Windows 11’s live captions feature transforms spoken audio into text right on your screen. This built-in tool works with any audio playing through your device or microphone, making it perfect for those who are hearing impaired or anyone needing to follow audio content without sound.
The feature processes everything locally on your device, ensuring complete privacy since no audio data leaves your computer. Currently supporting US English, it focuses primarily on speech rather than background sounds or music.
Method 1: Quick keyboard shortcut
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Press
Windows + Ctrl + Lto instantly launch live captions
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When prompted, click ‘Download’ to get required language components
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Wait briefly for the download to finish, and captions will start appearing automatically
Method 2: Quick settings access
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Click the system icons (network, volume, battery) in your taskbar
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Select ‘Accessibility’ from the quick settings panel
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Toggle ‘Live captions’ to activate
Method 3: Start menu navigation
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Open Start menu and click ‘All apps’
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Navigate to the ‘Accessibility’ folder
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Select ‘Live captions’ from the options
Method 4: Settings app configuration
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Launch Settings (
Windows + I) -
Select ‘Accessibility’ from the left sidebar
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Scroll to find ‘Captions’
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Enable ‘Live captions’ using the toggle switch
Adjusting caption position
The caption window can be positioned anywhere on your screen or docked to the top or bottom:
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Click the settings icon in the caption window
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Select ‘Position’ from the menu
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Choose your preferred position (Top, Bottom, or Floating)
When docked, Windows automatically adjusts application windows to prevent overlap with captions
Additional settings like caption style, profanity filters, and microphone audio inclusion can be configured through the same settings menu.