Starting your first dictation

Mac

1. Click into any text field (Slack, Google Docs, Notion) so you see a flashing cursor.

2. Press and hold the Fn key (the default hotkey). Start speaking when you hear a ping or see the white bars moving.

3. Speak naturally at a steady pace. Flow listens while you hold the hotkey.

4. Release the hotkey. Flow pastes your formatted text into the field — if the text appears, your first dictation is complete.

Windows

1. Click into any text field (Slack, Google Docs, Notion) so you see a flashing cursor.

2. Press and hold Ctrl + Win (the default hotkey). Start speaking when you hear a ping or see the white bars moving.

3. Speak naturally at a steady pace. Flow listens while you hold the hotkey.

4. Release the hotkey. Flow pastes your formatted text into the field — if the text appears, your first dictation is complete.

iOS

1. Open the Wispr Flow app and sign in if prompted.

2. Complete the onboarding tutorial if you haven't already — you'll practice dictating during the guided setup.

3. Tap into any note, document, or text field so you see the cursor.

4. Tap the microphone button, then tap Allow if prompted for microphone access. The keyboard is replaced by an animated waveform when Flow is listening.

5. Speak at a steady pace. Flow shows your words as it transcribes.

6. Tap the check button. Your formatted text appears in the text field.

Android

The Flow Bubble is a floating overlay that appears over all apps when you tap into a text field.

1. Open the Wispr Flow app and complete onboarding, granting microphone, accessibility service, and display over other apps permissions when prompted.

2. Tap into any text field in any app. The Flow Bubble appears on the edge of your screen.

3. Start dictating using one of two modes:

   1. Tap-to-Dictate: Tap the bubble once. It expands to show Cancel (X), a waveform, and Done (checkmark). Speak, then tap the checkmark.

   2. Hold-to-Dictate: Press and hold the bubble and speak — it shows a waveform with a pulsing recording indicator. Release when done. A cancel option appears after a few seconds.

4. Wait briefly while Flow transcribes and inserts your formatted text. If insertion fails, tap the Paste button on the bubble to paste from the clipboard manually.

How do I use hands-free dictation?

Press Fn + Space (Mac) or Ctrl + Win + Space (Windows) to start hands-free mode, speak without holding any key, then press the same shortcut again to stop and paste.

Can I use a mouse button instead of the keyboard hotkey?

Yes, on Mac and Windows. In Settings → General → Shortcuts, assign Middle Click, Mouse 4–10, or Aux Button (for mice that send extra buttons, such as some Logitech models). You can combine a keyboard key with a mouse button (e.g., Ctrl + Mouse 4). Left and right click cannot be used.

How many shortcuts can I assign per action?

Up to 4 shortcuts per action, each containing up to 3 keys (keyboard keys and/or mouse buttons).

Cancel/Dismiss is limited to a single shortcut. Optional actions (Open Scratchpad, Press Enter, Focus Mode, Transform view diff) start unset and their last binding can be removed entirely.

Can I start dictation from the Flow Bar?

Yes, on desktop. Click the Flow Bar in the center of your screen, wait for the ping or moving white bars, then speak. When you stop, Flow pastes your text into the active text field. If the Flow Bar isn't visible on a new installation, enable it in Settings.

Will my text always go into the right field?

Flow tracks which text field you clicked into when you started dictating and inserts your text there in supported apps.

What happens when I use the Action Button to dictate on iPhone?

Assign the built-in "Quick Dictation to Clipboard" shortcut to your Action Button in Settings → Action Button to dictate without opening an app first. Dictating outside a text field copies your transcript to the clipboard — open any app and paste.

A "Quick Dictation to Notes" shortcut in the Shortcuts app saves your dictation to Flow Notes instead.

Why do I see a "Flow was processing your last transcript" message?

Your previous dictation — or a retry triggered from history — is still processing, and Flow won't start a new session until it finishes. Dismiss the notification, then press your shortcut again. Clicking Cancel only dismisses the notification; to cancel the in-progress transcription, follow the shortcut prompt in the notification body.

What are Smart Formatting and Backtrack?

