diff --git a/gateway/config.py b/gateway/config.py
index 9a517f81b231..d6edbd05f4c9 100644
--- a/gateway/config.py
+++ b/gateway/config.py
@@ -152,6 +152,9 @@ class GatewayConfig:
     # Delivery settings
     always_log_local: bool = True  # Always save cron outputs to local files
     
+    # STT (Speech-to-Text) settings
+    stt_enabled: bool = True  # Enable/disable voice message transcription
+    
     def get_connected_platforms(self) -> List[Platform]:
         """Return list of platforms that are enabled and configured."""
         connected = []
@@ -211,6 +214,7 @@ def to_dict(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
             "reset_triggers": self.reset_triggers,
             "sessions_dir": str(self.sessions_dir),
             "always_log_local": self.always_log_local,
+            "stt_enabled": self.stt_enabled,
         }
     
     @classmethod
@@ -251,6 +255,7 @@ def from_dict(cls, data: Dict[str, Any]) -> "GatewayConfig":
             reset_triggers=data.get("reset_triggers", ["/new", "/reset"]),
             sessions_dir=sessions_dir,
             always_log_local=data.get("always_log_local", True),
+            stt_enabled=data.get("stt_enabled", True),
         )
 
 
diff --git a/gateway/run.py b/gateway/run.py
index 6dd1a280a54d..3206ecf3a4cc 100644
--- a/gateway/run.py
+++ b/gateway/run.py
@@ -2260,6 +2260,13 @@ async def _enrich_message_with_transcription(
         Returns:
             The enriched message string with transcriptions prepended.
         """
+        # Check if STT is enabled in config
+        if not getattr(self.config, 'stt_enabled', True):
+            logger.debug("STT disabled in config, skipping transcription")
+            if audio_paths:
+                return "[The user sent voice message(s) but transcription is disabled]\n\n" + user_text if user_text else "[The user sent voice message(s) but transcription is disabled]"
+            return user_text
+        
         from tools.transcription_tools import transcribe_audio
         import asyncio
 
diff --git a/run_agent.py b/run_agent.py
index c1f2623c83f8..7f196ed1cd7f 100644
--- a/run_agent.py
+++ b/run_agent.py
@@ -2350,7 +2350,7 @@ def _build_api_kwargs(self, api_messages: list) -> dict:
             "model": self.model,
             "messages": api_messages,
             "tools": self.tools if self.tools else None,
-            "timeout": 900.0,
+            "timeout": float(os.getenv("OPEN_AI_LLM_TIMEOUT", 900.0)),
         }
 
         if self.max_tokens is not None: