How to Fix Dictation Not Working on iPhone

How to Fix Dictation Not Working on iPhone- with a specific fix for iOS 16 users facing the issue due to a bug. Dictation on the iPhone can be very convenient. Whether you are just not a fan of typing and prefer dictation or this is one of those scenarios where you have to send a long text, sometimes the words flow more naturally when you speak them.

Read: Best 4 Ways to Create a Collage on iPhone

But for many users, dictation doesn’t work at all; Either the microphone icon on the keyboard is grayed out or an X appears after tapping on the Dictation icon. If you also find yourself in this situation, don’t worry.

How to Fix Dictation Not Working on iPhone

There are proven methods that will solve How to Fix Dictation Not Working on iPhone this problem in no time. let’s go!

1. Disable and Enable Wi-Fi or Mobile Data

Dictation on iPhone requires an active internet connection to work. If your iPhone isn’t connected to the Internet, or if your Internet connection is slow or unstable, Dictation may not work properly. Therefore, you need to make sure that everything is in order in this department.

• To check your Internet connection, swipe down from the right notch and make sure you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network or using cellular data.
• If you’re using Wi-Fi, long-press the network tile to see if you’re connected to a network. If you’re connected to a network, the name of the network appears below the Wi-Fi icon.
• If you are not connected to Wi-Fi, long press the “Wi-Fi” icon and connect to an available network.
• Even if you were connected to Wi-Fi/Mobile Data, turn it off and then on again after a few seconds to get it back on.

2. Restart iPhone

One of the easiest and most effective fixes for dictation not working on iPhone, or many other issues, is to restart your device. You can restart iPhone normally or force it to restart. Both will do the same thing.

To restart your iPhone normally, press and hold the Power and Volume Up/Down buttons simultaneously until you see the “Slide to power off” screen.

Next, swipe right on the slider to turn off your iPhone. Once your iPhone turns off, wait for a few seconds and then turn it on again; Press and hold the Power button again until the Apple logo appears to restart it. Once your iPhone is on, check the dictation.

3. Restart Dictation from keyboard settings

If dictation isn’t working on your iPhone, there could be a problem with how it works. Toggling it off and on from the keyboard settings can help eliminate the problem and get things running like clockwork.

• To resume dictation, go to the Settings app and go to the “General” setting.
• Then go to the “Keyboard” option.
• Next, turn off the toggle for “Enable Dictation”, wait for a few seconds, and toggle the switch again to turn it on.

4. Check Your Microphone

It’s possible that all the chaos is caused by the simple fact that your microphone isn’t working properly because text-to-speech won’t happen if the iPhone can’t detect speech. So make sure that the microphone is not blocked and is not physically damaged. No debris, dirt, or lint should be blocking your microphone.

If there are no physical particles, you can go to the Voice Memos application, record a short memo, and listen to it to determine if the microphone is working properly.

5. Disconnect Your Headphones

On a related note, if you have headphones connected to your iPhone, try disconnecting them and then using Dictation. When your headphones are connected, the microphone on the accessory is used instead of your phone. And it can be faulty.

Or it could be that your Bluetooth headphones are connected when you don’t know they are connected to the phone. So, they might be in the other corner of the room when you’re trying to use Dictation on your iPhone. Therefore, disconnect your wired or Bluetooth headphones and try using Dictation again.

• Next, tap on the “Keyboard” option.
• ‘go Keyboard.
• Finally, tap on “Add New Keyboard”.
• Then add the keyboard in your desired language, seeing that it is available.

Now the next time you want to dictate in this language, make sure you have this keyboard selected. You can press and hold the ‘Globe’ icon or the ‘Dictation microphone’ icon to switch to the keyboard.

6. Update Your iOS

If you’re not on the latest software patch, a simple update may fix your problems. To check for the update, head into the Settings app and go to the “General” setting.

• Next, tap on the “Software Update” option.
• If there are any pending updates, install them.

