Mac dictation not working?
7 fixes that actually help

1Check the microphone it is actually using

Dictation can hear nothing because macOS is listening to the wrong input, or the input level is too low. This is the single most common cause.

1. Open System Settings › Sound › Input.
2. Pick the microphone you actually speak into (your headset, not a webcam across the room).
3. Talk, and watch the Input level meter. If the bars barely move, drag the input volume up.

If the meter moves when you talk, the mic is fine. If dictation still sounds wrong or mishears you, the mic itself may be the real limit: see our guide to dictation accuracy and mic choice.

2Make sure Dictation is turned on

If the shortcut does nothing at all, Dictation itself may be switched off, or Screen Time may be blocking it.

1. Open System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation and confirm the toggle is on.
2. If the toggle is greyed out, check System Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy for an Allow Siri & Dictation setting turned off. This one is not documented by Apple, but it is a common cause on managed or family Macs.

3Match the dictation language to how you speak

If Dictation is set to a language you are not speaking, it will type nonsense or nothing. This trips up anyone who switches languages, or set up their Mac in one language and speaks another.

1. In System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation, click Edit next to Languages.
2. Add the language and region you actually dictate in.
3. On Apple Silicon, this also downloads the language for on-device dictation, which removes the length limit some people run into.

4Give the app microphone access

Dictation can work fine in Notes and still do nothing inside a specific app or browser tab. That is almost always a per-app microphone permission, not a dictation problem.

1. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone.
2. Make sure the app you are dictating into (and your browser, for web apps) is switched on.
3. If you just granted access, quit and reopen the app so it picks up the change.

5Rule out a shortcut conflict

By default, pressing the microphone key or Control twice starts Dictation. Two things commonly steal that shortcut:

• Voice Control, if it is also turned on, can intercept the same key.
• On 2021-and-later MacBooks, the top-row key is shared between Globe/fn and F5 (Dictation). A remapped function-key setting can stop it from reaching Dictation.

6Make sure you have an internet connection

Before a language finishes downloading for on-device use, and on Intel Macs, Dictation runs on Apple's servers and needs an internet connection to work at all. If you are offline, or the download has not finished, Dictation can look completely broken while it is actually just waiting on a connection.

7Reset the dictation service and restart

When nothing above helps, a soft reset clears a wedged dictation process.

• Turn Dictation off in Keyboard settings, wait a few seconds, then turn it back on.
• Restart the Mac and test again in a plain text field like Notes.
• Check you have a few gigabytes free, so a downloaded language model has room to load.

If dictation works but cuts out after a short time no matter what you try, that is a different, well-documented limit: see why Mac dictation stops after a short time, and the free fix.

8Still stuck?

For every fix in one place, including the ones above and a few edge cases, see the complete guide to fixing Mac dictation.