Microsoft Edge video translation is gone. A free alternative that still works
Published: 2026-09-23
If you used the Translate button that appeared when you hovered over a video in Microsoft Edge, you may have noticed it is gone. Microsoft is retiring the feature.
This guide explains what happened, and how to get live subtitles and translation on videos in your browser again, for free.
What happened to Edge's real-time video translation
Edge had an on-device real-time video translation feature: hover over a video, press Translate, pick the languages, and the speech was translated as it played.
In the release notes for Edge 152 (August 27, 2026), Microsoft announced:
Real-time video translation is being retired through a gradual rollout.
The rollout is gradual, so some people lost it earlier than others. Microsoft's own feature page now says the feature is no longer available.
Even before the retirement, it had tight limits. According to Microsoft's documentation it worked on Windows only (not macOS), on supported high-end devices, only for non-DRM videos, and only with select language pairs and in select regions.
An alternative: LiveSub
LiveSub is a free website that does a similar job in a different way. You share one browser tab with it, and it turns the audio of that tab into live subtitles, then translates them.
What it has in common with Edge's feature:
- It runs on your own computer. Speech recognition runs inside your browser, and translation uses Chrome's built-in on-device translator. Your audio is never uploaded
- It follows the audio live, about one to two seconds behind the speaker
What is different:
- It is not tied to a list of websites. If a tab makes sound, it can be subtitled: YouTube, livestreams, online courses, webinars, podcasts in a web player
- It works in Chrome as well as Edge, on Windows and on Mac
- No high-end PC required. The default setting runs on ordinary laptops
- No account, no extension, no time limit
The honest difference: LiveSub supports English ⇄ Japanese only. If you need other languages, it will not help with those yet.
What you need
- Chrome or Microsoft Edge on a computer. Safari and Firefox do not work, and phones cannot share tab audio
- A one-time download of the speech recognition model: about 206MB for English (the default "Balanced" setting), about 590MB for Japanese. After the first time it is loaded from your browser's storage
Step by step
1. Open LiveSub and choose the direction
Open https://livesubweb.com/?lang=en. Under "Translate from / to", choose English → Japanese or Japanese → English, depending on the video.
2. Press "Try a sample" first
Press "Try a sample". It plays a short built-in clip and shows subtitles without sharing any tab. It checks that everything works on your computer and gets the one-time download out of the way.
3. Share the video's tab
Open the video in another tab. Back in LiveSub, press "Start (share a tab)". In the sharing dialog:
- Pick "Chrome Tab" at the top (in Edge, the equivalent tab option)
- Choose the tab playing the video
- Tick "Also share tab audio" at the bottom left
- Press Share
The audio checkbox is the step people miss most. If no sound arrives for about 12 seconds, LiveSub tells you; press "Share again" and tick it.
4. Watch with the subtitles on top
Press "Show in a floating window". The subtitles move into a small always-on-top window, so you can keep the video large, or fullscreen, and still read them.
Differences you should know about
| Edge real-time video translation | LiveSub | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Being retired from Edge 152 | Available |
| Browsers | Edge on Windows | Chrome or Edge, Windows or Mac |
| Websites | Select sites | Any tab that plays sound |
| Languages | Select pairs | English ⇄ Japanese |
| Output | Translated video | Subtitles: original and translation side by side |
| Processing | On your device | On your device |
| Cost | Free | Free, no time limit |
LiveSub shows subtitles; it does not dub the video with a translated voice.
Honest limits
- Machine translation. You get the meaning, but nuance, jokes and names can be wrong
- The recognised text can be wrong too, especially names. Add them to the "Word list" to fix them (English terms need at least 4 characters)
- About one to two seconds of delay
- Loud music and people talking over each other reduce accuracy
- Computer only, Chrome or Edge
Related guides
- How to get English subtitles on Japanese videos that have no captions
- How to translate a Japanese livestream in real time