How to Enable or Disable Live Captions in Windows 11
Live captions allow you to see text on your screen for any audio playing on your computer. This automatic transcription tool is perfect for anyone who needs help understanding spoken words, especially those who are deaf or hard of hearing. You can quickly toggle this feature using the keyboard shortcut Windows key + Ctrl + L.
Why use this? It makes your computer more inclusive and easier to use when you cannot hear the audio clearly or prefer to read along with videos, meetings, or podcasts.
What happens when done? Your computer will automatically show text boxes whenever it detects audio, converting system audio or microphone input into real-time text on your screen.
How to Enable Live Captions
You can enable live captions using the accessibility flyout in the Quick Settings menu or the Settings app. The first time you use this, your computer will download a small speech file to process audio locally.
Using Quick Settings
1. Click the Network/Volume/Battery icon in the bottom right corner of your taskbar to open the Quick Settings menu. 2. Click the Accessibility icon (the person icon). 3. Toggle the Live captions switch to On.
Using the Settings App
1. Press Windows key + I to open the Settings app. 2. Click Accessibility on the left sidebar. 3. Scroll down to the Hearing section and click Captions. 4. Click Live captions and flip the switch to On.
Customization and Personalization
You can change how captions look to make them easier to read. In the Captions menu, click Caption style. You can change the text size, color, and background opacity. You can also filter profanity or include microphone audio if you want to caption your own voice during calls.
Data Privacy and Processing
Live captions use on-device processing. This means your audio data is not sent to the cloud. Everything happens locally on your computer, keeping your conversations private and secure.
Troubleshooting and FAQs
Why isn’t my headset audio being captured?
If your headset audio is not appearing, ensure your device is set as the default communication device in Sound settings. Also, check that you have enabled the option to include microphone audio within the Live captions settings menu. Ensure your drivers are up to date via C:\Windows\System32\drivers.
Does live captions support multiple languages?
Currently, live captions in Windows 11 primarily support US English. While Microsoft is expanding language support for Copilot+ PC features, most standard Windows 11 builds are limited to English. Check the Language settings in the Captions menu to see if additional language packs are available for download.
Summary
Live captions provide real-time audio-to-text transcription to make your digital experience more accessible. By using the Windows + Ctrl + L shortcut, you can instantly toggle this feature. Whether you are in a loud environment or need assistance with hearing, this tool ensures you never miss a word. Remember to customize your caption style in the Accessibility settings to suit your visual preferences.
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On my windows 11 pro I do not have the option to turn off “live captions” and the key combination does not work either.
facing same problem !
have you got any solution?
Turn Off Live Captions using Registry Editor
1. Press the Win + R keys to open Run program.
2. Type regedit to open Registry Editor.
3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Accessibility by Pasting this string in the address bar
4. Double click in the key Configuration
5. Remove livecaptions from the Value data
6. Press OK
7. Reload registry (any of: reboot, logoff then login, killing Explorer.exe process)
Disable Chrome Live Caption
Launch Google Chrome browser.
Click on the More. for options menu.
Select the Settings menu from the list.
Scroll to the Advanced section, and click to expand.
Under the Accessibility section, and turn OFF the Live Caption toggle button.
You literally just saved me SO MUCH frustration THANK YOU.
This worked for me! Thank you!
its very annoying and i am not able to turn this off eigther
I turned it off, and it’s still off, but live captions still comes up every time a video starts playing. It’s infuriating!
Turning it off in Windows didn’t work for me and I was getting so frustrated! Turned out I needed to disable it in Chrome browser settings under Accessibility. Looks like Peggy Staley had the same solution.