Dictation not working (Sonoma, M1 MB Air)

2020 M1 MacBook Air, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, MacOS 14.7.1 (Sonoma)

I have followed the instructions for turning on dictation in System Settings -> Keyboard.

I have verified that the microphone is enabled and providing input with the level set at maximum.

I have tried both the keyboard shortcut and the mic icon on the F5 key and I get the proper display of a mic icon. I can also turn it off using those keys.

I’ve tried TextEdit, Open Office, Mail, etc. nothing accepts the voice input.

I read the If Dictation on Mac doesn’t work as expected Help page, none of the suggestions worked so far.

What should I try next?