Guides

The Mac dictation shortcut, and how to change it

By · Published · Updated

The Mac dictation shortcut is whatever System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation, Shortcut says on your Mac, and you change it there: pick an option such as pressing Fn twice, or choose Customize and press your own keys. If F5 on your keyboard shows a microphone, pressing it starts Dictation too, and Esc stops it.

Apple's list of Mac keyboard shortcuts also gives Fn-D for starting and stopping dictation. Below: how to find your shortcut, every way to start Dictation, how to change it, what to do when it clashes, and where YapToText's own key fits. I built YapToText, so weigh that section, and the figures that show it, with that in mind. The rest is Apple's, from its support pages as I read them on October 3, 2026.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreDownload for free. No account, nothing locked, macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 9 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Find the shortcut your Mac uses
  3. Every way to start and stop Dictation
  4. Change the dictation shortcut
    1. Step 1: Open the Shortcut menu
    2. Step 2: Pick one, or record your own
  5. If the shortcut does nothing, or the wrong thing
  6. What Apple's shortcut cannot do
  7. Where YapToText's key fits
  8. The short version
  9. Questions

Steps

  1. Choose Apple menu, System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar.
  2. Go to Dictation and make sure it is turned on.
  3. Click the Shortcut pop-up menu and choose a shortcut, or choose Customize and press your own keys.
  4. Click into a text field and press the shortcut to start Dictation.
  5. Press Esc or the shortcut again to stop.

Find the shortcut your Mac uses

  • You: Choose Apple menu, System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar, and go to Dictation.
  • macOS: Shows the Dictation settings: the switch, Languages, Microphone source, Shortcut and Auto-punctuation.
  • Check: The Shortcut pop-up menu names the keys that start Dictation on this Mac. Then look at F5: a microphone on it means it is the Microphone key.

A shortcut you have to look up every time is not much of a shortcut, so look once and keep one you will remember.

Every way to start and stop Dictation

WayWhat you pressWhere it is set
Microphone keyF5, pressed and released. Holding it calls Siri.On the keyboard, if F5 shows a microphone
Dictation shortcutWhatever the Shortcut pop-up menu showsKeyboard settings, Dictation, Shortcut
Custom shortcutKeys you record, such as Option-ZThe Shortcut pop-up menu, Customize
Fn or Globe, twiceTwo presses of Fn, or Globe on some MacsKeyboard settings, Press fn key to, Start Dictation
Fn-DFn and D togetherApple's keyboard shortcut list, which notes you may be able to set a different one in Keyboard settings
Edit menuEdit, Start DictationThe app's menu bar

To stop, press Esc, the Microphone key or your Dictation shortcut, whichever way you started. Dictation also stops by itself after 30 seconds without speech. Several ways start it, and Esc stops it.

YapToText's Home page: the Start Dictation button, the Keys card with Right Command and Right Option, and Intelligent Insert.
Figure 1. For comparison, YapToText, the app I built, shows both of its keys on the Home page: Right Command for dictation and Right Option for Quick Edit, each set to Tap to start / stop.

Change the dictation shortcut

Step 1: Open the Shortcut menu

  • You: In System Settings, Keyboard, go to Dictation and click the Shortcut pop-up menu.
  • macOS: Lists the shortcuts it offers, plus Customize.
  • Check: The list is open. If Dictation is off, turn it on first so the shortcut has something to start.

Step 2: Pick one, or record your own

  • You: Choose a shortcut from the list. For one that is not listed, choose Customize, then press the keys you want, such as Option-Z.
  • macOS: Saves it. Depending on your Mac model, it may also change the Press fn key to (or Press Globe key to) option to match: choose Press Fn (Function) Key Twice, and that option becomes Start Dictation (Press Fn Twice).
  • Check: Click into a note and press the new shortcut. The cursor pulses, or on macOS 14 and 15 a microphone icon appears above or below it.

Pick keys your apps do not already use. Apple notes that every app can have its own shortcuts, and that a shortcut that works in one app might not work in another.

