Forum Discussion
Voice Access dilemma: the nonexistent "I agree" button
I want to familiarize myself with Voice Access in Windows 11. I found a page titled https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/set-up-voice-access-9fc44e29-12bf-4d86-bc4e-e9bb69df9a0e which says that to start Voice Access from Windows Search, I should:
1. Open Windows search and type voice access.
2. Select Open to start voice access.
Fair enough. Step 1 is what I would have guessed on my own. But step 2 implies that step 1 will open some kind of window that has a control labeled Open. Instead, it opens a little box at the top of the screen that says:
Welcome to voice access
Use your voice to type and control your PC.
By selecting I agree, you agree to let voice access use your microphone, and allow Microsoft to process your resulting voice data on your device--this data won't be shared to the cloud. You also agree to allow network data to be used for necessary services, like downloading voice access language files and more.
Then two links:
More about voice access
Microsoft Privacy Statement
The "I agree" stuff demonstrates a touching sensitivity to the user's privacy concerns. I have never seen such sensitivity before from Microsoft... indeed, from anyone. Imagine if Windows asked your permission to compare your password to its stored hashcode when you entered it. Or Microsoft Word asked your permission to use network services to download a new font the first time you used it.
Unfortunately there is no "I agree." Those words in the message are not a link; I clicked them to see. There's no other "I agree" or anything similar in the box.
Ah, but there's a second way of turning on Voice Access. Settings>Accessability has a slider for turning Voice Access on and off (along with options for turning it on before or after you log in).
But when I push the slider to On, it opens the same little dialog that instructs me to click a nonexistent "I agree."
So both methods of access are blocked.
What am I supposed to do? I can't ever use the Voice Access feature if Microsoft won't let me proceed until I agree to let it process my voice, but it gives me no means of doing so.
2 Replies
The dialog you're seeing is a privacy consent prompt, but the "I agree" button or link is missing or not displayed properly due to a glitch, a UI bug, or a system glitch.
The button was there after all, but instead of being in the box, it was in the bar at the top of the screen. Despite the physical displacement I probably would have noticed it... except that the very top part of my screen was hidden by my desk lamp, which balances on top of the monitor and happened to be tipped forward just enough to cover the bar.
So I didn't know it was there because I didn't see it. I didn't see it because the lamp hid it. I didn't look under the lamp because I didn't know it was there.
After I found the button I was able to turn on Voice Access, and I moved on to the frustration of trying to use it. For that story, see my other post, First experience with Voice Access: Really this bad?
