tl;dr
To voice type on iPhone, open Settings > General > Keyboard, turn on Enable Dictation, then tap the microphone key on the keyboard and speak. Since iOS 16, Apple Dictation adds punctuation on its own as you talk, but your filler and false starts stay in the text. Add Auri Keyboard when you want the draft cleaned up, translated, or written as a reply; its dictation also types a raw transcript by default, and holding the mic key to pick Clean is what turns on the cleanup.
Turn on Apple Dictation
The microphone key does not appear until Dictation is enabled, which catches out a lot of people on a new phone or after a restore. Setup takes about half a minute and needs no restart.
- Open Settings > General > Keyboard.
- Turn on Enable Dictation and confirm the prompt.
- Open Notes, tap into a note, and bring up the keyboard.
- Tap the microphone key near the space bar and say one sentence.
- Tap the key again to stop, or pause and let it end itself.
Dictation follows the language of the keyboard you are using. If you have several layouts installed, switch the keyboard first, then start speaking.
Speak so the transcript needs less fixing
Most messy transcripts come from delivery rather than the recognizer. Since iOS 16, Apple Dictation also punctuates as you speak: periods, commas, and question marks land on their own. You can still say punctuation out loud when you want control, and structure stays spoken-only, so say "new line" or "new paragraph" to break the text up.
- Stop after two or three sentences, glance at the text, then start again.
- Slow down for names, email addresses, and numbers, or type those by hand.
- In a noisy room, bring the phone closer instead of raising your voice.
For the first week, reread each dictated message before sending. You will end up with a short list of words your voice loses, and most of them are names. The speaking guide covers pace, corrections, and phrasing in more depth.
What the system mic will not do
Apple Dictation is close to literal. Punctuation arrives on its own now, but the "um", the repeated word, and the sentence you abandoned halfway through all get typed. On a two-line text that costs you nothing. On a long email it means you dictate once and then rewrite by hand.
- Filler words and false starts stay in the draft.
- Tone lands exactly as you said it, including the parts you would not have written.
- No translation, no rewrite, no reply drafted from a short instruction.
- Lists and paragraph structure only happen when you speak the commands.
Apps such as Auri and Wispr Flow add an editing step after the words land so the first draft is closer to sendable. If you retype the same dictated paragraph twice a day, that editing step is the feature to test first.
Add an AI keyboard for the second pass
An AI keyboard takes over the keyboard area while you type, so voice input and the editing tools live in the same place. The setup guide walks through the permissions and the password question; the short version is that you add the keyboard under Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards, turn on Full Access, and allow the microphone on first use.
With Auri Keyboard installed, the toolbar carries six writing tools: Help Me Write, Continue, Fix Grammar, Paraphrase, Translate, and Reply to Email. Dictation has four output modes, and the default, Raw, is as literal as Apple's mic. Touch and hold the mic key to pick Clean, Concise, or Professional; the app's caption states the trade: "Raw keeps the transcript as-is. Other modes send it to Auri Cloud for cleanup."
You said: "we ship Tuesday, um, sorry, Wednesday"
Raw typed: "we ship Tuesday, um, sorry, Wednesday"
Clean typed: "We ship Wednesday."
Clean removes the filler, applies the correction you spoke, and fixes punctuation. Raw stays selected until you change it, so pick a mode once.
Decide which keyboard owns which job
Two keyboards only help if you stop deciding between them mid-message. Set the split once and let habit carry it.
- System keyboard with Apple Dictation: one-line texts, search fields, anything you would send unedited.
- Auri Keyboard: email, longer replies, messages in a second language, anything a client or colleague reads.
- Either one: rough notes you plan to finish later on a bigger screen.
Part of the split is enforced for you. In password, PIN, and card fields, iOS swaps in the system keyboard and hides the dictation mic, so credentials get typed by hand whichever keyboard you prefer.
Fix the problems people hit most
Five failures cover almost every support question about iPhone voice typing, and each one has a settings answer rather than a reinstall.
- No microphone key. Dictation is off, or you are in a secure field where iOS hides the mic.
- Mic starts and quits. Something else holds the microphone. End the call, recording, or camera session first.
- AI buttons do nothing. Full Access is off, or the connection is dead.
- Keyboard vanished from the globe list. Re-add it under Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards, which happens after some iOS updates.
- Wrong language in the transcript. Dictation follows the active keyboard, so change the layout before you speak.
When typing works and only the AI tools fail, check Full Access before you touch anything else.
FAQ
Where is the microphone key on the iPhone keyboard?
On the system keyboard it sits near the space bar. If you cannot see it, Dictation is still off in Settings, or you are in a password or card field, where iOS hides the dictation mic and blocks custom keyboards.
Does iPhone dictation stop on its own?
Yes. It ends after a stretch of silence, and it also stops when you tap the mic key again or start typing. Two or three sentences per burst works better than one long monologue.
Does Apple Dictation punctuate for me?
Yes. Since iOS 16 it adds periods, commas, and question marks as you speak. Spoken punctuation still works when you want control, and line and paragraph breaks still need the spoken commands "new line" and "new paragraph".
Do I need an AI keyboard for basic voice typing?
No. Apple Dictation handles quick notes and short replies at no cost. The reason to add a keyboard is the step after speech: grammar, tone, translation, or a reply drafted from a one-line instruction.
Does Auri Keyboard clean up dictation automatically?
No. The default output mode, Raw, types the literal transcript. Touch and hold the mic key and pick Clean, Concise, or Professional to have Auri Cloud clean it up.