Apple – Troubleshoot no speech output from installed speech engines

Apple – Troubleshoot no speech output from installed speech engines


Problem

A customer using Mac OS is having trouble getting speech to work with an application that uses synthetic speech TTS such as Read & Write. 

 

Detail

Many literacy apps such as Read & Write or Claro make use of synthetic speech as part of their facilities, however in some cases this may not appear to work.  Below is a troubleshooting measure on can use in Mac OS to test the speech engines more directly than from within the affected app.


Resolution

To troubleshoot the TTS engine directly use these steps to check the speech engines independently of the app they are using.


 Mac OS Monterey and above

  1. Click the speaker icon in the menu bar on the right and ensure that volume is at least half way up.
  2. Then Click Apple symbol (top left).
  3. Then click System Settings,
  4. In the Search box enter the phrase Spoken Content and then click the result in the list below.
  5. Click the drop down for System Voice and select the speech engine that failed to work before and click Play Sample button.  The speech engine should speak.


Mac OS Big Sur and below

  1. Click Apple symbol (top left) and choose System Preferences.
  2. Then click Dictation and Speech.
  3. Then click Text to Speech.
  4. Then click System Voice.
  5. Then click the drop down to select the chosen speech engine.
  6. Then click Play button to hear the speech. 


Tip
If you select Kathy, Fred or Junior in the list and click Play Sample you should hear the Mac OS built in voices which should work even if the third party engine do not by way of comparison.


Conclusions and action

If speech is not heard when clicking Play Sample or Play button this probably indicates that the problem may be with the speech engine itself (assuming sound settings are OK).


    • Related Articles

    • Mac OS – Control update behaviour

      Problem A Mac user would like to be in control of how and when the Mac OS operating system is updated to preserve software compatibility. Resolution Under default settings Mac OS will push major updates and interim security updates. In some ...

    • JAWS/Fusion speech engine choices

      Information This document discusses the choices and relative merits of two types of speech TTS engine supplied with JAWS and Fusiuon products Explanation A TTS engine is a software offering that turns text to speech. They are normally offered as part ...

    • Claro - Setting accessibility permissions (Mac OS)

      Problem There are problems with Claroread functionality in Mac OS not working as expected. Detail During initial installation Claroread prompts to add Accessibility permissions that it needs to control the operating system. However, it is possible ...

    • Boot into Mac OS safe mode

      Information Use the below procedure to boot Mac OS into safe mode for troubleshooting software issues. When in safe mode any start up apps for the user will not run and therefore will facilitate troubleshooting more easily. Application Troubleshoot ...

    • SmartVision 2 - no speech in Play store

      Problem When attempting to access the Play store on SmartVision 2 mobile phone no speech is heard from the screen reader whilst navigating within the Play store app. Note SmartVision 2 is no longer sold in UK and has been superceded by SmartVision 3 ...