This guide covers common issues you might encounter while using Voice In.
Not Working
Here are steps you can take if Voice In is not responding:
No live transcript when I speak
-
Make sure your internet is working.
-
Paste this into your address bar:
chrome://settings/content/microphone?search=microphone
and make sure the correct microphone is selected at the top. -
Ensure your microphone is working, not muted, and has sufficient volume in Google Chrome. Use an online mic test to test (the line there should move when you speak).
-
Make sure Voice In is activated.
Activated
Deactivated
TIP
You can use this page to troubleshoot. If the speech recognition doesn't work here, the issue is with either your microphone, browser, or internet. If that page works but Voice In doesn't, please contact us.
Live transcript shows what I speak, but no text is inserted
Make sure you have placed the cursor in the textbox.
Last case scenario - hard reset
Sometimes you want to start from scratch. Here are a few things to try in order of increasing destructiveness. If you have no problem losing all your settings, and being logged out you can skip right ahead to "B".
A. Restart Google Chrome. There is usually no need to reboot your computer unless you have a microphone driver issue.
C. Uninstall and reinstall Voice In. Of course, this will erase all of your configuration and settings. Consider this a last resort.
No Icon
Sometimes Chrome will automatically hide extension icons. Here's how you can have the Voice In microphone icon show in the toolbar again:
- Click
to the right of the address bar.
- Click
next to Voice In.

Not Working on Local Files (e.g. locally saved PDFs)
To use Voice In on a locally saved file (PDF or html), you first must grant an additional permission.
Steps
-
Go to
chrome://extensions
in your address bar. -
Click "details" under Voice In.
-
Enable "Allow access to file URLs".
Additional Steps for Dictation in Google Apps (Gmail, Sheets, Slides, etc.)
Due to a bug in Chrome dictation might not fully work on Google Apps such as Gmail, Sheets, Slides, and Docs.
Steps
-
Go to
chrome://apps
in your address bar. -
Right click and click "Remove from Chrome" for the following apps:
- Gmail
- Slides
- Docs
- Sheets
- Drive
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