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To include screen-reader speech in Windows 11 Live Captions, open Settings > Accessibility > Captions and turn on Include screen reader audio. The switch is off by default in Microsoft’s documented Insider rollout. When it is enabled, Live Captions can add audio produced by Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA to the same caption stream as microphone and other system audio. Turn it off to keep screen-reader speech out of captions. The control is a newer, gradually released Insider feature, so it may not be present on every Windows 11 installation even though the general Live Captions feature works there.
What does Include screen reader audio change?
The setting controls whether Live Captions treats speech generated by a screen reader as captionable audio. It does not turn Live Captions on or off, change the screen reader’s voice, or alter the words spoken by the screen reader.
| Setting | Caption scope | Typical result |
|---|---|---|
| Off (the documented default) | Microphone and other system audio, but not screen-reader output | Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA speech is omitted from the Live Captions stream. |
| On | Microphone and system audio plus supported screen-reader output | Speech generated by Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA can appear in Live Captions. |
Microsoft describes the feature as an improvement to Live Captions rather than a separate captioning application. The control is intended for workflows in which a person needs screen-reader speech represented visually—for example, when monitoring a computer through a shared display, recording an accessibility demonstration, or following spoken output in a noisy environment. If adding that speech would make the caption window distracting or redundant, leave the switch off.
Is the setting available on every Windows 11 PC?
No. General Live Captions is available in Windows 11 version 22H2 and later, but Include screen reader audio is documented in newer Insider builds and is being rolled out gradually. A PC can therefore support Live Captions while lacking this particular switch.
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| Microsoft channel or note | Build listed | Windows release named in the note | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Preview notes, dated October 16, 2026 | 26200.9807 | 25H2 | The setting is listed for this 25H2 build. |
| Release Preview notes, dated October 16, 2026 | 26300.9807 | 26H2 | The setting is listed for this 26H2 build. |
| Insider Experimental notes | 28120.3272 | 26H1 | The setting is documented in this experimental build. |
| Insider Experimental notes | 26340.9502 | Not stated in the note | The setting is documented in this build. |
| Beta notes | 26220.9492 | 25H2 | The setting is documented in this beta build. |
Insider features are previews. Microsoft warns that a feature can change, be removed, or never ship to a broadly available Windows release. Build numbers also do not guarantee simultaneous access: staged rollout systems can expose a control to some eligible devices before others. If your build is not listed, or the switch is missing after an update, that is not proof that Live Captions itself is broken.
How do I enable screen-reader audio in Live Captions?
Use the Settings path below. You can change the switch while Live Captions is running or before you start it.
- Press Windows + I to open Settings.
- Select Accessibility in the left navigation.
- Under the Hearing section, select Captions.
- Find Include screen reader audio. Turn the switch On to allow supported screen-reader output in captions.
- Leave it Off if captions should exclude screen-reader speech. Microsoft’s documented rollout uses Off as the default.
- Close Settings. The preference remains available from the Captions page the next time you need to change it.
The label may not appear if your Windows build has not received the feature. Do not confuse it with options that change caption style, font, color, or position; those appearance controls do not affect which audio sources are transcribed.
How do I start Live Captions after changing the switch?
Turning on the screen-reader-audio option only changes the audio sources Live Captions may process. Start Live Captions separately if it is not already active.
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- Open Settings > Accessibility > Captions and use the Live Captions control.
- Open Quick Settings and select the Accessibility flyout, then choose Live Captions.
- Press Windows + Ctrl + L.
Once the caption window is visible, trigger speech from Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA and check whether that output appears. The option permits inclusion; it does not force every audio event from every assistive application to be recognized. Microsoft specifically names those three screen readers in its description, so do not assume that an unlisted screen reader will behave identically.
Why is JAWS, NVDA, or Narrator speech still missing?
The most common cause is that the control is off, unavailable on the current build, or Live Captions has not actually been started. Check the following in order.
Confirm the switch and the caption session
- Return to Settings > Accessibility > Captions and verify that Include screen reader audio is On.
- Make sure the Live Captions window is running; changing the preference alone does not create a caption session.
- Generate a short, clear phrase with the screen reader and wait briefly for recognition.
