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Quick Answer

Open Settings > Accessibility > Speech and turn on Voice access. Let it download the speech model once, then say Voice access wake up and give commands such as Open Word or Show numbers.

How to Use Voice Access to Control Windows ​

Applies to: Windows 11 (22H2 and later)
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-07-29

Summary ​

Voice Access controls your entire computer by voice — opening apps, clicking buttons, scrolling pages, and dictating text — without a mouse or keyboard. This article shows you how to turn it on, how to wake it and put it to sleep, and the handful of commands that cover most of a working day.

Prerequisites ​

  • Windows 11, version 22H2 or later. Voice Access does not exist in Windows 10 — Windows 10 has the older Windows Speech Recognition, which you start with Windows + Ctrl + S.
  • A working microphone. A headset microphone gives noticeably better recognition than a laptop's built-in one in an open office.
  • An internet connection for the first-time setup only. After the speech model downloads, Voice Access runs entirely on your computer.
  • No admin rights required.

Note: This article is about controlling Windows. If all you want is to speak text into a document or an email, that is a different and simpler feature — see How to Use Voice Typing (Dictation) on Windows.

Instructions ​

1. Turn On Voice Access ​

Switch Voice Access on in Settings and download the speech model it needs.

  1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
  2. Click Accessibility in the left sidebar.
  3. Scroll to the Interaction group and click Speech.
  4. Turn the Voice access toggle to On.
  5. A narrow Voice access bar appears docked across the very top of the screen, above all your windows. The first time you turn it on, the bar reads Download required and offers a Download button — click it.
  6. The download is a speech model for your display language and takes a minute or two on a normal connection. The bar shows progress, then switches to Voice access is asleep.

Tip: While you are on this page, tick Start voice access automatically when you sign in to your PC if you plan to use it every day. That saves you from having to reach for the mouse to start the tool that exists so you do not have to reach for the mouse.

Verification: The Voice access bar is visible at the top of the screen and shows a microphone icon on the left, a status message in the middle, and a ? and gear icon on the right.

2. Wake Voice Access Up and Put It to Sleep ​

Control when Voice Access is listening so it does not act on stray conversation.

  1. Say "Voice access wake up". The status in the bar changes to Listening and the microphone icon fills in.
  2. Say "Voice access sleep" when you want it to stop responding. The status changes to Voice access is asleep and the microphone icon greys out.
  3. To stop Voice Access completely, say "Voice access turn off", or click the X at the right end of the bar.

On recent Windows 11 builds you can also use keyboard shortcuts: Alt + Shift + C wakes the microphone and Alt + Shift + B puts it to sleep. If those do nothing on your machine, your build predates them — use the spoken commands.

Note: Asleep is not the same as off. Asleep means Voice Access is still running and listening for one command only — "Voice access wake up". That is the state to use in a meeting.

3. Open and Switch Between Apps by Name ​

Launch apps, move between open windows, and close them without touching the keyboard.

  1. Say "Open Word" — or the name of any installed app. Voice Access starts it the same way the Start menu would.
  2. Say "Switch to Outlook" to bring an already-open app to the front.
  3. Say "Minimize window", "Maximize window", or "Restore window" to resize the window in front.
  4. Say "Close window" to close it.
  5. Say "Scroll down" or "Scroll up" to move through the page. Add a number for larger jumps — "Scroll down 5".

Verification: Each command you speak appears briefly in the Voice access bar as text, so you can see what Voice Access heard. If the bar shows something different from what you said, that is a recognition problem rather than a command problem.

4. Click Anything Using the Number Overlay ​

Put a number on every clickable item on screen and say the number to click it.

Most of the time you can click a control by name: say "Click Send" and Voice Access clicks the button labelled Send. Toolbar icons, thumbnails, and cells often have no visible name, and that is what the number overlay is for.

  1. Say "Show numbers". A small numbered label appears on top of every clickable item on the whole screen.
  2. Say the number you want — "7" — and Voice Access clicks it. The numbers disappear afterwards.
  3. To limit the clutter to one window, say "Show numbers here" instead. Only the app in front gets numbered.
  4. For a different kind of click, say the action with the number: "Double click 7", "Right click 7".
  5. Say "Hide numbers" to clear the overlay without clicking anything.

Tip: The number overlay is the single most useful command in Voice Access. If you learn one thing from this article, learn "Show numbers" — it reaches controls that have no name, no keyboard shortcut, and no menu entry.

