Starting Your First Dictation on Android

Pixel / stock Android

Only one step is typically needed on Pixel and stock-Android devices:

1. Open Settings → Apps → Wispr Flow → Battery.

2. Set battery usage to Unrestricted.

3. Open any text field. If the Flow Bubble appears at the edge of your screen, you're done.

Samsung

Follow these steps to keep Flow running in the background:

1. Open Settings → Battery → Background usage limits.

2. Add Wispr Flow to "Never sleeping apps."

3. Open Settings → Apps → Wispr Flow → Battery and set it to Unrestricted.

4. Disable "Put unused apps to sleep" in Battery settings.

5. Open any text field. If the Flow Bubble appears at the edge of your screen, you're done.

Xiaomi / Redmi / POCO

Follow the on-screen accessibility setup, including any extra confirmation prompts. Then complete these protection steps:

1. Enable autostart for Wispr Flow.

2. Add Wispr Flow to the battery saver exemption list (set to No restrictions).

3. Lock Wispr Flow in recent apps.

4. Open any text field. If the Flow Bubble appears, setup is complete.

Vivo

Grant the battery exemption when Flow prompts you during setup, then:

1. Open Settings → More Settings → Applications → Autostart.

2. Enable Wispr Flow.

3. Lock Wispr Flow in recent apps (swipe down on the app card).

4. Open any text field. The Flow Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.

Transsion (Tecno / Infinix / itel)

Enable autostart and disable battery optimization:

1. Open Security → Permissions → Autostart and enable Wispr Flow.

2. Open Settings → Battery → Battery optimization and set Wispr Flow to Don't optimize.

3. Lock Wispr Flow in recent apps.

4. Open any text field. The Flow Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.

Motorola / Lenovo

Disable battery optimization for Flow:

1. Open Settings → Apps → Special app access → Battery optimization.

2. Set Wispr Flow to Don't optimize.

3. Lock Wispr Flow in recent apps (swipe down on the app card).

4. Open any text field. The Flow Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.

OPPO

Complete all of the following:

1. Enable Auto-Launch for Wispr Flow.

2. Allow Background Activity for Wispr Flow.

3. Add Wispr Flow to the power saving exception list.

4. Open any text field. The Flow Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.

Realme

Complete all of the following:

1. Set battery optimization for Wispr Flow to Not optimized.

2. Enable Auto Launch for Wispr Flow.

3. Allow background activity for Wispr Flow.

4. Open any text field. The Flow Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.

OnePlus

Complete all of the following:

1. Disable battery optimization for Wispr Flow.

2. Enable App Auto-Launch for Wispr Flow.

3. Lock Wispr Flow in recent apps.

4. Open any text field. The Flow Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.

Huawei / Honor

Honor devices follow the same steps as Huawei:

1. Open Settings → Apps → App launch → Wispr Flow.

2. Set Wispr Flow to Manage manually and enable all three toggles.

3. Open Settings → Apps → Special access → Battery optimization.

4. Set Wispr Flow to Don't allow.

5. Open any text field. The Flow Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.

Bugs fixed in recent updates

The following issues have been resolved. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version and restart the app.

• Flow Bubble shows no feedback when the connection is lost: On some devices with aggressive battery or deep-sleep modes, the connection could be dropped silently — the bubble would still appear but typing would stop working. The bubble now shows a pulsing spinner while reconnecting, or a warning triangle if reconnection takes too long. Tapping the triangle takes you to the accessibility permission screen, and a "Flow Bubble reconnected" message confirms when it's restored.

• Flow Bubble not appearing after granting accessibility permission: The bubble now reliably appears as soon as the permission is granted, and reappears after a device reboot.

• Flow Bubble not appearing in notification reply boxes or browser address bars: Both surfaces are now fully supported.

• Flow Bubble getting cut off in landscape orientation: On devices with navigation bars or display cutouts, the bubble could be clipped after rotation. It now displays correctly in all orientations and preserves its edge anchoring after rotation.

• Dictation falling back to clipboard in popular chat apps: Flow would frequently require a manual paste in WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, Instagram, Teams, Signal, Slack, Discord, Snapchat, Google Messages, and Gmail. Flow now inserts text directly and reliably in these apps.

