Fix text not pasting after dictation

Flow heard you, but the words never landed in the text field — or landed in the wrong place. Recover that transcript first, then check the field, app, and permissions before dictating again.

Recover the text first

These desktop shortcuts are defaults; if you changed one, use your configured shortcut. On mobile, use the iPhone or Android section below.

1. Click inside an editable text field and look for the cursor before pasting.

2. Press and release every key in the Paste last transcript shortcut; holding modifiers prevents it from firing.

3. Use Copy last transcript if text is still missing, then paste with Cmd+V on Mac or Ctrl+V on Windows.

Stop when the words appear. Paste last transcript is also in the Mac menu-bar icon menu, the Windows tray icon's right-click menu, and the Flow Bar context menu; Mac adds Dictation → Copy last transcript, which copies the stored text unchanged, while the keyboard copy shortcut removes HTML markup. Both menu items are greyed out without a stored last transcript, and the tray item's label may omit fn or option — check Shortcuts for the full binding.

Check the target field

1. Dictate a short phrase, keeping the intended field focused until processing and insertion finish.

2. Test in Notes on Mac or iPhone, Notepad on Windows, or a notes app on Android.

If the test app works, quit and reopen the target app, then test its text field again. If every app fails, follow your platform's checks below. After each change, repeat the short-phrase test and stop when text appears.

Mac and Windows

Copy the transcript before each attempt so you keep the result. Change an intercepted shortcut in Settings → General → Shortcuts, from the tray menu's Shortcuts item, or from Help ▸ Shortcuts on Mac.

Recovery notifications

A failed paste can show your dictated text with Copy (changing to Copied!) and "Select a textbox first, then dictate". Select a field and paste normally.

"Click a textbox and use [shortcut] to paste" names your configured Paste last transcript shortcut — use it directly in a field. That notice adds nothing to the clipboard, and an empty final transcript clears the stored last transcript, so it does not guarantee recoverable text.

Recover from desktop History

1. Open the Flow Bar context menu's Transcript history entry.

2. Click a successful row to copy it, or hover over it and select Copy transcript.

3. