How to Set a Custom Startup Voice Message in Windows 11 

Windows 11 doesn’t include any feature or setting that enables you to set up text-based or voice startup messages. Such a feature would be useful for setting different task reminders or any welcoming startup message.

Would you like to add a custom startup voice message to Windows 11? If so, here is how you create custom startup voice messages in Windows 11 without additional third-party software.

How to Set Up a Basic Startup Voice Message

You can set up a custom startup message in Windows 11 by creating a VBS (Visual Basic) script file in Notepad that reads out text. That script file will automatically run when it’s in the Startup folder. You can create a script for a basic welcoming message that says “I am glad you are back” in the following steps:

1. First, open Windows 11’s Notepad text editor app. Check out our guide on how to open Notepad for further instructions.
2. Copy this VBS script template by selecting its text and pressing Ctrl + C.

   dim speech
   welcome="I am glad you are back"
   set speech=CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")
   speech.speak welcome 

3. Next, input that script template into Notepad with the Ctrl + V keyboard shortcut for pasting.
4. Click Notepad’s File menu.
5. Select Save as to bring up a window for saving the file.
6. Next, select the Save as type drop-down menu’s All files option.
7. Enter Startup Message.vbs in the file name box.
8. Select to save the message to the Desktop folder.
9. Click Save and exit Notepad.

Now you can try out the VBS script. Double-click Startup Message.vbs on the desktop to run its script. You should hear a somewhat robotic “I am glad you are back” message. If you can’t hear it, check the script’s contents and your PC’s volume.

You can change that startup message to something different. To do so, right-click the Startup Message.vbs file and select Open with > Notepad. Then edit the message within the double quotation marks in the script, and save the VBS file again.

Now all you need to do is add the message script to Windows 11’s startup. Start the Run command dialogue with the Win + R hotkey, then type shell:startup and click the OK button. Then drag and drop the Startup Message.vbs file from the desktop into the Startup folder.

Now you’ll hear the script’s message whenever you log in to Windows (or shortly after). You remove that message from the startup by deleting its file. Right-click the Welcome Message.vbs file in the Startup folder and select Delete.

How to Set Up a Conditional Startup Voice Message Based on the Time

The message will always be the same if you use the VBS script specified above. However, you can set up a different script that reads out three alternative messages based on the time of day. The startup message will depend on whether it’s morning, afternoon, or evening time.

You can set up such a VBS script in Notepad with the same steps outlined above. However, you’ll need to copy and paste a different script template for steps two and three. For the script, input this code as given on Nuclei Technologies:

Set Sapi = Wscript.CreateObject("SAPI.SpVoice")
Dim masterName
Dim currentHour
masterName = "Jack"
currentHour = Hour(Now())
If currentHour < 12 Then
Sapi.speak "Welcome to your computer, master " + masterName + "."
Sapi.speak "Today is " & Date & ", the current time is " & Time & ""
Sapi.speak "Have a very good day ahead!"
ElseIf currentHour >= 12 And currentHour < 18  Then
Sapi.speak "Welcome to your computer, master " + masterName + "."
Sapi.speak "Today is " & Date & ", the current time is " & Time & ""
Sapi.speak "A very good afternoon to you!"
ElseIf currentHour >= 18 Then
Sapi.speak "Welcome to your computer, master " + masterName + "."
Sapi.speak "Today is " & Date & ", the current time is " & Time & ""
Sapi.Speak "Have a good evening!"
End If 

Then follow steps four to nine, as outlined above, to save the file and add it to the desktop area. Jack is the master name set for the script file, which you’ll want to change to your own name.

Open the VBS file in Notepad, and then replace Jack in the script with your username. You can also modify the other message text within the double quote marks. However, don’t change the script’s content outside the quotation marks.

Select to play the script from the desktop to try it out. Move that VBS script file into the Startup folder. Then that message will tell you what the time and date are during the Windows startup. It will also read out any of these messages depending on the time of day:

• “Have a very good day ahead!” (before noon)
• “A very good afternoon to you!” (between 12-6 p.m.)
• “Have a good evening!” (after 6 p.m.)

How to Change the Voice for the Startup Message

You can select a different voice narrator for the message and change its speed from the Speech Properties window. The Text to Speech tab in that window has a Voice selection drop-down menu, which includes alternative Windows narrator voice options. This is how you can change the voice narrator for your startup message from that tab:

1. Open the Power User menu with the Win + X key combination.
2. Select the Power User menu’s Search option.
3. Type Speech Properties in the search tool.
4. Click the Text to Speech search result.
5. Then select a different option on the Voice selection drop-down menu.
6. To change speed, drag the slider on the Voice speed bar left or right.
7. Select Apply to save your new narrator settings.
8. Click OK to exit the Speech Properties window.

How to Set a Message for Any Time of the Day

You don’t have to limit VBS script messages to the Windows startup. Instead, you can schedule a VBS script to run and read out its message at any time. To do that, you’ll need to schedule your script to run at a specified time daily with Task Manager. Our guide on how to run programs automatically on Windows provides further details about how you can schedule a script file to run with Task Manager.

Add a Welcoming or Reminder Voice Message to Windows 11’s Startup

So, that’s how you can set up a basic or conditional startup voice message in Windows 11. Custom VBS message scripts can be used in various ways. You could just add a general welcoming voice message to the startup. Or you could change the startup voice message regularly to remind yourself of certain events, appointments, etc.