How to recover the voice dictation of the keyboard on an Android mobile

The truth is that, over the years, we have become accustomed to using mobile phones in an unimaginable way not long ago. The voice dictation of the keyboard is one of the best functions they have, since it allows us to write only with our speech. Something that can sometimes stop working properly, so you can fix it on your Android phone.

Usually, most Android mobiles come with built- in Gboard. That is, the keyboard app that is used by default on these phones as a regular tool. However, sometimes voice dictation stops working in an unexpected way. Well, there is a solution that can help you get it back.

recover the voice dictation of the keyboard

Where has he been?

In most cases, if this option has completely disappeared from our device, it is because we have a software problem. However, if this tool is still available, it is most likely a hardware failure in the event that it does not work by pressing or choosing this method. Although, as we will see, it could also stop working due to an error in the compatibility between this tool and your smartphone’s system.

Dictador por voz en Android

Therefore, we are facing a failure that will have different solutions as we will see now below. In addition, the definitive solution to end this error of mobile voice dictation forever is to restore this smartphone tool to its initial values, that is, the keyboard that we normally use.

If you want to try this last method that we just mentioned, we recommend you go to the last section where we will explain step by step how to do it. However, if you prefer to try different tips. You just have to keep reading.

Solve the problem

The solutions that we are going to give you are based on software, but you also have to check that the phone’s hardware, or what is the same, the microphone itself, works correctly.

To do this, try to record a voice memo on WhatsApp or record a video with the phone’s camera. If you do not hear anything in both, it is likely that the problem is hardware, although it could also be due to the software itself. So we will have to try the following alternatives to see which may be the real culprit and solve it.

samsung teclado

Restart the mobile

If you have not restarted your device in a long time, now is a good time to do so, since with this simple action we could get it to work normally again. And is that restarting the mobile deletes all open applications and eliminates the possible processes that have failed. Therefore, this is the fastest solution to your problem since you simply have to turn off the phone and wait between 10 and 30 seconds before turning it on again.

Removes dirt

Few of us are used to cleaning our smartphone every so often. The phone is one of the devices that accumulates the most dirt throughout its useful life. And this is because we continually carry it with us, whether in our pocket or bag. So we leave it exposed to different external agents.

Although, most phones have protection against dust and dirt, the truth is that some are vulnerable to dust or small elements that can enter through the small openings of the smartphone. The microphone is a small hole that is usually located next to the USB connector. So to clean it we can try to blow lightly into the hole or use a small pin without using much pressure to remove any foreign body that is causing it to not work properly.

Microfono Samsung no funciona

Guilt of Google Assistant

Apparently, as reported by different users, you could be suffering from an incompatibility problem with Gboard voice dictation and the Google assistant. Although, this failure was mainly given to phones with Android 10.

Therefore, in order to activate this functionality, you must deactivate the option to access the assistant through the ‘Ok Google’ option, immediately after doing so, it is likely that it will work correctly again. You will have to go to Settings> find the quick search bar and type ‘Assistant Settings’> ‘ Hey Google and Voice Match ‘> disable this tool from your device. From now on, it should work correctly for you.

Any headphones connected?

You may not remember, but you may have connected a Bluetooth device that has its own microphone to your phone. Make sure to disconnect other equipment from the mobile, turning off bluetooth if necessary, and restart the smartphone again to see if it works fine again. If in your case it still does not go normally, go to the next option.

Permission issues

If in your case the error is only found in certain applications that you have installed on your phone, it may be that they do not have access to use the mobile microphone or, if they did, it has been revoked at some point.

You can check the applications that are using the microphone by going to Settings> Applications and notifications> Permission manager > click on the Microphone option. Within the apps section of our smartphone we will have to look for the application we use, to check if we have access to it enabled on our phone.

Gestor de permisos Android

Restore the keyboard

If you are here, it is because most of the solutions given to mobile keyboard problems have not worked for you. We are talking, for example, about something as common as deleting the data of the app that gives life to this software, in this case Gboard, or also deleting the cache . Not even that allows you to recover this vital functionality of this tool on many occasions.

And it is that the dictation problem usually occurs in it, since it is the one that is installed by default in a large part of Android smartphones. So if no previous method has worked for you, you will have to try the following.

But there is a more radical solution, and that will not affect us as much, and that allows us to recover that voice dictation from the Google keyboard , and also from any other. We are talking about uninstalling all your updates. To do this you have to do the following:

dictado voz teclado android

  • Enter the phone settings.
  • Click on ‘applications / application management’.
  • Now go to ‘List of applications’.
  • Search for Gboard or the keyboard app you use regularly.
  • Click on the three vertical dots at the top right.

Here we are going to see an option called ‘ uninstall updates ‘ which is the one that will give us the solution to our problem. What is done with this option is to remove all the updates made to the app from the system. So this returns to its original version, the one that came with the phone. Or, go back to the first version that we installed at the time, and that worked then. You will see how immediately you are able to dictate your words by voice thanks to the microphone of the smartphone.

Logically, you lose the improvements of the latest updates, but if it is a specific problem and there is an update that remedies it, you can install it. But better this than not being able to access the voice dictation of the mobile at any time.

In addition, we recommend enabling the Google search button on your keyboard, since many users have confirmed that by activating it they have been able to use voice dictation on their smartphones again. Therefore, it is time to test if this route also works for us. To do this, we will have to follow the following steps:

  1. Open the keyboard from any app and tap on the Settings icon.
  2. Click on the search option and activate the option to Show the Searches and more button.