How to Set Up Flow Shortcuts for iPhone

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

After you've dictated at least 50 words across 3 successful dictations on a compatible device, a "Flow faster with a shortcut" card may appear in the keyboard. Once dismissed, the keyboard card won't reappear. A similar card can also appear on the Flow home screen up to 3 times, after you reach 500 cumulative words.

1. Tap Set up on the card, then tap 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 by following the on-screen video 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.

6. Test the shortcut by dictating into the in-app test field that appears.

7. Tap Finish on the completion screen.

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

Use this if you missed the in-keyboard prompt or 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 to assign.

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.

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.

Bugs fixed in recent updates

The following issues have been fixed. To resolve any of them, update Wispr Flow to the latest version and restart the app.

• Keyboard shows the mic button but doesn't respond after returning from the Flow app: After the Flow keyboard launched the Wispr app to start recording and you switched back, the keyboard could get stuck showing the microphone button with no waveform, and tapping it had no effect. The keyboard now returns to its normal state correctly.

• Undo button stays visible after moving the cursor: After a dictation, the undo button remained on screen even after you moved the cursor to a different position in the text field, and tapping it did nothing. It now disappears as soon as you move your cursor.

• Shortcut-triggered dictation fails when toggling quickly or after a force-close: Starting and stopping dictation in quick succession via the Action Button, a shortcut, or a widget could cause dictation to silently fail or not start. This has been fixed.

• "We can't hear you" error on first dictation: The first dictation after granting microphone access incorrectly showed a "We can't hear you" error and re-prompted for permission. New users can now dictate successfully right after granting access.

• Blank or flickering screen when launching from the keyboard: Switching from the iOS keyboard to the Flow app could show a blank white screen or a brief flash of stale content. Flow now shows a smooth loading screen, and the recording view appears only once microphone access is confirmed.

• Keyboard switchback screen on normal launches: Tapping the Flow app icon would sometimes show the swipe-back-to-dictate screen meant for keyboard-triggered launches. Regular app launches now open Flow normally.

• "Start Flow" button doesn't start dictation: Tapping Start Flow from the keyboard while the Flow app wasn't running in the background left the button visible. Tapping Start Flow now reliably starts dictation.

• Quick Dictation to Notes ignored the Flow keyboard: The shortcut fell back to generic behavior instead of inserting text into the current text field when the Flow keyboard was active. It now inserts text directly into the active field.

• Wispr Flow missing under Microphone in iOS Settings: Flow wouldn't appear in Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone if it had never explicitly requested access. Flow now shows a permission prompt when a recording attempt is made without microphone access, so it appears in the list after that prompt.

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"

• Save Flow Note: "save Flow note" or "quick Flow note" — Siri asks what the note should say, then saves it without opening the app

Where does dictated text go when I use a shortcut?

It depends on the shortcut and context:

• Dictate a Flow Note: When the Flow keyboard is active, text is inserted directly into the current text field. When run outside a shortcut and the keyboard is inactive, the transcript is saved as a Flow note. When run as a Shortcut (for example, via Action Button), the transcript is returned as a Shortcuts result but is not automatically saved as a note.

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

• Quick Dictation to Notes: When the Flow keyboard is active, text is inserted directly into the current text field. When the keyboard is inactive, the transcript is saved as a note. This shortcut does not return a Shortcuts result value, so it cannot pass transcript text to subsequent Shortcuts steps.

• Save Flow Note: Siri asks what the note should say, then saves the note to Flow Notes without opening the app — regardless of whether the Flow keyboard is active. Siri confirms with "Note saved."

• Open Flow Notes: Opens the app to a new note and starts dictation automatically.

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

On iOS 26.4 or later, a guidance screen appears when activating a shortcut that switches apps. The first time, an alert titled "A quick change for iOS 26.4+" explains the swipe-back requirement — tap OK to dismiss it (it won't appear again). A "Swipe back to your app" screen may also appear each time; follow the "Swipe right on the bottom bar" prompt, or tap the X to close it.

The new guidance screen is rolling out gradually, and the exact look can vary slightly. Devices not yet in the rollout will see the legacy automatic switch-back behavior instead.

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

There are two distinct prompts you may see, depending on what went wrong:

• iOS permission alert: Shown when Flow's microphone permission has been revoked in iOS Settings. It has Open Settings and Cancel buttons. Tap Open Settings and re-enable microphone access for Wispr Flow.

• Audio failure screen: Shown when audio recording itself fails. It has Retry and Dismiss buttons, plus an X close button. Tap Retry to try again.

What do the error messages during setup dictation mean?

During onboarding, Flow shows a toast banner at the top of the screen if a dictation attempt fails. These toasts auto-dismiss after 4 seconds and don't contain action buttons. Here's what each message means and what to do:

• "Oops, we didn't hear you. Get closer to your mic and try again!": Flow recorded silence or couldn't detect your voice. Move closer to your microphone and try again.

• "Poor connection! Tap the mic to try again": Transcription couldn't complete due to a network issue. Check your internet connection and tap the microphone button to retry.

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

• "Enable microphone access to use Flow": Flow doesn't have microphone permission. Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and enable access for Wispr Flow.

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