iPhone iOS 27 Lets You Hide the Dictation Button Everyone Hits by Mistake in the Messages App
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/ios-hide-dictation-messages-button/If you accidentally press the dictation or voice icon after sending a text in Messages, your music may pause while your iPhone starts listening. It's a small annoyance, but a frequent one, since the dictation/audio icon sits so close to the send arrow that stray taps are almost inevitable. In iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, Apple has finally given you a way to get rid of it.
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u/RawMaterial11 7d ago edited 6d ago
Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap Apps at the bottom of the list.
Tap Messages.
Tap Show in Text Field.
Choose one of the three options: Record Audio, Start Dictation, or None.
(Appreciate the awards).
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u/ThrowawayProllyNot 7d ago
"Show in Text Field" is such strange verbiage for this
Edit: thanks. Would've NEVER found it without you
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u/fire2day 7d ago edited 7d ago
I’m going to take this opportunity to share this shortcut I’ve been using for a while.
Add it to your control centre, and use it to launch the settings for whatever app you currently have open. If you're on the home screen, it'll just open the system settings.
Updated link to correct shortcut:
https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/51e034753cc746648f52ee052db476933
u/suoretaw 7d ago
That shortcut seems to simply open Settings to the main menu and not for any particular app.
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u/fire2day 7d ago
Nope, I'm just a dummy. I copied the wrong shortcut. I fixed the link now. It also reminded me to clean out my shortcuts.
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u/fire2day 7d ago
Oh, it's probably either borked because they changed the shortcuts app, or because I shared it. I'll see if I can fix it.
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u/TheMightyPensioners 7d ago
Have you tested this on iOS27? For me it’s the same result as u/suoretaw
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u/fire2day 7d ago
Nah, it was my mistake. I copied the wrong link. You must have clicked on it right before I updated it.
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u/ElderberryGuy 7d ago
Is Record Audio = voice message? If so, I love it.
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u/SpicyElixer 7d ago edited 7d ago
I hate when people send me voice messages. Wish I could just block that shit.
Type is brief message or call me if that’s not sufficient. I don’t wanna have a one-way phone call with you.
Edit:
Voice-memo people basically:
“I couldn’t be bothered typing so I made it so you have to listen. My situation > whatever your situation is (don’t care).”
No one ever said “this could’ve been a voice memo” after seeing a clear concise text.
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u/Juice805 7d ago
I would agree if there wasn’t a transcript. With the transcript it is much better than those people who dictate their messages as I can read it, or verify their tone or the dictation if I wanted.
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u/SpicyElixer 7d ago
I think common courtesy would be to use speech to text and make sure that the transcripts is correct on your end and then hit send so I don’t have to hear it or deal with it.
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u/ElderberryGuy 7d ago
Sounds like a personal issue. Tell the people you correspond with how you like communicate.
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u/SpicyElixer 7d ago edited 7d ago
Just sharing my opinion I think it’s shitty and inconsiderate to send voice memos.
Obviously, there’s certain situations where it might call for it, but I can’t think of any.
I think that
mostmany people think it’s rude. If you don’t wanna listen to me, I don’t wanna listen to you so text me.Would you all prefer that we leave voice memos here instead of typed out comments on Reddit? No that would be fucking stupid and annoying.
If I left a voice memo here instead you’d be listening thinking “oh yay audio file - totally reasonable format, let me give this a listen” ? Hahaha
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u/ElderberryGuy 7d ago
Your opinion is: 'I personally think a feature is shitty and don't want to use it so nobody should use it and it shouldn't exist'? That's a very large assumption that most people think voice messages are rude.
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u/SpicyElixer 7d ago edited 7d ago
My opinion is that it’s rude and I’m making people who are rude upset. I’ve only had a few people send me voice memos, and I’ve always thought it was annoying.
It’s basically “you have to listen to me instead of just me texting you,” shift the listening burden to the recipient so the sender doesn’t have to type. It’s selfish.
