Dictation doesn't work

Do you have a text input field open while attempting to dictate? I've used it with safari, Firefox, Text Edit, and Pages and it has worked in all of those, but you do need en open document which accepts text input with the cursor blinking.

hi nBode

I have the same problem.. i opened textedit and started the dictation, the mic button pops up.. i speak a small sentence. however the button wiggles and closes with no result. i did the calibration and all the stuff still have some problem.

it could be that your Mac is not recognizing your voice. Go to sound preferences in system preferences then input, when you speak does the input level move?

Also dictation relies on internet. Try creating a new location

hi Kisuke3

Many thanks for your reply.. yes i did that in sound preferences the input level does move. well i use 8mbps line for internet. is that not enough? with 1mbps upload speed..

Are you connected to the internet when you're doing this? Dictation requires an internet connection.

may not be enough. Is your machine a portable?if so test it with another network(internet connection). I would like to see the results if you test that with another network

yes I'm connected to net always.....im living in Dubai,.. with restriction on voip from the ISP... so do u suppose it could be the ISP?

could be, can you create a new user acct and test if it hppens there?

user accoutn for App store? or isp

Well, I've heard there were restricitons out there with some Internet protocols in the past, but I don't know.

Try

1. Make a new user account in

 > System Preferences > Users & Groups

and test.

2. Restart the mac in Safe Mode by powering up the mac while also holding down the 'shift' key till you see the grey Apple logo and the progress bar underneath.

Let me know if Dictation works in either 1, 2, both or none.

Hey Softwater... Many thanks..... I created a new user account as a standard user and dictation works when i tested on note pad... but my question is why is it not working for me as an administrator. I have VM ware loaded is it because of that?.

would appreciate your support on this.

let me try on the safe mode and get back to your as well.

If it works in another account but not in your Admin account its because you've got a software conflict with something that is running in your Admin account, probably right from login.

Try removing everything from here

 > System Preferences...> Users & Groups | Login Items

by selecting everything in the list, and then pressing the minus '-' button directly underneath.

Then restart the mac and test (you must restart for the procedure to have any effect).

Hi Softwater.

well in the safe mode..no audio i/p or O/p was available. so i did as you told me to.. deleted all from login items and restarted to take effect. checked login items again.. nothiing there. went to preferences, calibrated the mic, and tried dictating..but sadly didnt work. what to do now?

Sorry to be a bother..but you seem to be on the right track in guiding me... Am i missing out something?

Download and run this free diagnostic tool

http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

Click 'copy to clipboard' at the bottom of the window, then hit 'reply' to this post and 'command-V' on your keyboard to paste the contents into the post.

Hardware:

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro8,1

Processor Name: Intel Core i7

Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 2

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 16 GB

Boot ROM Version: MBP81.0047.B27

SMC Version (system): 1.68f98

Sudden Motion Sensor:

State: Enabled

Startup Items:

HP IO:

Description: HP IO Monitor

Location: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO

Provides: HP IO

Enabled: Yes

Order Preference: Early

HP Trap Monitor:

Description: HP Trap Monitor

Location: /Library/StartupItems/HP Trap Monitor

Provides: HP Trap Monitor

Enabled: Yes

Uses: HP IO

Order Preference: Late

Software:

System Software Overview:

System Version: OS X 10.8 (12A269)

Kernel Version: Darwin 12.0.0

Time since boot: 18 minutes

Kernel Extensions:

com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverInt Version: 0.0.74

System Launch Daemons:

[not loaded] bootps.plist

[not loaded] com.danga.memcached.plist

[loaded] com.vix.cron.plist

[not loaded] exec.plist

[not loaded] finger.plist

[not loaded] ftp.plist

[not loaded] login.plist

[not loaded] ntalk.plist

[not loaded] org.apache.httpd.plist

[not loaded] org.cups.cups-lpd.plist

[loaded] org.cups.cupsd.plist

[not loaded] org.freeradius.radiusd.plist

[not loaded] org.isc.named.plist

[not loaded] org.net-snmp.snmpd.plist

[running] org.ntp.ntpd.plist

[not loaded] org.openldap.slapd.plist

[loaded] org.postfix.master.plist

[not loaded] org.postgresql.postgres_alt.plist

[not loaded] shell.plist

[not loaded] ssh.plist

[not loaded] telnet.plist

[not loaded] tftp.plist

System Launch Agents:

[loaded] org.openbsd.ssh-agent.plist

Launch Daemons:

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

[not loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist

[running] com.rim.BBDaemon.plist

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist

Launch Agents:

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist

[loaded] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist

[loaded] com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist

[running] com.rim.BBAlbumArtCacher.plist

[running] com.rim.BBLaunchAgent.plist

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist

User Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.202f4087f2bbde52e3ac2df389f53a4f123223c9cc56a8fd83a6f7ae.plist

User Login Items:

Speech Startup