# iPhone voice-to-text drives me nuts! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 13, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742 "2018-02-13T01:29:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/1 "2018-02-13T01:29:24Z")
It would be one thing if it just wasn’t very good, or couldn’t understand me for some reason. But I’m constantly seeing it be 100% accurate as I’m saying the worlds, only for it to decide to change everything the moment I’m done! It’s so aggravating. Here’s an example from a few minutes ago. I said “I wonder if she ever dances to my songs”, and those very words appeared on the screen. But then when I stopped speaking and pressed the microphone again, it changed to “I want to see ever dances to my size”. 😕 Sometimes when this happens, it at least leaves phrases it’s unsure about underlined, and then you can click them and see other options, hopefully including what I actually said. But this time, nope: it apparently decided as soon as I was done that the worlds I actually said couldn’t possibly make sense, so it must be this other pile of gibberish. :smack: Anyone else have this issue? I hate trying to tap out messages on the screen (I always seem to hit “I” when I mean “O”, etc., and it’s so slow), so I just want this to work! ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/2 "2018-02-13T01:38:05Z")
I’ve had the same thing happen with Google Maps. I’ll speak an address that appears as I said it while I’m speaking, only to have the program change it to something else entirely once I’m done. Most annoying. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/3 "2018-02-13T04:54:02Z")
Indeed! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/4 "2018-02-13T13:02:08Z")
Huh. Works extremely well for me. > [@SlackerInc](#): > > But then when I stopped speaking and pressed the microphone again, it changed to “I want to see ever dances to my size”. 😕 Why are you pressing the mic again? I just stop speaking and it detects I’m finished… ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/5 "2018-02-13T13:56:12Z")
Just curious, [where](http://www.cartoonaday.com/images/cartoons/2009/12/it-drives-me-nuts-cartoon-598x550.jpg) is your phone? ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/6 "2018-02-13T15:36:35Z")
Odd…I’ve never seen this. I use it quite often (mainly for text messages) and have never seen it change something after I’m done. But I have an older iPhone 5 and I’m still at iOS 10.something. Maybe it’s iOS 11 that causes this? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/7 "2018-02-13T16:23:11Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Odd…I’ve never seen this. I use it quite often (mainly for text messages) and have never seen it change something after I’m done. But I have an older iPhone 5 and I’m still at iOS 10.something. Maybe it’s iOS 11 that causes this? My iPhone 6s Plus is running iOS 11.2.5 and I’ve never had a problem. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/8 "2018-02-13T19:29:15Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Why are you pressing the mic again? I just stop speaking and it detects I’m finished… Not me. I just now tested that to be sure, and it just sits there making little audio tremors from background noise until I press the microphone again to tell it I am finished. > [@kayaker](#): > > My iPhone 6s Plus is running iOS 11.2.5 and I’ve never had a problem. I’m envious! Mine is also a 6 Plus (not sure about the S part), also running 11.2.5, although this behavior has been happening since I got it, and it was on iOS 10 then, I think. BTW, I hold the phone the same place I do when looking at it. But that can’t be too relevant, since it is understanding me at first and then changing its mind. (There it went again: it had that whole sentence right, then changed it to “But that can’t be too relevance since it is understanding me up first of them changing its mind.” Aargh) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/9 "2018-02-13T19:38:05Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Not me. I just now tested that to be sure, and it just sits there making little audio tremors from background noise until I press the microphone again to tell it I am finished. OK, I _think_ that’s new. I swear I never needed to hit the mic before. I just googled a few things using voice to text. The mic remained live, but I could hit the magnifying glass and it searched what I’d said. With Siri I can just ask a question or give a command and when I stop talking she answers. What specific app is giving you problems? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/10 "2018-02-13T19:43:04Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I’ve had the same thing happen with Google Maps. I’ll speak an address that appears as I said it while I’m speaking, only to have the program change it to something else entirely once I’m done. Most annoying. I just used Google Maps, inputting via voice to text. I spoke the destination and when I stopped speaking it displayed what I’d said and brought up directions. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/11 "2018-02-13T19:53:09Z")
