"Show Numbers" and Other Voice Control Problems

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Level 1

4 points

"Show Numbers" and Other Voice Control Problems

This January I purchased a MacBook Air which is running Tahoe 26.5.1. I have chronic pain problems in my hands and wrists and was planning to rely on the built-in voice control to use the computer. A major problem with this has come from the "show numbers" command. The "hide numbers" command does not work for me the majority of the time so when I use "show numbers" I am stuck with the numbers overlay until I turn it off by hand in accessibility settings (causing pain). I tried turning off the "show numbers" command with the idea that I would just use the "show numbers once" command. This has been ineffective because sometimes "show numbers once" still seems to be interpreted as "show numbers" and I have to turn off the overlay by hand. Some other problems I have encountered are:

1. When I am composing an email in Gmail, if I use the select command and what I am searching for is interpreted as not being in the email, the webpage frequently freezes. This is while I am using safari.

2. When I use web Outlook also through safari, whether the "show numbers" command works for the webpage varies greatly.

Any fixes to these problems would be very welcome! A suggestion I have for the "show numbers" command problem would be to allow users to customize the names of built-in commands. This would allow us to switch the names to something that better recognizes for an individual.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 26.5

Posted on Jun 25, 2026 3:01 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

v1v3km

Level 5

4,730 points

Jun 27, 2026 12:31 AM in response to cackerm

These are known Voice Control reliability issues in macOS Tahoe 26.5. Here are targeted fixes:

For 'Show Numbers' / 'Hide Numbers' not working reliably:

1. Retrain Voice Control: Go to System Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control > Commands. Delete and re-add custom commands if you have any. Sometimes re-enabling Voice Control entirely (toggle off then on) recalibrates it.

2. Use a keyboard shortcut alternative: System Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control > Keyboard Shortcut. Set a shortcut to toggle the numbers overlay so you don't need to speak the command to dismiss it.

3. 'Show Numbers Once' bug: This is a known intermittent bug in macOS 26.5 where 'Show Numbers Once' can get interpreted as 'Show Numbers'. Report it to Apple at feedbackassistant.apple.com.

For webpage freezing in Safari with Gmail:

4. Disable Safari extensions: Safari > Settings > Extensions. Turn off extensions one at a time to find a conflict.

5. Clear Safari cache: Safari > Settings > Advanced > Website Data > Remove All Website Data.

For Outlook/web inconsistencies:

6. Voice Control works better with native apps than web apps. For web Gmail and Outlook, voice navigation is inherently less reliable. Consider using Apple Mail with your Gmail/Outlook accounts for more consistent Voice Control support.

Your suggestion about customizable command names is excellent - please submit it as feedback to feedbackassistant.apple.com.

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Answer 2

cackerm Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 29, 2026 1:14 PM in response to cackerm

Thank you for the reply!

I tried this and I'm waiting to see the result. I also wanted to raise awareness that on my Windows work computer I have probably somewhere between 50 and 100 custom commands. I know other people who rely on voice control and also use large numbers of custom commands. Therefore, in many situations this may not be a practical fix.
Could you provide more details on how to do this? I can see how to make a keyboard shortcut custom command in general, but I'm not sure how to make it show the numbers.
I will report this to Apple. In the future, it would be awesome if you could report it instead especially since I am struggling to use my computer.
I don't have any extensions.
I'm considering doing this, but find it to be frustrating since I know I will need to re-enter many passwords. Is this a fix that you have seen work in the past or more of a general suggestion?
I think I will also submit feedback that it would be great if the voice control could be made to work better with Safari in general. Today I was on a website that voice control refused to dictate into.

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