Fix "Taking longer than usual" and transcription errors

Mac / Windows

1. Click the Flow icon (menu bar on Mac, system tray on Windows).

2. Select Check for Updates.

iOS

1. Open the App Store and search for Wispr Flow.

2. Tap Update if available.

Android

1. Open the Google Play Store and search for Wispr Flow.

2. Tap Update if available.

Mac

1. Press Cmd + Q to quit Flow.

2. Reopen Flow from your Applications folder or Spotlight.

Windows

1. Right-click the Flow icon in the system tray (bottom-right of the taskbar).

2. Select Quit.

3. Reopen Flow from the Start menu.

iOS

1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or double-click the Home button).

2. Swipe up on Flow to close it.

3. Reopen Flow from your home screen.

Android

1. Open recent apps (swipe up and hold, or tap the square button).

2. Swipe away Flow to close it.

3. Reopen Flow from your home screen or app drawer.

Mac

1. Go to System Settings → Network → Firewall.

2. Confirm Wispr Flow is listed and allowed.

Windows

1. Go to Settings → Privacy & security → Windows Security → Firewall & network protection.

2. Click Allow an app through firewall.

3. Confirm Wispr Flow is listed and allowed.

iOS

1. Go to Settings → General → Background App Refresh.

2. Confirm Wispr Flow is enabled.

Android

1. Go to Settings → Apps → Wispr Flow → Battery.

2. Set battery usage to Unrestricted.

3. Check Settings → Network & internet → Data Saver and confirm Wispr Flow has unrestricted data access.

Mac / Windows

1. Open Flow and go to History.

2. Find the failed transcript (look for Error or Empty status).

3. Click the inline action link. For Error or Empty status, click Retry next to the recording duration. For Dismissed transcriptions, click Recover at the end of "This transcription was dismissed."

4. Wait for the loading animation to complete. For recordings longer than 2 minutes, Flow shows an estimated wait time.

iOS

1. Tap a transcript with no text to retry it. Tap a transcript that already has text to copy it.

2. Swipe left on a history item to reveal Report, Retry, and Copy actions.

3. Long-press a history item for a context menu with Copy, Retry, Report, and Delete.

Android

1. Open Flow and go to History.

2. Find the failed transcript.

3. Tap Retry transcript from the three-dot menu.

Bugs fixed in recent updates

The following issues were fixed in recent versions. Update Flow to resolve them:

• Generating a Flow Summary for a longer meeting could fail or show a "Couldn't generate summary" error. Long summaries now reliably complete without timing out.

• On iOS, dictation errors on the keyboard previously showed inline labels ("Server is busy" or "Network error") with a separate retry button. These are now consolidated into an orange triangle warning icon next to the mic button — tap it to see details and actions.

• On iOS, after a dictation error the mic button briefly flashed a warning triangle for about 1 second before returning to normal. The mic icon now stays visible immediately, so you can tap to start a new dictation right away.

• On iOS, network failures during keyboard dictation incorrectly showed "Audio was silent." The keyboard now shows the correct network-specific error.

• On slow network connections, retrying a dictation could return an empty result. This is now fixed.

• When dictating long text into terminal AI assistants (Claude CLI, Codex CLI), the final portion of text could be missing. This is now fixed.

• On Windows, closing the app while a dictation was being saved could cause Flow to report that audio was lost and freeze on the next save attempt.

• On Windows (and occasionally Mac), if the audio system became unavailable after a driver issue, every push-to-talk attempt would silently fail until the app was fully restarted.

• On Mac and Windows, a storage error (such as a full disk or corrupted local data) could cause all subsequent dictations to silently fail to save.

• On Mac and Windows, when the microphone couldn't be accessed at the start of a dictation, Flow could stay in a Listening state for a while before showing a generic "Transcript failed to load" error. It now shows a specific microphone error right away.

• On Mac and Windows, canceling dictation and quickly pressing the hotkey again could cause the microphone to take a long time to activate. This is now fixed.

• On Android, in apps that are slow to update (Google Docs, Gmail, Microsoft Copilot), dictated text could be inserted more than once. This is now fixed.

• On Android, dictated text could sometimes be inserted twice or fail to insert at all. This is now fixed.

• Dictated numbers could be deleted or cut off from transcripts.

• Clicking Retry while actively dictating could destroy the in-progress recording. Retry is now disabled during active dictation.

• On Windows, dictation could get stuck on Processing if antivirus or file indexing software had locked a file, or if the disk was full.

• Custom dictionary words were sometimes not recognized at the start of a dictation if you started dictating immediately on app launch, before dictionary sync completed.

• Background tasks like sync and update checks could run during active dictation, causing slowdowns.

• A pending app update could cause Flow to quit mid-dictation.

• In Google Docs and Gmail, dictated text could be inserted multiple times.

• Retrying a long transcription from History could time out too quickly.

• On Android, failed transcriptions did not always preserve the audio recording, making it impossible to retry them.

• On Android, transcription history could be lost when the app was closed.

