TTS Voices: Do Microsoft's Voices Support Alpha Tags?

As far as I remember, authorization charges are typical in most account creation where they ask your CC information and it is refunded.

I tried to use my phone number, but since it's a landline, it's asking for a cell phone number, which I don't have. I would use my American sister's phone number, but it would seem to me that that would sound like identity theft since it's not mine. Since I don't have a cell phone, what shall I do next?

You can try using another phone number that you own, or try asking for help, unfortunately it's one of the requirements to create the account.

Unfortunately the landline is the only number I have.

Thanks for following up, Annabelle. Unfortunately, that requirement is necessary for setting up an Azure account, and it’s the only way to access the Microsoft TTS engine in the format you’re aiming for. Do you think you might have someone who could help you with that step?

I could ask my care provider if I could borrow her cell phone number. I hope she won't mind!

Hi Annabelle. You're absolutely right to be cautious, but in this case, if your sister (or care provider) gives you permission to use her mobile number just for verification, and you're signing up using your own name and Microsoft account, it's not identity theft. That’s a legitimate and common workaround for users who don’t have their own mobile phones.

What matters is:

• The Azure account should still be in your name and tied to your own email.
• The verification code just needs to be received and entered, who owns the phone isn’t the issue, as long as they agree.

If your care provider or sister is willing to help with that step, you'll be able to move forward with testing your SSML voice scripts in Speech Studio.

Would I still need to provide my credit card information?

Indeed, entering your credit card information is required to register. However, you will not be charged since you are signing up for the free version.

If my care provider lets me borrow her phone number, would she be the one entering the code or would I enter it?.

You can enter it, no problem. As long as they provide you the code.

I wonder if, like Elevenlabs, free credits are renewed each month at the start of the new "billing cycle". Or is there a limit on that?

Yes, Azure Speech does include monthly renewed free credits for neural Text-to-Speech, but only if you create and retain a Speech resource using the Free (F0) tier. That gives you 500,000 characters per month, and it resets at the start of each billing cycle.

It works like ElevenLabs’ free plan, but requires verified Azure setup and more careful resource management.

https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/cognitive-services/speech-services/

Verified Azure Setup? More careful resource management? I'm confused on this one!

Sorry for any confusion earlier. What I meant is that you’ll need to verify your account, specifically by confirming your credit card and mobile phone. That’s considered the verified setup.

That's when I would enter the verification code sent to my Email address, right? Or would it be sent to my care provider's phone?

In this situation, if your care provider let you use their phone to register, they’ll need to share the verification code with you.

I wonder, does the name on my Azure account have to match the name on my credit card? Or can I sign up with my regular Microsoft Account's name?

The name on your Azure account doesn’t need to match your credit card exactly, but the cardholder information must still pass verification. Azure only uses that check to confirm the card is valid and belongs to a real person, it’s not tied to your Microsoft account’s display name.

You can sign up using your regular Microsoft Account name. Just make sure the billing details (name, address) match what your bank has on file for the card. That ensures the $1 authorization and identity check go through without rejection.

Please make sure any verification details belong to you or are used with explicit consent, as required by Microsoft’s account policies.

Will the code belong to me if I use my care provider's phone number for identification?

That’s a good question, Annabelle. The verification code doesn’t actually “belong” to anyone, it’s just a temporary number sent to confirm that the phone can receive messages. Even if your care provider helps by receiving the code, the Azure account will still be yours, since it’s created under your own Microsoft account. The phone number is only used once for verification, nothing more.

That's good to know!

Sure thing! :) If you have any other questions or need more help, just let me know.

I've just now successfully signed in to speech.microsoft.com/portal with Mozilla Firefox, as I've successfully granted my Microsoft account access to Azure services. But now I am stuck on a screen that says, "Loading Subscriptions". What do I do next?

Is it the "Text-To-Speech Avatar" link that lets you try out the voices?

Hi Annabelle. It looks like your previous messages were caught by the spam filter, so I didn’t receive any notifications and just saw them now. I’m catching up at the moment, can you let me know what’s going on right now?

By the way, my name is spelled "Annabelle", with two N's, not just one. What I want to find out is, now that I've successfully signed into speech.microsoft.com/portal and my account has been granted Azure access, is it the "Text-To-Speech Avatar" link that lets you try out the voices? Or is it a different link?