Check Windows version and rollout status
General Live Captions support starts with Windows 11 version 22H2, while the screen-reader option is newer and tied to Insider or gradual-release builds. If the switch is absent, check Settings > System > About for the Windows edition and build, then compare it with the documented build context above. A supported release does not guarantee that a staged feature has reached your device.
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With the switch off, excluding screen-reader output is expected behavior, not a transcription failure. With it on, test ordinary microphone or system audio as well. If ordinary audio captions work but screen-reader speech does not, the issue is likely feature availability or compatibility with that screen reader rather than the general caption engine.
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Restart the caption session
After changing the setting, stop Live Captions, close its window, and start it again with Windows + Ctrl + L. This refreshes the caption stream and removes ambiguity about whether the prior session picked up the new source selection.
How do I stop screen-reader speech from appearing?
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Captions, switch Include screen reader audio to Off, then restart Live Captions if the existing window continues to show previously selected sources. Off keeps captions focused on microphone and other system audio while excluding audio generated by Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA.
This is a caption-scope change, not a mute command. The screen reader continues speaking normally for the person using it; only its speech is removed from the Live Captions stream.
What happens the first time I use Live Captions?
Windows may ask for consent to process voice data on the device and may download language files during first-time setup. Accepting the on-device processing prompt and completing the language download is required before captions can recognize speech in the selected language.
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If language setup fails
- Check that the PC has internet access.
- Verify that Microsoft Store access is available, because Windows may obtain the required language components through Store infrastructure.
- On an enterprise-managed PC, ask an administrator to deploy the appropriate Store package if Store access or package installation is restricted.
- After the language component is installed, reopen Live Captions and test both ordinary audio and screen-reader speech.
The language-download step is separate from the screen-reader-audio switch. A missing language package can prevent caption generation even when the switch is present and enabled.
Does Windows send Live Captions audio or captions to the cloud?
Microsoft states that Live Captions processes audio on the device. Its support documentation says all processing of audio and generation of captions from detected voice data occurs on-device, and that audio, voice data, and generated captions do not leave the device or get stored. This describes the Live Captions feature generally; it is not a claim that other accessibility or recording software has the same data handling.
On-device processing can be important when screen-reader speech contains private names, messages, or account details. It also means that language components and the feature itself must be available locally; a network connection may still be needed for initial language-file setup or updates.
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Choose based on whether screen-reader speech belongs in the visual transcript, not on whether you want captions at all.
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| Workflow | Recommended state | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Following a screen-reader demonstration on a shared display | On | The audience can read the same spoken output the demonstrator hears. |
| Using captions only for a meeting or video while a screen reader runs privately | Off | Screen-reader announcements do not compete with the meeting transcript. |
| Recording an accessibility tutorial that needs a text representation of spoken UI feedback | On, if the build and screen reader are supported | The caption stream can provide a visible representation alongside the demonstration. |
| Troubleshooting whether ordinary audio is being captioned | Off temporarily | Removing screen-reader output isolates microphone and system-audio recognition. |
The setting affects caption scope only. It does not select a preferred screen reader, change its speech rate, or provide a transcript file by itself.
What should I check before reporting a missing option?
- Confirm that the PC runs Windows 11, not an earlier Windows release.
- Verify that general Live Captions is available and can be opened.
- Record the exact Windows build from Settings > System > About.
- Check Settings > Accessibility > Captions rather than only Quick Settings; the source-selection switch is documented on the Captions settings page.
- Install pending Windows updates if your organization permits them, then check again after restarting.
- Remember that Insider features can be staged, changed, or withdrawn even within a listed channel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Include screen reader audio without turning on Live Captions?
No. The switch controls what an active Live Captions session may transcribe; it does not display text on its own. Start Live Captions from the Accessibility settings page, Quick Settings’ Accessibility flyout, or the Windows + Ctrl + L shortcut.
Does the setting caption every screen reader on Windows 11?
Microsoft’s documentation specifically identifies Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA. Compatibility with another screen reader is not established by that documentation, so test the particular application on your build rather than assuming equivalent behavior.
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No. It changes only whether the screen reader’s generated audio is eligible for the Live Captions stream. Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA continues using its own voice, rate, and verbosity settings.
Why did the option disappear after an Insider update?
Preview features can be modified, removed, or rolled out in stages. If the general caption feature still works, record your current build and check the Captions page again after subsequent updates; the absence of this control does not by itself indicate a fault with Live Captions.
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