How to Enable Subtitles and Captions in Windows 11

Windows 11 includes powerful built-in accessibility features that allow you to display system-wide live captions for any audio or video playback, as well as customize the visual appearance of your closed captions. This guide explains how to quickly turn on system-wide live captions, customize subtitle styles such as font, color, and background opacity, and manage closed captions within Windows media applications.

How to Turn On Live Captions

Windows 11 can automatically generate captions for any audio or video playing on your PC, including browser streams, local media files, and video calls.

  1. Press the keyboard shortcut Windows Key + Ctrl + L to activate Live Captions immediately.
  2. Alternatively, open Settings by pressing Windows Key + I.
  3. Select Accessibility from the left sidebar.
  4. Under the Hearing section, click Captions.
  5. Toggle the switch next to Live captions to On.
  6. On the first launch, accept the prompt to download the required speech recognition language pack.

You can drag the caption box to position it at the top of the screen, bottom of the screen, or as a floating window.

How to Customize Caption and Subtitle Styles

To make closed captions and subtitles easier to read during video playback, you can adjust the text color, size, background, and opacity.

  1. Open Settings (Windows Key + I).
  2. Navigate to Accessibility > Captions.
  3. Locate the Caption style section.
  4. Choose from pre-made styles such as White on black, Small caps, Large text, or Yellow on blue.
  5. To build your own style, click the Edit button next to the style selector.
  6. Customize the following settings:
    • Text: Change the font family, font color, size, and opacity.
    • Background: Choose a background color and set the opacity to ensure readability over bright video scenes.
    • Window: Set a distinct window color and opacity behind the caption block.
  7. Enter a name for your custom profile and click Save.

Enabling Closed Captions in Windows Media Players

If you are playing downloaded video files using default Windows applications like Media Player or Movies & TV:

  1. Open your video file in the media player app.
  2. Look for the CC (Closed Captions) or speech bubble icon on the playback control bar.
  3. Click the icon to toggle subtitles on and select your preferred audio/subtitle track.
  4. The media player will automatically apply the visual style configured in your Windows 11 Accessibility settings.