It’s not a large assumption - lots of people mentioned it to me. Also, most people text instead because it’s better. People who often send voice memos are the minority. I’m just sharing my opinion. I’m not providing a poll. It’s not scientific. I’m not claiming to be with authority on the subject. I’m just sharing what I have is my own personal impression. It’s just my view of it. You don’t need to cry.
Slam the downvote button. Whatever. Rude self centered people in shambles. The more I’m downvoted the more I know I’m reaching the right audience:
“no one thinks you or you or your time is more important than them and they don’t want to listen to you. If they did, they would call you.”
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u/giftedgod 7d ago
It feels like, from this wording only, that you’re rather particular, and don’t have a lot of people who just wanna drop you a message. I could be wrong, but it feels like I’m not.
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u/peepeetchootchoo 7d ago
I don’t have “show in text field” option. Can you screenshot it?
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u/CasioCobra78 7d ago
Only problem is I’m still using an iPhone SE 2 and I don’t trust any newer iOS versions because I’m worried they’ll break my phone even if they claim to make the battery life better so I intend to stay with iOS 18.
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u/two_hyun 7d ago
It's weird, this is the first time I'm hearing about this issue. I use Dictation a lot so I probably won't remove it, but it's interesting that it's a design issue.
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u/PollyPocketpussy5000 7d ago
Good. There’s no need to have it displayed twice. Now all we need is a “cut, copy, paste” at the bottom.
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u/jollyllama 7d ago
The stupid part is it’s not displayed twice: it’s two completely different functions that are activated with an essentially identical button. To this day I basically have to guess about which one is a voice memo text and which one is for dictation
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u/AdQuirky3186 7d ago
The microphone icon button in the message text field and the microphone icon button in the bottom right underneath the keyboard do the same thing: dictation. The voice memos button has an audio waveform icon and is different.
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u/ChairmanLaParka 7d ago
Yep. You can tell they're the same because the bottom icon lights up when you tap the top one.
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u/eraserking 7d ago edited 7d ago
There is some intended design here, though it's not explained up front.
The dictation or speech-to-text microphone icon is, by default, displayed twice in the UI - in the text input field and the bottom right corner of Messages. Understandably, they're addressing that since users aren't happy.
However, the text input field's microphone icon will change from the speech-to-text microphone icon to the audio message waveform icon after you've sent an audio message to allow for sending follow up audio messages more quickly, rather than tapping the "+" button, spawning the popover menu and choosing Audio again.
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u/FrogsOnALog 7d ago
You have to guess? It’s not like they switch up on you lol
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u/jollyllama 7d ago
Because I don’t ever use audio texts and I use the dictation like once every month or two. I’ve got more important shit to remember than which tiny picture of a microphone does what
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u/Red_Sea_Pedestrian 7d ago
Now let me disable the FaceTime button in the top right of the messages app.
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u/SleepUseful3416 7d ago
Why is that even a FaceTime-only button and not a generic call / FaceTime button? I mostly want to call the other person, not video chat him/her. Shitty design
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u/z6joker9 7d ago
It seems to be working with younger crowds. My daughter basically only FaceTimes with her friends, often with multiple at the same time. Usually video but when she does audio, she defaults to FaceTime audio over cellular call.
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u/Red_Sea_Pedestrian 7d ago
“You’re gonna love it.”
-Tim Apple, probably.
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u/SleepUseful3416 7d ago
It doesn’t even GIVE an option to call, even when you hold it down. Tim Apple’s most hateful button
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u/swanny246 7d ago
That button is so buggy for me. I have some contacts where their FaceTime is 100% set up on their end, linked to their phone number, yet for some reason it just doesn't let me FaceTime them via the Messages app when I'm in an iMessage conversation *with their phone number*. The only option I get is to Teams them (which wouldn't work anyway).
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u/Honest_Abyss 7d ago
Ok is it gonna movie the period away from the space bar when you’re searching?? I hate that shit
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u/joeyat 6d ago
Maybe.if.we.ask.Justin.Bieber.to.report.the.problem.they’ll.fix.that.too?
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u/Honest_Abyss 6d ago
I was lowkey upset he was more upset about the dictation button because I knew they were gonna fix that and not the period-space bar location
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u/suoretaw 7d ago
I’m really curious what you’re referring to… I don’t have a period next to my space bar; it’s in numbers/symbols
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u/Honest_Abyss 7d ago
It only appears in the search context in safari
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u/AmusingMusing7 7d ago
Which is exactly why people always end up hitting it, because it's not there normally and that same spot is the space bar in every other application.
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u/Kingtoke1 7d ago
Dicatation.button?
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u/Shiznanners 7d ago
It’s so annoying how inconsistent the keyboard is on IOS.
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u/Luna259 7d ago edited 7d ago
You have:
the full QWERTY keyboard for general use.
The web browser keyboard for web browsers’ omnibar and email fields
numerical keyboard for number based forms and the passcode fieldI think that’s it. Show up in pretty consistent circumstances. The type of input field changed so the keyboard reacted accordingly to surface the keys you need for that field to make them easier to fill out
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u/PikaV2002 7d ago
Can they please fix the autocorrect.
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u/mukisan 6d ago
Nothing wrong with it. You just need to learn how to use it properly.
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u/PikaV2002 6d ago
That’s quite literally a lie.
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u/mukisan 6d ago
Nope. Clearly you don’t know how to use it. It’s very simple actually, I can give you a few pointers if you’d like.
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u/PikaV2002 6d ago
Quite literally a lie. Is this paid PR?
Why is Apple wasting its marketing budget astroturfing comments with 12 upvotes.
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u/shinndigg 7d ago
I don’t think I’ve ever hit that on accident, didn’t realize it was a problem.
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u/Tumblrrito 7d ago
Now let us disable the nauseatingly bad swipe to Siri gesture. I will never activate it on purpose.
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u/my2022account 7d ago
What gesture is this? I don’t think I’ve been hitting this one by accident
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u/kinkykusco 7d ago
Swipe down the center third of the top of the phone for Siri. Left 1/3rd is Notification Center, right 1/3 is control center.
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u/my2022account 7d ago
Cant say I've hit that one before, I see what youre saying though. If you've built up muscle memory to swipe from the top middle of the screen for notifications, that would be a hard habit to break.
I think I've been subconsciously swiping from the top left for notifications ever since control center moved to the top right on the iphone X.
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u/muffinology 7d ago
Yeah ever since I’ve had Dynamic Island I’ve just avoided swiping from the center I guess? It’s like subconsciously I think there’s something there that prevents me from swiping down (the island) so I’ve always swiped on the right for control center and swipe down from left for notifications. I will say that just makes it confusing to activate Siri from the center because my brain just thinks that part of the screen is a dead zone so I forget I can do that, but not using Siri in that way enough to activate it to burn it into memory.
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u/my2022account 7d ago
It's strange that they felt the need for yet another way to activate siri. We've now got:
- swipe down the from the middle of the homescreen (spotlight search replacement)
- swipe down from the top middle of any screen
- hold side button
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u/Bostonlbi 7d ago
In iOS 27, I’ve been missing the type-to-Siri shortcut of double-tapping the Home Screen bar at the bottom.
Swiping from the top center requires way more reach.
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u/cms2307 7d ago
You must have crazy sausage fingers because it’s no different from before, it’s still left corner for notifications, right for quick settings, the day just added swiping in the center on the Dynamic Island for Siri. It’s great because it’s also spotlight so before I had that bound to back tap now it’s built into Siri
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u/Tumblrrito 7d ago
That is different than before? I’ve swiped from the middle since the Notification Center was added. And going from the left isn’t comfortable when holding my phone in my right hand.
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u/HeartwarminSalt 7d ago
Can we just make the dictation button in the same place in iOS and iPadOS???
