Why isn’t Flow recording my voice?

Desktop (Mac & Windows)

Work through these steps in order. After each one, dictate a short phrase to test.

1. Check microphone permissions. On Mac, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. On Windows, open Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. Confirm microphone access is on and Wispr Flow is allowed. Restart Flow if you made changes.

2. Verify the correct input device. Open input settings (Mac: System Settings → Sound → Input / Windows: Settings → System → Sound → Input). Select your microphone and speak — the input level meter should bounce. Confirm the input volume slider isn't at zero, since another app can silently set it there. If the meter doesn't move, try a different mic or port.

3. Restart Flow. Quit Flow from the menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows), then reopen it from Applications, Spotlight, or the Start menu.

4. Reset & Restart (last resort). Open Flow Settings → System → Reset & Restart, then dictate to test.

Silence and disconnect notifications

If your microphone stops delivering audio mid-dictation, Flow tells you:

• If no audio comes through: A "No audio received" notification appears with a Contact us button.

• If silence continues: A "Microphone is not working" notification appears with Select microphone and Contact us buttons. It stays until dismissed — use Select microphone to switch input devices.

• If audio recovers on its own: The waveform resumes, but the notification stays visible until you stop and restart dictation.

• If your mic disconnects entirely: A "Microphone disconnected" notification appears with an Insert button — click it to paste any text captured before the disconnect.

iOS

Work through these steps in order. After each one, dictate a short phrase to test.

1. Grant microphone permission when prompted. The first time you start a Flow recording, iOS shows a microphone permission prompt. Tap Allow. If you tapped Cancel, a follow-up alert appears — tap Open Settings to enable it from there.

2. Check microphone permissions manually. Open the Settings app → Wispr Flow and confirm Microphone is toggled on.

3. Restart Flow. Open the app switcher (swipe up from the bottom of the screen, or double-tap the Home button), swipe Wispr Flow away, then reopen it.

Keyboard silent dictation behavior

When you dictate using the Wispr Flow keyboard and no speech is captured, the keyboard quietly resets back to the microphone icon — the same as after a successful dictation. There is no warning message. If this happens repeatedly, check your microphone permissions and make sure you're speaking clearly before tapping the mic button.

Onboarding error messages

During the "try it yourself" onboarding steps, Flow shows a message at the top of the screen if dictation fails. These messages auto-dismiss on their own:

• "We didn't hear you": No audio was captured. Move closer to the mic and tap to retry.

• "Poor connection": Transcription failed due to a network issue. Check your internet and retry.

• "Your mic is being used by another app": Close other open apps and tap the mic to retry.

• "Enable microphone access to use Flow": Open the Settings app → Wispr Flow and toggle Microphone on.

• "Something went wrong": Tap the mic to retry. If it keeps happening, restart Flow.

Android

Work through these steps in order. After each one, dictate a short phrase to test.

1. Check microphone permissions. Open the Settings app → Apps → Wispr Flow → Permissions and confirm Microphone is set to "Allow" or "Allow only while using the app."

2. Re-grant permission if prompted. If microphone permission has been revoked, Flow keeps running in a limited state — the bubble and overlay stay visible, but recording is disabled. Tap the Flow bubble to jump to the re-grant prompt. Once you allow microphone access, recording is restored immediately — no restart needed.

3. Restore accessibility access if the Flow Bubble shows a "Repair" prompt. Open the Settings app → Accessibility → Installed apps → Wispr Flow and toggle it on. Once access is restored, the bubble returns to normal automatically.

4. Restart Flow. Open your recent apps view, swipe Wispr Flow away, then reopen it.

iOS: Keyboard showed "Audio was silent" warning after a dictation with no speech

When a dictation captured no speech, the iOS keyboard previously showed an "Audio was silent" message with a warning triangle. Fixed in the latest version — the keyboard now simply resets back to the microphone icon, the same as after a successful dictation.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Restart Flow after updating.

iOS: Keyboard showed the mic button instead of the recording waveform after switching back to the app

When opening the Wispr Flow keyboard for the first time after a fresh app launch, tapping the mic button and then swiping back to the app could leave the keyboard stuck showing the mic button instead of the recording waveform — even though dictation was actually running in the background. Tapping the mic again would do nothing. Fixed in the latest version — the keyboard now reliably shows the recording state when you return to the app.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Restart Flow after updating.

