How to turn on voice typing on Android

2 min read · 5 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Short answer

Tap a text field to bring up the keyboard and tap the microphone icon on Gboard. Speak, and your words appear as text. Say punctuation such as "comma" or "full stop", and tap the microphone again to stop.

Voice typing turns speech into text in any app. It is quicker than typing for longer messages and useful when your hands are busy.

Step by step

  1. Tap where you want to type

    The keyboard appears.

  2. Tap the microphone

    It is on the right of the suggestion bar above the keys. Allow microphone access the first time.

  3. Speak clearly

    Text appears as you talk. Say "comma", "full stop", "question mark" or "new line" for punctuation and line breaks.

  4. Tap the microphone to stop

    It also stops by itself after a pause.

  5. Add languages and offline use

    Tap the gear on the keyboard, Voice typing. Switch on Faster voice typing, or download languages under Offline speech recognition, so it works without internet.

Good to know

If there is no microphone on the keyboard, open the keyboard settings, Voice typing, and switch on Use voice typing.

On Pixel phones, Assistant voice typing adds automatic punctuation and commands such as "send" and "clear".

Samsung Keyboard has its own microphone button in the toolbar, with the same function.

Check names and numbers before sending. They are the most common mistakes.

In short: Keyboard, microphone icon, speak, tap again to stop.

Sources
  • Gboard Help: Type with your voice

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