Word Dictate keeps inserting the word 'open'

Anonymous
2022-10-20T18:57:38+00:00

A few days ago, Microsoft Word started randomly inserting the word ‘open’ into what I speak. I never say that word, it just automatically appears. I've looked through all the threads about similar issues in the past with words like ‘hey’ and have followed every single suggestion in those threads, including reinstalling Word. Nothing has worked. Most of the threads were from 2020 but I never saw if there was a final resolution. I've been using dictate and this version of Word for over a year now and have not had any issues until a few days ago. Please advise.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | Windows

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Anonymous
2023-01-04T20:00:37+00:00

Hi CKGhostwriter!

Sorry for the delayed response.

We've just deployed a change that should fix the "open" issue. If you are still using the product, it would be great if you could use the dictation feature again to see that it fixed your problem. (Although deployment sometimes takes a few days).

If within the next week, you still don't see a fix, please report the issue through the office app with Help>Feedback. If you include the word "dictation" in your feedback, someone on the team should be reviewing your feedback in a timely manner.

This goes for anyone else reading this with the same issue.

Sorry about the experience. We are working hard to make it better for everyone!

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-10-25T13:18:54+00:00

    I am having the same issue, which is how I landed here after searching for a solution. It is INCREDIBLY frustrating. I rely on dictation to save time, and having to stop during every sentence because the word "open" keeps randomly popping up is driving me crazy.

    I should note that it has the appearance of predictive text, as it is grayed out when it pops up. The problem is that it doesn't go away when I speak the next word, so I end up with garbled words that have the word "open" in the middle of them. It is rendering the dictation function useless, and for the first time, I am considering a Chromebook or even a Mac

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-10-20T23:23:12+00:00

    No, none of that worked. I'm still getting a random ‘open’ popping up while I'm trying to dictate. Considering I haven't touched a thing on my settings for quite some time and this only started two or three days ago, this would have to be something happening on your end, not mine. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to deal with this happening constantly, especially when I have book deadlines, so I'll have to go back to using my Google Chromebook. I appreciate that you at least tried to help.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-10-20T21:07:56+00:00

    Hello Tiffany,

    Greetings for the day! Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to help you.

    There are no open issues reported exactly the word 'open' is getting added in word randomly. Could you please try below workaround reported for similar issue?

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/speech-recognition-adds-random-words-when-im-not/7622bc96-bf96-4266-a58f-8202721787f9

    Method 1:

    If possible I would suggest you to change your microphone and check. You may also check if the connections for your present microphone are proper.

    Method 2: The microphone input level might be too high. Lower the input level. Make sure that the microphone input level is set properly. To adjust the microphone input level follow the below steps -

    a) Open Audio Devices and Sound Themes by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Hardware and Sound, and then clicking Sound. b) Click the Recording tab. c) Double-click the microphone that you use for Speech Recognition. d) Click the Levels tab, and then use the slider to set the input level for your microphone.

    You may also refer to the below link for assistance on the issue - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Troubleshoot-Speech-Recognition-problems

    Method 3:

    You can reduce the effects of electromagnetic noise by isolating your microphone in the following ways: a) Use a universal serial bus (USB) microphone. b) Position your microphone as far from the computer as possible. c) Make sure that cables and printers are not close to your computer.

    Also please try running all recent updates,

    1. Close all Office applications.
    2. Sign-out of your Office account.
    3. Do a safe reboot. You can start Safe Mode using the F8 key during start up.
    4. In the meantime, if your Office is not yet updated, kindly install the latest updates. Check the steps in this article: Install Office updates - https://support.microsoft.com/office/2ab296f3-7f03-43a2-8e50-46de917611c5

    Hope this information would be useful to you. Please feel free to get back if you need any additional info.

    Thank you! Ravikumar Help the next person who has this issue by indicating if this reply solved your problem. Click Yes or No below.

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