• Dictation not working in Chrome search boxes: Speaking into search boxes in Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers could fail to insert text. This now works correctly.

• App crashing on Android 14+ after revoking microphone permission: The app could crash repeatedly. The Flow Bubble now stays visible in a limited mode (recording disabled) so you can re-grant microphone permission without reinstalling.

• Snooze issues: Shake-to-unsnooze didn't always work; snooze could be unintentionally cancelled when opening the keyboard or tapping a text field; the "Flow is snoozed" home screen card could linger after the app was stopped; and the bubble could flash visible during snooze. All resolved — snooze now stays active until you explicitly dismiss it, the card disappears when the app is no longer running, and shake-to-unsnooze works reliably.

• Repair prompt missing after accessibility permission revoked during snooze: The repair screen now appears correctly in this situation.

• Bubble taking several seconds to shrink in search fields: When both Shrink the bubble when not in use and the Shrink the bubble in search fields sub-option were enabled, the bubble waited the full inactivity delay before shrinking. It now shrinks instantly when a search field is focused.

• Bubble rendering issues on first dictation after install or data clear: The checkmark could be missing or cut off, the waveform could appear squashed, and the bubble could be clipped on both edges. It now consistently shows at full width with all controls visible.

• Bubble shrink-then-expand animation when starting recording: The bubble could briefly shrink and snap back when tapped, and the waveform could take a moment to start moving. Both are now smooth from the first frame.

• Error messages not dismissing automatically: Error messages on the bubble now dismiss automatically after a short period of inactivity, or immediately when you tap the action button.

• Re-granting permissions from a home screen warning card not returning you to the app: You're now brought back to the app automatically after granting the permission.

• Text not inserting after Flow loses its link to the active text field: Flow now detects this automatically and retries the insertion.

• Feedback reports showing merged transcript versions: The raw transcript, formatted text, and pasted text are now correctly preserved as separate versions.

• Flow Bubble stopping on Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO devices: Flow could be stopped in the background by the system. Setup now guides you through autostart and the battery exemption list.

• Blank screen in Picture-in-Picture on OnePlus devices: Resolved.

• Editing a snippet or dictionary word created a duplicate: Renaming a snippet trigger or dictionary word could cause the original to reappear after syncing. Resolved.

• Onboarding buttons misaligned on tablets and foldables: Primary and secondary buttons now display at consistent widths on larger displays.

• Spark Mail not recognized as an email app: Flow now correctly detects Spark Mail and applies the Email writing style.

• Bubble resizing incorrectly when anchored to the right edge: Resolved.

• Cancel and Done buttons not responding immediately: The buttons in the dictation bubble had a brief delay before becoming tappable. They now respond immediately.

• Writing style not applying correctly across Android apps: Flow now correctly detects which app you're dictating into across messaging, work, and email apps, and applies the right style — including immediately after changing it, and after restarting the app.

• App crashing on the "How did you hear about us?" onboarding screen: Resolved.

• Flow Bubble unresponsive after signing out and back in: The Flow Bubble now returns correctly after signing back in.

• Dictated text inserted multiple times in Google Docs, Gmail, or messaging apps: Text could be inserted twice in slower apps. Resolved.

• Flow crashing in apps with complex layouts: Resolved for apps including TikTok and WeChat.

• Dictated text not inserting in Gmail on Samsung devices: In apps that use an embedded web browser for text fields, dictated text could fail to appear. Resolved.

• Audio recording missing after back-to-back dictations: Starting a second dictation immediately after the first could cause one recording to be lost or fail to insert. Resolved.

• Paste or Retry buttons unresponsive after a transcription error: Tapping these buttons incorrectly started a new recording. Resolved.

What's the difference between Tap Mode and Hold Mode?

Tap Mode: Tap the bubble once to start recording, then tap the checkmark when done. Best for longer dictations.

Hold Mode (Push-to-Talk): Press and hold the bubble to record, then release to insert the text. Best for quick messages. After you release the bubble, transcription begins immediately. A cancel option appears after a few seconds if transcription is still processing.

The bubble appears but nothing happens when I tap it

Open Settings → Accessibility → Wispr Flow and make sure Use Wispr Flow is on and the Wispr Flow shortcut is off. Restart your phone if the bubble still doesn't respond.

