29-year-old trans guy here.  I started T about 6 months ago.  At the time, I was being read as male about 50% of the time before speaking.  If I spoke, that would give me away.  I was really hoping that after a little while on T, I would pass as a guy more consistently.  My voice has definitely dropped quite a bit, and there are some other changes that indicate the T is working (patchy facial hair, muscles, etc.).  But the thing is, I'm not passing any better than I was before T.  And I feel like the more time goes by, the more frustrated and upset I get each time I'm misgendered.  I'm relocating in a few months, and I was really, really hoping that I could fly under the radar and do normal things (like use a public restroom without creating a scene) by that time.  But it's looking like I'm still going to be in this awful limbo stage.  I'm not planning on being stealth in my personal life, but it would just be really nice for people to read me as a man in public.

I partly just wanted to vent, because my cis friends and family don't get it.  They're like, well why don't you just correct people?  I don't correct people because I don't really like the idea of people just humoring me.  I want them to perceive me as a man.

But I also wanted to survey those of you who are passing: how long did it take before strangers consistently read you as male?

I still have to correct people, especially on the phone because my insurance is still listed as female and the lady read my very male name and went 'hi mr __, ooooh ms___!' and I was like 'no,  i'm mister ___,' she was confused but I don't care if they are 'humoring' me as long as they get it right. Pronoun use is more about me feeling comfortable by having the right pronouns vs suffering in silence and just dealing. It took about 8 months for me to start consistently getting the feeling that I was passing consistently and feeling confident to use the bathroom in public places.

I had my first passing moment face to face 2 months in, but it wasn't 100% and still isn't in public. Especially around lgbt areas where if I'm near a women I'm perceived a women and if I'm around a male no one says either or.
Most days people tend to not say anything gender related to me now because I'm in that idk what you are stage lol
On the phone I'm being processed most recently as female and I will correct them.
About a month and a half ago I was kind of fearful to correct strangers but as time wore on I just started blurting it out and interrupting them so they used the correct pronouns. I just stopped caring so to speak. If it helps my mental state then so be it.

I've been thinking of ways to help the "passing" on more and most recently used beard dye to darken what facial hair I had and that seemed to help a lot more at least in public.
Maybe go through a mental check list of things you could try on your outward appearance that might help? Such as styles of clothes that accent your body in the right way, hair cuts, posture ect.

I think I'd been on T for at least a year before I realised I'd been passing consistently for quite a while (up until 7 months it was definitely 'variable' but maybe 70% male). It was only brought to my attention because an elderly female customer ID'd me as female. I was more perplexed than offended at that point. I'm now 4 years on T and it has been a looong time since I was misgendered, either in person or on the phone. At least not by strangers: one of my friends who I knew pre-transition (but don't see very often) referred to me as female the other day.  Which, again, I just find weird rather than offensive.

Close to two years, but I'd describe that as passed more often than not (over 50/50).

Maybe a year? I really don't remember too well at this point. You'll start passing more and eventually you forget that you ever had trouble in the first place.

Two years and change in and I have days where I don't pass. I pass more often than not,  but it isn't a perfect score.

well, I'm glad for this thread. In some ways I'm relieved. It's not me, it's just the process takes time.  But then... I'm kind of bummed too. I want to change now

I was kind of lucky, my voice dropped right away and I was passing as an 18 year old guy 3 months in. I worked at a theatre festival and everyone assumed I was 18... I was actually 27, but I didn't tell anyone my actual age because then I might not have passed as well.

I got extremely lucky. I'm 3.5 months in and am passing 100% of the time. Even with my first name which is feminine, I get called sir, ect. If someone questions my first name, I have a ready excuse for it (my parents have a sense of humor, and there's a diamond mine in Africa with the same name)

I also got extraordinarily lucky with my voice. It dropped dramatically (so dramatically I can no longer sing without it cracking) in the second month or so. I sound exactly like my three or four years younger than me brother, and we can pass for twins. It's all down to genetics.

On the other hand, my genetics aren't going to give me a beard for a long time. I'll get the happy trail, and the slightly darker arm hair, but we're european/german/scottish and not a hairy family. Which I don't mind. My dad was in his late thirties before his beard turned to a darker color. It was mostly blond, which is what my (patchy) beard is growing in as. (I shaved it. helps with the acne to keep it shaved, for me anyway)

Thanks for all your replies.  It's kind of fascinating that there's so much variation from one guy to another.  Guess I gotta just hang in there for now and keep taking my shots.

1 year and 1 month for me. It was weird. I went from never passing to almost always passing literally overnight. One day I was getting tons of ma'ams, went to bed feeling like crap. Woke up the next day expecting the same thing, and got all sirs. Then it just kept...happening. In the past year I have been misgendered maybe only 3 or 4 times.

Don't give up!