How to Turn On Captions in Teams (2026)
Live captions in Microsoft Teams transcribe what people say in real time and show it at the bottom of your meeting window. They’re personal — turning them on only affects your screen, not anyone else’s — and they’re separate from a saved transcript. Here’s how to switch them on everywhere and fix them when they don’t appear.
Turn On Captions on Desktop
- Join the meeting.
- On the meeting toolbar, click More (the …).
- Choose Language and speech > Turn on live captions.
- Captions appear along the bottom of the meeting window.
To turn them off, go back to More > Language and speech > Turn off live captions.
Set the Spoken Language
Captions are only as good as the language setting. If the meeting is in a language other than English, set it so Teams knows what it’s hearing:
- Next to the caption box, click the caption settings (gear or …).
- Choose Change spoken language.
- Pick the language being spoken in the meeting.
This affects captions for everyone, so confirm the meeting’s main language before changing it. You can also enable live translation captions on some plans, which show captions in your own language while others speak theirs.
Turn On Captions on Mobile (iOS/Android)
- In the meeting, tap More (the …).
- Tap Language and speech (or Turn on live captions directly).
- Captions appear at the bottom of your screen.
Mobile captions follow you the same way — they’re visible only on your device.
Troubleshooting
There’s no “live captions” option
Live captions can be disabled by your IT admin in the Teams admin center. If the option never appears for anyone in your org, the policy is off and only an admin can enable it.
Captions are wrong or garbled
Set the spoken language to match what’s actually being said. Captions also struggle with heavy background noise, crosstalk, and people speaking far from their mic — a headset improves accuracy a lot.
Captions disappear when I look away
Captions only show the last few lines and scroll quickly. For a full record you can scroll back through, you want a transcript instead — see how to get a transcript in Teams.
My captions are on but no one else sees them
That’s expected. Captions are per-person. Everyone who wants them has to turn them on for themselves.
I want captions saved after the meeting
Live captions aren’t saved. Start transcription (or record the meeting) to keep a searchable copy of what was said.
Quick Reference
| Goal | What to do |
|---|---|
| Turn on captions | More > Language and speech > Turn on live captions |
| Turn off captions | More > Language and speech > Turn off live captions |
| Change spoken language | Caption settings > Change spoken language |
| Save what was said | Start transcription or record the meeting |
| Captions missing for everyone | Ask your admin to enable the policy |
Related Teams guides: How to get a transcript in Teams · How to record a Teams meeting · How to mute on Teams · How to raise your hand in Teams · The best AI note takers for Zoom, Teams & Meet
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