Retry failed transcriptions

Desktop (Mac and Windows)

Audio storage: Audio is saved to your history when recording ends. If transcription fails, the audio is stored and available for retry.

What you see when transcription fails:

1. The Flow Bar briefly flashes red (about half a second), then disappears.

2. A notification appears with the title "Something's not right" and the body "Transcript failed to load. You can always recover it from History."

3. The notification includes two buttons:

   1. Retry — attempts to recover and paste the transcript from your saved data.

   2. Open History — opens the Hub home page where you can retry later.

If transcription is taking a while, you may see a "Taking longer than usual… Your audio is saved for retrying" notification. Flow is still working on it and your audio is safe. The notification includes a Don't show again button, which permanently dismisses this notification across sessions.

When paste fails: If Flow couldn't paste into your target app but the transcription succeeded, Flow writes the transcript to your clipboard and shows a notification so you can paste it manually with Cmd+V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (Windows). On Mac, after a successful paste, your original clipboard contents are automatically restored a moment later — so the dictated text only persists on the clipboard when paste failed.

When there is no transcription text at all, Flow shows a different notification with the title "Click a textbox and use {{shortcut}} to paste" (where {{shortcut}} is your Paste Last Text shortcut). This notification does not write anything to the clipboard.

Other error notifications:

• "No internet connection": Check your network and try again.

• "Is your microphone muted?" or "We couldn't hear you": Includes Select microphone and Troubleshoot buttons, and shows the name of the mic that had the issue.

• "Microphone disconnected": Click Insert to recover any partial text transcribed before the mic disconnected.

• "Unable to access mic": Click Restart App and try again.

• "No microphone detected": Flow couldn't find a connected microphone. Click Open Sound Settings to open your OS sound panel (Windows: Sound Control Panel → Recording; Mac: System Settings → Sound → Input).

• "Selected microphone is unavailable": Your previously selected mic has been disconnected. Click Choose Microphone to select a different one.

• "Microphone unavailable": Another app may be using your microphone, or your audio driver needs attention. Click Troubleshoot for help.

• "Microphone error": An unexpected problem occurred accessing your microphone. Click Troubleshoot for help.

How to retry from history:

• Failed transcripts: On the Hub home page, failed transcripts show a Retry your [duration] transcription link.

• Menu option: All transcripts have a Retry transcript option in the ⋯ menu.

• Download audio: Download the original audio (.wav) from the same menu. Download audio is greyed out for recordings older than 14 days.

• Retention window: Retry is available for recordings less than 14 days old and at least 5 seconds long.

• Long retries: For longer recordings, an estimated wait time appears during retry.

• Dismissed transcripts: These show a Recover link instead of Retry, and don't require a 5-second minimum duration.

iOS

Audio storage: Audio is saved to your device as you record. Your audio file is safely stored on disk regardless of network connection. When Auto-delete transcripts is OFF, audio persists until you manually delete it.

Error messages during onboarding setup: These messages appear during onboarding setup dictation steps (not in the regular Flow Keyboard). If a setup dictation fails, a message appears at the top of the screen explaining what went wrong:

• "Oops, we didn't hear you… Get closer to your mic and try again!": Flow didn't pick up any audio. Move closer to your microphone and tap the mic to try again.

• "Poor connection! Tap the mic to try again": A network issue prevented transcription. Check your connection and tap the mic to retry.

• "Your mic is being used by another app. Close other apps and try again!": Another app has taken over your microphone. Close other apps and tap the mic to try again.

• "Enable microphone access to use Flow": Flow doesn't have permission to use your microphone. Go to your device settings and grant Flow microphone access.

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

States in the regular Flow Keyboard: Outside onboarding, the keyboard shows different states after a dictation error:

• Any error (server, cancelled, or network): An orange triangle warning icon appears next to the mic button. Tap the triangle to open a dropdown menu showing what went wrong and your available options.

• Server or cancelled errors: The dropdown message reads "Your text is saved but didn't make it through." You'll see two options: Dismiss to clear the warning, or Retry to re-submit the saved audio.

• Network errors: The dropdown message reads "We didn't catch anything. Please try speaking again." Only a Dismiss option is available — check your connection and dictate again once you're back online.

