Translator for iOS FAQs

Can I delete the transcripts in the conversation feature?

• Yes, you can delete the transcripts by selecting a transcript and clicking the delete icon.

Can I translate offline?

• Currently Microsoft Translator for iOS app does not support offline translation. The ability to download languages for offline use will be coming soon in the next version.

Do I need to have an account to use the Translator app or conversation feature?

• No, the Microsoft Translator app doesn’t require you to be authenticated (e.g., with a user ID and password).

Do you have pronunciations for translations?

Pronunciations is only available for languages supporting transliteration. If available:

• On the main screen, select your 2 languages.
• Talk or type in the text to translate.
• Tap the translation card and view how the translated words are pronounced.

Does each person need to use their own device for conversation feature?

• Yes, the conversation feature requires each person in the group to use the Translator app in their own mobile device or web browser (https://translate.it)
• If participants in a meeting do not have their own device, it will impact the transcription attribution accuracy and those participants speech will be attributed to other speakers who have devices.

Does the speech translation feature collect data?

• By default, the speech translation data is not collected. Data is collected only if you consent to contribute voice clips. You can enable/disable data collection in the settings.

How can I translate webpages?

To translate web pages, the Microsoft Translator service is now integrated into the Edge browser. The option is to either download the Microsoft Edge browser app or use the Edge browser to translate webpages.

How do friends, peers or family join my conversation?

• They can join via Bluetooth, QR code, or a web link.

How to save a translation

• On the main screen, you will see a star icon on the top-right section of each translation card.
• Tap the star icon to favorite the translation.
• All your favorite translations are saved in “Favorite” section.
• On the main screen, click the menu icon on top-left corner.
• Go to “Favorite” section and view all your saved translations.

How to translate messages in your apps such as text, WhatsApp and Facebook

There are 2 options:

Copy and paste method – to translate a message you received in another application or to send a translated message.

• Find the message you want to translate.
• Tap-and-hold the text.
• Tap Copy.
• Go to the Microsoft Translator app and tap the keyboard.
• Select the languages you want to translate from and translate to.
• Tap-and-hold on “Type to Translate”.
• Tap Paste and your translation will appear.

Or Microsoft Translator is integrated into the Microsoft SwiftKey keyboard.

How to translate speech

• On the main screen, select any two languages.
• Depending on the selected languages, you may see a microphone with stars or 2 microphones or one microphone disabled.
• If you see a microphone with stars, it means you can speak in any of the 2 languages selected, and the app will auto-detect your spoken language and translate it to the other language. Tap the microphone and start speaking. This microphone with stars remains on for the duration of the conversation. Tap “end” to close the conversation.
• If you see 2 microphone icons, press the microphone icon closest to the language which you want to translate from. This microphone requires your attention to tap whenever you speak.
• If you see one microphone disabled, it means that speech translation is not supported by that language.

How to translate text

• On the main screen, select any two languages and tap the keyboard icon on the bottom-right corner.
• When you enter the text translation screen, toggle between the 2 selected languages, and type the text for which the language is marked with a green bubble.
• Press enter on your keyboard and view the translation.

What is nearby conversation and how can I find nearby conversation?

• The nearby conversation feature allows the host of a meeting to let others join their conversation by clicking the nearby conversation code on the start page. It is required to enable Bluetooth to access nearby conversations. Please keep in mind that if you enable this function, anyone with internet access and who is nearby may be able to join your conversation.

When should I use speech translation and multi-device conversation feature?

• Use speech translation when you want to translate shorter phrases or sentences.
• Use the conversation feature when you want to transcribe and translate larger conversations with a group of people.

How to translate group conversation

• On the main screen, click the icon on top right corner to enter multi-device conversation feature.
• Setup your profile by entering your name (it can be your nickname) and your language.
• Start a conversation by tapping the start button and press the microphone to talk.
• Invite your friends, peers, or family to join the conversation by clicking the ‘add’ icon on the bottom right. They can join using the Microsoft Translator mobile app or from a browser using the Translator conversation web app at https://translate.it
• Once everyone joins the conversation, as each person speaks/types from their own mobile device or website in their language, everyone can see a transcript with the conversation translated in real-time to their desired language.
• Each sentence is marked clearly by the display name of speaker so you can see who is saying what and follow the conversation.

