Accessibility Add Natural Voices to Narrator and Magnifier in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to add (install) natural voices to Narrator and Magnifier for your account in Windows 11.

Narrator is a screen reader included with Windows 11 that describes what's on your screen. Narrator lets you use your PC without a mouse to complete common tasks if you’re blind or have low vision. It reads and interacts with things on the screen, like text and buttons. Use Narrator to read and write email, browse the internet, and work with documents.

Narrator can use installed legacy and natural voices.

Legacy voices are not always great to listen to. Especially for cases when you may want to read an article or extended text.

Natural voices use modern, on-device text to speech and once downloaded are supported without an internet connection.

Narrator and Magnifier support high-definition voices for English (United States), powered by Azure’s latest on-device text-to-speech models. These voices use generative AI to adjust tone and pacing for more natural, expressive speech. When reading with Narrator or listening to text in Magnifier, HD voices provide clearer audio and smoother flow. This helps reduce listening fatigue during long sessions and makes it easier to stay focused on the content. While natural voices are available in multiple languages, HD voices are currently offered in English (United States). Both Narrator and Magnifier allow you to personalize your experience by adjusting voice speed and switching between voices anytime.

When you add a natural voice, it is available to both Narrator and Magnifier.

References:



Here's How:

1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on Accessibility on the left side, and click/tap on Magnifier or Narrator on the right side. (see screenshots below)




3 Under Narrator’s voice or Reading (Magnifier), click/tap on the Add button for Add natural voices. (see screenshots below)


4 If the current language (ex: "English") shown is not the language of a natural voice you want to install, then select a language you want in the Language drop menu. (see screenshot below)


5 Select the natural voice (ex: "Microsoft Ava (Natural HD)"), and click/tap on Download and Install. (see screenshot below)


6 The selected natural voice will now start installing. (see screenshot below)


7 Magnifier and Narrator will now automatically select to use this installed natural voice by default, but you can choose a difference voice if wanted. (see screenshots below)


8 When finished, you can close Settings if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink