Android voice-to-text or speech-to-text has been quite popular nowadays. People prefer to dictate what they want rather than typing it by hand on their smartphones. This feature can be very helpful for people who are really busy and businesses that handle and talk to their customers through mobile devices.
When it comes to Samsung Galaxy S21, it has its own Samsung voice input service in addition to the Google voice input. These two features have their own qualities that benefit Galaxy S21 users.
However, some users have reported that Samsung S21 voice-to-text is not working correctly. Some said that whenever they speak no words appear on the phone while others complain that sometimes it keeps repeating what they say.
That is why we decided to take this problem into account and write this guide, so is your Samsung S21 voice-to-text not working? Then, this guide is for you!
Note: Solutions in this guide will work on any Samsung Galaxy S21 model (S21, S21 Plus, S21 Fe, and S21 Ultra models.)
Editor’s note: We created these instructions using a Samsung Galaxy S21 running Android 12. Depending on your device’s software version, some steps and menu positions may look slightly different.
Why Voice-to-text Isn’t Working On My Samsung S21?
As you know, there are two voice input engines on your Samsung S21: Google voice input and Samsung voice input. According to users, it is the Samsung voice input that shows most of the issues and doesn’t work properly.
Most of the time, the voice-to-text engine (voice input) doesn’t work correctly because of its configuration issues. When we say configurations, it means either you have misconfigured it by accident or a bug/glitch in the Android system caused the voice input service to malfunction.
This may be the case for you also; however, it doesn’t mean the Google voice input has no issues and it works perfectly. But for most cases, Samsung voice input is what doesn’t work properly.
Another thing to remember is that the Samsung voice input only works when you are using the Samsung keyboard, and the Google voice input works only when you are using their Gboard app. Do not get confused between the two services whenever you use them.
Fix 01: Clear App Data
As we mentioned earlier, one common reason that causes the talk-to-text feature to malfunction is the misconfiguration of the service. Since it is a bit tedious to find out which setting has gone wrong, it will be easier to clear the app data of both Samsung and Google voice typing services.
- Go to Settings.
- Tap on Apps.
- Scroll down and find the “Speech services by Google” and tap on it.
- Go to “Manage storage”.
- Tap on “Clear app data”.
- Do the same for “Samsung voice input”.
- Restart the device.
Fix 02: Reset All Settings
If clearing the app data did not work, you can try resetting all settings to fix misconfigurations on the voice input settings.
- Go to Settings > General management.
- Tap on “Reset”.
- From the reset options, tap on “Reset all settings”.
- Confirm the reset
Fix 03 – Turn Off Samsung Voice Input Service
If you still face issues with voice typing, then the Samsung voice typing service itself is the issue. You can turn off the service until it is fixed by a software update.
Until then, you can use the Google Voice Input service. Here is how you can do that:
- Go to Settings > General management.
- Tap on “Keyboard list and defaults”.
- Toggle off the Samsung voice input.
- Restart the device.
Fix 04: Do a Software Update
Installing system updates can fix the system glitches or bugs that cause the voice-to-text feature not to work. If you don’t know, you can check for any updates available for your Samsung S21 by following these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Go to Battery and device care.
- Tap on Software update.
- Tap on three dots at the top right corner, then select “Download and install”.
Now, your device will start checking updates and you will be notified if it is available. After that, you go ahead and install the update.
Fix 05: Clear System Cache
Outdated or corrupted cache files are another reason that causes system glitches. You can fix them by clearing the cache partition, where the cache files are stored on your device.
To clear the cache, first, you have to boot your device into recovery mode, then you can wipe out the cache.
- Turn off your device.
- Press and hold the power button + Volume up button until you see your device boot into the recovery menu. Then release the keys.
- Press the volume down button until it highlights the “Wipe cache partition”.
- Then, press the power button.
- Confirm to wipe the cache partition (use volume keys and the power button).
Once it is done, you will see the recovery menu again. Navigate to “Reboot device now” and press the power button to restart the device, then check if the problem is solved.
Wrapping Up
That is all for the voice-to-text not working issue on your Samsung Galaxy S21. If you still face issues with voice typing, leave a comment below. We will be there to help you.
Also, if you have any questions regarding this guide, you can use the comment section to let us know about your concerns.
We hope this guide helped you fix the problem.
Have a nice day!
9 Comments
Thanks for the opportunity to correct this issue.
I accidentally turned off something in the permissions on one of my app’s settings that affected voice to text.
I can’t find which setting is the problem. I have:
-Turned on/off the Samsung voice option
-Removed and reinstalled Google and Google Play
-Checked all of the microphone permissions I might have turned off
-Cleared system cache and restsrted
I discovered that there is no longer an option for “Google Typing” on the Keyboard List and Default page. I have been using Microsoft SwiftKey keyboard for years including my current phone since Sept ’21 with all of the current software and system updates and it has worked flawlessly.
I have turned something off and suspect all I would have to do is turn on the “Google Typing” in the Keyboard Default list except it isn’t available and I don’t know how to add it back as an option.
Thanks for your help.
Glad to help Clay!
Appreciate you trying a bunch of different things, but the bottom line is for the last 10 years or so, Samsung’s voice to text isn’t as good as the voice to text on my Xfinity television remote which probably cost five cents to make. You spend five hundred to 900 dollars on a phone and they can’t make voice to text better? Ridiculous
Danu,
Thank you for your thorough post. I went through all of the steps above and my voice to text is still not working. The microphone works, as verified through phone calls and recording video. When I hit the Google search microphone, the screen says, “Listening”, there is the animated face, and the green microphone icon appears in the upper right. So all indications are that the phone is taking voice input. But after a few seconds, the phone vibrates briefly and the Google microphone appears on the screen with, “Tap the mic, then speak into your device for quick answers”.
Additionally, about a year ago, I went through this very thing. I couldn’t resolve it. T-Mobile looked at it and didn’t have an answer. A local repair shop looked at it and didn’t have an answer. I ended up trading the phone in with Amazon and paying a decent chuck of money for another S21+. Less than a year later and the voice to text suddenly stops working last evening. I didn’t install anything yesterday or change any configurations.
Thanks again.
Tim
Thanks Tim, we will do another research on this and send you an email with a fix.
Same problem only with a note 20 Ultra. Just stopped working yesterday.
Danu,
Any update on this. What a frustrating development!
Tim
Sorry bud. I couldn’t find any new solution to this issue.
Thanks for trying, Danu! Appreciate your effort!
Tim