Windows 10: I've been unable to switch the Read Aloud function in Word back to natural voice. Any advice?

Nobilis Incognitus · Jan 10, 2025

I use the Read Aloud function A LOT in Word. About 6m ago, it switched back to the robotic options George, Susan, Hazel for about a week, then THANKFULLY went back to the natural voices. That lasted a few weeks, and then it reverted to the robotic voices again. It doesn't matter how many times I've tried repairing or reinstalling Word; I can't get it to go back to the natural voices. I thought maybe the 24H2 update would help. NOPE! It's making work difficult as the options I have George, Susan, Hazel are all like nails down a chalkboard. Anyone have any idea of how to get it to

:)

Brink · Jan 10, 2025

New natural-sounding voices come to Read Aloud in Word and Outlook

Hi Office Insiders! My name is Emily Tran, and I’m a Program Manager on the Office Voice team. I’m excited to share that we are continuing to improve the Read Aloud feature, adding new and more natural-sounding voices in Word and Outlook for Windows. More natural-sounding voices in Read Aloud Read Aloud in Word and Outlook is a great way to both author and read content. Whether you use it to “proof-listen” to a document or an email to catch errors, or simply to give your eyes a break, you want to hear your content read by natural-sounding voices. Some of you shared that you felt that the original voices sounded too robotic, and you were looking for more natural-sounding reading voices, like the ones we offer for the Read Aloud feature in Microsoft Edge. In response to this feedback, we’re happy to add these new and improved options! (NOTE: We’ve added the more natural-sounding voices in 64 different languages, for a total of 142 voices.) How it works Ready to check it out? Follow the steps below to try out the feature in Word or Outlook.

Place your cursor where you want to start listening from.

There are two ways to access the Read Aloud feature:

When authoring or reviewing content in Word, select Review > Read Aloud.

When reading an email in Outlook, select Read Aloud from either the Message tab (from an open email) or the Home tab (from the preview pane in your Inbox).

3. Use the on-screen toolbar options (play/pause, skip forward, and skip back) to control the feature while listening.

4. Use the gear icon in the toolbar to access the Settings menu.

Drag the slider bar to adjust the reading speed.

Click the Voice Selection arrow to choose between male and female voices.

Privacy Read Aloud doesn’t store your content or audio data. Microsoft only uses your content to provide you with audio results. For more information about experiences that analyze your content, see Connected Experiences in Office. Requirements To use this feature, you must be:

A Microsoft 365 subscriber

Connected to the internet (required for the new voices; the previously available voices do not require an internet connection)

Availability [(9/22) UPDATE: The new Read Aloud voices have been temporarily disabled in Outlook. The new voices are still available in Word (and the original Read Aloud voices still work in Outlook). Thanks for your patience while we work on the Outlook issues.] This feature is available to Office Insiders running Beta Channel Version 2109 (Build 14427.20000) or later, or Current Channel Version 2109 (Build 14430.20000) or later. Features are released over some time to ensure things are working smoothly. We highlight features that you may not have because they’re slowly releasing to larger numbers of Insiders. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as an Insider, have had the opportunity to try it. Feedback We are constantly working on the Read Aloud feature, and your feedback is key to guiding future improvements. Please select Help > Feedback in the app to let us know what you think. Learn what other information you should include in your feedback to ensure it’s actionable and reaches the right people. We’re excited to hear from you! Sign up for the Office Insider newsletter and get the latest information about Insider features in your inbox once a month!
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Source: Office Insiders

Mochi Robot · Jan 10, 2025

Word read aloud voices have changed. How to get the male/female choice back?

Nothing on the "Narrator" settings changes the "Read aloud" voice. Narrator is a Windows reader option I do not use since it doesn't allow the ability to stop, edit, and restart where I want to in Word seamlessly. I used Read Aloud on Word to edit my work.

I have tried installing and choosing new voices in the setting page you mentioned. They all work in Narrator, which I do not use, but Read Aloud is STILL missing the natural voices. They were there 2 days ago.

Is there a way to put the natural (Jenny) voice back on Read Aloud, not Narrator.

I hope I'm being clear.

Edit for clarity:

My Narrator option has ALL the voices now.

Read Aloud only has Zira, Mark and David. I can only use Read aloud effectively when editing a manuscript in Word.

Paul Black · Jan 10, 2025

Where are Read Aloud voices for Micorsoft Word?

Hello @EdB, I noticed that you have NOT had ANY replies, so I thought that I would try and help. If nothing else, it might generate other answers for you.

I'm trying to use Read Aloud in Word and can only get access to "male" and "female" voices on my Asus laptop. These are horrible and I want to use others like Msft David, Msft Zira. They are installed on the computer, and I can access them from LibreOffice but not Word. (Huh?) OTOH, on my Dell desktop, the voices appear in Word as expected. The settings are the same on the two computers, the only difference is the ASUS has Win10 pro and the desktop Win10 Home. Any idea what's going on? Do I need to delete the voice packs and reinstall? Reinstall Windows on the ASUS?
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I would certainly start by re-installing the Voice Packs, just in case there was a problem when they were previously downloaded. I did a bit of investigating for you and found these which might help . . . > Voices for Immersive Reader, Read Mode, and Read Aloud - Support.Microsoft > Read Aloud Issues in Office365 MS Word - Answers.Microsoft - Microsoft Agent / Moderator > Read Aloud Stopped Working - Answers.Microsoft - Microsoft Agent / Moderator I hope this helps.

Windows 10: I've been unable to switch the Read Aloud function in Word back to natural voice. Any advice?

I've been unable to switch the Read Aloud function in Word back to natural voice. Any advice?

I've been unable to switch the Read Aloud function in Word back to natural voice. Any advice?

I've been unable to switch the Read Aloud function in Word back to natural voice. Any advice?

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