Quit and relaunch Wispr Flow

Mac

Follow these steps to fully quit Flow and all its helper processes, then relaunch.

1. Open Activity Monitor.

   1. Press Command + Space to open Spotlight.

   2. Type Activity Monitor and press Return.

2. Quit all Wispr processes.

   1. Type Wispr in the search bar at the top right.

   2. Select each process with Wispr in the name.

   3. Click the X button (stop icon) in the toolbar, then click Force Quit.

3. Relaunch Wispr Flow.

   1. Open Finder → Applications.

   2. Double-click Wispr Flow.

Dictate a short phrase. If text appears, Flow restarted successfully. If Flow still does not work, open Activity Monitor again to verify all Wispr processes have ended — in rare cases, helper processes persist after an unclean shutdown.

Windows

Follow these steps to fully quit Flow and all its helper processes, then relaunch.

1. Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.

2. End all Wispr processes.

   1. Go to the Processes tab.

   2. Search for Wispr Flow and any related Wispr processes.

   3. Right-click each entry and select End task.

3. Relaunch Wispr Flow.

   1. Open the Start menu.

   2. Search for Wispr Flow and open it.

Dictate a short phrase. If text appears, Flow restarted successfully. If Flow still does not work, check Task Manager again to verify all Wispr processes have ended — helper processes may persist after an unclean shutdown.

iOS

Force close Wispr Flow from the app switcher, then reopen it.

1. Open the app switcher.

   1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle. On devices with a Home button, double-press the Home button instead.

2. Force close Wispr Flow.

   1. Find Wispr Flow in the list of apps.

   2. Swipe the Wispr Flow card up and off the screen.

3. Reopen Wispr Flow from your home screen.

Dictate a short phrase. If text appears, Flow restarted successfully.

Android

Force stop Wispr Flow from system settings, then reopen it.

1. Open Settings → Apps (or Apps and notifications).

2. Find and tap Wispr Flow.

3. Tap Force stop, then confirm.

4. Reopen Wispr Flow from your home screen or app drawer.

Dictate a short phrase. If text appears, Flow restarted successfully.

Dynamic Island indicator disappearing after Siri or a phone call on iOS

A bug caused the Dynamic Island live activity pill to disappear after audio interruptions — such as activating Siri or receiving a phone call — and not return. The indicator now stays visible through interruptions and resumes correctly once the interruption ends. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version to receive this fix.

App freezing or slow to open on iOS after updating to v1.46–v1.48

A performance issue introduced in versions v1.46–v1.48 caused the app to hang frequently and take significantly longer to open from a cold start. To resolve:

1. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version.

2. Relaunch the app after updating.

Excessive battery drain on iOS after updating to version 1.47

The keyboard extension was being repeatedly woken up in the background when not in use, causing unnecessary battery consumption. The extension now stays suspended when inactive. To resolve:

1. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version.

2. Relaunch the app after updating.

"Helper Loading Error" notification appearing on Windows

Antivirus software or security restrictions can prevent Flow's helper process from starting, triggering this notification. Flow automatically retries in the background — in most cases, no action is needed. If the error keeps appearing:

1. Quit Wispr Flow completely using Task Manager (see steps above).

2. Check whether your antivirus software is blocking Wispr Flow, and temporarily disable it or add Flow as an exception.

3. Relaunch Wispr Flow.

Flow failing to launch or crashing on startup on Windows

This was caused by a rendering issue, fixed by switching to software rendering on Windows. To resolve:

1. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version.

2. Relaunch the app after updating.

Other bugs fixed in recent updates

The following issues have been fixed in recent versions of Wispr Flow. Update and relaunch to resolve any of them:

• In-progress dictation audio lost when manually quitting or restarting Flow on Mac or Windows: Recorded audio is now automatically saved. When you relaunch Flow, the dictation appears in your history with a Recover link so you can transcribe it.

• Microphone taking progressively longer to activate when canceling and retrying dictation quickly on desktop: Recording now starts without delay, and the microphone indicator light turns off promptly after canceling.

• Blank microphone list, or "microphone privacy disabled" error on Windows after upgrading to v1.4.894: Flow now uses the live microphone check as the sole authority for mic availability on Windows. Fixed in v1.4.894.

• Dictated text going to the wrong app when switching apps on Android: Fixed in v1.6.7.

• Flow needing to be manually relaunched after Android switches apps in the background: Flow now recovers correctly without a manual relaunch. Fixed in v1.6.7.

• Dictation streaks getting stuck and showing incorrect stats: Daily and weekly streaks now reset correctly. Your longest streak record is never affected by a reset.

• Dictation history silently wiped after updating on Windows: Flow now automatically detects and fixes read-only data files on startup. If the file cannot be repaired, you see a notification instead of losing your history.

• Dictation getting stuck on "Processing" on Windows when antivirus or file-indexing software is running, or when the disk is full: Sessions now complete normally even if a settings file cannot be written in the background.

• Stray punctuation when saying only "press enter": Flow now sends the Enter key without inserting extra characters.

• Performance slowdowns during dictation on M1/M2 Macs: Background tasks now pause while you dictate and resume once you finish.

• Sync failures after waking from sleep: Flow now resumes smoothly after waking.

