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Dictation not working after iOS 18 and keyboard issues

Ive got an iPhone 15 and recently updated to iOS 18, now dictation simply doesn't work. No matter if I remove the languages and turn off the phone and add them (Norwegian and English), then turn on and off again they simply won't work...


Also, this new "immersive" keyboard experience where you can write in several languages is literally "drowning" me in issues... I write in Norwegian and English, and in Norwegian we have three extra letters Æ,Ø and Å, so if they keyboard is currently in English I have two options to use these letters; I can either starts writing in English and then click the emoji button and it'll switch and the keyboard switches to Norwegian and I can freely use Æ, Ø and Å. Or I can long-press on A and E (where they are hidden) and slide my finger to choose the letter I need.


BUT(!), if at some point the keyboard thinks I'm writing in English and I use an emoji it'll switch back to English and I'm stuck writing in Norwegian and then emoji button and the remove the written Norwegian text and then continue... And god forbid the keyboard is already in English and I have to start a conversation with either Æ, Ø or Å, I'll either have to start by long pressing or finding another way to write that sentence, hit emoji and it'll switch...


This keyboard experience is the absolute worse! It has added writing time and lowered my effectiveness, is there any way to et the old switch back and forth button back? Cause that saved me a lot of time!

iPhone 15, iOS 18

Posted on Sep 18, 2024 12:31 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 21, 2024 6:35 AM

I've got the new iPhone 16 Pro Max, and I am running the new iOS 18 on it, and I find that while the dictation does work, it seems amazingly slow and sluggish. The screen struggles to keep up with me, and is always lagging far behind what I am saying.

46 replies

Oct 28, 2024 8:32 AM in response to Voldemorten

Same. I’m having an issue where I have the English/Spanish and while it did work before well. It did get sluggish and now Siri only dictates in Spanish. Hey siri still works, but when I hold the power button there’s a small window of time that Siri will listen to me. Like if I say ‘what’s the temperature in Miami’ Siri will tell me the temperature of my current location.

Nov 12, 2024 7:41 AM in response to Voldemorten

There are definitely problems with dictation and Siri integration on iOS 18.1. At various points in time typically when a phone call comes at the same time as dictation is happening or something along those lines dictation will cease to work any longer. So while you can click the microphone to dictate to the phone, it won’t do anything. The only way to fix it is to do a hard reboot. Volume up, volume down and press and hold the power button until you see the Apple sign. That’s the only way to refresh the cache file. And then you can talk to the phone or utilize Siri as you normally would. There’s definitely a problem in iOS 18.1. Hopefully 18.2 fixes it. I only use it with the English language. I have no idea how international languages are behaving. But ultimately, that’s my only solution to dealing with this.



Nov 15, 2024 9:36 PM in response to vinzinza

try this... it just worked for me. Good luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMLrJLoCwz0


Settings > Screentime > Content & Privacy Restrictions (toggle the whole C&PR page to OFF). Then go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > and choose Reset Keyboard Dictionary. Close Settings and go back to check your text keyboard. Mine was instantly updated back to having the microphone (dictation) option.

Nov 20, 2024 2:29 PM in response to jhendex

The force restart solution worked for me. Thx jhendex! Here's more detail I got from the Gemini AI:


Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.

Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.

Press and hold the Side button (on upper right side of your phone) until the Apple logo appears on the screen.

This will force your iPhone to restart and should resolve any minor software glitches or unresponsive behavior.


The Side button on the iPhone 16 is located on the right side of the device. It's a long, rectangular button that replaces the traditional power button.

Nov 21, 2024 5:59 AM in response to Voldemorten

I am having the same issue with the voice to text. It is ridiculously slow, makes errors or stops working suddenly. As an attorney who uses this feature to dictate letters, motions, and other legal documents, this is a real problem. I’m hoping that Apple is working on this and there will be a quick fix. Otherwise consider this I may need to consider moving to a different phone/provider which would be unfortunate because I have been an Apple user for 20+ years.

Dictation not working after iOS 18 and keyboard issues

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