diff --git a/client/src/components/Nav/SettingsTabs/Speech/Speech.tsx b/client/src/components/Nav/SettingsTabs/Speech/Speech.tsx
index 6903980c5a..bb77ad178e 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Nav/SettingsTabs/Speech/Speech.tsx
+++ b/client/src/components/Nav/SettingsTabs/Speech/Speech.tsx
@@ -75,7 +75,11 @@ function Speech() {
         playbackRate: { value: playbackRate, setFunc: setPlaybackRate },
       };
 
-      if (settings[key].value !== newValue || settings[key].value === newValue || !settings[key]) {
+      if (
+        (settings[key].value !== newValue || settings[key].value === newValue || !settings[key]) &&
+        settings[key].value !== 'sttExternal' &&
+        settings[key].value !== 'ttsExternal'
+      ) {
         return;
       }