Smart Formatting formats your dictation automatically — say "first, second" for a numbered list, or "new line" for a paragraph break.

Backtrack lets you change your mind mid-sentence and Flow adjusts what you just said.

What happens when I say "press enter"?

On desktop, saying "press enter" at the end of your dictation presses the Enter key after your text is pasted, and the words are removed from the output.

The first time you use it, a notification explains the feature: the words are removed but Enter is not pressed, and you can choose Great (enable) or Disable. Change it anytime under Settings → Experimental.

Is there a time limit for dictation?

Mac and Windows: Sessions end after 20 minutes, with a warning notification shortly before. When the limit is reached, a notification appears with a Recover text button.

iOS: Sessions may have a time limit enforced by the system.

Android: Sessions max out at about 5 minutes, with a warning about 60 seconds before. At the limit, the session ends and your text is submitted.

Why does my dictation output sound different in different apps on Android?

Flow applies the writing style chosen for each app category: Personal defaults to Casual; Work, Email, and Other default to Formal. Set your preference in Personalization Styles in the Flow app. Writing styles currently apply in English only.

I signed up for Notetaker and don't see my dictation pages — how do I unlock them?

If you chose Notetaker during onboarding and haven't set up dictation, hub pages (Home/Dictation, Insights, Style, Dictionary, Snippets) appear behind a locked overlay. Click Get Started on any locked page and complete the short dictation setup, starting with the microphone test; the pages stay locked if you cancel out.

Your keyboard shortcut works even while the hub pages are locked — you can dictate without completing setup.

What error messages might I see during onboarding?

iOS: During the "try it yourself" steps, a message appears at the top of the screen if a dictation attempt doesn't succeed:

• "Oops, we didn't hear you. Get closer to your mic and try again!" Flow picked up silence. Move closer to your microphone and try again.

• "Poor connection! Tap the mic to try again" A network issue prevented transcription. Check your internet connection, then tap the microphone button.

• "Your mic is being used by another app. Close other apps and try again!" Another app has exclusive control of your microphone. Close apps that may be using audio, then retry.

• "Enable microphone access to use Flow" Go to your iPhone's Settings, find Wispr Flow, and enable Microphone access.

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

Mac and Windows: On the "Test your microphone" page, an error panel appears with an explanation and a tailored action button. Flow retries automatically in the background, so the error disappears once the issue is resolved.

• Microphone access required: Flow doesn't have permission. Click Open Settings to go to your system privacy settings and grant access.

• No microphone detected: No input device is connected. Click Refresh devices, or Open Sound Settings to verify an input device is selected.

• Microphone is in use: Another app (such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Discord, or FaceTime) has exclusive control. Close it and Flow retries automatically.

• Selected microphone unavailable: The microphone you chose in Flow is no longer connected. Click Choose a different microphone.

• Microphone error: An unexpected problem occurred. Click Restart Flow.

What microphone error notifications might I see on Mac or Windows?

If Flow can't access your microphone when you start a session, it dismisses immediately and shows one of these notifications:

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

• Microphone access is disabled (Windows): Microphone access is off in Windows privacy settings. Tap Open Settings.

• No microphone detected: Flow couldn't find a microphone. Tap Open Sound Settings to connect one or verify an input device is selected.

• Selected microphone is unavailable: The microphone pinned in Flow is no longer connected. Tap Choose Microphone.

• Microphone unavailable: Another app may be holding the mic, or the audio driver needs a reset. Try dictating again first, or tap Troubleshoot for guidance.

• Microphone error: An unexpected problem occurred. Tap Troubleshoot for guidance.

If your microphone stops picking up audio mid-session:

• No audio received (first occurrence): The waveform goes flat and Flow shows this notification with a Contact us button.

• Microphone is not working (escalated): If the problem recurs, Flow shows this notification with Select microphone and Contact us buttons.

• Microphone disconnected: If your microphone disconnects during a session, Flow shows this notification with an Insert button.

Bugs fixed in recent updates

These issues are resolved in recent versions. If you hit any of them, update Wispr Flow to the latest version and restart the app.

