Edge Read Aloud No Longer Supports Mid-Document Playback for PDFs

Question

Edge Read Aloud No Longer Supports Mid-Document Playback for PDFs

Jessica Smoak 25

I’m a writer who depends on Microsoft Edge’s Read Aloud feature for editing and reviewing lengthy documents. One of my completed stories is 225 pages long. Previously, I could jump to any page—for example, page 100—and have Read Aloud begin there. Now, the feature defaults to page 1 no matter where I click, select, or attempt to start playback.

This isn’t a minor bug—it makes Read Aloud functionally useless for serious documents. Waiting hours just to hear the section I need is disruptive and unacceptable.

To clarify:

I’m running the latest version of Windows 11 and Microsoft Edge, with auto updates always enabled.

My Edge installation contains zero add-ons or extensions.

Other browsers don’t support Read Aloud natively. They require third-party apps or paid extensions, which I avoid for security and privacy reasons. That’s why I chose Edge in the first place.

I've reported this issue multiple times and received only generic replies like “try another browser”—which ignores that Read Aloud is exclusive to Edge.

I’m asking for escalation to the development team. This feature once worked perfectly—it should again. Writers, students, and accessibility users rely on it for efficient navigation through large documents. Please prioritize restoring its full functionality.

Jntz 10 Reputation points

2025-08-14T13:16:17.42+00:00

Same issue here. I normally would select a passage, open a context menu and then click "Read form here". A couple of pages into the document, this feature breaks. It loads for a long time. Then, the loading bar just stops and nothing happens. Features like this are what I use Edge for. If they keep getting worse, I might as well switch.
blair johnson 5 Reputation points

2025-08-27T02:27:27.72+00:00

I am having the same issue. I use the read aloud feature with textbooks. Edge will read the text aloud and I will take notes of important concepts and vocabulary simultaneously. With the mid-document playback feature "broken" and the read aloud starting from the very beginning of the book every time I open the PDF, it's kind of useless. PLEASE FIX THIS ERROR as soon as possible. This is a recent bug considering I used this same method for 2 or 3 other classes in the past.
mikhail master 0 Reputation points

2025-08-29T04:59:33.6733333+00:00

I have the same issue as well, its not been working for me for a couple weeks now and I have tried everything to fix it. Literally everything, even downloaded Edge beta to see if that fixed it. I am gonna do what Cherrelyn suggested and report this and hope they fix this soon.

3 answers

Your answer

Jntz 10 Reputation points

2025-08-14T13:16:17.42+00:00

Same issue here. I normally would select a passage, open a context menu and then click "Read form here". A couple of pages into the document, this feature breaks. It loads for a long time. Then, the loading bar just stops and nothing happens. Features like this are what I use Edge for. If they keep getting worse, I might as well switch.
blair johnson 5 Reputation points

2025-08-27T02:27:27.72+00:00

I am having the same issue. I use the read aloud feature with textbooks. Edge will read the text aloud and I will take notes of important concepts and vocabulary simultaneously. With the mid-document playback feature "broken" and the read aloud starting from the very beginning of the book every time I open the PDF, it's kind of useless. PLEASE FIX THIS ERROR as soon as possible. This is a recent bug considering I used this same method for 2 or 3 other classes in the past.
mikhail master 0 Reputation points

2025-08-29T04:59:33.6733333+00:00

I have the same issue as well, its not been working for me for a couple weeks now and I have tried everything to fix it. Literally everything, even downloaded Edge beta to see if that fixed it. I am gonna do what Cherrelyn suggested and report this and hope they fix this soon.

Answer 1

Chen1018 13,840 Independent Advisor

Hi Jessica,

I'm Cherrelyn and I'm here to help you. I truly understand how critical this feature is for your workflow, especially with lengthy documents. Since you've confirmed everything is updated and no extensions are interfering, this seems to be a regression in the recent builds. I strongly recommend submitting in-app feedback directly through Edge Alt + Shift + I and clearly requesting escalation to the Edge development team. The more detailed feedback they receive from real users like you, the more likely they’ll prioritize restoring this functionality.

I hope this will help and if you have any question please don't hesitate to leave a comment.

Warm regards,

Cherrelyn

Jessica Smoak 25 Reputation points

2025-07-23T17:45:01.4366667+00:00

What is it with Microsoft? I post the issue on another forum that the software sends me to. Then that forum's mods give a link to post it here instead. Now you are telling me to do something else. Does this company even have a place for customers to report issues that arise because YOUR updates break something, that does not ask customers to jump through freaking hoops. Microsoft seems to be the blind leading the blind and customers are left with broken software developers ignore or just do not know how to make right again.

Answer 2

Jntz 10

Same issue here. I normally would select a passage, open a context menu and then click "Read form here". A couple of pages into the document, this feature breaks. It loads for a long time. Then, the loading bar just stops and nothing happens. Features like this are what I use Edge for. If they keep getting worse, I might as well switch.

Answer 3

Ana Carol Branco 0

I've been struggling with this issue for months. This is the only solution that has effectively worked:

Open the PDF in Edge.
Select all the text (Ctrl+A) and copy it (Ctrl+C).
Open a new tab and paste (Ctrl+V) the text into an online editor, such as https://onlinenotepad.org/notepad.
Use the "Read Aloud" feature in this new tab on the web page, since it usually works on regular web page text.

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Edge Read Aloud No Longer Supports Mid-Document Playback for PDFs

3 answers

Your answer