard shows under an error, "More fixes" for other options, and "Undo" to reverse one. Google is explicit that your text is sent to its servers for this feature.
- Detailed edits (Pixel 8 and later, US English): commands such as insert, delete, change, spell, and capitalize. Pause about half a second before a command, keep the cursor near the text you are editing, and say "Undo" to revert. Google says the command transcript and the field's text go to its servers to process the request, that no audio is sent, and that nothing is stored.
- Writing tools by voice (Pixel 9 and later, excluding the 9a): proofread, rephrase, change tone, add emoji, lengthen, or shorten, with "Use this" to accept and "Next" or "Previous" to browse. Google says these run on the device.
If advanced voice typing is missing on a new Pixel, Google's advice is to wait a few hours for updates to download, connect to Wi-Fi, restart, and charge overnight. It also requires your primary Gboard language and your device language to match; on Android 12, update the Android System Intelligence app from Google Play.
Rambler on the Pixel 11 series
Google's newest voice input is Rambler, a Gemini-powered mode that turns rambling speech into cleaned-up text instead of a word-for-word transcript. According to Google's Gboard help, it is available on Pixel 11 series devices, needs the latest Gboard set as your default keyboard, microphone permission, and an internet connection for the full feature set. Turn it on by tapping the mic and then Start in the introduction dialog, or by going to Menu, then Settings, then Voice typing, and selecting Rambler; the same screen lets you switch back to Standard voice typing.
Rambler removes filler words, fixes grammar and punctuation, takes requests such as "Make this sound more professional," edits existing text with commands like "Change blue to green," and supports languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Russian, and Hindi, with mid-sentence switching. Offline, basic cleanup, punctuation, and capitalization still work; rewrites wait for a connection, and a Retry button appears if the connection dropped. Google says the text, audio, and corrections are processed temporarily and deleted after delivery, notes that Rambler can make mistakes, and says it has usage limits without publishing the numbers.
Does Android voice typing work offline?
It depends on the phone, and Google's pages are less specific here than people expect. Advanced voice typing on a Pixel 6 or later processes your speech on the device, so the standard dictation works without a connection (Fix it and detailed edits do not). Rambler keeps basic cleanup offline and holds rewrites until you reconnect. For standard Gboard voice typing on other phones, Google's current "Type with your voice" page does not document an offline mode or a downloadable language pack, so if the mic goes quiet the moment you lose signal, that is the likely reason. If you need offline transcription of a conversation rather than dictation into a message, Google's separate Live Transcribe app can download languages for offline use on Pixel phones running Android 12 or later and on some other devices.
Switching languages while you dictate
Gboard dictates in the languages you have enabled. To add one, tap into a text field, tap Open features menu at the top left of the keyboard, tap More, then Settings, then Languages, choose the languages, pick a layout, and tap Done. Then, while dictating, tap the language abbreviation at the bottom left of the voice toolbar and pick a language, or touch and hold the Globe key on the keyboard. On Pixel 6 and later, advanced voice typing detects the language automatically unless you turn Auto-switch language off.
Android voice to text not working? Fixes to try
Google's "Fix problems with Gboard" page, plus its voice typing pages, point at the same handful of causes. In the order worth trying:
- The mic icon is missing. Turn on Voice typing in Gboard's settings (keyboard gear, then Voice typing). If the gear is not visible, touch and hold the comma key to reach it.
- The mic does nothing or says it cannot hear you. Give Gboard microphone permission: Settings, Apps, Gboard, Permissions, Microphone, then Allow only while using the app.
- A different keyboard is showing. Touch and hold the Globe key and pick Gboard, or re-add it under Settings, System, Keyboard, On-screen keyboard.
- It worked yesterday and freezes today. Restart the phone and update Gboard from Google Play. Then clear the cache: Settings, Apps, Gboard, Storage and cache, Clear cache. If that fails, Clear data resets Gboard to defaults (you will lose customizations, so do this last), and Uninstall updates helps when the trouble started right after an update.
- Nothing happens offline. See the offline section above; on most non-Pixel phones, voice typing needs a connection.
- Advanced voice typing is greyed out on a Pixel. Match your primary Gboard language to the device language (Settings, System, Languages & input, Languages, drag your language to the top), connect to Wi-Fi, and give a new phone a few hours to finish its updates.
- The wrong words keep coming out. Keep to one or two active languages, and use the touch-and-hold-a-word trick to correct a single word instead of re-dictating the sentence.
Where Gboard voice typing falls short
Gboard's voice typing is free, already installed, and good enough for texts and quick notes, which is why it is the right place to start. Its limits are the ones every built-in tool shares:
- Nothing you can teach it up front. Gboard personalizes from your corrections over time, but there is no list of names, products, or jargon you can hand it and expect voice typing to spell right the first time.
