HOW TO FIX THE ISSUE WITH 'READ ALOUD' TOOL NOT WORKING IN MY STUDENT VERS. WORD OFFICE 365

Try creating a new user account (System Settings>Users & Groups), signing in to that, then testing if the problem still exists. If it goes away, it's an issue with the user profile part of your Office installation.

If the problem is still there, or if you don't want to switch user accounts, then try uninstalling Office using these steps: Uninstall Office for Mac Then reinstall from the Subscriptions page of your Microsoft account.

Hi Peter Joseph S1587024

Based on your description, you are using Word for Mac Version 16.89 on macOS Monterey 12.7.6 with a Microsoft 365 Education (Student) account. The Read Aloud feature is supported in Microsoft 365 for Mac, including Education subscriptions, so this issue is not typically caused by the license itself.

Check the cursor position

Before clicking Review > Read Aloud, place the insertion cursor at the beginning of the paragraph you want Word to read, or select the text first. Read Aloud normally starts reading from the current cursor position or selected text.

Test with a new document

Try to create a new blank document, type a few sentences, place the cursor before the text, and then select Review > Read Aloud. If Read Aloud works in the new document, the problem may be with the original file.

Verify macOS Speech settings

Word for Mac relies on macOS speech services. Go to: System Preferences/System Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content and ensure a voice is installed and working correctly. You may also try downloading another voice and testing again.

Sign out and sign back into Office

You can try to sign out of Word, restart the application, and then sign back in with your Education account. Also ensure you have a stable internet connection.

Check for Office updates

Open Help > Check for Updates and install any available updates for Office.

If possible, sign in to Word with another Microsoft 365 account and test Read Aloud. If it works with another account, the issue may be related to the current profile rather than Word itself.

Although this does not appear to be a licensing issue, but if the problem continues, I recommend contacting your school's IT administrator and asking them to verify:

• Your Microsoft 365 Education license is still assigned to your account.
• The license has not expired or been removed.
• There are no organization policies restricting access to Microsoft 365 services.

I hope this information helps and if you have any further questions, please feel free to ask via comment section.

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