How can I install German and English language packs for Windows 11 Live Captions on an air-gapped PC (no internet access)?

Hello, thanks for reaching out. I'm Ace, one of the Independent Advisors.

Installing German and English language packs for Windows 11 Live Captions on an air-gapped PC requires manually downloading the necessary files on a separate machine and transferring them offline. Microsoft provides language packs that can be installed using DISM.

The best solution is to download the language pack files (lp.cab) from a Windows 11 installation source or Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center on a connected PC. Once downloaded, transfer them via USB to the air-gapped machine and install them using DISM with the following command:

dism /online /add-package /packagepath:"X:\Path\To\lp.cab"

Replace "X:\Path\To\lp.cab" with the actual file location.

Let me know if this method works.

Thanks!

That makes sense, Live Captions likely stores its enhanced speech pack separately from traditional speech recognition files. Since the usual directories didn’t contain them, PowerShell could be a good way to pinpoint the exact location.

Please keep me posted.

Regards,

I tried that, but the folder only contains language packs for speech recognition and other features — not for Live Captions.

When you install a language under “Language & Region,” the related packages are stored in the mentioned folders.

You can also select an “enhanced speech pack,” which is required for Live Captions.

However, this enhanced speech pack is not stored in those same folders.

I tried enabling other languages through Live Captions, and those files are stored in a completely different location.

I’ll try using PowerShell to see where these files might be located.

You're absolutely right, Windows 11 automatically downloads the Live Captions language pack when activated online, but finding where it's stored for offline transfer is tricky. Based on available information, these language packs are typically saved in the C:\Windows\Speech\Engines\SR or C:\Windows\System32\Speech_OneCore directories. You might be able to copy the relevant files from a connected PC and manually transfer them to your air-gapped machine.

To locate the exact files > Enable hidden files and folders in File Explorer > Check C:\Windows\Speech\Engines\SR and C:\Windows\System32\Speech_OneCore for any newly downloaded German language files >Copy the relevant .cab or .dat files to a USB drive and attempt manual installation using DISM.

If these directories don’t contain the necessary files, another approach is to use PowerShell to list installed language packs:

Get-WindowsPackage -Online | Where-Object { $_.PackageName -like "*Speech*" }

This might reveal the exact package name for manual extraction.

Let me know if this method works.

Thanks!

Thank you for your response! I had the same thought. The link [Store Packages] says that only English is available.
However, when I activate Live Captions in German on a Windows 11 PC with internet access, it automatically downloads the language.
I just don't know where it's saved.
Maybe this downloaded package could be copied.