Read aloud function not working properly using Outlook and Word Documents

Question

Read aloud function not working properly using Outlook and Word Documents, keeps stopping

Answer 1

Hi Panny,

From what you've described, a few of the AI recommendations are worth trying first, such as confirming that you are signed in to your Microsoft 365 account, restarting Word and Outlook, signing out and back in, and ensuring that your internet connection remains stable while using online voices.

With that in mind, I'd like to suggest the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Sign out of your Microsoft 365 account in both Word and Outlook, then sign back in.
2. Fully close and reopen both applications.
3. Test Read Aloud using a different voice from the Read Aloud settings.
4. Try Read Aloud with a new Word document and a different email message to determine whether the issue occurs with all content or only specific files/messages.
5. Check for and install any available Microsoft 365 updates.

If the issue continues after these steps, could you please provide the following information:

• Are you using classic Outlook or new Outlook for Windows?
• Does the issue occur with all Word documents and emails, or only certain ones?
• What Microsoft 365 version and build are installed? (Word > File > Account)
• Does changing the Read Aloud voice make any difference?
• Approximately how long does playback continue before it stops?

If you are using Outlook on the web, please note that Read Aloud directly from the reading pane is currently not supported. In that case, please open the message in Immersive Reader and use the Play button there instead.

I look forward to your update. The additional details above will help me determine whether the behavior is related to a specific Office build, voice service, document content, or another component of the Microsoft 365 installation.

Kind regards.

Answer 2

For both Word and Outlook, start with the built-in troubleshooting steps:

1. Make sure the app is signed in to the Microsoft 365 account.
2. Restart Word and Outlook.
3. If restarting does not help, sign out of Microsoft 365 in the app, then sign back in.
4. If neural voices are involved, confirm there is a stable internet connection.

For Outlook on the web, Read Aloud in the reading pane is currently not supported. Use View > Immersive Reader, then press Play at the bottom of the screen.

For Word, there is also a known issue where neural voices might be unavailable after updating to version 2604 (build 19929.20090). That issue is marked fixed and scheduled to be resolved in the next April build update.

If the problem is specifically that playback stops mid-sentence, one reported workaround is to add Read Aloud to the Quick Access Toolbar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Spacebar.

---

References:

• Listen to your Word documents
• Listen to your Outlook email messages
• Neural voices might be unavailable in Read Aloud in Word after updating to version 2604 (build 19929.20090)