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 or Processing-status transcriptions, click Recover at the end of "This transcription was dismissed."

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

iOS

You can retry a failed transcript in three ways:

1. Tap a failed transcript to retry it directly. (Tapping a successful transcript copies its text; tapping an empty non-failed transcript does nothing.)

2. Swipe left on a history item to reveal Report, Retry, and Copy actions. Copy only appears when the transcript has text.

3. Long-press a history item for a context menu with Copy, Retry, Report, and Delete. Copy is only shown for successful transcripts with text. Retry and Delete are disabled while a retry is in progress.

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:

• Valid dictation — including quiet speech or dictated numbers — could be silently dropped, sometimes losing a full minute or more of audio. This is now fixed.

• Very short accidental taps (under half a second) could occasionally produce fabricated text instead of resolving as empty. They now always resolve cleanly with no output.

• The "Taking longer than usual" notification could appear on successful, fast dictations. It now only appears when processing genuinely takes longer, and it dismisses itself as soon as your text is pasted.

• 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, the final portion of text could be missing. This is now fixed.

• On Windows, recovery from interrupted shutdown is now more reliable — audio is saved alongside transcription so it's preserved as soon as possible, and crashed sessions are detected on next launch.

• On Windows (and occasionally Mac), if the audio system became unavailable after a driver issue, every push-to-talk attempt would fail without notice until the app was fully restarted.

• On Mac and Windows, a storage error (such as a full disk or corrupted local data) could cause subsequent dictations to fail to save without notice. Flow now shows an actionable notification (see Step 6).

• 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, 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 sync and pending app updates no longer interrupt active dictation. Update checks still run but don't apply until your current dictation finishes.

• 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 notification appears on Mac and Windows when Flow needs extra time to process your audio during the Initializing, Stopping, or Processing states. The body text reads "Your audio is saved for retrying." Common causes include temporary server load, slow internet, or VPN/firewall interference. The notification dismisses itself as soon as your text is pasted successfully. To hide it permanently, click Don't show again.

The notification does not appear during retries and is suppressed in Instruct mode.

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-progress transcription.

Clicking Cancel in the notification only dismisses the notification UI — it does not cancel the in-progress 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.

• Microphone Permission Required (macOS): Flow doesn't have permission to use your microphone. Click Grant Permission.

• Microphone access is disabled (Windows): Microphone access is disabled in system settings. Click Open Settings.

Microphone unavailable and Microphone error only appear on a repeat failure within a short window — not on the first occurrence. On Windows, Open Sound Settings opens the legacy Sound control panel Recording tab, not the modern Settings app.

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.

• "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 service. 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 service 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 without notice — 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: The bubble shows a Retry button (circular arrow icon) along with a toast: "Failed to transcribe. Saved in the app." The failed audio is preserved in History. 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 shortly after you release the hotkey.

• 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.