Re: "Dictation not working in iPad OS 18.4 despite being enabled"
Thank you for your post to the community, and for letting us know what you have tried.
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Re: "If anyone else is in the same boat as me, I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. "
All the best with receiving responses sharing thoughts and suggestions from others in the same boat.
Else: Your post certainly deserves some response. The suggestions below may or may not be helpful.
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Re: "Whenever, I use dictation on my iPad, it just does not work".
Wondering what happens when you try ... error message ?
If you haven't already:
You may want to check through Apple Support's guidance available for iPadOS 18 in the articles below
Dictate text on iPad - Apple Support
Eg: says:
"With Dictation on iPad, you can dictate text anywhere you can type it.
You can use typing or handwriting with Dictation. Either the keyboard or tools palette can stay open during Dictation so you can easily switch between speaking and typing or handwriting to enter and edit text.
For example, you can select text with touch or Apple Pencil and replace it with your voice."
See the above linked article for tips:
The commands listed (in the linked article) below are always available while you’re dictating text.
Commands for dictating text on iPad - Apple Support
If following the methods given in the articles does not work for you:
You may want to send feedbackt to reach those who work on the soft-ware behind-the-scenes at Apple.
It is people like yourself, who regularly use dictation, who can make valuable contributions toward improvements.
Website for hardware and software feedback:: Product Feedback - Apple
or
To provide feedback about an accessibility feature on an Apple product,
you can email the Accessibility team directly: accessibility@apple.com.