• Successful dictation (including silent audio): The keyboard resets back to the microphone icon.

How to retry: If a transcription fails, you'll see a retry option in one of these places:

• Keyboard toolbar: Tap the orange triangle warning icon in the Flow Keyboard toolbar to open the dropdown. For server or cancelled errors, tap Retry to re-submit the saved audio. For network errors, tap Dismiss to clear the warning, then try dictating again once you're back online.

• History: Retry a specific past transcription from your transcription history. The updated transcript appears immediately after the retry completes — no app restart needed.

• More retry paths from history: You can also retry from history via swipe-left, the long-press context menu, or by tapping directly on a history row. Tapping a row only triggers retry when the row has no text — tapping a row that already has text copies it to the clipboard instead. While retrying, a "Retrying..." toast appears, and any existing transcript text is shown with a placeholder or blurred effect until the retry completes.

Android

Audio storage: Audio is recorded as a WAV file to internal storage. When transcription fails, the audio file is saved with a "transcription failed" status and a toast appears: "Failed to transcribe. Saved in the app."

How to retry: The Flow Bubble shows different options depending on what went wrong:

• Transcription failed: A Retry button appears on the bubble. Tap it to re-send the saved audio. You can also tap the Wispr icon on the error bubble to start a fresh dictation session.

• Text insertion failed: Flow automatically tries to insert the text a few times. If insertion still fails, Flow copies your dictated text to your clipboard and the Flow Bubble shows a Paste action button (with a checkmark icon). Tap Paste to re-attempt insertion, or tap the Wispr icon to dismiss the error while keeping your text on the clipboard. You can also long-press in any text field and select Paste to insert your dictation manually.

When you tap Retry, an animated "Retrying..." spinner appears on the bubble. If the audio file is no longer available, the bubble returns to its ready state.

Retries after a connectivity loss correctly track how the original dictation was started — for example, Push-to-Talk or Press Once — so your usage history stays accurate.

Retry from the home screen: Failed transcription cards show a Retry Transcript option in the ⋯ menu. If retry fails from the home screen, you'll see a message explaining why: audio file missing, audio file not found, or a general retry failure.

Retrying after a network drop on desktop

You finish dictating a long paragraph, but your Wi-Fi briefly drops. The Flow Bar flashes red and a notification appears. Click Retry on the notification — Flow re-sends the saved audio and inserts the transcribed text.

Retrying after a server error on iOS

You finish dictating and see an orange triangle warning icon in the Flow Keyboard toolbar. Tap the triangle to open the dropdown — it reads "Your text is saved but didn't make it through." Tap Retry and Flow re-submits your saved audio and inserts the transcribed text.

Retrying from history on iOS

You dictate a message while walking, and it fails because you entered an area with no signal. Later, when you're back online, open your transcription history, find the failed entry, and tap Retry. The original audio is re-submitted, transcribed, and the result appears immediately in your history.

Recovering text when insertion fails on Android

A transcription succeeds but the text can't be inserted into the target app, even after automatic retries. Flow copies the text to your clipboard and the Flow Bubble shows a Paste action button. Tap Paste to re-attempt insertion, or long-press in any text field and select Paste to insert your dictated text.

On iOS, the Flow Keyboard showed separate inline error labels and a standalone retry button after a failed transcription

This was caused by the previous error UI, which displayed inline text labels ("Server is busy" or "Network error") alongside a separate retry button. The keyboard now shows a single orange triangle warning icon next to the mic button for all error types. Tapping the triangle opens a dropdown with an explanation and action options — Retry and Dismiss for server or cancelled errors, or Dismiss only for network errors. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve.

On iOS, the mic button briefly flashed a warning icon after an error before showing the retry option

This was caused by a warning-triangle icon appearing on the mic button for about one second after an error, network error, or cancelled dictation before the keyboard settled into its post-error state. The keyboard now goes directly to the appropriate post-error state so you can act immediately. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve.

On iOS, the keyboard showed "Audio was silent" when no speech was detected instead of resetting quietly

This was caused by silent dictations displaying a warning message and icon in the Flow Keyboard. The keyboard now simply resets back to the microphone icon when no speech is detected — the same as after a successful dictation — so you can try again immediately. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve.