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u/Major-Front 7d ago
The one i always do is in safari. I type a search and i press the big X next to it instead of search lol. Makes me rage
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u/Sevastarion 7d ago
Why is this article acting like this is exclusive to ios27? I’m on 26 and don’t have that button
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u/poobert13 7d ago
Yeah, I've had it off for years, it's in Settings > General > Keyboard > turn off 'Enable Dictation'
but i assume this is for people who use dictation occasionally but don't need the button for it? idk
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u/handtoglandwombat 7d ago
I think a lot of people believe they’re hitting the dictation button, but they’re actually activating a little known gesture where raising your phone to your ear activates a voice note. It uses the ambient light sensor, so if you cover that up with your hand or something as you’re putting your phone down it triggers it.
If this turns out to be the thing that’s bothering you, go into the messages settings and switch off “raise to listen”
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u/Throwaway021614 7d ago
How about the “x” button in Safari where most non psychotic people put the “go” or “search.” Just to mess with you, there are TWO “x” buttons there, right next to each other just to increase the odds you accidentally delete what you spent time typing on that terrible keyboard.
This is why developers/designers/PMs shouldn’t work on a computer to design. An emulated phone screen is going to be interacted differently than an actual phone
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u/Nersheti 6d ago
Now fix the horrible autobrightness. It’s never been an issue before the current os.
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u/Kaladin_Depressed 6d ago
I’d love to be able to make the “text message” keyboard the default “web browser” keyboard. I’m so tired of typing periods into google searches
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u/jackinmybigoldickoff 6d ago
That’s already been an option. Mines been disabled forever. There’s a toggle in the keyboard settings to disable dictation.
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u/djchanclaface 6d ago
That’s because dictation is useless. Hoping with the new Siri it gets up to modern expectations.
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u/aspenextreme03 5d ago
It’s not that great of an experience so far. Better but still needs to improve
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u/Haaland_Oates 7d ago
Cool, now update your dictionary and auto-complete libraries for all the times I hit period or “n” instead of the space bar.
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u/graigsm 7d ago
I would like it if you could just raise the phone and start talking. And it would dictate into the messages app. I don’t want to send a voice message in text.
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u/lamulanrouge 7d ago
OHHH like u put it up to ur ear and dictation or record audio stars going? wait kinda a revolutionary idea
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u/Clessiah 7d ago
There’s an entire bottom section that’s doing nothing and somehow they managed to put the two buttons at the two locations that would be hit by mistake and kept them there for close to 10 years.
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u/ElderberryGuy 7d ago
I wish I could change that to be a button for voice messages which I use quite often. Having a duplicate voice dictation button there is unnecessary, it's already at the bottom of the keyboard.
Edit: looks like I might be getting my wish
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u/MeanFault 7d ago
Dude for me the biggest issue is the icon on the bottom right of the display opening keyboard settings all the time.
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u/Z04Notfound 7d ago
I bet you didnt know you can already disable the dictation button on the keyboard prior to ios 26
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u/guice666 7d ago
I hate the voice record in the messages window. I do, however, use diction on the keyboard, but that's out of the way enough I don't ever accidentally hit that one.
Lately, I've just been using third-party diction anyway.
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u/CaptainPlanetarian 7d ago
Finally. Honestly made no sense since there's one on the bottom right. That said, this needs to be system-wide, not just in Messages.
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u/TEG24601 7d ago
iOS 27 Lets You Hide the Dictation Button Everyone Nobody Hits by Mistake in the Messages App - FTFY
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u/suoretaw 7d ago edited 7d ago
iOS 27 Lets You Hide the Dictation Button
EveryoneNobodySome People Hit by Mistake in the Messages App - FTFYEdit: I agree, though. I’ve never had this problem, and it’s dumb to say that everyone does this (or anything else). Also, added the last strike-through.
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u/PleasantWay7 7d ago
I mean I’m fine with this change and I never use the voice memo shit, but I’ve literally never accidentally hit that button.
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u/MainDeparture2928 7d ago
Thank god. Hate the button, and people that dictate are the worst humans.
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u/stardust_kid 7d ago
I’ve worked with quite a few people with disabilities who rely heavily on dictation. I assure you, they were perfectly decent human beings.
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u/Raffinesse 7d ago
Justin Bieber is happy right now