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How to Use Live Captions in Windows

Tap through each step to see how to get real-time captions running.

  1. Turn on Live Captions with "Windows + Ctrl + L"

    Press the keyboard shortcut, or turn it on from Settings, Accessibility, Captions.

  2. Download the language model the first time

    The first time you turn it on, you need to download a speech-recognition language pack once.

  3. A caption window appears on screen

    Every sound your computer plays -- video, music, calls -- is automatically converted to captions and shown on screen. You can freely move the window wherever you like.

  4. Choose whether to include your microphone

    In the caption settings, choose whether your own voice coming through the microphone should be included in the captions too.

  5. Why it is worth using

    Whether you are somewhere you cannot turn the sound on, or find audio hard to follow, Live Captions let you follow anything playing on screen as real-time text.

When you cannot, or should not, turn the sound on

A quiet library, a shared office, a late-night call with someone asleep nearby -- there are plenty of situations where turning on audio is not an option, but you still want to follow what is being said. Live Captions solve exactly this by converting every sound the computer plays into real-time text on screen, no headphones or lip-reading required.

It works offline, and across more than just English

Once the language model has been downloaded the first time, Live Captions keep working without any internet connection at all -- useful on a flight, in a basement office, or anywhere the connection is unreliable. Multiple languages are supported too; each one just needs its own caption pack downloaded once from Settings before it can be selected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this work without an internet connection?

Yes -- once the language model is downloaded the first time, Live Captions keep working completely offline afterward.

Does it support languages besides English?

Yes, multiple languages are supported. You can download the caption pack for whichever language you need from Settings.