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Voice Control in iOS 26: Setup, Commands, and Text Entry

Set up Voice Control on iOS 26 and learn spoken navigation, item labels and grid overlays, text-entry modes, and key settings.

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To use Voice Control on an iPhone running iOS 26, go to Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control, tap Set Up Voice Control, then tap Continue to download the required files. Once that one-time download is complete, you can use Voice Control without an internet connection. After setup, speak commands to navigate, select controls, and enter text.

Turn on Voice Control

  1. Connect to Wi-Fi for the first-time setup, as Apple recommends.
  2. Open Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control.
  3. Tap Set Up Voice Control, then tap Continue to start the download.
  4. When setup finishes, look for the Voice Control status icon. Voice Control is ready to respond to spoken commands.

Apple’s iOS 26 guide says the one-time download comes from Apple and that an internet connection is not needed afterward: Use Voice Control commands to interact with iPhone.

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Navigate and select items with spoken commands

Speak a command such as “Open Control Center,” “Go home,” “Tap item name,” or “Turn up volume.” To see commands available in the current context, say “Show commands.” You can also browse them in Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control > Commands. Available commands can vary by app and task.

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When a control’s name is hard to identify

  • Say “Show names” to display the names of onscreen items, then speak the label you want.
  • Say “Show numbers” to label items with numbers, then say the number for the target.
  • Say “Show grid” and speak a grid number to target an area. If you need more precision, speak a cell number to zoom into a smaller grid.
  • Say “Hide names,” “Hide numbers,” or “Hide grid” to remove the overlay.

Pause or resume listening

Say “Stop listening” to pause Voice Control and “Start listening” to resume it. For quicker access after setup, add Voice Control to Control Center or configure it in the Accessibility Shortcut. You can also ask Siri to turn Voice Control on.

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Choose the right mode to enter text

Voice Control has three text modes. Dictation mode is on by default; the other modes are useful when you need to enter individual characters or prevent ordinary speech from being typed.

  • Dictation mode: Speak words into a text field.
  • Spelling mode: Enter characters individually. This can help with passwords and web addresses, but it is not available in every supported Voice Control language.
  • Command mode: Voice Control listens for commands only, so other speech is not entered as text.

While Voice Control is on, it handles spoken text entry and standard iOS Dictation is unavailable. If you only need ordinary dictation, Voice Control is a different feature.

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Adjust commands and settings

Voice Control settings include language, commands, vocabulary, visual confirmation, sound, hints, overlays, and—on iPhones with Face ID—Attention Aware. Custom vocabulary is not supported in every Voice Control language.

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In the command settings, you can review commands, enable or disable them, and require confirmation for individual actions. You can also create a custom command that inserts text, runs a custom gesture or Shortcut, or plays back a recorded series of commands. A custom command can be available in any app or restricted to selected apps. Apple describes these options in Customize Voice Control commands on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

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Menu wording can differ between documentation versions: Apple’s iOS 26 guide uses Commands, while its older directions use Customise Commands. Use the labels displayed on your iOS 26 device. For a broad overview of spoken navigation and overlays, see Apple’s Use Voice Control to interact with iPhone.

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Check language availability and optional audio equipment

Voice Control is not available in every language or region. Apple’s feature availability page is currently labeled for iOS 27, so its full language list should not be treated as a confirmed iOS 26 list. Check the current availability information for your system language and region.

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You do not need extra hardware to use Voice Control. A headset is optional if you prefer its microphone, but Apple warns that using Voice Control with AirPods or third-party headsets affects audio quality and can affect features such as Siri announcements and Share Audio with AirPods.

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Quick Recap

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