Set up the Flow keyboard on iPhone

How do I switch to the Flow Keyboard while typing?

Tap and hold the globe icon on any keyboard, then select Wispr Flow from the list.

Can I use the Flow Keyboard in any app?

Yes. The Flow Keyboard works in any app that uses standard iOS text input — Messages, Mail, Notes, Slack, and more. Some apps with custom text fields (like certain banking apps) may not support third-party keyboards.

Why does Flow need Full Access?

Full Access allows the keyboard to send your audio to Wispr's servers for transcription. Without it, the keyboard cannot process speech.

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

Flow automatically switches to the system keyboard for number pads, phone fields, decimal pads, email-address fields, and numbers-and-punctuation fields. This is expected behavior.

The microphone button does nothing when I tap it

Microphone permission likely hasn't been granted or was revoked. Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and enable the toggle next to Wispr Flow.

If Wispr Flow doesn't appear in the list, open the Wispr Flow app and tap the microphone once to trigger the iOS permission prompt. Keyboard extensions can't trigger iOS permission dialogs directly, so the prompt has to come from the main app.

If permission is already granted and the button still feels unresponsive, tap the mic button once and wait about half a second — the keyboard will reset and show the Start button again. Then tap the mic a second time to begin dictating. Pause briefly after the first tap, since tapping repeatedly in quick succession will delay the reset.

What do the error messages mean?

Flow displays a message at the top of the screen when dictation can't complete. Here's what each one means and how to fix it:

• "Oops, we didn't hear you. Get closer to your mic and try again!": Flow didn't pick up any audio. Move your iPhone closer to your mouth and try again.

• "Network error" (warning icon): Dictation failed because of a network issue — no internet, a lost connection, or a timeout. Check your Wi-Fi or mobile data, then tap the microphone to try again.

• "Poor connection! Tap the mic to try again": Dictation failed due to a network issue. Check your Wi-Fi or mobile data, then tap the microphone to retry.

• "Your mic is being used by another app. Close other apps and try again!": Another app is currently using your microphone. Close other open apps, then tap the microphone again.

• "Enable microphone access to use Flow": Microphone permission is not granted. Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and enable the toggle next to Wispr Flow.

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

The keyboard shows "You're logged out"

If the keyboard displays "You're logged out" or "You must be logged in to use Flow," open the Wispr Flow app and sign in via the Log in button.

The keyboard shows "No Network"

The keyboard requires an internet connection to transcribe. Reconnect Wi-Fi or cellular data and try again.

I don't see Keyboards or Microphone in Settings

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

Why do I see a screen that says "Swipe back to your app"?

On iOS 26.4 and later, activating the microphone from the Flow Keyboard may take you to the Wispr Flow app. Swipe right on the bottom bar to return to your previous app — dictation will continue as usual once you're back.

The first time this happens, you'll see a one-time alert titled "A quick change for iOS 26.4+" explaining the new manual-swipe requirement. This is part of a gradual rollout, so some users on iOS 26.4 may still see the legacy automatic switch-back.

Why is there a small gap above the keyboard's top bar on iOS 26?

If you're using iOS 26 with the Liquid Glass keyboard theme, you may see a small gap (roughly 16pt) above the Flow top bar. This space is reserved by iOS and cannot be removed by any third-party keyboard. It's expected on that theme and iOS version.

How do I remove the Flow Keyboard?

Open Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards, swipe left on Wispr Flow, and tap Delete.

Bugs fixed in recent updates

Several Flow Keyboard issues have been fixed in recent versions. Update Wispr Flow from the App Store and restart your iPhone to get these fixes:

• Network errors showed "Audio was silent" instead of a network error message: If dictation failed because of a lost connection, timeout, or no internet, the keyboard incorrectly showed "Audio was silent." The keyboard now shows a "Network error" message with a warning icon whenever the failure is network-related, so you know exactly what went wrong.

• Network errors during onboarding weren't surfaced: If a network failure occurred during the initial setup flow, no error was shown. The keyboard now displays the same "Network error" message during onboarding so you can act on it immediately.

• Undo button stayed visible after moving the cursor: After dictating, moving the cursor to a different position in the text field could leave the undo button on screen — and tapping it did nothing. The undo button now dismisses immediately when you move the cursor.

• Keyboard got stuck on the mic button after returning from the Wispr Flow app: When the keyboard launched the Wispr Flow app to start recording and you switched back, the keyboard could get stuck showing the mic button with no waveform, and tapping it had no effect. The keyboard now resumes correctly after you return from the app.