• Audio recording could be lost when the connection dropped mid-dictation.

• Pressing the Wispr Lens shortcut while a transcription was still processing could start a conflicting session.

What does "Taking longer than usual" mean?

This message appears when Flow's servers need extra time to process your audio. Common causes include temporary server load, slow internet, or VPN/firewall interference. To hide this notification permanently, click Don't show again.

On Android, you'll see a toast message instead: "Taking longer than usual. Your audio is saved in the app." Your recording is preserved and can be retried from History.

What does "Flow was processing your last transcript" mean?

This appears when you try to start any new dictation, Wispr Lens, or Instruct action — including a retry from History — while a previous transcript is still processing. Wait for it to finish, or press the dismiss shortcut (default Esc) to cancel the in-flight transcription.

Clicking Cancel in the notification only dismisses the notification UI — it does not cancel the in-flight transcription. Use the dismiss shortcut to cancel.

What do the microphone error notifications mean on Mac and Windows?

If Flow can't access your microphone when you start dictating, it dismisses the session immediately and shows one of the following:

• No microphone detected: Flow couldn't find a connected microphone. Click Open Sound Settings to check your system's audio input devices.

• Selected microphone is unavailable: The microphone you previously selected in Flow is no longer connected. Click Choose Microphone to pick a different one.

• Microphone unavailable: Another app may be using the microphone exclusively, or there's an audio driver issue. Click Troubleshoot for next steps.

• Microphone error: An unexpected problem prevented microphone access. Click Troubleshoot for next steps.

What do the error messages mean on the iOS keyboard?

When a dictation fails while using the Wispr Flow keyboard on iOS, an orange triangle warning icon appears next to the mic button. Tap the triangle to open a dropdown with details and available options:

• Server or connection errors (retryable): The dropdown shows "Your text is saved but didn't make it through." Tap Retry to try again, or Dismiss to clear the warning.

• Network errors (unretryable): The dropdown shows "We didn't catch anything. Please try speaking again." Tap Dismiss to clear the warning, then tap the mic to dictate again.

• "Audio was silent": Flow didn't detect any audio. Move closer to your microphone and try again.

What do the error messages mean during iOS onboarding?

When you try dictation for the first time during iOS setup, Flow shows a message at the top of the screen if something goes wrong. Each toast displays for 4 seconds.

• "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 try again.

• "Poor connection! Tap the mic to try again": Flow couldn't reach the transcription server. Check your internet and tap the mic to retry.

• "Your mic is being used by another app. Close other apps and try again!": Another app has exclusive access to your microphone. Close other apps and try dictating again.

• "Enable microphone access to use Flow": Flow doesn't have permission to use your microphone. Go to Settings → Privacy → Microphone and enable access for Wispr Flow.

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

Why are filler words like "um" missing from my transcripts?

Flow's Smart Formatting removes filler words by design. To get raw transcription, turn off Smart Formatting in Settings.

Why do transcripts fail?

• Network timeout: Your internet dropped or was too slow.

• Server processing error: Occasionally the server can't process audio.

• Audio quality issues: Very quiet, distorted, or noisy audio may not process correctly.

• Microphone unavailable: Flow couldn't access your microphone at the start of dictation.

What happens if I lose connection during dictation?

• Before dictating (Mac/Windows): If Flow detects you're offline, it shows a No internet connection notification.

• While dictating: Audio that was already being recorded may be preserved in History. Check History after reconnecting.

• iOS: If the connection drops mid-dictation, Flow tries to transcribe the audio it already captured. Check History after reconnecting.

• Android: Flow does not block dictation when offline. If the connection is lost, the transcription may fail silently — retry from History.

What's the maximum recording length?

• Mac and Windows: 20-minute maximum. At 19 minutes, you'll see a warning that your session is almost up. At 20 minutes, the session automatically stops and your transcription is submitted.

• iOS: Recording auto-stops a few minutes after the app is sent to the background. There is no fixed cap when the app is in the foreground.

• Android: No fixed session limit. Recording continues until you stop it manually. For very long content, break it into multiple sessions for best results.

What does the Android Flow Bubble show during errors?

The Flow Bubble distinguishes between two main error types:

• Failed to transcribe (Retry): The bubble shows a Retry button along with a toast: "Failed to transcribe. Saved in the app." Tapping the Wispr icon starts a fresh dictation.

• Failed to paste (Paste): The bubble shows a Paste (checkmark) button. The text is already on the clipboard. Tapping the Wispr icon dismisses the error.

Other bubble states and behaviors:

• Loading spinner: Appears during push-to-talk processing.

• Cancel button: During push-to-talk processing, a Cancel button appears alongside the loading spinner shortly after you release hold-to-dictate.

• Loading states: While retrying, the bubble shows "Retrying..." During paste retry, it shows "Pasting..."

• Offline indicator: When offline, the bubble icon turns grey.

What is Android automatic timeout recovery?

On Android, if Flow appears stuck during initialization or processing, it automatically recovers after a short time so you can dictate again.