Missing first words in transcriptions

Last updated: September 3, 2026

Available on: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android. The in-app microphone picker, Edit Ranking, Show other devices, clamshell handling, and the Microphone Quiz are Mac and Windows only; iOS and Android use the system default microphone.

Missing the first few words of your dictation? This is almost always a wireless microphone wake-up delay — mics like AirPods can be slow to start, so anything you say in that window isn't captured. Most people fix this in under 2 minutes.

Quick checks

  • Pause briefly before speaking. Wait a moment after pressing the hotkey, especially on wireless mics.

  • Hold the hotkey long enough. Releasing too quickly cancels the dictation — hold while you speak, then release.

  • iOS — enable Full Access. If the Flow keyboard produces nothing at all, enable Full Access; Flow shows a separate "Open Settings" alert for it, distinct from the microphone permission alert.

  • Are you on a wireless mic? Mac/Windows: Flow Settings → General → Microphone. iOS/Android: check Bluetooth in system Settings. AirPods or a wireless headset is almost certainly the cause.

  • Does your mic work in other apps? Record a clip in Voice Memos (Mac/iOS) or Sound Recorder (Windows). If it's silent there, the problem is system-level, not Flow.

Note: When something blocks the mic, Flow shows a notification with a button that takes you to the fix: Microphone Permission Required (Mac), Microphone access is disabled (Windows), No microphone detected, Microphone unavailable (another app is holding the mic, or the driver is stuck), Microphone error, Microphone disconnected, or a silence notification such as Is your microphone muted?, We couldn't hear you, or Microphone is not working. If your mic disconnects mid-dictation, the notification's Insert button inserts the text recorded up to that point.

How to fix missing first words

Step 1: Switch to a wired or built-in microphone

Built-in laptop and phone mics and wired USB mics have no wake-up delay. This is the most reliable fix.

Mac and Windows

  1. Open Flow Settings → General → Microphone. Notetaker always uses Auto-detect, regardless of this setting.

  2. Select your built-in microphone or a wired USB microphone. AirPods appear with a ⚠ warning; other wireless devices are not flagged.

  3. Dictate a test phrase. If all your words appear, you're done.

The Find the right mic for you → link in the same dialog opens the Microphone Quiz, recommends a mic, and returns you to the Microphone dialog.

iOS and Android

Flow uses the system default microphone; there is no in-app mic picker. Disconnect your wireless device in system Settings → Bluetooth, or plug in a wired accessory, then dictate a test phrase.

Important: With your Mac lid closed (clamshell mode), the built-in mic won't work. On macOS 12 and later, Flow disables the built-in mic in the picker with an explanatory tooltip. On macOS 11, select an external USB or wireless mic manually.

Tip: Edit Ranking in the Settings mic picker lets you drag your microphone priority order and forget disconnected devices. When you plug in a new mic, Flow prompts "[device name] detected — Switch / Don't Switch" and tells you when a previously selected mic is unavailable.

Step 2: Pause briefly before speaking

To keep using a wireless mic, give it time to wake up:

  1. Press your dictation hotkey.

  2. Wait a moment before speaking so the mic can finish starting up.

  3. Dictate a test phrase. If all your words appear, this workaround is enough.

Tip: Start with a filler word like "so" or "okay." Smart Formatting removes these automatically.

Note: Flow discards a small amount of audio at the start of every recording on any microphone, so a brief pause helps on wired mics too.

Step 3: Select your microphone explicitly (Mac and Windows)

Auto-detect ("From computer settings") follows the OS default input and overrides your ranked list, which can add a connection delay. Naming your device removes it:

  1. Open Flow Settings → General → Microphone.

  2. Select your specific microphone from the list instead of Auto-detect. Devices Flow can't resolve show as "unknown."

  3. Dictate a test phrase. If all your words appear, you're done.

Note: Virtual audio devices are hidden by default. Click Show other devices at the bottom of the mic list, then select the device. If you collapse that section while a virtual device is selected, Flow reverts to Auto-detect.

