Troubleshooting Narrator
Fix missing selected text, silent playback, failed imports, dimmed Narrate items, unavailable sharing, and cloud voice limits in Narrator.
Most Narrator problems come from Accessibility permission, the chosen audio output, an unreadable source, or a voice that needs a connection or download. Start with the symptom that matches what you see.
Selected text is not read
Grant Epilude access in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, then select the text again. Narrator needs that permission to read a selection from another app.
If the same selection is already loaded, ⌥⌘N pauses or resumes it. Select different text before pressing the hotkey to start something new.
Playback is silent
Check the Mac's volume and selected output in System Settings → Sound → Output. Then open Settings → Audio and check which Speaker plays Narrator audio.
If a EP-1 voice stays on Preparing, open Settings → Models and finish its download. A cloud voice needs an internet connection.
A voice mispronounces another language
Check the language shown under your voice in Settings → Narrator → Voice and playback. Download the matching on-device voice before reading a document in another language. An English voice attempting French text does not provide reliable French pronunciation.
French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese on-device voices are experimental. If pronunciation or pacing is poor after the matching voice is downloaded, preview another voice or choose a cloud voice. Cloud playback sends the narration text to Epilude and uses your cloud voice minutes. Choose a Narrator voice explains the language coverage and downloads.
A file or image has no readable text
Open the source and confirm it contains visible text. Text recognition starts with the languages set in System Settings → General → Language & Region; if an image or a scanned PDF comes out wrong, add its language there. A very faint or skewed scan can come out empty or garbled.
For an image, use a larger or cleaner copy. Tight crops help when the image contains several columns, labels, or unrelated text.
A book or PDF will not import
Narrator says why a file can't be imported, and nothing is added to your library.
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| This book is copy-protected, so Narrator can't read it. | The book has copy protection (DRM). |
| This book is damaged, so Narrator can't read it. | The file is incomplete or is not an EPUB. Download it again. |
| This book is a folder, so Narrator can't read it. Add the book's .epub file instead. | A book copied out of the Books app can be a folder. |
| This PDF is password-protected, so Narrator can't read it. Unlock it in Preview, then add it again. | Export a copy without the password from Preview. |
| This PDF is copy-protected, so Narrator can't read it. | Its owner blocked copying its text, even for screen readers. A PDF that blocks only copying imports as normal. |
| This file is too large to import. | The file, or its first chapter or page, holds more than one narration can. |
When only part of a file imports, a notice on the Narrator page says what was left out or where the import stopped. Downloading the file again can bring back a damaged part. Start a narration lists the page and time limits; to hear the rest of a PDF that stopped early, save the remaining pages as a new PDF in Preview and add that.
A web page will not import
Open the address in a browser and confirm it loads without a sign-in. Narrator can import public pages, but it cannot use your browser session to enter a private site.
Some pages block automated reading or load their article only after scripts run. Copy the article text and choose New narration → Create text when the page itself cannot be imported.
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| Couldn't load that page. Check the link or your connection. | The page didn't answer, refused the request, or took more than 30 seconds to load. |
| Couldn't find readable text on that page. Try “Create Text” and paste it instead. | Narrator found no article on the page, such as on a sign-in page, or the page is over 5 MB. |
| That link isn't a web page. | The link leads to a PDF, a video, or another file. Download a PDF and add it as a file instead. |
| Couldn't read this page. Select the text you want, then press the shortcut again. | ⌥⌘N found the page in front of you but couldn't read it, such as a page that needs a sign-in. |
If ⌥⌘N with nothing selected says Select some text first, then press the shortcut again., Narrator found no web page in front of you: a new tab, a browser's own page, a file on your Mac, or an app other than a browser. Firefox doesn't always tell Narrator which page is open. Select the text you want and press ⌥⌘N again.
A cloud voice stopped
Cloud playback stops at the end of the current sentence when the allowance is empty. Choose the EP-1 voice to continue from the same place, or upgrade from the card shown in Narrator.
The voice picker and Settings → Billing & Usage show the remaining allowance. Cloud voice minutes explains what counts.
Playback paused on Reconnecting…
A cloud voice makes its audio a little ahead of what you hear. When the connection drops, Narrator plays what it already has, then pauses at the start of the next sentence and shows Reconnecting… while it tries again. When the connection comes back, it continues from that sentence.
If the connection does not come back, the player offers Retry, and Continue with EP-1 voice when the EP-1 voice is on your Mac. Continuing makes the EP-1 voice your Narrator voice until you change it back. Narrator does not skip a sentence it could not read.
The same happens when a narration starts. If a cloud voice cannot read the first sentences, Narrator shows Reconnecting…, then the same card, which says the narration hasn't started.
Share or export is unavailable
Audio export works with the EP-1 voice and with cloud voices. The EP-1 voice needs its voice files downloaded. A cloud voice needs an internet connection for any part you have not heard yet, and that part counts toward your cloud voice minutes. Narrator shows how many minutes it needs before it makes anything, and if you don't have enough left it stops there and offers the EP-1 voice when it is installed for that language, or Get more minutes on the trial. On Pro it tells you when your minutes reset.
A meeting note or dictation that stayed on your Mac exports and shares with the EP-1 voice, unless you chose Use cloud voice for it. If that voice can't be set up, Narrator shows This note stayed on your Mac. Install the EP-1 voice to export or share it. Download the voice in Settings → Models, then try again.
Sharing also needs a signed-in account and an internet connection. If an upload is interrupted, open the narration's More menu and try again after reconnecting.
Narrate is dimmed in a meeting note
The meeting is still recording. Stop the recording, and Narrate summary, Narrate transcript and Narrate whole note become available. A note offers only the parts it has, so a meeting with no summary yet has no Narrate summary.
Narrator asks before reading a note with a cloud voice
Read this with a cloud voice? appears when a meeting note or dictation stayed on your Mac and the EP-1 voice can't read it: the voice isn't downloaded, the Mac has an Intel processor, or no EP-1 voice reads the text's language. Choose Use EP-1 voice to download the voice and read on your Mac (it appears only on an Apple Silicon Mac with a voice for that language), or Use cloud voice to read this narration with your cloud voice from now on. Notes and dictations that stayed on your Mac explains which ones count.
The floating player is missing
Turn on Show Narrator player in Settings → Narrator → Player. The player stays hidden when there is no active narration or after its automatic hide delay has passed.
Still stuck?
Contact support with your macOS version, Epilude version, the voice you chose, and what you tried.