Troubleshooting the Flow Bar (Desktop) and Flow Bubble (Android)
Last updated: September 19, 2026
Available on: Mac and Windows use the Flow Bar; Android uses the Flow Bubble. iPhone dictation uses the Flow keyboard instead.
If the bar or bubble is missing, first open Wispr Flow and test in a normal text field in another app. A control that appears in some apps but not others needs different troubleshooting from one that never appears.
Restore the Flow Bar on Mac or Windows
Check that Flow is running. Look for its icon in the Mac menu bar or Windows system tray. On Windows, check the hidden icons under ^. Open Flow if the icon is missing.
Turn the bar back on. Open Wispr Flow Settings → System → Show Flow Bar. Enabling this also ends Hide for 1 hour immediately.
Check permissions. On Mac, enable Flow under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and Microphone. Check whether a recent system update changed those permissions.
Test outside full-screen mode. Some full-screen or immersive modes hide floating elements. Try a normal window and another app or browser to isolate where the problem occurs.
Relaunch Flow. If the bar is still missing across apps, quit and reopen it, then check Show Flow Bar again.
On Windows, a third-party window manager or security utility can interfere with overlays. If you identify such a conflict, change its relevant setting or contact your IT team. Once the bar appears, dictate a short phrase to confirm text insertion also works.
Check whether the Android bubble should be visible
The bubble follows the on-screen keyboard and a focused text field. If using an external keyboard, open the on-screen keyboard for the test. Finish onboarding first and test outside Flow itself.
The bubble is intentionally hidden in banking and financial apps and in password, numeric, and phone-number fields. It also stays out of most screens inside Flow. These cases do not mean the overlay is broken.
Use the Android Home screen’s diagnosis
Open Flow and check the cards at the top of Home:
| Card | Action |
|---|---|
| Enable Flow bubble on screen | Tap Go to Settings and allow Display over other apps. |
| Flow can’t insert text | Tap Go to Settings and enable Flow’s accessibility service. |
| Flow isn’t responding | Tap Restart Flow. |
| We can’t hear you | Restore microphone permission in Flow’s Android app permissions. |
| Keep Wispr Flow running | Tap Allow and complete the battery exemption. |
| Flow Bubble Disabled | Tap Turn Back On. |
| Bubble is snoozed | Tap End snooze now, then focus a text field. |
Enable the main Use Wispr Flow accessibility service, not its separate shortcut. If you see Make sure this shortcut is turned off, disable the shortcut and enable the service.
Do not disable Display over other apps to silence Android’s overlay notification: doing so removes the bubble and stops dictation through it.
If the bubble disappears again
Battery management can stop Flow in the background. Follow the manufacturer-specific steps in Android setup, including autostart, unrestricted battery use, or Recent Apps locking where required. Reopen Flow if automatic recovery did not succeed.
Signing out, switching the bubble off, or removing overlay permission stops it intentionally; automatic recovery does not undo those choices.
Snoozed: dragging an idle bubble to the bottom target hides it for 10 minutes. End snooze from Home or shake the phone while in a text field. Shaking is blocked in banking apps and cannot reveal a bubble outside a supported field. Snooze is unavailable while accessibility needs repair or a recording is active.
Small rather than missing: automatic shrinking can turn the bubble into a small icon or dot. Touch restores full size, and tapping a minimized bubble starts recording. Review Settings → Flow Bubble Size, or see bubble size and shrinking controls.
Understand error states
Gray bubble: Flow is offline. Reconnect before starting dictation.
Pulsing loader: accessibility is reconnecting; wait. A retry icon lets you restart the connection, while a warning triangle opens permission recovery. See Android accessibility recovery.
Paste: insertion failed, but the text remains on the clipboard for manual pasting.
Failed transcription: the audio is saved in Flow. Retry from the Home transcript list instead of repeating the recording.
During recording, processing, or repair, the bubble’s normal tap/hold gestures may be unavailable; use its visible action buttons. If Flow requires a newer version, update from Google Play before testing again.
If the control remains missing across apps, contact support with your platform, device model, the apps tested, and any diagnostic message.