To use Dictation, you need internet connection. Please make sure your connection is working.

Anonymous
2020-07-07T20:22:25+00:00

Hi

Users are getting the subject message when trying to use Dictate in Office 365 E3 subscription.

The internet is ‘working’, apps signed in with O365 accounts so there is seems to be either a security profile setting, proxy filter or firewall issue. A lot of searching and I found very little documentation on this message, and certainly cannot find a definitive answer as to what/if Dictation requires certain firewall ports open nor what security profile setting to check in GPO which may apply. 

The following TechNet article suggested reviewing O365 Org Settings and Privacy but anything relating to Speech seems fine.

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/8111bb05-c674-4c43-a841-cae849b6a064/office-dictate-word-quotto-use-dictation-you-need-internet-connectionquot-specific?forum=Office2016ITPro

These options are managed by the organisation but where do I look in the Admin portal to enable Dictate?

Any pointers welcome.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-10-08T18:13:25+00:00

    Hi,

    Things are looking healthy on our end, but you may need to restart the app once or twice in order to pick up the changes.  Could you please try a restart or two and if you're still seeing the error, please reach out via the email address in my profile.

    Thanks!

    James

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-10-08T18:44:59+00:00

    @james

    The error - as I recently experienced it - was an issue with the actual software (Word/Windows 10), requiring an online repair.

    With that said, it was something configuration/user profile related, because my son could use it on the same computer, but even clearing all registry entries and logging out of Office (then re-enabling online experiences/etc.) didn't seem to fix it.

    I'd love to know what gets "out of whack" in the software...

    (Word Mac, Word Online via multiple browsers, and PowerPoint continued to function fine, even when Word was goofed)

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-10-08T19:14:33+00:00

    I'd love to know what gets "out of whack" in the software...

    I wish there was a simple answer 😁 but here's an example overview of some of the systems at play in Word for Windows or Mac

    1. Client - this is the desktop app version you have, and it is determined by your ring whether it's Current Channel, Current Channel (Preview), Beta, etc.  This code changes when you download/install an update (or old version)
    2. Flights - these are yes/no switches that the teams at Microsoft control to make sure new changes aren't causing issues.  We can change these, but your client only gets new ones when it is restarted (sometimes takes two restarts).  These go to the earlier rings first, and the slower rings later.
    3. Services - these are entirely backend, and can be changed from one second to the next without users performing any action on the client.  Imagine Word connected to a web page, but then that web page goes down - Word would no longer be able to access the information there.

    There can be combinations of these at play, and the story is more interesting as you look across platforms.  But the issue in this thread is a #2 issue.  So we reset the switches, and now it should just be a matter of closing and reopening Outlook (possibly twice).  

    Hope this helps your understanding!

    James

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-10-09T01:08:54+00:00

    Same problem/error message.  Dictation did not work in Word or Outlook, did work in Powerpoint.  To resolve I restarted my system.  Go figure?

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-10-28T15:52:13+00:00

    I also get the "internet connection required" message if I try to use dictate on my Windows 10 laptop.  Internet is connected and working normally. Dictate works well, also in German, on my Samsung tablet with Android OS.

    Annoying to upgrade to a paying subscription after Office 2010 expired only to have one of the new features not work. Tested Microphone and is working.

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