Windows has had free voice to text built in for years, and in Windows 11 there are actually three different tools wearing that name. One of them is probably all you need for a quick email. One of them lets you run the whole PC without touching a keyboard. The third is on its way out. This guide covers how to use voice to text on Windows 11 from start to finish: the shortcut, the settings worth changing, every voice command, what to do when it stops working, and when a dedicated dictation app is the better tool.
The short answer: to use voice to text on Windows 11, click into any text field and press the Windows key + H. A small voice typing bar appears. Start talking and your words are typed where your cursor is. Say "stop listening" when you are done. You need a working microphone and an internet connection.
The steps below follow Microsoft's own support pages, Use voice typing to talk instead of type on your PC and Set up voice access, as they read at the time of writing.
The three voice tools in Windows 11, and which one to use
Before the steps, it helps to know what you are turning on, because the names overlap and the tools do not.
Tool | What it does | Needs internet? | Windows version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice typing (Win + H) | Dictates text into any text field | Yes | Windows 10 and 11 |
| Voice Access | Dictates text and controls the whole PC by voice | No, after setup | Windows 11 22H2 and later |
| Windows Speech Recognition | The older dictation and control tool | No | Windows 10 and older Windows 11 builds |
For most people the answer is voice typing. It is one shortcut, it works in any app, and it needs no setup. If you want to open apps, click, scroll, and dictate without a keyboard or mouse, or you need dictation that works offline, set up Voice Access. Windows Speech Recognition is the legacy option: according to Microsoft, Voice Access replaced it on Windows 11 version 22H2 and later in September 2024, and it remains available only on older versions of Windows.
How to turn on voice typing in Windows 11 (Win + H)
Voice typing is what Windows 10 used to call dictation, and it is the one to start with.
- Click into the place you want to type: a Word document, an email, a browser form, a chat box. Voice typing only works when your cursor is in a text field.
- Press the Windows logo key + H. On a touch keyboard, tap the microphone button instead.
- The voice typing bar appears with a microphone icon. If it is already listening, just talk. If not, click the microphone.
- Speak at a normal pace. Your words appear as you go.
- Say "stop listening" or "pause voice typing" when you are done, or press Win + H again.
One thing to know up front: voice typing is an online feature. Microsoft's documentation says it needs an internet connection, because the recognition runs on Microsoft's speech service rather than on your PC. If you are offline, the bar will appear but nothing will be typed.
Voice typing settings worth changing
Click the gear icon on the voice typing bar to open its settings. Three are worth a look:
- Automatic punctuation. Turn this on and voice typing adds periods, commas, and question marks from the way you speak, so you do not have to say "comma." It is the single biggest usability improvement in the tool.
- Voice typing launcher. With this on, a small microphone button appears whenever your cursor lands in a text box, so you can start dictating with a click instead of the shortcut.
- Profanity filter. On by default, it masks words it considers profane. Turn it off if you need them typed as spoken.
Windows voice typing commands
Voice typing understands a short list of spoken commands. These are the English (United States) phrases from Microsoft's documentation; other languages have their own.
To do this | Say |
|---|---|
Stop or pause | "Pause voice typing," "Stop voice typing," or "Stop listening" |
Delete the last word or phrase | "Delete that," "Erase that," or "Scratch that" |
Select the last word or phrase | "Select that" |
Press Enter | "Press Enter" |
Press Backspace | "Backspace" or "Press Backspace" |
Press Tab | "Tab" or "Press Tab" |
Insert a space | "Insert space" or "Press space" |
Undo the last change | "Undo that" or "Revert" |
For punctuation, say the mark by name: "period," "comma," "question mark," "exclamation point," "new line," "new paragraph." With automatic punctuation on, you can mostly skip the first three.
Which languages voice typing supports
Microsoft lists more than 40 languages and regional variants for voice typing in Windows 11, including six varieties of English, two each of Spanish, French, and Portuguese, three of Chinese, plus German, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, and most European languages. Voice typing uses the language of your active keyboard, so if you want to dictate in Spanish, switch the keyboard language first (click the language indicator in the taskbar, or press Win + Space).
Fluid dictation on Copilot+ PCs
If you have a Copilot+ PC, voice typing gains a feature Microsoft calls fluid dictation. It runs small on-device language models to clean up what you say as you say it: fixing grammar and punctuation and dropping filler words like "um," so there is less to edit afterward. Per Microsoft's documentation it is available in all English locales, it is on by default once the models have downloaded in the background, and it switches itself off in secure fields like passwords and PINs. If the option appears dimmed in voice typing settings, the model is still downloading; you can check progress under Settings, then Windows Update.
How to use Voice Access on Windows 11
Voice Access is the accessibility tool, and it is a different animal. It uses on-device speech recognition, so it works without an internet connection once set up, and alongside dictation it can open apps, switch windows, click buttons, scroll, and move the mouse by voice. It requires Windows 11 version 22H2 or later.
Turn on Voice Access
- Open Settings, then Accessibility, then Speech.
- Turn on the Voice access toggle. (Or open the Start menu, type "voice access," and open it.)
- The first time, pick your language and choose Agree and continue. Windows downloads the language files, which needs an internet connection and can take a few minutes. After that, Voice Access runs offline.
- On the Setup microphone screen, confirm your microphone and pick a default if you have more than one.
- Optionally, walk through the interactive guide. Otherwise, start talking.
In the same Settings pane you can tick Start voice access before you sign in to your PC or Start voice access after you sign in to your PC so it launches on its own.
At the time of writing, Microsoft lists Voice Access languages as English (United States, United Kingdom, India, New Zealand, Canada, Australia), Spanish (Spain, Mexico), German, French (France, Canada), Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, and Italian.
Dictating with Voice Access
Voice Access has three modes. In default mode it listens for both commands and dictation and decides which is which. Say "dictation mode" and everything you say is typed as text, including words that would otherwise be commands. Say "commands mode" and it only acts on commands. Say "default mode" to go back. The microphone itself is controlled by voice too: "voice access sleep" (or "mute") pauses it, "voice access wake up" (or "unmute") resumes, and "turn off microphone" stops it.
The text commands you will use most, from Microsoft's Voice access command list:
To do this | Say |
|---|---|
Start a new line or paragraph | "New line" or "New paragraph" |
Delete the last thing you said | "Delete that," "Scratch that," or "Strike that" |
Select text | "Select that" or "Select all" |
Fix a mistake | "Correct that" |
Spell a word out letter by letter | "Spell that" or "Spell out" |
Capitalize a word | "Capitalize [word]" |
Make text bold | "Bold that" |
Punctuate | "Period," "Comma," "Question mark," "Exclamation mark" |
Say "what can I say" at any point to see the full list, or "open voice access help."
Windows Speech Recognition: the old way
Windows Speech Recognition (WSR) is the dictation and control tool that shipped with Windows for more than a decade. On Windows 11 22H2 and later, Microsoft says Voice Access replaced it in September 2024, so if you are on a current build you should use Voice Access instead. On Windows 10 and older Windows 11 builds it is still there: open Settings, then Time & language, then Speech, choose Get started under Microphone, and press Windows key + Ctrl + S to turn it on. It works without an internet connection and understands a large command vocabulary; say "what can I say?" to see it.
Voice to text on Windows 10
Everything in the voice typing section works on Windows 10 too: press Win + H in a text field and dictate. Voice Access is not available on Windows 10, so for hands-free control you are limited to Windows Speech Recognition. Keep in mind that Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, so a Windows 10 PC no longer receives security updates, and new voice features are not coming to it.
Windows voice typing not working? Fixes to try
Work through these in order. In our experience nearly every voice typing problem is the internet connection, the microphone, or the cursor.
Win + H does nothing. Check that your cursor is in a text field. Voice typing only opens when there is somewhere to type. If you are in a program that does not use a standard text box, try a different app to confirm.
The bar opens but nothing is typed. Voice typing needs an internet connection. Check that you are online and that nothing (a VPN, a firewall, a work network policy) is blocking it. Then check the microphone: open Settings, then Privacy & security, then Microphone, and make sure microphone access is on and that desktop apps are allowed to use it.
It is using the wrong microphone. Open the voice typing settings (the gear on the bar) and choose the microphone you want as the default. Also unplug any headset you are not using, since Windows sometimes picks it.
It is typing in the wrong language, or the language is not supported. Voice typing follows your keyboard language. Switch it with Win + Space, and if your language is missing, add it under Settings, then Time & language, then Language & region.