• Dictation bubble not appearing when opening the keyboard on Android: The bubble now appears as soon as the keyboard begins to open.

• Dictation bubble stuck in a ready state after dismissing the keyboard on Android: The bubble now correctly resets when the keyboard is dismissed.

• App updating mid-dictation, causing lost audio or transcription: Flow now waits until your dictation session finishes before installing any pending update.

• Audio silently stopping mid-dictation while Flow still shows "Listening": Flow now detects when audio stops unexpectedly and resets the audio system before the next dictation.

• Dictation bubble displaying incorrectly when switching activation modes: The dictation UI now fully resets between sessions.

• Flow crashing in certain apps (TikTok, WeChat, Xiaohongshu): Flow no longer crashes in apps with complex layouts.

• Microphone indicator staying active after dictation ends: The microphone is now properly stopped whenever a dictation is cancelled.

• Flow helper repeatedly crashing on Windows: A configuration-reading issue has been resolved.

• "Transcript processing" notification not dismissing: It now shows your configured shortcut instead of a hardcoded key.

• No way to recover text when a long session ends automatically: A Recover text button now appears on the notification.

• "Transcript cancelled" notification lingering on screen: It now dismisses more quickly and includes an Undo button to recover a cancelled transcript.

• Status notifications staying visible after clicking an action button: Notifications now reliably dismiss after you click an action button.

• Keyboard shortcuts and dictation triggers delayed or dropped: Shortcuts now respond reliably.

• Dictation briefly unavailable after waking from sleep on Mac: Flow now detects a frozen event loop during sleep and skips unnecessary helper restarts.

• Dictation briefly unavailable after waking from sleep on Windows: Flow now extends background communication timeouts and staggers post-wake operations.

• Clipboard not reliably restoring after dictation on Mac: The clipboard now reliably restores after every dictation session.

• Hotkey activation stalls for 30 seconds or more on Mac: Hotkeys now activate immediately.

• Duplicate Flow icons appearing in the macOS dock after opening your laptop: Fixed.

• Dictation disconnects or the helper restarts unexpectedly on Windows: The background component now waits 15 seconds before taking any action.

• Cancelling a dictation during startup prevents new sessions from starting: Fixed.

• Dictation stops mid-session after waking from sleep: Fixed.

• Dictation bubble stuck showing "Listening" and activation key unresponsive: Starting and stopping dictation very quickly, particularly with Bluetooth audio devices, no longer causes Flow to freeze.

To resolve any of these issues:

1. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version.

2. Relaunch the app after updating.

If you are already on the latest version and Flow is stuck on "Listening," follow the force-quit steps above to recover.

Flow crashed and shows a "Flow hit a snag" screen. What do I do?

Your data is safe. Click Restart Flow on the error screen — this is the same as a full quit and relaunch. If the crash keeps happening, follow the force-quit steps above or click Contact support on the error screen.

Flow shows an error notification after repeated crashes. What do I do?

When a background component crashes repeatedly, Flow retries up to 6 times over about 31 seconds. If all retries fail, Flow shows a 60-second notification with Restart Flow and Contact us buttons. Click Restart Flow to recover immediately.

A shorter "Flow is having trouble loading" notification auto-dismisses after about 6 seconds and indicates a temporary loading issue. A brief "Just a moment — Flow is getting ready..." message means Flow is initializing and should be ready shortly.

If you see this notification right after waking your laptop from sleep, let Flow recover on its own — Flow gets a fresh restart attempt each time your laptop wakes, so the notification may clear without any action needed.

Will I lose my dictation if I quit or restart Flow on Mac or Windows while recording?

No. If you manually quit or restart Flow while a dictation is in progress, the recorded audio is automatically saved. When you relaunch Flow, the dictation appears in your history with a Recover link — click it to transcribe your audio.

Flow is still freezing after relaunch. What should I try next?

Restart your device, then relaunch Wispr Flow. If the issue persists, uninstall and reinstall Wispr Flow.

My microphone is not detected after relaunch. How do I fix it?

Confirm microphone permissions are granted for Wispr Flow in your system settings, and make sure no other app is exclusively using the microphone.

On iOS, if microphone access was denied, go to Settings → Wispr Flow and enable Microphone, or tap Go to Settings when prompted in the app.

Transcriptions keep failing or timing out. What's wrong?

Check your internet connection and try another network if possible. After a full quit and relaunch, try a shorter test dictation to see if it completes.

On Android, if you see "Taking longer than usual," your audio is saved and Flow is using a backup transcription method. Your text will still appear.

The app won't open properly after an update. How do I fix it?

Use the steps above to force close all Wispr processes, then reopen the app. If it still does not open, uninstall and reinstall Wispr Flow using the latest installer or app store version.

Flow stopped recording and shows a "Storage is full" message. What do I do?

Free up storage space on your device. On Android, this message appears when the device cannot continue recording. You may need to quit and relaunch Wispr Flow before dictation works normally again.

On iOS, my dictation stopped without any error. What happened?

If your device is running low on memory, an active dictation may be cancelled without warning. Close other apps to free up memory and try again.

My dictation stopped after a long session. What happened?

Dictation has a maximum session duration — 20 minutes on desktop, 5 minutes on iOS and Android. If your dictation stops after a long session, this limit was reached. Start a new session to continue.