Speech in Pages not working after upgrade to Sequoia 15.3

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Level 1

5 points

Speech in Pages not working after upgrade to Sequoia 15.3

I've just noticed that the Speech function in Pages (v. 14.3) is not working.

I regularly use this feature to help me proof-read my work.

The text is highlighted when using the menu command (Edit menu -> Speech -> Start Speaking), but I'm not hearing anything. Sound settings show output to MacBook Pro Speakers - Built-in, with no issues with Apple Music or other apps.

I just patched my system to Sequoia 15.3 when I noticed this issue. Are the two related?

Any ideals on how to fix this problem in Pages?

Thanks,

David

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.3

Posted on Jan 30, 2025 12:08 PM

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Answer 1

DavidHarvie Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 30, 2025 3:28 PM in response to VikingOSX

Thanks, but I double-clicked the built in speaker in the Sound settings in Control panel without any change. The volume is set at 50% and I'm still not hearing the selected text.

David

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Answer 2

VikingOSX

Level 10

118,739 points

Jan 30, 2025 12:45 PM in response to DavidHarvie

I just selected a paragraph in a Pages v14.3 document on Sequoia v15.3. I then selected Edit > Speech > Start Speaking. The voice perfectly recited that paragraph, so no issues here. The output device was my Bluetooth-connected Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones on my M4 Mac Mini Pro.

Double-check that your output volume was not muted.

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Answer 3

VikingOSX

Level 10

118,739 points

Jan 31, 2025 3:59 AM in response to DavidHarvie

Double-clicking (one click will do) the built-in speakers entry in the Output section of the Sound settings does not toggle any mute setting. I have two different Apple Silicon (M1/M4) Macs here running Sequoia v15.3 and both play sound through the built-in speakers when Speech -> Start Speaking is selected in Pages.

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Answer 4

DavidHarvie Author

Level 1

5 points

Feb 4, 2025 8:16 AM in response to VikingOSX

No - still not working. It's also an issue in Apple Mail, so it would seem to be a system wide issue.

In Control Panel, under Sound, Output selection (blue highlight) is to my Studio Display Speakers. The connection to my display speakers are working with Apple Music. Output is set to 67% and the mute checkbox is unchecked. When I change the Output setting, I can hear the alert sound. When I disconnect my Studio Display and change the sound output settings to the Built-in speakers, I get the some result - the speech function does not work in Pages.

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Answer 5

VikingOSX

Level 10

118,739 points

Feb 4, 2025 8:40 AM in response to DavidHarvie

I don't have a Studio Display to further test this sound issue. Are you current with your Studio Display firmware updates that would bring it (supposedly) into sync with macOS 15.3? You should have firmware update 17 (or later) installed for compatibility with Sonoma 14.* or Sequoia.

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Answer 6

DavidHarvie Author

Level 1

5 points

Feb 8, 2025 8:43 AM in response to VikingOSX

OK. I was able to fix the problem.

I when into my System Settings and found the Spoken Content menu. The selected voice was Siri (Voice 4). Clicking on the "i" icon, it lead me to information about the voice. When I clicked the play icon on the bottom left of the window, it did not play. I then used the arrow beside Siri (Voice 4) which took me a list of other voice files. Scrolling down, I located the Siri (Voice 4) which had a blue cloud download icon. It appears that the voice file had somehow been deleted. Once it was downloaded the speech feature in Pages and other apps started working.

Thanks for everyone's help!

David