# Concat text to speech not working: how to fix it

> In Concat 0.2.7 the stock voices need Pocket TTS installed, even when you picked Kokoro. Open Settings, Speech, download Pocket TTS (98 MB), close Settings and click Generate speech again.

URL: https://concatvideoeditor.com/guides/text-to-speech-not-working
Updated: 2026-10-18
Source: Concat Video Editor Guide, an independent guide. Not the official Concat website.

If text to speech in the Concat video editor shows a red error asking you to download Pocket TTS, the fix takes about a minute. We hit this exact error while testing Concat 0.2.7 and solved it by installing one more model.

## What does the error say?

After typing a script, choosing **Kokoro (compact)** and the voice **Heart**, and clicking **Generate speech**, Concat showed: “the stock voices are Pocket TTS's recordings - download Pocket TTS in Settings > Speech, or read in a sample voice of your own”. No audio was created.

## How do you fix it?

1. Close the Text to speech dialog.
2. Open **Settings** (the sliders icon at the top right) and choose **Speech**.
3. Click **Download** next to **Pocket TTS (cloning)**. It is about 98 MB.
4. Close Settings, open Text to speech again, paste your script and click **Generate speech**.

![Speech settings in the Concat video editor listing Chatterbox Turbo, Pocket TTS and Kokoro models](/images/feat-voice-models.webp)

That was all it took. The second attempt with Kokoro and Heart produced a 7.3-second voiceover from a 120-character script, and Concat placed it on the timeline automatically.

## What if it still fails?

- **No model at all.** The Model menu says “None installed” until you download a voice model in Settings, Speech.
- **Empty script.** The dialog shows “Nothing to read yet”. Type or paste text first.
- **Slow or frozen.** Large models such as Chatterbox Turbo (1.1 GB) are slow on older computers. Try Kokoro compact.
- **Still broken.** Check the open issues on the [Concat GitHub page](https://github.com/jub0t/Concat/issues) and report it there with your version number and the exact error text.

## Can I use my own voice instead?

Yes. Pocket TTS can read in a voice taken from a short sample recording. The error message hints at this too: “read in a sample voice of your own”. Only clone voices you have permission to use.

## How do you add captions to the voiceover?

Once the voiceover is on the timeline, the Concat video editor can caption it: click the captions button, turn on **Use voice from timeline** and pick the speech clip. See [how to add subtitles](/guides/add-subtitles-to-a-video).

## Questions people ask

### Why does Concat ask for Pocket TTS when I chose Kokoro?

The error in 0.2.7 says the stock voices are Pocket TTS recordings. In our test, installing Pocket TTS made the Kokoro voice Heart work right away.

### Which voice model should I download in the Concat video editor?

Kokoro (compact, 132 MB) is the recommended start. Add Pocket TTS (98 MB) for the stock voices and for cloning. Chatterbox Turbo (1.1 GB) sounds closest to a studio voice but is large.

### Where does the generated voiceover go?

Concat saves a WAV file in the project's audio folder, adds it to Generated, Speech in the media panel and places it on the first free audio lane.