5. Click Anywhere Using the Grid Overlay ​

Narrow down to any point on screen when a control has no name and no number.

Some things are not clickable items at all — a spot on an image, a point in a drawing canvas, a blank area of a slide. The grid handles those.

  1. Say "Show grid". A numbered 3 x 3 grid appears over the screen.
  2. Say the number of the cell containing your target — "5". That cell expands to fill the screen and is divided into a new 3 x 3 grid.
  3. Repeat until the point you want sits inside a small cell.
  4. Say "Click" to click at the centre of the current cell, or say a number one last time to click that cell directly.
  5. Say "Hide grid" to cancel.

To drag something, say "Mark 5" over the starting point, move the grid to the destination, and say "Drag".

6. Dictate and Correct Text ​

Type into any text field by speaking, then fix mistakes with correction commands.

  1. Click into a text field — or say "Click" on it using numbers — and start speaking. Your words appear as text.
  2. Say "New line" or "New paragraph" for line breaks. Punctuation is spoken by name: "comma", "period", "question mark".
  3. Say "Delete that" to remove the last thing you dictated.
  4. Say "Correct" followed by the wrong word — "Correct their" — and Voice Access shows a numbered list of alternatives. Say the number of the right one.
  5. Say "Spell that" when a name or code is being misheard, then say the letters one at a time.
  6. Say "Select word", "Select line", or "Select all" to highlight text, then "Bold that", "Delete that", or dictate replacement text over it.

Note: Dictation inside Voice Access covers the same ground as Voice Typing, so you do not need both running. In Microsoft 365 apps, the Dictate button on the Home tab is a third option with its own transcription features — see How to Use Dictation and Voice Commands in Microsoft 365 Apps.

7. Find the Full Command List ​

Open the built-in command reference so you never have to memorise the list.

  1. Say "What can I say?" — Voice Access opens its own command help page.
  2. The commands are grouped by task: General, Voice access, Mouse, Dictation, Keyboard, Text selection, and Text editing. Use the search box at the top of the page to find a specific action.
  3. You can reach the same page by clicking the ? icon at the right end of the Voice access bar and choosing View all commands.
  4. Say "Voice access guide" to reopen the short interactive tutorial that ran during setup.

Tip: Say "Press Enter", "Press Tab", or "Press Ctrl S" to send any keystroke you already know. Every keyboard shortcut you have learned still works — you speak it instead of pressing it.

Everyday Commands Worth Memorising ​

Say this...To do this...
"Voice access wake up" / "Voice access sleep"Start and stop listening
"Open Excel"Start an app by name
"Switch to Teams"Bring an open app to the front
"Click Save"Click a control by its on-screen label
"Show numbers"Number every clickable item, then say the number
"Show grid"Overlay a numbered grid to reach any point
"Scroll down 3"Scroll the window in front
"Press Ctrl S"Send any keyboard shortcut
"Correct" plus the wrong wordFix a misrecognised word from a numbered list
"Undo that"Undo the last action
"What can I say?"Open the full command reference

Troubleshooting ​

TIP

If Voice Access is acting on words from a nearby conversation, say "Voice access sleep" rather than turning it off. It stays loaded and wakes on a single command, so you lose no time when you come back to it.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
Voice access toggle is missing from SettingsRunning Windows 10 or Windows 11 21H2Voice Access needs Windows 11 22H2 or later. Check your version in Settings > System > About. On Windows 10, press Windows + Ctrl + S for Windows Speech Recognition instead.
Bar reads "Download required" and the download failsBlocked or metered connectionConnect to a normal Wi-Fi or wired network, then click Download again. On a restricted work network, tell IT: "Voice Access needs to download its speech model from Microsoft — please allow the download."
Voice Access hears nothing at allWrong microphone selectedClick the microphone icon at the left of the Voice access bar and pick the correct device from the list. Then confirm input level in Settings > System > Sound > Input.
Commands are recognised as dictated textCursor is inside a text fieldSay "Voice access sleep", click out of the text field, then wake it again. Voice Access favours dictation while a text box has focus.
"Show numbers" labels nothing in one appApp draws its own custom controlsUse "Show grid" to reach the control by position instead. Remote desktop windows and some drawing apps behave this way.
Recognition accuracy drops in a shared officeBackground speech reaching the microphoneSwitch to a headset microphone and re-run the microphone setup from the gear icon on the Voice access bar.