- The text is final. Outside the Pixel 8 and later editing commands, a misheard sentence means retyping on glass, or touching and holding one word at a time.
- The best parts depend on your phone. Automatic punctuation, on-device processing, Fix it, and Rambler are Pixel features, gated by generation. On most Android phones you are saying "period" and "comma" out loud.
- It lives inside one keyboard. Voice typing is a feature of Gboard, so it goes away the moment you switch to Samsung Keyboard or any other keyboard you prefer.
- It needs a connection on most phones, and the ones that work offline keep the editing features online.
For a sentence here and there, none of this matters. If you write real messages, notes, and documents on your phone, these are exactly the gaps a dedicated app fills.
Aqua Voice for Android: a button above the keyboard you already use
Aqua Voice for Android is not a keyboard, so you keep Gboard, or Samsung Keyboard, exactly as it is. Tap into a text box in any app and the Aqua button appears above the keyboard. Tap it, talk, and tap the checkmark; or hold it, talk, and let go. Clean, punctuated text lands at the cursor, with filler words removed, in whichever app you are in. Drag the button to either screen edge, drag it down to hide it for ten minutes, and shake the phone to bring it back. It never appears in password fields.
What changes compared with voice typing:
- Edit by voice, on any Android phone. Select text, tap Edit above the Aqua button, and say the change: "make this a list," "make it shorter," "change Thursday to Friday." Aqua rewrites the selection in place. It is the same idea as Edit Mode on the desktop, built for your thumb.
- A dictionary you fill in advance. Your custom dictionary, replacements, and custom instructions sync between Android, iPhone, Mac, and Windows on the same account, so the names and terms you taught Aqua on your laptop are spelled right on your phone.
- Accuracy you can check. Aqua runs on Avalon, its own speech model, which debuted as the #1 proprietary model on the OpenASR leaderboard in October 2025 (it sits at #6 overall today). On Aqua's own AISpeak benchmark, a self-reported figure, Avalon scores 97.3%. In 9to5Mac's head-to-head on the same passage, Apple's built-in dictation made 17 errors and Aqua made 1; that test ran on Macs, so read it as evidence about the model rather than the Android app.
- Punctuation from how you speak, on every phone, not only on a Pixel.
- Dozens of languages, with an Auto-detect option; the language picker in the app has the current list.
The honest limits, in the same spirit as the Gboard section: Aqua transcribes on its servers, so it needs an internet connection; it runs on phones and tablets with Android 10 or later, and not on Android Go devices, which do not allow the floating button; and setup asks for four permissions (microphone, display over other apps, accessibility so Aqua can type into other apps, and background use), each explained on screen before you grant it. Turn on Privacy Mode and your transcription data is not stored or used to improve the product. Aqua is SOC 2 Type II compliant and ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR and HIPAA compliant.
Starter includes 1,000 free words with no card required. Pro is $8/mo billed annually, or $10 month-to-month, at web prices; paid plans are also available in the app through Google Play, where billing may differ. One subscription covers Android, iPhone, Mac, and Windows. Get it on Google Play, read the launch post for a walkthrough, and the guide covers everything else.
If you also dictate on a computer, our guides to voice to text on Windows 11, dictation on Mac, and Google Docs voice typing cover the built-in tools there.
FAQ
How do I turn on talk to text on Android?
Tap into any text field, tap the gear at the top of the Gboard keyboard, tap Voice typing, and turn on Voice typing. Then tap the microphone at the top of the keyboard and talk when you see "Speak now." If Gboard asks for microphone access, choose While using the app.
Why is voice typing not working on my Android phone?
The usual causes are that Voice typing is switched off in Gboard's settings, Gboard does not have microphone permission (Settings, Apps, Gboard, Permissions, Microphone), or a different keyboard is active. If it froze after an update, restart the phone, update Gboard, and clear its cache under Settings, Apps, Gboard, Storage and cache.
Does Gboard add punctuation automatically?
Only with advanced voice typing on a Pixel 6 or later, where Auto punctuation is on by default. On other Android phones you say the punctuation: "period," "comma," "question mark," "exclamation point," "new line," and "new paragraph." Dictation apps such as Aqua Voice punctuate from how you speak on any Android phone.
Can I use talk to text on Android without Gboard?
Yes. Samsung Keyboard on Galaxy phones has its own voice input, and third-party keyboards have their own mics. Aqua Voice takes a different approach: it is a floating button above whatever keyboard you already use, so you can dictate and edit by voice without switching keyboards.
