Word Dictate - keeps typing 'what'

Anonymous
2020-01-23T08:42:55+00:00

Hi, I just started using the dictate function in Word and its great. However when I pause for too long it types 'What' and if i'm not careful i miss it and it stays in my text. I have tried several times and there is no background noise and I am not breathing heavy or saying anything? It will often type 'what' also before the dictate function times out and turns off. 

edit - it is now also typing 'hello' and 'heehee'. I think its possessed!! 

The function commands such as hyphen, open parenthesis etc do not work either. comma, full stop do. Also is there a way to lengthen the time out function as I find it too short?

Any suggestions or anyone else having this problem?

Thankyou

H

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2020-06-04T17:16:46+00:00

Thanks @Rohn007 for pointing this out - I have just e-mailed Emily Tran to let her know. She is the person from Microsoft working to fix this.

When we were last in contact she hadn't been able to see the 'hello' problem in action. This might be why.

I think most of us would like to continue using the dictate function - it just needs a bit of perseverance to get there, and collaboration with Microsoft to help them.

Onwards and upwards!

A fix has been deployed to 100% of Dictation users - please let us know if you still see the issue.

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-05-14T21:24:08+00:00

    The same thing happens in OneNote.  I'll be saying nothing and it will type out "Hello".  Very creepy and annoying when I'm trying to get work done.  The duration timer is also much too short.  Another 20 seconds would be sufficient to get my thought organized enough to continue with my dictation.

    Thank you.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-05-20T01:50:27+00:00

    The same thing happens in OneNote.  I'll be saying nothing and it will type out "Hello".  Very creepy and annoying when I'm trying to get work done.  The duration timer is also much too short.  Another 20 seconds would be sufficient to get my thought organized enough to continue with my dictation.

    Thank you.

    Thank you! Yes, based on the folks who submitted their frowns, I think this is a shared issue across Dictation in Office including OneNote unfortunately! 

    Agreed on the timer issue you are pointing out - under investigation!

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-05-20T03:44:09+00:00

    Voice recognition in Windows / Word is relatively new. Emily Tran's (MS) reply indicates that MS is using a 3rd party provider to do the actual recognition.

    .

    Sooo. You may want to consider using (buying) a 3rd party tool to install on your computer.  I don't use them myself so I can't make recommendations, but the one that I've heard the most about is "Dragon".

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    Here is a link to a review of some of the options. Look for more options to try

    The 7 Best Dictation Software Programs of 2020

    https://www.thebalancesmb.com/best-dictation-software-4169711

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    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_speech_recognition_software

    .

    PS: Emily, nice to hear from a MS developer. Thanks for your insight.

    .

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-06-02T00:58:56+00:00

    Have to agree here. Such an inadequate, problematic feature cannot be taken seriously in terms of application and can be more trouble than it is useful. About all this dictate is good for is to help with spelling- not usually a problem for me. It is hopeless with punctuation (as I am). The worst moment of my experience with this bug was when I attempted to do a quick edit while I was mid dictation. I highlighted text to move it and suddenly it was gone -"hello"!

    I have had all manner of trouble with MS products lately, including hardware.

    Time to dump them, I say.

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