User level: Level 1 (82 points)I’ve updated to macOS Golden Gate. Spoken announcements are using the worn voice: how do I change them back?
(System Speech Language is telling me it’s set to the right voice.)
Posted on Sep 16, 2026 3:21 AM
User level: Level 9 (72,871 points)Sep 16, 2026 3:32 AM in response to Paul Downie
To fix the incorrect voice for spoken announcements, first confirm the announcements setting is correct, and if it is then re-select your preferred system voice or re-download the voice asset inside the Read & Speak accessibility panel.
Confirm Announcements Setting
Re-Select Voice
More info from Apple: Change the voice your Mac uses to speak text – Apple Support
User level: Level 1 (82 points)Sep 17, 2026 12:33 AM in response to Paul Downie
Given the problem is still happening, and the given solution hasn’t worked, would deleting the offending voice work?
It’s in /System/Library/SpeechBase/Voices/
Paul Downie wrote:
neuroanatomist wrote:
To fix the incorrect voice for spoken announcements, first confirm the announcements setting is correct, and if it is then re-select your preferred system voice or re-download the voice asset inside the Read & Speak accessibility panel.
Confirm Announcements Setting•
System Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak.
• Click the (i) next to Speak announcements.
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/10078371-c282-4ebf-a48e-3d9b18b7419e
• Ensure that the voice selected is the one you want (note that this can differ from the System voice that you select)
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/397a3ea9-5f1e-464d-926c-6c7d9d1ff759
Re-Select Voice•
System Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak.
• Locate System voice and click the name or menu next to it.
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/8708a98e-6302-4da2-920f-7232e2beadc1
•
Choose a different voice, or re-select your desired voice. If the voice needs to be updated or re-downloaded, wait for the download to finish.
• Restart your Mac if the announcement audio does not update immediately
More info from Apple: Change the voice your Mac uses to speak text – Apple Support
Yep: I’ve done all that: AND restarted.
Text, and the time, is being read out in my preferred voice: software announcements are being read out in another
User level: Level 1 (82 points)Sep 16, 2026 4:04 AM in response to neuroanatomist
neuroanatomist wrote:
To fix the incorrect voice for spoken announcements, first confirm the announcements setting is correct, and if it is then re-select your preferred system voice or re-download the voice asset inside the Read & Speak accessibility panel.
Confirm Announcements Setting•
System Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak.
• Click the (i) next to Speak announcements.
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/10078371-c282-4ebf-a48e-3d9b18b7419e
• Ensure that the voice selected is the one you want (note that this can differ from the System voice that you select)
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/397a3ea9-5f1e-464d-926c-6c7d9d1ff759
Re-Select Voice•
System Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak.
• Locate System voice and click the name or menu next to it.
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/8708a98e-6302-4da2-920f-7232e2beadc1
•
Choose a different voice, or re-select your desired voice. If the voice needs to be updated or re-downloaded, wait for the download to finish.
• Restart your Mac if the announcement audio does not update immediately
More info from Apple: Change the voice your Mac uses to speak text – Apple Support
Yep: I’ve done all that: AND restarted.
Text, and the time, is being read out in my preferred voice: software announcements are being read out in another
User level: Level 1 (38 points)Sep 18, 2026 6:47 PM in response to neuroanatomist
Hi! I have the same problem. I am not sure which voice is being used. It's a female voice. I went in and changed al the options to Alex and where available played a sample. The system has yet to implement the change. It reverts back to the female voice but still shows the selected voice as Alex. Is there a preference sheet that controls this that can be manually updated or a terminal command. I've used the Alex voice for years so this is very distracting. Thank you.
User level: Level 1 (82 points)Sep 18, 2026 10:50 PM in response to Sandra Davis
Sandra Davis wrote:
Hi! I have the same problem. I am not sure which voice is being used. It's a female voice. I went in and changed al the options to Alex and where available played a sample. The system has yet to implement the change. It reverts back to the female voice but still shows the selected voice as Alex. Is there a preference sheet that controls this that can be manually updated or a terminal command. I've used the Alex voice for years so this is very distracting. Thank you.
If its any help, Sandra, we can put in a suggestion into Apple’s feedback page …
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256358021