How to Set Up Flow Shortcuts for iPhone

Action Button — guided setup (iPhone 15 Pro and later)

A "Flow faster with a shortcut" card appears on the Flow home screen after you've dictated for a while.

1. Tap Set up on the card, then Let's go! on the intro screen.

2. Watch the demo video, then tap Try now.

3. Add the Flow shortcut when prompted, then map it to your Action Button using the on-screen guide through iPhone Settings.

4. Return to Flow when prompted, then tap Try now on the "Let's test your new shortcut" screen.

5. Switch to the Flow keyboard: tap a text field, then use the globe key to select it. Skipped automatically if the Flow keyboard is already active.

6. Test the shortcut by dictating into the in-app test field, then tap Finish.

Action Button — manual setup (iPhone 15 Pro and later)

Use this if you prefer to set it up directly in iOS Settings.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2. Tap Action Button.

3. Swipe through the options until you reach Shortcuts.

4. Tap the selection area under Shortcuts, then choose the Flow shortcut you want.

5. Press and hold the Action Button to test it. You'll feel a haptic tap when dictation starts.

Back Tap

Trigger Flow by tapping the back of your iPhone.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2. Go to Accessibility → Touch.

3. Scroll down and tap Back Tap.

4. Choose Double Tap or Triple Tap.

5. Scroll to the Shortcuts section and select your Flow shortcut.

6. Test by double- or triple-tapping the back of your iPhone. Dictation starts immediately.

Control Center

Flow provides two Control Center widgets: a recording toggle and a "Flow Notes" button that opens a new note. The circular Lock Screen widget, also named "Flow Notes," opens directly into adding a note.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2. Tap Control Center.

3. Find the Flow widgets under More Controls.

4. Tap the + icon to add them to Control Center.

5. Swipe down from the top-right of your screen to open Control Center.

6. Tap a Flow widget to start recording or open Flow Notes.

What Siri voice commands work with Flow shortcuts?

• Dictate a Flow Note: "take Flow note" or "dictate with Flow"

• Quick Dictation to Clipboard: "quick dictate with Flow" or "dictate to clipboard with Flow"

• Quick Dictation to Notes: "quick dictate to notes with Flow" or "save note with Flow"

• Turn On/Off: "turn on off Flow" to toggle recording

• Open Flow Notes: "open Flow note", "create note with Flow", or "create Flow note"

• Create a Flow Note: A Shortcuts/Siri action that takes the note text as a parameter (prompt: "What should the note say?") and saves it to your notes without opening Flow.

Where does dictated text go when I use a shortcut?

• Dictate a Flow Note: With the Flow keyboard active, text goes into the current text field. With the keyboard inactive and run outside a Shortcut, the transcript is saved as a Flow note. Run as a Shortcut (for example, via Action Button), it is returned as a Shortcuts result and not saved as a note.

• Quick Dictation to Clipboard: Returns the transcript as a Shortcuts result, and the default shortcut copies it to your clipboard. With the Flow keyboard active, text goes into the current text field instead.

• Quick Dictation to Notes: With the Flow keyboard active, text goes into the current text field; otherwise the transcript is saved as a note. It returns no Shortcuts result value, so it can't pass text to later Shortcuts steps.

• Open Flow Notes: Opens Flow in a full-screen new-note capture screen (not the Notes list) and starts dictation. The note is not autosaved — tap Save in the top-right to keep it; closing with X discards it.

Invoking a shortcut while Flow is already open starts or stops recording in place rather than navigating to a new screen.

Why does iOS ask me to swipe back to Flow after activating a shortcut?

On recent versions of iOS, a guidance screen reading "Flow is on — You can start dictating now" appears when you return from a keyboard- or shortcut-triggered dictation. It has no OK alert and no X to close it: dismiss it by swiping right across the bottom edge.

Why do I see a "We can't hear you" prompt when tapping Start Flow or the microphone button?

• iOS permission alert: Flow's microphone permission was revoked in iOS Settings. Tap Open Settings and re-enable microphone access for Wispr Flow.

• Audio failure screen: Audio recording failed. Tap Retry.

• Full Access not enabled: With Full Access off for the Flow keyboard, Flow shows "To use Flow, allow Full Access in your Keyboard Settings" with a "Finish setup" button, plus an "Almost there!" card on the home screen.

• Microphone access denied: Flow shows "To use Flow, turn on Microphone in Settings" with a "Go to Settings" button. Home-screen cards, including the shortcut setup card, don't appear until microphone access is granted.

What do the error messages during setup dictation mean?

If a dictation attempt fails during onboarding, Flow shows a toast banner:

• "Oops, we didn't hear you.
  Get closer to your mic and try again!": Flow recorded silence or captured no words. Move closer to your microphone and try again.

• "Poor connection! Tap the mic to try again": A network issue stopped transcription. Check your internet connection and tap the microphone button.

• "Your mic is being used by another app. Close other apps and try again!": Close other open apps and tap the microphone button.

• "Enable microphone access to use Flow": Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and enable access for Wispr Flow.

• "Oops, something went wrong. Tap the mic to try again!": Tap the microphone button to retry.