Accuracy is poor. Move somewhere quieter, use a headset or external mic, and speak at a steady pace. Make sure the keyboard language matches what you are actually speaking. If a specific word keeps coming out wrong, there is no custom vocabulary in voice typing, so you will need to correct it by hand each time (or see the section below).
Voice Access shows an error after setup. Rerun the language download: open Settings, then Accessibility, then Speech, turn Voice Access off and back on, and let it finish downloading. If it still fails, check for Windows updates, since Microsoft ships Voice Access fixes through Windows Update.
Where Windows voice to text falls short
Voice typing is genuinely good for what it is, and free is a hard price to beat. Its limits are the same ones every built-in tool has:
- No custom vocabulary. There is no way to teach it your coworkers' names, your product, or your field's terms. The same words get misheard every day.
- The text is final. When voice typing mishears, you fix it with the keyboard or say "delete that" and try again. There is no way to say "change that to Thursday" and have the sentence rewritten.
- It is a mode you open. Win + H, speak, stop listening. Fine for a paragraph; awkward for a sentence here and a sentence there across a day of email, Slack, and forms.
- Always online. Voice typing needs a connection, and Voice Access works offline but only in a handful of languages.
- Punctuation and formatting are shallow. Automatic punctuation helps, but you will still spend time on capitalization, lists, and line breaks.
If you dictate a few sentences a week, none of this matters. If you write for a living, it is exactly what pushes people toward a dedicated app.
A system-wide upgrade: Aqua Voice for Windows
Aqua Voice runs natively on Windows 10 and 11 and works the way voice typing does, everywhere, but with the gaps above filled in. You hold your activation key, speak, and release, and clean, punctuated text lands wherever your cursor is: Word, Outlook, Chrome, Slack, Teams, a terminal.
What changes in practice:
- 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). In a 9to5Mac head-to-head on the same passage, Apple's built-in dictation made 17 errors and Aqua made 1. On Aqua's own AISpeak benchmark (self-reported), Avalon scores 97.3%. Developers can use the same model through the Avalon API.
- Your words, spelled right. A custom dictionary holds the names, jargon, and product terms voice typing keeps getting wrong.
- Fix it by voice. With Edit Mode, select text, hold the key, and say the change: "fix the grammar," "make it shorter," "change that to Thursday."
- Punctuation from how you speak. Capitalization, punctuation, and paragraph breaks come from your phrasing, so you talk normally.
- Fast. Final text arrives in about 450ms, and you can dictate at up to 230 words per minute.
- One setup, every device. Aqua works on Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android, in 49 languages, and one subscription covers all of them.
The free plan includes 1,000 words with no card required, and Pro is $8/mo billed annually. Aqua is SOC 2 Type II compliant and ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR and HIPAA compliant, which matters if your PC is managed by an IT team. Setup takes a minute: download the Windows app, sign in, allow the microphone when Windows asks, and pick your activation key. The guide covers the rest, and we keep a separate walkthrough of using Aqua in Microsoft Word.
For a comparison of paid options, see our roundup of the best AI dictation apps for Windows, or the cross-platform best dictation software guide. If you also use a Mac, our guide to dictation on Mac covers Apple's equivalent, and Google Docs voice typing covers Google's.
FAQ
How do I turn on voice to text on Windows 11?
Click into a text field and press the Windows key + H. The voice typing bar appears; speak, and your words are typed at the cursor. Say "stop listening" to finish. You need a microphone and an internet connection.
What is the difference between voice typing and Voice Access?
Voice typing (Win + H) only dictates text and needs the internet. Voice Access dictates and also controls the PC by voice (opening apps, clicking, scrolling), runs on-device so it works offline after setup, and requires Windows 11 version 22H2 or later.
Does Windows voice typing work offline?
No. Microsoft's documentation says voice typing requires an internet connection. For offline dictation on Windows 11, set up Voice Access, which downloads a language model to your PC during setup and then works without a connection.
Does Windows 11 add punctuation automatically when dictating?
Only if you turn it on. Open the gear icon on the voice typing bar and enable automatic punctuation. Otherwise, say punctuation by name, such as "period" or "comma." On Copilot+ PCs, fluid dictation also cleans up grammar and filler words as you speak.
