Text Message Voice Dictation Stopped Working

I've run into this several times and there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason, It isn't your phone, it happens even if you don't have a cell phone paired to the head unit or directly connected.
its not an out of cellular range issue because i've been in metro areas where dictation disappears.
i've been out in the boonies _without_ cellular and the voice dictation is the default option (even though the service will fail because there is no cell signal).

 

You make great points. I realize you are absolutely right.

 

DICTATION FIXED!! OK Folks. I fixed it! I have my Dictation back, both from replying to messages as well as using the Steering Wheel Voice Command button.
I read the Owners Manual, what a concept! It states on Page 161 (2020 Taco Manual for Nav and Multimedia) that Dictation REQUIRES a subscription to "Connected Services". Well, at 3 years from the day I drove it off the lot, a couple weeks ago, my free initial 3 year subscription for REMOTE SERVICES expired. The Owners Manual doesn't tell you which Connected Service you need, there are several. But when I signed into my Toyota App on my phone it said the REMOTE SERVICES expired and asked whether I wanted to renew. So I did, at $80/year. After doing all the connection and verification on the App and in the vehicle (read the instructions carefully) it said it could take up to an hour. I waited 45 minutes and it worked, as well as Remote Starting of the Vehicle, Unlocking and locking the doors from the phone app, etc. Be sure, on the app Permissions, to turn them ALL on, including Web links.

ALSO, Update your own Audio system and Nav/Map Software. So in my research, here is another bit of information to update your Software for the Audio and the Nav/Maps (2 separate software programs) without having to go to the dealer. Although your truck's SETTING has a button for automatically updating your software AND your truck can even check to see if it has the latest version, IT LIES. Mine said I was up to date, and it was not. Here is the link: Download | Toyota Software Put in your VIN and follow the instructions carefully. You'll need a 2GB or larger USB Flashdrive. I just successfully updated both the Audio and the Nav/Maps software. When you look on the truck screen you can see the versions of each that you have, under Settings/General, scroll down. You'll see on the link what the latest is for each. And all the instructions are there to download the current version to a Flashdrive and how to take it to your truck to upload it via the USB port.

Taco Owners... Happy Dictating!!!!!

 

Awesome email. I'm happy you found the root cause and solved it, and dug so deeply into it. Great info shared with others about software updates! KUDOS.

If your Head Unit is AA-compatible, I still encourage you and others to get one of the AA wireless dongles. They continue to get cheaper and are a real convenience.

 

So am I to understand that Apple CarPlay will no longer take dictation after 3 years? That is all I use—I don’t use voice commands on the Toyota system except sometimes if I am using factory NAV rather than Google maps on CarPlay. I also know that factory NAV will go away in 3 years without subscription renewal, but I was planning on exclusively using Google maps and CarPlay after that.

 

I was just going to post a reply. I had read the thread at work and don't like to login to anything from there. I only got a year of the "Remote Connect" (name in the app) and was surprised when I went to text my wife on the way home from work and I wasn't able to dictate a message. It took me a little while to figure out what was going on. At $80 for a year I think it is worth it. It also makes finding places with the nav system better.

 

This has nothing to do with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, this is an option in the head units that have "Remote Connect".

The factory NAV will continue to work after your 3 year subscription, but it will only be able to find things that are on the SD card map data.

 

I do not know what year Taco you have, but I have a 2023 with the premium audio with navigation package (non-jbl) and it's known as dynamic navigation. The maps are updated in real-time through the cloud so there is no SD card and no SD card slot on the head unit as in previous years. From what I understand, I need to stay subscribed to the Toyota Connected Services for all of this to work correctly. I have a 3 year subscription that came with my 2023 and expires in 2026 -- however I do not know what will happen at that point, i.e. will Nav stop working altogether, or will only the cloud-based updates stop. Since the head units were changed in 2020 (no more SD slot or CD player, CarPlay and Android Auto added) I have not seen any posts on what happens when the subscription expires, as 2020 subscriptions are just now reaching the end of the original 3 year subscription term and the posts after expiration are few.

Regarding dictation in CarPlay, I too believe it has nothing to do with dictation in the Toyota Connect system, but I have asked the question because a previous post in this thread seemed to indicate that CarPlay dictation did not work either.

 

There is an SD card, but you have to take the head unit out to get to it. It is on one of the side of the Nav unit. They aren't like the older units where the SD slot is in the front.

You do not have to have the subscription for the NAV unit to work, but you will loose the ability to look up places that aren't on the SD card.

 

Thanks for the info, but does that mean that you have to pull the head unit to update the maps with a new card, or does the installed card get updated from the cloud? It is hard to believe that he head unit would have to be removed to update the maps.

 

I'm don't know anything about what can be downloaded to the NAV unit from the Internet connection. Maybe someone else on the forum know more about what all can be done through the connection.

 

As stated before, it is almost assuredly connected to the 3 year remote services subscription. My wife has a 2021 Highlander....purchased on 3/7/21. Surprise!!! A little over a week ago (3/8/24) her voice to text disappeared, just as described by others. Just another way for Toyota to squeeze more money out of you even after you've purchased the vehicle.

 

But is it voice to text over Bluetooth, or voice to text over CarPlay? I am willing to bet that. Voice to text over CarPlay will always work, no subscription required.

 

Ssshhhhh. Don’t say that too loudly or we will end up having to pay for CarPlay by subscription.