The bubble doesn't appear in a specific app

Update the app to its latest version. See Where the Flow Bubble appears above for the field types and app categories where the bubble is intentionally disabled.

I just finished onboarding but I don't see the Flow Bubble

The bubble doesn't appear immediately after onboarding. Tap into a text field so the on-screen keyboard opens — the bubble appears at the edge of the screen.

Can I move or snooze the Flow Bubble?

Yes. Drag the bubble anywhere on screen — it snaps to the nearest edge with a small margin. You can drag past this to the physical edge, but it will snap back on release. Vertical position is preserved across screen rotations. In Hold Mode, you can drag it while actively dictating.

While in a text field (with the bubble in its Ready state), drag the bubble toward the snooze target that appears near the bottom of the screen to snooze it for 10 minutes. You'll see a toast: "Wispr Flow is snoozed for 10 min. Shake your phone to bring it back." Snooze is only available when a text field is focused. To wake it, shake your phone, tap the "End snooze now" card on the home screen, or wait for it to reappear.

How do I change the Flow Bubble size?

Open the side navigation drawer → Settings → Flow Bubble Size. Use the slider to choose from four preset sizes, with a live preview and a Reset button to return to the default. The default (Reset) size is the second-smallest preset.

You can also enable Shrink the bubble when not in use to minimize the bubble after a short period of inactivity — tap it to restore it and immediately start recording. Two related sub-options, Shrink to a dot and Shrink the bubble in search fields, become available when shrink-when-not-in-use is enabled. Shrink the bubble in search fields takes effect immediately, with no delay. All three settings are off by default.

My dictated text isn't being inserted

Make sure the target text field is still active and Wispr Flow has accessibility permissions (Settings → Accessibility → Wispr Flow). If insertion still fails after retries, Flow copies your text to the clipboard and shows a Paste button on the bubble — tap it (or long-press the field and tap Paste) to insert manually.

Why does a failed transcript card only show Retry and Delete?

When a transcription fails, the card on the Home screen shows only an error message, a timestamp, and a three-dot menu — there's no transcript text to copy or report. The three-dot menu offers Retry Transcript and Delete.

What happens if my dictation reaches the 5-minute limit?

You'll get a warning about a minute before the cap. At the cap, Flow automatically submits your audio for transcription. Tap the Flow Bubble again to start a new dictation.

Can I use Flow offline?

No. An internet connection is required for transcription. If transcription fails for any reason (including no network), your audio is saved in the app and you can retry it from your transcript history later.

My transcription failed — what happened?

If transcription fails, you'll see a "Failed to transcribe. Saved in the app." message, and a Retry button appears on the bubble. You can also open the Wispr Flow app, find the recording in your transcript history, and retry it from there.

I see a warning card about permissions on the home screen

Cards like "We can't hear you," "Enable Flow bubble on screen," "Flow can't insert text," "Keep Wispr Flow running," "Bubble is snoozed," "Flow Bubble Disabled" (with a Turn Back On button), and "Flow isn't responding" (with a Restart Flow button) indicate missing permissions or a service state. Tap the card to be guided through granting the permission or restoring the service. The "Enable Flow bubble on screen" card returns you to the app once the overlay permission is granted. Other cards rely on normal back navigation — the home screen re-checks permission state when you return, and the warning clears automatically.

What happens if I revoke microphone permission on Android 14+?

The Flow Bubble stays visible, but recording is disabled until you re-grant the permission. Open Settings → Apps → Wispr Flow → Permissions → Microphone and set it to Allow to restore full functionality.

How do I change my dictation language?

Open Settings → Languages. Changes are held as a draft — tap Save to apply them, or go back to discard. To remove a language, tap it in the list.

Can the same word be both a dictionary entry and a snippet?

No. A word can only be used as a dictionary entry or a snippet trigger — not both. If you try to save a duplicate, Flow shows a validation error explaining the conflict. Remove the existing entry from one list before adding it to the other.

Why did Flow ask for notification permission during setup?

Allowing notifications lets Flow send you helpful reminders and tips as you get started, plus important alerts — like when the Flow Bubble loses its connection. If you skipped this during onboarding, you can re-enable notifications in Settings → Apps → Wispr Flow → Notifications.