Set up the Action Button for Flow on iPhone
Last updated: July 30, 2026
Available on: iOS (iPhone 15 Pro and later)
Wire your iPhone's Action Button to Wispr Flow so a single press starts dictation from any text field. Setup takes about a minute.
How to set it up
The setup flow walks you through a short sequence of screens, with a progress bar at the top so you can track where you are.
Open the Action Button setup from one of these entry points:
From the home screen: Tap Set up on the Action Button card in the home screen carousel.
From Settings: Open the Wispr Flow app, then go to Settings → Action button shortcut.
Tap Let's go! on the introduction screen, then tap Try now after watching the demo video.
Tap Continue to use the Quick Dictation to Clipboard shortcut, which ships with the app. This shortcut works anywhere — if you're not in a text field, Flow saves the transcript to your clipboard.
Tap Go to Settings to open iPhone Settings (or navigate manually to Settings → Action Button).
Swipe to Shortcut and select Quick Dictation to Clipboard from the list.
Return to Flow and tap Try now on the "Let's test your new shortcut" screen to test the Action Button with a quick dictation into Notes.
Press your Action Button and speak a short phrase. Press and hold, then release, to stop. When your dictation appears on screen, tap the button to continue.
Tap Finish on the All Set screen. Your Action Button is now wired to Flow — press it from any text field and dictation starts immediately.
A Skip option is available in the header on the keyboard-switch and dictation-test steps. Tapping Skip stops any active recording and jumps to the All Set screen — the trial dictation is not required to finish setup.
Note: During setup, you may see a "Swipe back to your app" screen. Apple requires Flow to briefly switch apps to activate the microphone — swipe right across the bottom edge of the screen to return to Flow. The animated band at the bottom shows where to swipe; it is a visual hint, not a button. On newer versions of iOS, a one-time onboarding alert may also appear that explains the updated behavior.
Note: If the Flow keyboard isn't active when the test starts, you'll see a short video guide showing how to switch to the Flow keyboard. During general onboarding, you may instead see a video plus a Go to Settings step to enable Full Keyboard Access. Tap Skip in the header to bypass this step.
Tip: When you start a dictation using the Action Button (or a Siri shortcut), the Dynamic Island shows a "Hold to stop" hint so you know how to end the session. While the hint is showing, the usual Stop and Note buttons in the Dynamic Island are replaced by a running timer. The hint does not appear when dictation is started from the Flow keyboard.
Important: The continue button on the test screen only appears after dictation text is received. If it doesn't appear, return to Settings → Action Button and confirm Quick Dictation to Clipboard is selected. If you see a "Network error" in the keyboard, tap Retry, or dismiss the modal, check your connection, and try again.
Available shortcuts
Flow offers several shortcuts you can assign to the Action Button:
Turn On/Off Flow: Toggle dictation on and off.
Dictate a Flow Note: Toggle a dictation session that saves to a new Flow note.
Quick Dictation to Clipboard: Copy your dictation to the clipboard.
Quick Dictation to Notes: Save your dictation to your notes.
Open Flow Notes: Open Flow and start a new dictated note immediately.
Save Flow Note: Save a note hands-free via Siri or Shortcuts. Siri prompts "What should the note say?" and saves whatever text it captures. This shortcut does not open Flow.
To change your shortcut, open the Wispr Flow app, go to Settings → Action button shortcut, and restart setup.
Common issues
Bugs fixed in recent updates
The following issues were fixed in recent updates. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to resolve them:
Pressing the Action Button during a recording cancelled the session. The Action Button now picks up the running recording and begins transcription. A second press stops transcription and saves the note, provided the Flow keyboard is not currently active. This adopt-and-save behavior applies only when the configured shortcut is Quick Dictation to Notes or Dictate a Flow Note.
Action Button did nothing after cancelling a dictation. Caused by the button's start/stop state getting out of sync after a cancelled dictation.
First dictation after a cold start could fail on the first one or two attempts. The first press right after the app had been closed would sometimes show an error before succeeding on a later try. Cold-start dictation now works reliably on the first attempt.
FAQs
Which iPhones support the Action Button?
iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16e, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. The iPhone 17e is not supported because it lacks a physical Action Button. Older iPhones don't have this hardware.
When does the Action Button feature card appear?
Once you've dictated enough words, the Action Button setup card may appear in the home screen carousel on iPhones with an Action Button. It stops appearing after a few app opens or once you've dismissed it.
What is the Flow shortcut?
A built-in shortcut that connects your Action Button to Wispr Flow. The setup flow guides you to select it in your iPhone's Action Button settings — no extra installation needed.
What happens if I press the Action Button while a recording is already in progress?
The Action Button picks up the running recording and starts transcription — it won't interrupt or cancel it. Press the Action Button a second time to stop transcription.
Adoption applies to Quick Dictation to Notes, Dictate a Flow Note, and Quick Dictation to Clipboard. For Quick Dictation to Clipboard, the second press captures the result to the clipboard rather than saving a note. Turn On/Off Flow does not adopt — a second press simply stops recording without saving a note.
Save-on-second-press applies only to Quick Dictation to Notes and Dictate a Flow Note, and only when the Flow keyboard is not active. If the Flow keyboard is active, recording stops but no note is saved.
Can I change the Action Button assignment later?
Yes. Change it anytime in iPhone Settings → Action Button. To reconfigure it for Flow, open the Wispr Flow app and go to Settings → Action button shortcut.
What happens if I dismiss the Action Button card?
Tapping Set up on the home screen card hides it and starts setup. Tapping X permanently hides it. You can always set up the Action Button later from Settings → Action button shortcut.
Are back-to-back dictations faster?
Yes. After the first dictation in a session, subsequent presses of the Action Button start recording noticeably faster.
Still stuck?
Reach out to support if:
The continue button never appears during the test step, even after confirming the correct shortcut is selected.
The Action Button doesn't trigger Flow after setup completes.
You see an error during setup that isn't covered above.
Include your iPhone model, iOS version, and Wispr Flow app version so we can help quickly. Most setup issues are resolved in one reply.