Forum Discussion
Changing Default Text to Speech Voice from David - bug work-around
The default voice choice for Text to Speech in a new Windows 11 OS installation is set to "David". For at least some applications (including VoiceAttack software I use regularly), trying to change the default voice to "Zira" using control panel settings (e.g., Accessibility/Narrator/choose voice, or Time & Language /Speech/Voices) does not work. For many years the work-around for this WAS through settings in the Windows Speech Recogition application (which application was retired in late 2024 in favor of the Voice Access application). I recently did a new installation of Windows 11, and I learned that the Voice Access application does not include any setting for changing the Speech-to-Text voice.
A work-around I found for the missing setting was to change the default voice using the Windows Registry. Using the Regedit tool I searched for solo entries of the David voice (that is where it was not listed together with other voice choices), and I changed the entries to Zira. The change that did the trick for me:
Regedit
CHANGE:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Speech\Voices\Tokens\TTS_MS_EN-US_DAVID_11.0
TO:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Speech\Voices\Tokens\TTS_MS_EN-US_ZIRA_11.0
2 Replies
I want enAU_JamesM as the default voice and pasted the key, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Speech\Voices\Tokens\MSTTS_V110_enAU_JamesM
then deleted,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Speech\Voices\Tokens\TTS_MS_EN-US_DAVID_11.0The default voice is now, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Speech\Voices\Tokens\TTS_MS_EN-US_ZIRA_11.0
Please advise.
Be cautious while editing the Windows Registry. Incorrect changes can negatively affect system performance or operation. Always back up the registry before making any changes.
