The Read Aloud feature in Office Mobile is a great option when you’re on the go. Now your playback won’t stop, even if your screen locks!

(Originally posted May 6, 2022 By ~ Sophia Thomas)

Hi Insiders! I’m Sophia Thomas, a Product Manager on the Office Voice team. We’ve heard your feedback, and we’re excited to share that you can now continue listening to documents with your screen locked on your Android phone or tablet, iPad, or iPhone!

Read aloud in lock screen mode

Read Aloud uses the latest text-to-speech technology to review content aloud and catch errors (aka “verification listening”). It also uses cutting-edge neural voices, Azure Cognitive ServicesProvides a more natural listening experience.

Using this feature on your device allows you to take a break from the screen and listen to the document (even when your device screen is locked). Read Aloud in lock screen mode is the perfect way to stay productive on the go!

How it works

1. Open a Word document on your device.
2. faucet examine And tap Read out loudOr click the reading icon. More options Menu. The app starts reading text from the beginning of the document.

   memo: On iOS, if you connect headphones to your device while a Word document is open, a Read Aloud pop-up suggestion will appear.

3. Lock your device screen and see if Word continues reading your document.

   A reading playback panel that appears on the lock screen of iPhone and Android devices

Known Issues

On Android Stop or play When I click the button in the ‘Read Aloud’ notification panel on the lock screen, the desired effect appears when playing, but the panel icon does not change.

seclusion

Read Aloud does not store your content or audio data. Microsoft only uses your content to provide audio results. For more information about the experiences that analyze your content, see: Connected Experiences in the Office.

effectiveness

Announcing Read Aloud in Lock Screen Mode to Office Insiders

• iOS version 2.59 (build 22022802) or later
• Android Build 16.0.15104.10000 or higher

Features are released over time to ensure everything works smoothly. They are released slowly to a larger number of Insiders, highlighting features you may not have. Sometimes we remove elements based on your feedback to make them even better. This is rare, but we also have the option to completely remove a feature from the product, even if you, as an Insider, had the opportunity to try it out.

feedback

We want to hear from you! To send us feedback:

• In Word for iOS, tap: setting > Help & Feedbackthen tap Tell us what you liked or Tell us what could be improved.
• In Word for Android, tap: setting > Send feedback to MicrosoftTap , then tap Likes, Dislikes, or I have an idea.

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