Read Aloud Voices in WORD (they disappeared)

Anonymous
2021-11-30T00:39:13+00:00

After upgrading my laptop to Windows 11, I tried Read Aloud in Word. To my surprise there were several voice options that were not there when I was using Windows 10. Then, after a week of using it to proofread my manuscript, I rebooted my laptop (something I do regularly to ensure updates) and the Read Aloud was ****. I tried to change back to the good voice and there were only the standard three voices (David, Zira, Mark). I worked with Microsoft support, who reinstall my Office 19 twice before finally saying there were only the three voices and I had to live with it.

Was I in some weird twilight zone for a week and not in the real world? What happened to my good Read Aloud voice? and how can I get it back?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-05-28T13:20:54+00:00

    That matches with my research on the Microsoft websites that indicates the new voices are only for the subscription service (Office 365) not the desktop Office versions. Such a shame. Follows along with my theory that Microsoft (and many other companies) are moving to an online subscription presence only. This ensures ongoing revenue while minimizing development and maintenance costs.

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  2. Suzanne S Barnhill 279.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2022-05-28T12:55:41+00:00

    The report that I saw probably applied to only Microsoft 365, but if I'm wrong, then the fact that the feature is rolling out gradually might mean that you would get it eventually.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-05-27T21:04:24+00:00

    Suzanne,

    That didn't work. I updated to 2205 in my Office 2019 installation, and I still only have the three original voices. I've tried looking on Microsoft's website and can't find anything newer than the statement I read that said only Office 365 will get the good voices for Read Aloud.

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-05-27T20:40:29+00:00

    Thanks Suzanne, I'll keep my eyes open for it..........

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  5. Suzanne S Barnhill 279.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2022-05-25T01:54:21+00:00

    The latest word from Microsoft is that "the issue has been fixed and it should be included in the next monthly update (2205). April fork (2205) has started rolling out to Production, so users should start seeing the new build in the coming days."

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