Can I change the voice of the audio playback?

For some languages, audio playback is available. When available, you may be given the option to change the voice used to hear the speech translation:

• Tap the name of the target language to open the language picker.
• Tap the voice icon of a target language to see the voice options available.
• Under “Voice for Translation Playback”, tap the arrow to view available voice options.

If I give consent to contribute voice clips to Microsoft, is my data collected while using Conversations feature?

No, we don’t collect any data while using the Conversations feature.

What data is collected if I give consent to contribute voice clips from my device to Microsoft?

Voice clips of 20 seconds are collected by the Microsoft’s Speech service, please check this page for more details.

Troubleshooting speech translations

• Check the Languages page to see if a language supports speech functionality.
• Speech translation feature works only while online.
• Speak clearly, ideally without background noise.
• Translator better recognizes speakers of the languages’ native tongue.
• Translator works best when translating full sentences.

Why can’t I listen to the audio of a translation?

Some languages have text to speech audio output, allowing you to hear the translated text by tapping the speaker icon. Languages that have text-to-speech capabilities will be represented by a speaker icon below the translation. Please find the list of languages that support text to speech on our Languages page.

What languages are supported by Microsoft Translator?

View our list of languages supported for both speech and text translation.

What’s the difference between starting a conversation and joining a conversation?

By starting a conversation: a user creates a new conversation with a unique code which can be shared with others. Other participants can use this code to enter the conversation in the language of their choice.

By joining a conversation: a user inputs a conversation code to join an ongoing conversation with one or more people in it.

Translating audio from movies, video clips, or external media

The Microsoft Translator app does not support translation of external media sources or files, such as movies or video clips.

Why am I unable to speak in the conversation?

Troubleshoot in the following order:

• Make sure your language is listed as a speech-supported language in the drop down list. Check out our language list here.
• Are you on iOS using Safari on iPhone or iPad? If so, there are technical limitations on these devices that inhibits websites from accessing their microphones. If you’re on an iPhone or iPad using the Safari browser, you won’t be able to use our speech features, even if a speech-supported language is selected.

If your speech language is supported, and you’re not using Safari on iPhone or iPad:

• Confirm you clicked yes when your device or browser asked for microphone access to use Translator. Without the permission to access your microphone, you won’t be able to use our speech features.
• Verify you haven’t been muted by the host of the conversation. If the host is giving a presentation or wants to prevent interruptions, they might have muted participants from speaking.

Translation mistakes

The translation system is constantly learning, making corrections, and improving its output. In some instances, it can create errors, especially when the phrase lacks context. Visit our machine translation page to learn more about how it works.

To report obvious translation errors, send us feedback and include:

• the ‘from’ language text input
• the ‘to’ language text translation output
• the expected translation output

Is the Microsoft Translator app free?

The Microsoft Translator App is free of charge.

If you’re interested in using the Microsoft Translator API for business, visit our business site.

I’m trying to enter a conversation using the five-letter code. Why do I see the “invalid conversation code” error?

Troubleshoot in the following order:

• Did the host of the conversation lock new participants from joining? If so, this is the message that will appear on screen.
• If the host has not locked out new participants:
  • Make sure the five-letter code you entered is correct.
  • Verify the conversation is still active. A conversation ceases to exist when the conversation host ends the conversation or if there are no participants active in the conversation.

Speech translation languages: what is available for which feature?

Visit our languages page for complete list of languages and features in the app.

Why do I need to use a headset to use this product?

A headset provides a close-talking microphone that produces a higher quality of recognition for the user’s speech and is less likely to pick up noise from your environment.

Using a headset, a lapel microphone or a bluetooth microphone will result in the best quality of speech recognition and therefore have improved translations compared to a laptop or a PC’s default microphone.

Why do I repeatedly see “disconnected” messages while in a conversation?

Users will often see “disconnected” messages on account of poor internet connectivity. If you are repeatedly seeing “disconnected” messages while in a conversation, try switching to a different internet network or try switching from a cellular network to WiFi to resolve the issue.