• Mic button showed no waveform and was unresponsive after swiping back from the Wispr Flow app: After tapping the mic in the keyboard and being taken to the Wispr Flow app, swiping back could leave the keyboard showing the mic button with no waveform — and tapping it did nothing, even though dictation was running. The keyboard now correctly shows the waveform and remains responsive after switching back.

• First dictation after launch failed or felt slow: Right after a cold launch, tapping the mic could show an error and require a retry before the waveform appeared. The first dictation now starts reliably and quickly.

• Mic button became unresponsive after canceling a dictation in Low Power Mode: If you canceled a dictation and the Wispr Flow app was closed in the background (common in Low Power Mode), the mic button could get stuck. Tapping the mic now checks whether the app is still running and resets the keyboard within 0.5 seconds if it isn't.

• Flow keyboard felt stuck on iOS 26.4 — system keyboard appeared instead: In apps like Notion, Apple Notes, and Messages on iOS 26.4, the Flow keyboard could crash silently, causing iOS to show the system keyboard in its place. The keyboard now stays responsive across all apps on iOS 26.4.

• Keyboard crashed when switching apps: The keyboard could crash the moment it appeared after switching from another app. It now recovers safely.

• Mic button got stuck and caused duplicate text: After back-to-back dictations, the mic button could insert duplicate text. It now resets correctly between sessions.

• Start Flow hand-off silently failed: The Start Flow button now reliably launches the main app and begins dictation on the first tap.

• Action Button, Shortcuts, and widget dictation could fail: These entry points are now more reliable, especially when starting and stopping dictation quickly or after a force-kill.

• Dictation waveform got stuck and cancel button stopped working: After closing the main app mid-dictation, the keyboard now returns to its idle state automatically, and the cancel (✕) button always dismisses the dictation UI.

• Dynamic Island microphone indicator stayed on after stopping dictation: Tapping the Turn Off toggle in the History view now fully stops the microphone session. The Dynamic Island mic indicator clears within about a second.

• Tapping undo or redo after switching text fields could move text to the wrong place: The undo/redo button could remain active after switching to a different text field. Undo/redo now resets whenever you move to a new text field.

• Undoing a dictation in rich text editors (like Apple Notes) could remove formatting: In apps that support rich text, using the undo button after dictating could strip out formatting such as bold titles or styled text. Undo now only removes the dictated text, leaving your document's formatting intact.

• Undo/redo icon flipped before the text updated: The undo/redo button icon could visually flip a moment before the text in the document actually changed. The icon timing now matches the document update.

• Undo button appeared when a safe undo wasn't possible: If the cursor or text had changed in a way that made undoing risky, the undo button now hides itself rather than potentially making an incorrect edit.

• Undo/redo buttons stayed on screen after typing: Tapping any key (including backspace) on the Flow keyboard now reliably dismisses the undo/redo option.

• Undo/redo buttons appeared during keyboard setup: The undo and redo buttons are now hidden throughout the entire keyboard setup flow. They reappear normally once setup is complete.

• Keyboard showed "Start Flow" while recording: The keyboard now correctly detects when recording is active and updates its display.

• Menu button disappeared after Select All + dictate: Selecting all text and then starting a dictation or Voice Edit session could hide the menu button. It now stays visible.

• Raw code pasted instead of transcribed text in non-English languages: Formatted transcriptions in all languages now paste correctly.

• White screen or stale content flashed when launching from the keyboard: The app now shows a clean loading screen, and the recording view only appears once everything is ready.

• "We can't hear you" card appeared after onboarding: New users could see this card right after granting microphone permission. The first dictation now works immediately once permission is granted.

• Keyboard battery drain: Battery usage dropped from roughly 40% per hour to around 5% per hour.

• Setup tip text was cut off on smaller devices: The "Tap the mic to start speaking" tip shown during keyboard setup now scales down to fit on smaller iPhones (like iPhone SE) instead of being truncated.

• Space bar showed "WisprFlow" instead of "Wispr Flow": The space bar on the Flow keyboard now correctly displays "Wispr Flow".

• Check button color didn't match the mic button during dictation: While dictating, the confirm (✓) button now uses the same dark color as the mic button. Dark mode still shows both buttons in white.

• Keyboard spacing looked off: The spacing between the Start Flow bar and the first key row, the gap above the home indicator, and the alignment of the top bar are now correctly laid out.

• Visual polish for the top bar and notification drawer: The top bar (Start Flow button, microphone, style switcher, dictionary, Voice Edit button, notification bar) and the notification drawer icons have been refreshed for a cleaner, more consistent look.