Set up the Flow keyboard on iPhone

Last updated: October 9, 2026

Available on: iOS

Use the Flow keyboard to turn speech into text on your iPhone. Add it in Settings, grant the required permissions, and test that your words appear in a text field.

Before you start

  • Install and open Flow once: install Wispr Flow from the App Store, launch it, and tap through the first-launch screens to Get Started — the keyboard only appears in iOS Settings after first launch.

  • Sign in: while signed out, the keyboard shows a logged-out screen instead of dictation controls; Log in opens Flow for sign-in.

  • Connect to the internet: the keyboard needs Wi-Fi or cellular data to transcribe, and "No Network" replaces dictation controls without it.

  • Check your plan: on Basic, the weekly allowance is 1,000 words and dictation stops at 1,500. At the limit, tapping the mic or Start shows "Dictation limit reached" with "Dictation resets Sunday, 12 a.m. PT." and a Get unlimited access or student-plan option.

Add the keyboard

Note: Full Access is required for transcription. Wispr does not sell what you say, and password fields are excluded from collection. Whether your dictations are stored depends on your Improve the model for everyone and Dictation cloud storage settings; see trust.wispr.ai.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

  2. Tap General → Keyboard → Keyboards.

  3. Tap Add New Keyboard, then select Wispr Flow under Third-Party Keyboards.

  4. Tap Wispr Flow in the keyboard list.

  5. Turn on Allow Full Access, then tap Allow.

  6. Return to Wispr Flow. The setup screen advances to practice once Flow detects Full Access.

Test dictation

Dictation starts in place inside Flow; in other apps, the keyboard opens Flow to record. Where dictation cannot start in place, a Start button replaces the mic, with the same permission and word-limit requirements.

  1. Open any app with a text field.

  2. Switch to Flow: tap and hold the globe icon, then select Wispr Flow. On 4.7-inch iPhones, Flow has its own globe key.

  3. Tap the microphone or Start, and allow microphone permission if iOS asks.

  4. Follow any return prompt: tap OK for automatic return, or swipe right across the bottom edge.

  5. Dictate a short phrase, then tap the checkmark (Stop transcribing).

Your words appearing in the text field means setup is complete.

If Flow opens when you tap the mic

Flow returns you to the exact place you started from — the same chat, Safari page, Messages thread, Notes note, or Reminders list — and dictation continues once you're back. Only the first automatic return while recording asks you to confirm.

If the return can't complete, Flow shows "Flow is on" and "Swipe right across the bottom edge to continue". If the switch doesn't complete, it clears after 10 seconds; Flow then opens normally the next time you launch it, and the keyboard mic works on your next attempt.

If setup is blocked

Full Access or microphone permission is missing

Without Full Access, Flow shows "Enable Full Access" before the microphone check, and its Finish setup button opens iOS Settings or Flow settings depending on your iOS release. Tapping the keyboard's settings button without Full Access or microphone permission shows a permission message instead of the drawer.

  1. Enable Full Access using the steps under Add the keyboard.

  2. Tap the mic again. If "To use Flow, turn on Microphone in Settings" appears, tap Go to Settings in that message — it clears once access is granted, without reopening Flow.

  3. Enable Wispr Flow in Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.

  4. Repeat the test dictation; text should appear in your field.

If Wispr Flow isn't in that Microphone list, open the Wispr Flow app and tap the microphone once to trigger the iOS permission prompt — keyboards can't show iOS permission dialogs, so the prompt has to come from the main app.

Keyboards or Microphone is missing from Settings

Force close the Settings app and reopen it. The option appears once the app has fully refreshed.

The mic does nothing, or recording stops

If Flow closed in the background, pause for half a second before tapping the mic again; rapid repeated taps postpone recovery.

Calls, other audio interruptions, and connecting or disconnecting a headset or Bluetooth device stop recording. If another app is using the microphone, close it before trying again, then repeat the test dictation.

An error appears after dictation

Tap the orange triangle left of the mic (Error options). Dismiss always clears the message; Retry re-runs transcription only for generic errors or cancelled processing ("Your text is saved but didn't make it through").

For "Couldn't start audio capture. Tap the mic to try again, or quit and reopen the Flow app if it keeps happening," choose Dismiss and follow the message. For "We didn't catch anything. Please try speaking again," check Wi-Fi or mobile data, choose Dismiss, then tap the mic; this wording is also used as a fallback, so it isn't proof of a connection problem.

Ending a dictation without speaking inserts nothing and shows the silent notice instead. If your connection drops mid-dictation, Flow keeps transcribing what you say afterwards and inserts the text; if a newer dictation has taken over the field, the text is saved and recoverable from History. A successful or silent dictation clears error messages.

FAQs

Can I use the Flow keyboard in any app?

Yes, in any app that uses standard iOS text input — Messages, Mail, Notes, Slack, and more. Apps with custom text fields, such as certain banking apps, don't support third-party keyboards.

Why does the system keyboard appear in some fields instead of Flow?

Flow switches to the system keyboard in number pads (including pads limited to digits 0–9), phone, decimal, email-address, and numbers-and-punctuation fields.

Still stuck?

Reach out to support if:

  • Wispr Flow doesn't appear in the Add New Keyboard list after installing the app.

  • Allow Full Access is greyed out or won't turn on.

  • Dictation still doesn't work after granting microphone permission.

Include your iPhone model, iOS version, the app you were dictating into, and the steps you tried.