Android: Revoking microphone permission caused crashes or full shutdown

Two related bugs affected how Flow handled revoked microphone permission on Android. Both are fixed in the latest version — Flow now stays running in a limited state (bubble and overlay remain visible, recording disabled), and tapping the bubble takes you directly to the re-grant prompt.

• Crash loop on Android 14+: Revoking microphone permission could cause Flow to crash on every launch, requiring a re-grant or reinstall to recover.

• Full service shutdown during startup: If permission was revoked at just the right moment during app startup, the entire Flow service — including the bubble and accessibility overlay — could shut down, requiring a full relaunch.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Tap the Flow bubble — you'll be taken to the microphone permission prompt. Tap Allow to restore recording.

Android: Flow Bubble was slow to show the "Repair" prompt after an accessibility interruption

When Android interrupted or shut down Flow's accessibility service, the Flow Bubble could be slow to show the Repair prompt. Fixed in the latest version — Flow now detects accessibility interruptions promptly and shows the Repair prompt right away.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Restart Flow after updating.

Android: Flow Bubble briefly shrank and expanded when tapping to start recording

A visual glitch caused the Flow Bubble to shrink then expand when tapped to start a recording, making it unclear whether recording had actually started. Fixed in version 1.8.8 — tapping the bubble now reliably initiates recording without the glitch.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Restart Flow after updating.

iOS: Microphone indicator in the Dynamic Island stayed on after turning Flow off

After tapping the Flow off toggle in the History view, the Dynamic Island microphone indicator could remain on indefinitely instead of clearing — making it appear as though Flow was still recording. Fixed in the latest version — the microphone indicator now clears within about a second of turning Flow off.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Restart Flow after updating.

iOS: First dictation after granting microphone permission showed "We can't hear you"

During iOS onboarding, the first dictation attempt immediately after granting microphone permission incorrectly showed a "We can't hear you" error and asked you to re-grant mic access. Fixed in the latest version — new users can now dictate successfully straight after the permission flow.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Restart Flow after updating.

iOS: Wispr Flow didn't appear under Microphone in iOS Settings

Flow didn't make an explicit microphone permission request before recording, so it never appeared in the iOS Settings list. Fixed in the latest version — Flow now requests permission before starting a recording, which makes it appear in iOS Settings immediately.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Start a Flow recording — you'll see the permission prompt. Tap Allow to grant access.

iOS: Revoking microphone permission caused dictation to fail silently

Flow didn't detect revoked permissions after initial setup, so tapping "Start Flow" or the mic button would silently attempt dictation without recording or showing an error. Fixed in the latest version — you now immediately see a "We can't hear you" prompt, so you know to re-enable mic access in Settings.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Open the Settings app → Wispr Flow and toggle Microphone back on.

iOS: Dictation failed silently during onboarding with no explanation

Failed dictation attempts during the "try it yourself" onboarding steps — from no audio, network problems, the mic being in use, or permission issues — provided no user feedback. Fixed in the latest version, which now shows a descriptive message at the top of the screen for each failure type. See the iOS section above for what each message means.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

Mac/Windows: Dictation hotkey did nothing after restarting onboarding or switching away mid-session

In certain situations — for example, after restarting onboarding from Settings or after switching away mid-session — Flow could be left unable to record. Pressing the hotkey would fail silently or cause the mic test to spin indefinitely, and the only fix was a full app restart. This particularly affected Windows users. Fixed in the latest version — Flow now automatically recovers when this happens. You may notice a brief delay on the first push-to-talk press, but recording then proceeds normally.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Restart Flow after updating.