• First dictation after a cold start showed an error and required retrying (iOS): Right after launch, starting dictation from the keyboard (tap mic → Start Flow → swipe back) could fail on the first one or two attempts before the waveform appeared. It now starts reliably.

• First dictation after opening the app was slow or failed to start (iOS): The first dictation after launch could fail silently or take longer than expected. It now starts faster and more reliably.

• Tapping "Start Flow" on the keyboard didn't reliably hand off to dictation (iOS): Tapping "Start Flow" to switch to the main app could silently fail on the first attempt. It now works on the first tap.

• Keyboard got stuck after several consecutive dictations and produced duplicate text (iOS): After multiple back-to-back dictations using the keyboard's mic button, the same text could be inserted twice. Fixed.

• Action Button, Shortcuts, and widget dictation were unreliable when toggling quickly or after a force-quit (iOS): These entry points could fail to start; they are now more reliable.

• Onboarding microphone errors showed a generic restart message (Mac/Windows): Microphone failures on the "Test your microphone" page showed a generic "Try restarting Flow" toast. Flow now shows a dedicated error panel with a clear description and a tailored action button.

• Onboarding dictation failures gave no feedback (iOS): Failed attempts during the "try it yourself" steps failed silently. Flow now shows a message at the top of the screen explaining what went wrong and what to do next.

• Undo and redo buttons appeared during iOS keyboard onboarding: They are now hidden throughout onboarding and reappear once setup is complete.

• Dictation showed "Listening" even when the microphone couldn't be reached (Mac/Windows): Flow could stay in a "Listening" state and eventually show "Transcript failed to load". It now dismisses the session immediately and shows a specific notification.

• Retrying a history item could cancel an active recording (Mac/Windows): Clicking Retry during a dictation could discard the active recording. Retry is now disabled during dictation, and pressing the hotkey while a retry processes shows "Transcript currently processing".

• Transcript dropped when ending dictation from the Dynamic Island (iOS): The transcript could be lost; it is now saved to Flow Notes.

• Dictated text didn't insert correctly in Gmail on Samsung and some other apps (Android): In certain apps with WebView-based text fields, dictated text could fail to appear or insert incorrectly. Fixed.

• Dictation limit notifications showed the wrong time (Mac/Windows): Warning and session-ended notifications referenced a shorter limit; they now state the 20-minute maximum.

• Microphone stayed active after cancelling dictation (Android): Cancelling could leave the microphone running in the background. Fixed.

• Submit button was clipped off-screen when switching dictation modes (Android): Switching between Hold-to-Dictate and Tap-to-Dictate could hide the Done (checkmark) button. The bubble now fully resets between sessions.

• Keyboard appeared blank after tapping "Start Flow" (iOS): The keyboard could appear blank or transparent until the device was rotated. Fixed.

• Background tasks interfered with active dictation sessions (Mac/Windows): Background tasks could cause slowdowns or interruptions; they are now paused while you dictate and resume after.

• App crashed when adding a duplicate word to the dictionary (Android): Fixed.

• App crashed when deleting a transcript on the Home Screen (Android): Fixed.

• App crashed during screen transitions (Android): Navigating between screens could crash the app. Fixed.

• Words in transcriptions were sometimes misread (Android): An error in word-level processing could produce incorrect output. Fixed.

• Dictation activation delayed or missed during normal typing (Mac/Windows): Pressing the hotkey while typing could start dictation several seconds late or not at all, affecting dictation activation, transform shortcuts, and paste last text.

• Keyboard writing style didn't apply (iOS): A temporary style selected with the style pill sometimes had no effect on output.

• Hotkey took a long time to respond (Mac): The activation shortcut could cause a long delay before dictation started.

• Keyboard layout flashed (iOS): Tapping the mic button in the app briefly showed the keyboard layout before the waveform.

• Dictation wouldn't start after cancelling a session: Cancelling while a session was starting up could leave Flow stuck.

• Text appeared in all lowercase (Windows): A capitalization bug during onboarding and in-app dictation made all text lowercase.