Unable to select my speech language at all

Hello kamil karp!

It’s really frustrating when Windows 10 won’t let you pick a speech language or the whole option is just greyed out. This happens more often than you’d think, but you’ve got a few avenues to explore before considering something drastic like reinstalling Windows.

Most Common Reasons Why This Happens

•	The language pack for your chosen speech language is not fully installed.

•	The speech feature for your language is missing or wasn’t downloaded.

•	Region, display language, and speech language settings don’t fully match.

•	A Windows glitch or a problem with existing language packs.

Steps to Fix the Problem

1. Make Sure Your Preferred Language Has Speech Support • Go to Settings → Time & Language → Language. • Click on your main language (like “English (United States)”), then click Options. • Under “Speech”, check if the speech pack is installed. If not, download it. • If the option isn’t available, try adding a different variation (like switching from UK to US English).
2. Align Display, Region, and Speech Languages • Set your display language, region, and speech language to match (example: all set to English (United States)). • Navigate to Settings → Time & Language → Region and make sure your country matches the language pack. • Then, in Time & Language → Speech, see if it unlocked the speech choices.
3. Remove and Re-Add the Language Pack • Go to Settings → Time & Language → Language. • Remove your language. • Restart your computer. • Add the same language again, making sure to include speech features if prompted.
4. Install Additional Voices

Sometimes, speech options are greyed out if there are no system voices:

•	In the language options, scroll down to “Voices”, download any available ones—even extra variations help.

5. Try the Old-School Control Panel Route • Type “Control Panel” in the Start menu. Switch the view to “Small icons”. • Select Speech Recognition, and try the setup process from there. • Sometimes, the classic setup lets you enable features the modern settings block.
6. Check Windows Services • Type services.msc in the Start menu, and press Enter. • Make sure services like Windows Audio, Windows Audio Endpoint Builder, and Windows Speech Recognition are running.
7. Region “Trick” • Temporarily set region and display language to United States and English (United States) if they aren’t already. • Restart, then try adding the speech pack again.
8. Update Windows

Occasionally, a system update resolves this, especially if your language pack isn’t downloading correctly.

Last Resorts

•	If your language is listed but has “0 MB” or appears broken, try removing and re-adding it, or use a new user account to test if the problem is profile-specific.

•	In rare cases, it takes a repair install or full Windows reset to bring speech features back if system files are corrupted.

It shouldn’t be this difficult, but these steps have helped a lot of people reclaim their speech recognition settings—without reinstalling Windows. If you’re still stuck, you’re far from alone! Sometimes Microsoft updates or extra tweaks are needed for certain hardware or versions. Hang in there, and I hope one of these tips gets things working again.

Best Regards,

Jerald Felix

Dear kamil karp,

Thank you for reaching out. I'm Haien from Q&A Support. Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Support.

It's frustrating when you encounter issues with a core Windows feature like Speech Recognition, especially when it prevents you from using software like VoiceAttack for VR gaming! This strongly suggests a mismatch or corruption in how Windows perceives the installed speech language components relative to your display language. Even though your display language is English (United States), the system seems to think the speech recognition component for that language isn't correctly installed or recognized.

Here are some effective ways that you can try to fix the speech language problem:

Solution 1: Verify, Remove, and Re-add Language and Speech Packs

Step 1 - Verify Language Pack Options:

• Go to Settings > Time & Language > Language (or "Language & region" depending on your Windows 10 version) > Preferred languages > "English (United States)" > Options.

• Under "Language features," make sure that

• "Language pack",

• "Basic typing",

• "Handwriting"

• "Speech" are all installed.

If any say "Download" or "Install," click them and let them complete. If "Speech" is greyed out or shows an error, this is your primary problem.

Step 2 - Remove and Re-add English (United States) (Even if installed):

• How to remove Language Setting: Go back to Settings > Time & Language > Language > "English (United States)" > "Remove." (You might need to temporarily add another language like English (United Kingdom) or even French to allow "English (United States)" to be removed if it's your only language).

• Restart your PC.

• How to re-add Language Setting: Go back to Settings > Time & Language > Language > "Add a language" > "English (United States)."

• Ensure you check all the boxes for "Language pack," "Basic typing," "Handwriting," and "Speech" during the installation process.

• Once re-added, make sure it's at the top of your preferred languages list.

• Restart your PC again.

Step 3 - Test the speech

Search Windows Speech Recognition in Window Search bar to teach your PC Windows 10 to recognize your voice

For additional information of this option, please visit this article to check further via tab Window 10: Use voice recognition in Windows - Microsoft Support

Note: Changing locale may affect date/time formats; back up data.

Solution 2: Use Control Panel to Copy Settings

• Press Windows + S > Click "Control Panel" in Window Search bar > Go to Clock and Region > Region > Administrative > Copy settings > Check "Welcome screen and system accounts" + "New user accounts." > Click "OK" > "OK" again on the Region window > restart the PC.

Solution 3: Check for Windows Updates

• Go to Settings > Windows Update > Click "Check for updates" > install any available updates

• Restart and retest.

Solution 4: Create a New User Profile (Diagnostic)

• Go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users > Other users > click "Add someone else to this PC." > Follow the prompts to create a new local user account.

• Log out of your current account > log in to the new user account.

• Check the welcome/login screen language when switching to this new account. If it's correct, you might need to migrate your data to this new profile.

For additional information of this option, please check this article: Manage User Accounts in Windows - Microsoft Support

• If you've already tried these steps and are still encountering issues, please reply to this thread with the requested details so we can investigate further and ensure your subscription is activated properly. Also, please keep me updated with anything new that you were try to each option.
• If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".
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We appreciate your patience and look forward to resolving this quickly for you.

Warm regards,

Haien - MSFT | Microsoft Q&A Support Specialist

Dear kamil karp,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A. I'm Haien from Microsoft Q&A.

May I ask if you have tried my suggestions for your case? I hope you can keep me updated on your issue in the future.

Your satisfaction is Microsoft's priority.

If you've already tried these steps and are still encountering issues, please reply to this thread with the requested details so we can investigate further and ensure your subscription is activated properly. Also, please keep me updated with anything new that you were try to each option.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

We appreciate your patience and look forward to resolving this quickly for you.

Warm regards,

Haien - MSFT | Microsoft Q&A Support Specialist