On iOS, a network failure showed "Audio was silent" instead of a network error message

This was caused by network-related failures not being distinguished from silent-audio failures in the Flow Keyboard. The keyboard now correctly identifies network errors and displays the appropriate message in the error dropdown. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve.

On Mac or Windows, dismissing the paste-failed error left old clipboard contents instead of the dictated text

This was caused by a timing issue where previous clipboard contents could be restored over the transcription when Flow fell back to clipboard copy. Flow now detects when the previous clipboard contents were pasted instead of the transcription and writes the transcription back to the clipboard, then shows the failure notification. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve.

On Android, the error bubble stayed on screen indefinitely after a failed transcription or paste

This was caused by the bubble having no auto-dismiss behavior. The error bubble now auto-dismisses after a short period of inactivity, and you can also tap the Wispr icon to dismiss it immediately. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve.

On iOS, retrying a transcription didn't update the History view without restarting the app

This was caused by the History view not refreshing after a successful retry. The History view now updates immediately when a retry completes. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve.

Dictation failed silently during iOS setup with no message explaining what went wrong

This was caused by missing error feedback during the initial setup dictation steps on iOS. Flow now shows a message at the top of the screen describing the specific problem (such as no audio detected, poor connection, or microphone in use) and what to do next. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve.

Dictation showed "Listening" but then failed with a transcription error, even though the microphone wasn't working

This was caused by a bug where microphone access failures were misreported as transcription errors. Flow now ends the dictation session immediately when a microphone can't be accessed, and shows a specific notification explaining the problem with a relevant action button. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve.

Clicking Retry while dictating stopped the recording or caused data loss

This was caused by a bug where clicking Retry on a history item while actively dictating could interrupt the in-progress recording. The Retry menu item is now disabled during active dictation, and a "Cannot retry while dictating" toast appears if you attempt it. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve.

An error notification from a previous session appeared at the start of a new dictation

This was caused by a bug where error notifications from a previous dictation session could persist into a new one. Stale notifications are now cleared automatically between sessions. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve.

What happens if I lose internet while dictating?

Your audio is still recorded and saved locally. When the dictation ends, Flow automatically tries again. If that fails too, you'll see the orange triangle warning icon in the keyboard toolbar. Wait until you're back online, then retry from your history.

Is my audio stored permanently?

No. On desktop, audio is automatically cleaned up after 14 days — the transcript text remains but the audio is no longer available for retry. On iOS, audio files persist until manually deleted (or removed by Auto-delete transcripts). On Android, older audio files are removed automatically when storage runs low. Enterprise organizations with Zero Data Retention enabled on desktop don't have audio saved at all.

Can I retry from my transcription history?

Yes, on all platforms. On desktop, the error notification includes an Open History button. On iOS and Android, failed transcriptions are accessible from your history or home screen.

What if the app crashes during a dictation?

On desktop, the transcript from an interrupted session can't be recovered — start a new dictation. On mobile, if audio was already written to disk before the crash, it may be available for retry from your history.

I see a microphone error instead of a transcription error — can I still retry?

No. Microphone errors mean Flow wasn't able to record any audio, so there's nothing to retry. Resolve the microphone issue first using the action button in the notification (Open Sound Settings, Choose Microphone, or Troubleshoot), then start a new dictation.

On iOS, why doesn't the network error dropdown have a Retry option?

When a dictation fails due to a network issue, the error dropdown shows only a Dismiss option. This is because a connectivity problem means the audio couldn't be sent for transcription. Check your internet connection and dictate again once you're back online. You can also retry the failed transcription from your history.

On iOS, what does the orange triangle icon mean in the keyboard?

The orange triangle warning icon appears next to the mic button whenever a transcription fails. Tap it to open a dropdown that explains what went wrong. For server or cancelled errors, you'll see a Retry option to re-submit your saved audio, as well as a Dismiss option to clear the warning. For network errors, only Dismiss is available.

On Android, what happens if I don't interact with the error bubble?

The error bubble dismisses itself after a short period of inactivity. If a text field is focused when it dismisses, the bubble returns to its ready state. Otherwise, it hides. You can still retry from the home screen via the ⋯ menu on any failed transcription card.