7. Make Sure the Language is Added in the Keyboard Setting

The Dictation function only works for a language if it is added in the keyboard settings and the keyboard is selected. For example, if you try to dictate in French but the keyboard isn’t connected, text-to-speech will spit out the garbage or generate no text at all.

To add a keyboard in the desired language, open the Settings app and go to “General”.

• Next, tap on the “Keyboard” option.
• ‘go Keyboard.
• Finally, tap on “Add New Keyboard”.
• Then add the keyboard in your desired language, seeing that it is available.

Now the next time you want to dictate in this language, make sure you have this keyboard selected. You can press and hold the ‘Globe’ icon or the ‘Dictation microphone’ icon to switch to the keyboard.

8. Change Siri Keyboard and Language

Several iOS 16 users reported that after updating to the software version, they started having problems with dictation, but changing the language helped.

For example, most people had problems if the keyboard language was “English (US)”. Oddly enough, changing the language to ‘English (UK)’ or ‘English (Canada)’ got dictation working again. Also, if you are having trouble with “Spanish (Latin America)”, switching to “Spanish (Mexico)” will be helpful. You get the gist, don’t you? If you are having problems with your language, try a nearby switch, that is, try switching to this language from another region closest to yours.

However, you will need to change the keyboard and Siri language to get the task fixed.

• Go to “General” in the Settings app.
• Now tap on the “Keyboard” option.
• Next, tap on “Keyboard”.
• Next, tap on “Add a new keyboard”.
• Then add a new language keyboard for English (UK), eg.
• Go back to the keyboard settings and tap on the “Dictation language” option.
• Next, make sure the language you just added is selected.
• Now go back to Settings and tap on “Siri & Search”.
• Tap on the “Language” option and select the language to switch to.

A confirmation prompt will appear, tap on “Change Language” to confirm. “Hey Siri” will also be disabled after you change the language; You will need to re-enable it and set it up again.

 Note: Even if you’ve changed the language, you can keep Siri’s accent in your native language. This will have no effect on the fix.

Now check whether Dictation works again or not. You will need to use these language settings until Apple provides a fix for this issue for affected users in one of the later versions of iOS 16.

9. Disable Screen Time Restrictions for Siri and Dictation

If you’ve set up Screen Time restrictions, make sure you haven’t disabled Siri and Dictation in those settings, which can create chaos.

• Go to “Screen Time” from the Settings app.
• Then go to “Content & Privacy Restrictions”.
• You can either disable Content & Privacy Restrictions altogether. But if you want to keep them enabled, go to “Allowed apps”.
• Next, make sure that the toggle for ‘Siri & Dictation’ is turned on.

10. Stop Using Third-Party Keyboards

If you’re using a third-party keyboard, make sure it offers dictation. If not, switch to your standard Apple keyboard to use Dictation.

It’s also possible that a third-party keyboard is interfering with Dictation, so try removing it and see if that fixes the problem.

11. Reset your keyboard dictionary

If nothing else has worked yet, try resetting your keyboard dictionary. This will erase any custom words you’ve added to the dictionary, so be aware of that.

• Go to General Settings, scroll down, and tap on the option “Transfer or Reset iPhone”.
• Tap on the “Reset” option.
• Next, tap on the “Reset keyboard dictionary” option from the options that appear. If a confirmation prompt appears, confirm to continue.

12. Reset Network Settings

This should be an absolute last resort when no other fixes have helped. Resetting network settings will delete all your saved Wi-Fi, VPN, and other cellular settings.

Tap on the “Transfer or Reset iPhone” option in General Settings and on the next screen select the “Reset” option.

Next, tap on the option “Reset network settings”.

You will need to enter your iPhone passcode to continue. Once the network settings reset, reconnect to the internet and dictation should now work.

Although one of these fixes should work and dictation should be working like clockwork again, if it still doesn’t then you should contact Apple Support for How to Fix Dictation Not Working on iPhone.