Word transcriptions stopped working

Question

Word transcriptions stopped working

Kevin Corcoran 0

I have used the transcribe option in Word but today when I click "upload file" it doesn't do anything. At the bottom is says I only used 8/300 minutes. Need help.

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3 answers

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Answer 1

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Answer 2

DaveM121 (2) 17,880 Volunteer Moderator

This is a widely reported problem at the moment where the option to upload an audio file for transcription is not working in the installed version of Word and is working on the online version of Word, there is nothing wrong with your Windows version or Office installation, this is a server-side problem that Microsoft needs to fix on their side.

The best option is to open Word, then go to Help - Feedback - Report a Concern and report this bug to the Office developers there.

DaveM121 947.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-11-11T08:01:18.14+00:00

Just a quick update, some people are reporting a possible workaround now, try to widen the transcribe panel by dragging the edge of the panel to the left and test if that resolves the problem.
DaveM121 (2) 17,880 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-11-11T08:12:46.3933333+00:00

Just a quick update, some people are reporting a possible workaround now, try to widen the transcribe panel by dragging the edge of the panel to the left and test if that resolves the problem.

Answer 3

Use Word for the web in Microsoft Edge or Chrome as the immediate workaround, because current reports match your symptom: Upload audio does nothing and the file picker never opens in desktop Word.^1^

Upload through Word for the web

Open https://word.cloud.microsoft/ in the latest Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.
Sign in with the same Microsoft 365 business account used in desktop Word.
Create or open a document.
Select Home → Dictate ▼ → Transcribe → Upload audio.
Select the recording and leave the Transcribe pane open while it processes.

Word supports .wav, .mp4, .m4a, and .mp3 uploads. The resulting audio is stored in the Transcribed Files folder in OneDrive.^2^

Your displayed usage of 8/300 minutes means the monthly upload allowance has not been exhausted; Microsoft documents a 300-minute monthly allowance for Microsoft 365 subscribers.^2^

If the web version also fails

Use these results to narrow the problem:

Upload works on the web: continue there temporarily. This isolates the issue to the desktop Word upload control rather than the recording or quota.
The picker opens, but one recording fails: try another supported audio file. If that works, re-export the original recording as a fresh MP3 or WAV.
Every upload fails after file selection: check OneDrive on the web for available storage and confirm the Transcribed Files folder is accessible, because Word saves uploaded recordings there.^3^
Upload does nothing in both Edge and Chrome: report it to your Microsoft 365 administrator or Microsoft Support, including:
- Whether desktop Word and Word for the web are both affected
- Browser names and versions
- Whether the Windows file picker appears
- Whether multiple supported files were tested
- A screenshot showing the Transcribe pane and remaining minutes

Reinstalling Word or modifying the registry is not a supported first response for this particular symptom, especially while the web workflow can bypass the currently unresponsive desktop control.

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