LiveSub
Microsoft Edge video translation is gone. A free alternative that still works
Published: 2026-09-23 ・ Updated: 2026-11-03
Works in Chrome or Edge on a computer (Firefox: through a microphone or audio input; the add-on covers YouTube and Twitch; not on phones). Japanese ⇄ English only.
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 you'll learn
- What happened to Edge's real-time video translation
- How LiveSub is similar, and where it differs
- How to set it up in Chrome or Edge, step by step
In short: Edge's built-in real-time video translation has been retired. LiveSub works in a similar way, from the video's audio: add the free LiveSub extension for Chrome or Edge on your computer, press its icon on the video's tab, and subtitles appear over the video about one to two seconds behind the speaker, with no sharing dialog. It covers English and Japanese only. Without the extension, open LiveSub in another tab and share the video's tab instead.
What happened to Edge's 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.
A free 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.
How to set it up
You need Chrome or Microsoft Edge on a computer. In Firefox, LiveSub listens through a microphone or a loopback audio input (such as Windows Stereo Mix); on YouTube and Twitch, LiveSub for Firefox turns the video's audio into subtitles directly. Safari uses the same input method but is untested, and phones cannot share tab audio.
The first time, the speech recognition model is downloaded once: about 400MB for English (the default "Balanced" setting), about 670MB for Japanese. After that it is loaded from your browser's storage.
1. Open LiveSub and choose the direction
Open LiveSub. Under "Translate from / to", choose English → Japanese or Japanese → English, depending on the video.
2. Press "Try the how-to video (no sharing)" first
Press "Try the how-to video (no sharing)". It plays a short how-to video 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.
If you would rather have the subtitles over the video itself, the optional extension does that.
Using Firefox? Firefox cannot share a tab's audio, so LiveSub listens through a microphone or an audio input instead. Open LiveSub in Firefox, play the video in another tab, and press "Start (mic or audio input)" on the LiveSub page. Allow microphone access when the browser asks. If your computer has a loopback input (such as Windows Stereo Mix), LiveSub picks it automatically; otherwise it listens through the microphone to the sound from your speakers (headphones will not work). There is no sharing dialog. On YouTube and Twitch, LiveSub for Firefox turns the video's audio into subtitles directly: press "Add to Firefox — it's free" to install it, play the video in another tab, and press "Start (YouTube / Twitch tab)"; the subtitles appear over the video.
Edge and LiveSub compared
| 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 (Firefox: through a microphone or audio input)
Wrapping up
Edge's built-in feature is going away, but you can still get live subtitles and a translation on videos in your browser, as long as they are in English or Japanese. It is free, with no account and no time limit.
Open LiveSub in Chrome or Edge on your computer and press "Try the how-to video (no sharing)" first. It takes care of the one-time download before you need it.
About this guide: written by the maker of LiveSub. Steps, button names and figures are checked against the LiveSub app as of the date above. If something is wrong, please tell us through the contact page.