I just Googled how to tell what model number it is and verified that it is a 6s Plus, 32GB. I know the problem happens in Google Inbox and WhatsApp, the two apps I most frequently and voluminously need to enter text in. I did a test just now in Safari doing a Google search and also in Notes. The Safari Google search was impressively accurate, without changing it to something less accurate. The Notes dictation of the same phrase, read out of the latest issue of _The New Yorker_, was really bad from the start. It did offer the underlined words to presumably change them, but as I know I also have trouble with sometimes, tapping them would not bring up suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/12 "2018-02-13T19:56:08Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I just used Google Maps, inputting via voice to text. I spoke the destination and when I stopped speaking it displayed what I’d said and brought up directions. It usually displays what I say too. The problem I described only happens occasionally but it does happen. Google Maps sometimes also simply refuses to display what I’ve said no matter how many times I try and instead comes up with all sorts of erroneous interpretations no matter how distinctly I try to pronounce it correctly with the result that I eventually wind up having to key the address in manually. It seems to be worse on certain nights than a constant thing. I suspect something to do with the cell towers or with momentary glitches in the computers that run the program. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/13 "2018-02-13T20:15:43Z")
I generally don’t have problems with getting directions. But what I most importantly need it for is composing emails, texts, and posts for this board and others. If it inserts errors in several words of each sentence through multiple paragraphs, that is a lot of extra time proofreading and editing. (Ha, of course it was nearly perfect for this post!) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/14 "2018-02-13T20:29:13Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I just Googled how to tell what model number it is and verified that it is a 6s Plus, 32GB. > > I know the problem happens in Google Inbox and WhatsApp, the two apps I most frequently and voluminously need to enter text in. I just sent three fairly long messages to my brother in WhatsApp. I had to hit the mic to end, but it got every single word correct in all three messages. Does Siri work well for you? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/15 "2018-02-13T21:01:41Z")
Hit and miss. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/16 "2018-02-13T22:56:59Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I just sent three fairly long messages to my brother in WhatsApp. I had to hit the mic to end, but it got every single word correct in all three messages. > > Does Siri work well for you? This is similar to how I use it (IM’s via Messages or whatsapp, emails, etc) and I’m usually amazed how accurate it is. I just speak the punctuation and it gets those as well. BTW, I hate typing on the iphone so I talk to it. Talk-\>Text is far more accurate than my fat thumbs and the auto-correct mess it comes up with. Far more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/17 "2018-02-13T23:45:50Z")
I’m on an iPhone 6 Plus and I’ve always had a lot of trouble with talk-to-text messing up on some of the words but generally felt it would take less time to correct the errors than to type out the whole message. I never looked to see if the words were initially correct and then changed as I usually was driving at the time, but when I’d check before sending the message I’d see the errors. Finally I just stopped using it at all. This thread has spurred me to try again to see if the words were correct at first and then changed but apparently the latest couple of updates have largely corrected the problem. I just tried five different phrases by talk-to-text and it got every word right each time. I’m not behind the wheel though so checking it while I’m driving will be the next test. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/18 "2018-02-14T02:07:20Z")
Is there a way to make video of what appears on my screen, like a moving screenshot? I want to show you guys since it doesn’t happen to you. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/19 "2018-02-14T17:54:24Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > It would be one thing if it just wasn’t very good, or couldn’t understand me for some reason. But I’m constantly seeing it be 100% accurate as I’m saying the worlds, only for it to decide to change everything the moment I’m done! It’s so aggravating. > > Here’s an example from a few minutes ago. I said “I wonder if she ever dances to my songs”, and those very words appeared on the screen. But then when I stopped speaking and pressed the microphone again, it changed to “I want to see ever dances to my size”. 😕 > > Sometimes when this happens, it at least leaves phrases it’s unsure about underlined, and then you can click them and see other options, hopefully including what I actually said. But this time, nope: it apparently decided as soon as I was done that the worlds I actually said couldn’t possibly make sense, so it must be this other pile of gibberish. :smack: > > Anyone else have this issue? I hate trying to tap out messages on the screen (I always seem to hit “I” when I mean “O”, etc., and it’s so slow), so I just want this to work! My iphone does this about every other day. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742/20 "2018-02-14T18:01:38Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > My iphone does this about every other day. Sorry to hear it, although I also confess I’m glad it’s not just me! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-voice-to-text-drives-me-nuts/808742.md?page=2)