Voice Access ignores microphone input settings

Question

I am trying to play audio from another device - be it TV, radio, my phone etc, or even people talking in another room - and my Windows 11 microphone picks it up and Voice Access tries to transcribe it. this is understandable however even when I turn the volume down to some low number, indeed all the way down to 0, it still transcribes every word. The only way to stop it is to turn the microphone off, which then defeats the purpose because as soon as I turn it on it mixes in my voice with background noise while transcribing.

Clearly it is disregarding the microphone volume settings. what can I do?

Answer 1

Hello J-Cloud

The issue happens because the microphone volume slider only affects playback, not the actual input sensitivity, so Voice Access still hears everything. To fix this, you can try lowering the microphone input level in Settings → System → Sound → Input, and enable noise suppression or echo cancellation to filter out background audio.

Another option is to switch Voice Access to manual activation or push-to-talk mode, so it only listens when you want it to. If possible, use a directional or headset microphone to reduce pickup from other devices. And if your goal is just dictation, consider using Windows Dictation (Win + H), which doesn’t listen continuously. These steps should help you regain control without having to turn the mic off completely.

This might help

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/get-started-with-voice-access-bd2aa2dc-46c2-486c-93ae-3d75f7d053a4

Best regards

Lucky Charm