Is Voice-to-Text gone? If not, where IS it?

[Bultaco]

I and apparently dozens, if not hundreds or thousands of data-less Android owners who previously dictated their daily allotment of text messages and emails are no longer able to DO this unless connected to the Internet.

Call me cheap..I rely on WiFi. But if I'm not at home and/or in a restaurant or at the YMCA, (so that I can use THEIR WiFi)....my only cheap means of communicating is with text messages....that was my ultimate strategy and it worked!

However, some time over the last two weeks (don't know exactly when because I've been out of country on vacation and not using texts there...not at $0.75 a pop!!).....somebody pulled the plug!

I can no longer do voice to text unless I'm on WiFi. WHAT's UP WITH THAT? Did Google just conspire with all the cell providers and agree to kill the feature?

My Galaxy S3 (told you I was cheap) is ancient....almost 5 years old...but it's in perfect shape, as is my wife's. They BOTH were able to perform Voice to Text (without internet connection) up until somebody/something changed in the last 10 days or so.

Anybody know what happened?
We have Galaxy S3 i747's running Android 4.4.2 (did that update in the last little bit??)

I've tried alternating between my two keyboards, Swiftkey and the native Samsung one with no luck.

HELP........please.

 

[wenchap]

Hi. I am still using an S3 running 4.3JB (an i9300) and have SwiftKey as my keyboard. To activate voice to text i just press and hold the microphone icon which is on the bottom left of the keyboard next to the spacebar. Works fine on my S3.

 

[Bultaco]

Thanks for getting back.
You raise a couple of questions for me:
1. You say JB.....but I've probably had my KK on board for quite a while, right? (I feel stupid that I haven't even noticed....but, versions seemed to be coming fast and furious for a while there......and I have about 6 Android devices floating around the house. IF that MIGHT be problematic, (i.e. the solution), do you suppose I can downgrade to 4.3?
2. Who's your carrier? My wife's S3 is on Virgin, mine's on Rogers....and neither one can do basic voice to text using the mic.

 

[mydian]

It works fine on my S3 running KitKat on Boost Mobile, which runs the exact same firmware as Virgin Mobile. Make sure your phone has the latest version of the Google Search app. Then open it, go to settings, voice, then finally offline voice recognition and make sure it has the latest updates to English.