Spottty dictation malfunction

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Level 1

16 points

Spottty dictation malfunction

Neweish MacBook Air, Ventura, Xfinity 5G wifi. Dictation sometimes doesn't work. The mike icon appears, and the bar registers my voice's ups and downs. Even when the shortcut fails (often), "start dictation" in edit worked, not now tho'. Took it to the Genius bar, and apart from the fact that it seem to work for the genius, but not for me, which he'd never seen before, of course it worked fine, and he had no suggestions. Is this just a common problem? Very frustrating. Dictation works fine on my iPhone 11 (apart from the inexplicable and comical malapropisms), but it has a mind of its own on my laptop. Anybody have several problems or solutions?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 13.2

Posted on Mar 13, 2023 2:35 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Chris_V89

Community Specialist

Mar 14, 2023 3:49 PM in response to jackronner

Hey there jackronner,

Thanks for reaching out to the Apple Support Communities.

To get started, do you by chance have Webroot SecureAnywhere installed on your MacBook? If so, it is possible that this app may affect the Dictation feature on your Mac. For more details, check out this link here: If you can’t dictate text, type accented characters, or select emoji in the Touch Bar of your Mac - Apple Support

Webroot SecureAnywhere is made by Webroot Inc. When this software is installed on your Mac using its default settings, you might notice these symptoms:

* Text that you dictate doesn't appear as expected.

* You don't see any accented characters when you hold down a letter key.

* You can't select items such as emoji in the Touch Bar of your MacBook Pro.

Follow these steps to fix the issue:

1. Click the Webroot SecureAnywhere icon in the menu bar.

2. Choose Pause Secure Keyboard Entry.

A Webroot support article provides more information about this solution.

If the issue continues after going through the steps above, or if you don't have Webroot SecureAnywhere installed, are you by chance using an external microphone or a headset with a microphone? If so, test the issue with the devices disconnected from your MacBook and while using the built-in microphone on your Mac.

Keep us updated on the results.

Best regards.

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Answer 2

judysings

Community Specialist

Mar 14, 2023 4:09 PM in response to jackronner

Good afternoon jackronner

It might be helpful for you to speak directly with an Apple advisor about the issue you are having with dictation on your Mac. Click the link below, choose the phone number for your region from the list, and call when it is convenient.

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Take care.

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Answer 3

jackronner Author

Level 1

16 points

Mar 14, 2023 4:04 PM in response to Chris_V89

Thanks for the reply but, no, no Webroot to my knowledge. Frustratingly, I have no problems with dictation on my iPhone 11. The problem comes and goes, and sometimes the mic icon doesn’t even appear at all. What is most worrisome is that my failsafe, dictating in Notes, and then pasting, has begun to suffer from the same problem, even when I use the edit start dictation. This is a long-standing problem.

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Spottty dictation malfunction

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