On Windows 11, you have TTS (text-to-speech) that reads whatever is on the screen out loud. Whether you are looking for reading assistance, language learning, or simply for convenience, text-to-speech is the best. By default, Windows 11 has a few default TTS voices depending on your language setting. However, these default voices sound robotic, lack personality, and sometimes are hard to understand. Or, maybe Windows did not install a TTS voice for your specific language. Whatever the reason, thankfully, you can quite easily install new TTS voices in Windows 11 with just a few clicks for the language of your choice.
In this quick and easy tutorial, let me show you the steps to install a new TTS voice in Windows 11 using the Settings app. Let’s get started.
Before You Start
- If you need a TTS voice for a language that is not currently installed, you first need to install that language in Windows 11. For example, if you want Japanese TTS voices, you must first install the Japanese language pack. Otherwise, Windows will not install the TTS voices.
- You need an active internet connection to download TTS voices.
Steps to Install New TTS Voices in Windows 11
- Press “Windows key + I“.
- Navigate to the “Time & Language” tab on the sidebar.
- Click the “Speech” option.
- Click the “Add Voices” option under “Manage Voices”.
- Find the voice you want to install, select it, and click “Add“.
- With that, you’ve added new TTS voices to Windows 11.
- Restart your computer.
- After restarting, you can use the newly installed TTS voice.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
First, launch the Settings app. To do that, either press the “Windows key + I” shortcut or right-click the Start button and select “Settings”. Once it opens, go to the “Time & Language” tab on the sidebar and then click the “Speech” option on the right page.
On the Speech page, scroll down to the “Manage Voices” section and click the “Add Voices” option.
Now, find the voice you want to install in the list and select them. You can also use the search bar at the top to find new voices for a specific language. Next, click the “Add” button.
The above action will make Windows download and add the selected TTS voices.
Note: It will take a couple of minutes to download the new TTS voices. At that time, you might not see the progress bar. But, rest assured that they are being downloaded in the background. It will a few minutes (usually, 10 to 15 minutes) to complete.
Important Note: If you need a TTS voice for a language that is not currently installed, you first need to install that language in Windows 11. Otherwise, the voice will not be installed.
Finally, close the Settings and restart your computer. After restarting your computer, you can use the new voices. To do that, open the Settings app (press Windows key + I), go to “Time & Language” > “Speech” and select the voice from the “Choose a voice” dropdown menu under the “Voices” section.
Wrapping Up — Adding or Installing New Voices in Windows 11
As you can see, if you are tired of the old robotic voices in Windows 11, installing new TTS voices is a fairly simple task. Just use the Settings app and follow the above steps. Do keep in mind that, some voices require you to install the language pack. So, it’s best you install the language pack and then follow the steps. Also, it takes a few minutes for Windows 11 to download the selected TTS voices. So, be patient.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