Mac/Windows: Microphone test bars appeared fully filled even when not speaking

The microphone level bars on the "Test your microphone" page (and in the mic selection dialog in Settings → General, the Help button, and the Sidebar) showed as fully filled regardless of whether you were speaking. Fixed in the latest version — the bars now accurately reflect your actual audio input.

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Restart Flow after updating.

Mac/Windows: Onboarding mic test showed a generic error and required a long wait

The "Test your microphone" onboarding page showed a generic "Try restarting Flow" toast for all mic failures, with no specific guidance. The latest version now shows a dedicated in-pane error modal with tailored instructions and action buttons for each failure type:

• Microphone access required: An Open Settings button appears so you can grant permission immediately. Returning to Flow after granting access triggers an automatic retry.

• No microphone detected: A Refresh devices button scans for newly connected mics, and Open Sound Settings takes you directly to your system sound input settings.

• Microphone in use by another app: Flow tells you which apps may be holding the mic (such as Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Discord, or FaceTime) and offers Open Sound Settings and Restart Flow buttons.

• Selected microphone unavailable: A Choose a different microphone button lets you pick another input device.

• Unknown error: A Restart Flow button appears.

The error modal disappears automatically as soon as the mic starts working. To get the fix:

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Restart Flow after updating.

Mac/Windows: Dictation showed "Listening" but failed with a generic error after a long wait

Flow didn't detect microphone access failures up front, so it would show a "Listening" bubble for a while, then display a generic "Transcript failed to load" error. The latest version detects pre-recording failures immediately and shows a specific notification:

• No microphone detected: Shown when no mic is connected. Flow opens your system sound input settings.

• Selected microphone is unavailable: Shown when a mic you previously pinned in Flow is no longer connected. Flow opens the mic chooser so you can pick a different one.

• Microphone unavailable: Shown when another app is using the mic or the audio driver is unresponsive. Includes a Troubleshoot link.

• Microphone error: A general fallback for other mic access problems, with a Troubleshoot link.

To get the fix:

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Restart Flow after updating.

Other Mac/Windows mic bugs fixed in recent updates

Several additional desktop microphone bugs have been resolved in recent versions. If you've experienced any of these, updating to the latest version of Flow is the fix:

• Mic took a long time to activate after canceling and retrying dictation. Each successive retry took progressively longer to start, and the mic indicator light could remain on after canceling.

• Dictation stopped working in certain desktop builds. The microphone failed to activate even when permissions were granted.

• Windows: Microphone access blocked or blank mic picker after upgrading to v1.4.894. After upgrading, some users saw a blank mic picker or a false "microphone privacy disabled" error even though access was granted. Fixed in versions after v1.4.894 — updating resolves it.

To get the fix:

1. Open Wispr Flow and check for updates.

2. Install any available update.

3. Restart Flow after updating.

Flow was working before but suddenly stopped — what happened?

This usually happens after a system update resets microphone permissions, or when a new audio device (like Bluetooth headphones) changes your default input. Run through the quick checks above to narrow it down.

Can I choose which microphone Flow uses?

On Mac and Windows, Flow uses the system default input device — change it in your system sound settings. On iOS and Android, Flow automatically uses the device microphone or connected headset.

Flow picks up audio but the text is wrong — is that a mic issue?

No. If text appears but is inaccurate, the microphone is working. The issue is usually background noise or mic placement — move to a quieter area or speak closer to the mic.

Why does the Flow Bar show a microphone icon when I hover over it?

When the Flow Bar is ready to record and you hover over it, it displays a microphone icon — this indicates that Flow is ready for input. Click or use your hotkey to start dictating.

On iOS, the keyboard just reset to the mic icon after I dictated — did it hear me?

If no speech was captured, the iOS keyboard resets to the mic icon without any warning message — the same as after a successful dictation. If nothing was typed, try tapping the mic again and speak clearly. If it keeps happening, check that microphone permission is enabled in Settings → Wispr Flow.