Step 4: Check system audio settings (Windows)

  1. Open Windows Settings → System → Sound → Input.

  2. Confirm your preferred microphone is the default input device.

  3. Click Test your microphone and speak — the level meter should move.

  4. Return to Flow and dictate a test phrase. If all your words appear, you're done.

Step 5: Verify what was actually recorded

This tells you whether the problem is recording or transcription:

  1. Open the Flow Hub and go to the Home page.

  2. Find your recent dictation in the Activity list, click the three-dot menu (⋮) on the dictation card, and select Extract audio.

  3. Play the downloaded file. If the audio has all your words but the transcript doesn't, contact support. If the audio is also missing the first words, it's a mic wake-up delay — return to Step 1.

Note: Extract audio is unavailable for recordings older than 14 days, where Flow shows "Cannot download audio as it is no longer available (older than 14 days)". On enterprise Never Store (Zero Data Retention) plans, audio is never saved. If dictation history is off, the Hub shows "History disabled" — either from a Never Store policy you set in Settings → Data and Privacy, or because your organization disabled retention.

FAQs

My dictation cut off — did my mic drop?

Desktop dictations stop at 20 minutes, with a warning notification at 19 minutes. Everything recorded up to the stop point is transcribed and pasted. For longer captures, split the dictation into multiple sessions.

My dictation ended with a network interruption — will I lose the audio?

Flow recovers audio from the end of a dictation when a connection drops near the finish: it takes a few extra seconds to process the remaining audio, then pastes the result. With a very large backlog, Flow pastes what it transcribed, which may be truncated; only extremely large amounts of leftover audio exceed the recovery limit and show an error. Dismissing Flow or starting a new dictation during recovery cancels the previous one, and nothing from it is pasted.

How do I check the live volume indicator?

Open Flow Settings → General → Microphone and click Change (Change microphone during onboarding). A live volume bar appears next to the selected device only — speak and watch it move to confirm Flow is receiving audio. Hovering the Flow Bar shows Mic in use: <device name>.

How does hands-free mode work?

Double-tap your dictation hotkey to start hands-free mode. Flow records until you press the hotkey again to stop and submit. Press Esc (or your custom dismiss shortcut) to discard any dictation, hands-free or not.

My dictation produced no audio on Mac — what happened?

A dictation captures no audio if the mic was briefly unavailable; that dictation produces no text and the next one works normally. If it keeps happening, select your microphone explicitly (Step 3) and check the notifications Flow shows you.

On iOS, I spoke but nothing was typed and no error appeared — what happened?

If audio capture fails on iOS, Flow shows a full-screen message with Dismiss and Retry buttons. If nothing was typed and no message appeared, check that the Flow keyboard has Full Access enabled and that microphone permission is granted.

Can I use a virtual audio device as my microphone?

Yes — reveal them with Show other devices in Flow Settings → General → Microphone or the Flow Bar mic switcher (see Step 3). Flow uses the device while it's connected and falls back to your ranked list if it disconnects. Virtual devices are never chosen automatically: they won't appear as suggestions when an app like Zoom or Teams launches, and they aren't part of the ranked preference list.

Which microphones work best with Flow?

Built-in, wired USB, and wired 3.5mm mics have no wake-up delay and are the most reliable; your built-in mic is labeled Built-in mic (recommended) in the picker. AirPods and wireless headsets vary, so pause before speaking. On Mac and Windows, the Find the right mic for you → link opens the Microphone Quiz (see Step 1).

Still stuck?

If first words are still missing after these steps, reach out to our support team:

  • Mac: Press Cmd+/, or click Help in the menu bar or Hub sidebar → Talk to support.

  • Windows: Click Help in the Hub sidebar → Talk to support.

  • iOS: Open the menu → Talk to Support. Android: Open the drawer menu → Report an issue.

  • Include your platform, microphone type, and what you've already tried. If the extracted audio contains words the transcript is missing, say so — most mic issues are resolved in one reply.