If the shortcut does nothing, or the wrong thing

Climb this ladder, smallest step first:

  1. Turn Dictation on. If the Dictation switch in Keyboard settings is off, the shortcut has nothing to start, or macOS asks you to enable Dictation first.
  2. Press what the menu says. Open the Shortcut pop-up menu and press exactly those keys, the way it describes them, twice for a press-twice option.
  3. Tap the Microphone key, do not hold it. A hold calls Siri.
  4. Set the Fn key to Start Dictation. If pressing Fn opens the emoji and symbols viewer, the pop-up menu next to Press fn key to is set to Show Emoji & Symbols. Set it to Start Dictation, and two presses start Dictation instead.
  5. Move a custom shortcut that clashes. If your combination does something else in one app, record a different one.
  6. Turn off Voice Control. While Voice Control is on, standard Dictation is not available, so no shortcut can start it.

If none of those is it, the full list of fixes is on Mac dictation not working.

What Apple's shortcut cannot do

  • Hold to talk. Apple describes the shortcut as press to start and press to stop, and describes no hold-to-talk mode. Holding the Microphone key calls Siri.
  • Keep listening. However you start it, Dictation stops after 30 seconds without speech. The 30-second limit page explains why.
  • Start Dictation under Voice Control. With Voice Control on, there is no standard Dictation for a shortcut to start.
YapToText's Dictation settings page on a Mac: the Keys, Recording, Microphone and Delivery cards.
Figure 2. YapToText covers two of those on its Dictation page: the menu beside the dictation key, showing Tap to start / stop, also offers Hold to talk, and Auto-stop after silence is Off by default.

Where YapToText's key fits

YapToText, the free dictation app I built, starts from one key instead of a combination: Right Command, tapped once to start and once to stop. Tap to start and stop is the default, which is easier on hands that cannot hold a key down, mine included.

  • Tap or hold. Tap to start / stop is the default. Hold to talk records only while the key is down.
  • Any key. Right Control, Left Control, Fn/Globe, Right Option, Left Option, Right Shift, Caps Lock, or any single key such as a letter or an F-key, which then stops typing its character. With Caps Lock as the trigger, the app turns the lock and its light back off.
  • Safe with shortcuts. A tap counts only when no other key was pressed with it, so Command-C and Command-Tab never start a dictation.
  • A backup shortcut. Control Option Space does the same job and works without Accessibility, which the bare key needs.
  • No silence stop. It listens until you tap again.
YapToText's Settings, General tab: the Shortcuts card, the Auto mode card, and the Microphone card with a live input level meter.
Figure 3. The backup shortcut, Control Option Space, sits in Settings, General, beside keys for pausing, cycling modes and canceling, and it works without Accessibility.

If you use both apps, give them different keys. If you use YapToText, the first dictation help page starts from that key, and the keys and shortcuts help page has every setting. Dictation from one key, a switch or a pedal covers triggers you press with something other than a finger. Anything that presses one key can be the trigger, and I have not tested every switch interface.

The short version

  • Find it. System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation, Shortcut.
  • Change it. Pick from the list, or choose Customize and press your own keys.
  • Stop it. Esc, the Microphone key, or the shortcut again.
  • Fix it. Dictation on, Voice Control off, and the Fn key set to Start Dictation if you press Fn twice.

The shortcut is a setting you choose, not a key you have to guess. If your Mac offers shortcuts this page does not mention, open an issue on GitHub. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreDownload for free. No account, nothing locked, macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

What is the shortcut for dictation on a Mac?

It is whatever Keyboard settings, Dictation, Shortcut shows on your Mac. The Microphone key (F5) also starts Dictation if your keyboard has one, and Apple's keyboard shortcut list gives Fn-D.

What is the hotkey for dictation on a Mac?

The same thing as the shortcut: whatever Keyboard settings, Dictation, Shortcut shows on your Mac, the Microphone key (F5) if your keyboard has one, or Fn-D from Apple's keyboard shortcut list. In YapToText the dictation key is Right Command by default, and any single key can take its place.

How do I change the dictation shortcut on my Mac?

Open System Settings, click Keyboard, go to Dictation, and choose from the Shortcut pop-up menu. Choose Customize to press your own combination, such as Option-Z.

How do I stop dictation on a Mac with the keyboard?

Press Esc, the Microphone key, or your Dictation shortcut. Dictation also stops by itself after 30 seconds without speech.

Why does pressing Fn open emoji instead of dictation?

Because the Press fn key to option in Keyboard settings is set to Show Emoji & Symbols. Set it to Start Dictation, and pressing the key twice starts Dictation.

Is there a push to talk shortcut for Mac dictation?

Not in Apple's Dictation, which Apple describes as press to start and press to stop. YapToText has a Hold to talk option that records only while the key is down.