the read aloud voice changed overnight. how do I get the old voice back?

Dear sarah,

Hello! Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

I understand that when you use the "Read Aloud" feature in Word, its voice suddenly becomes a robot voice. And you can't change it directly. I understand your feelings very well, and I will try my best to help you!

In fact, I checked this problem on my own device. The following conclusions were drawn:

1. I can use the "Read Aloud" feature normally in a separate Word application, and I can change the voice package used, with only male and female voice options. I'm not sure if the "female voice" here is what you need. This feature is still available when I am not logged in to any Microsoft account.
2. When I tried to use Microsoft Copilot 365 (formerly known as Microsoft Office 365), I really couldn't use Read Aloud, and I also received a similar notification that "You need to log in before you can choose the voice to use for Read Aloud". I can't change the voice package or use Read Aloud. To be precise, I clicked it and it seemed to be running, but no sound would occur.

This seems to be a problem in Microsoft Copilot 365. You can check whether you can use "Read Aloud" and change the voice normally in the Word application. Additionally, you can report this issue in Microsoft Copilot 365 by clicking on your avatar in the upper left corner, clicking "Send Feedback", and selecting "Report a Problem".

I have already sent the relevant feedback, and it would be great if you could also report this issue.

If you make any progress, feel free to let me know.

Best wishes

Pyke.D | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

I am having the same issue. My read aloud went from natural speech sounding to annoying robotic voice. I can't listen to it read a whole document like that? Are there any other options to use to read my document, perhaps another program outside of Microsoft?

Dear sarah,

Hello! Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

I understand that when you use the "Read Aloud" feature in Word, its voice suddenly becomes a robot voice. And you can't change it directly. I understand your feelings very well, and I will try my best to help you!

In fact, I checked this problem on my own device. The following conclusions were drawn:

1. I can use the "Read Aloud" feature normally in a separate Word application, and I can change the voice package used, with only male and female voice options. I'm not sure if the "female voice" here is what you need. This feature is still available when I am not logged in to any Microsoft account.
2. When I tried to use Microsoft Copilot 365 (formerly known as Microsoft Office 365), I really couldn't use Read Aloud, and I also received a similar notification that "You need to log in before you can choose the voice to use for Read Aloud". I can't change the voice package or use Read Aloud. To be precise, I clicked it and it seemed to be running, but no sound would occur.

This seems to be a problem in Microsoft Copilot 365. You can check whether you can use "Read Aloud" and change the voice normally in the Word application. Additionally, you can report this issue in Microsoft Copilot 365 by clicking on your avatar in the upper left corner, clicking "Send Feedback", and selecting "Report a Problem".

I have already sent the relevant feedback, and it would be great if you could also report this issue.

If you make any progress, feel free to let me know.

Best wishes

Pyke.D | Microsoft Community Support Specialist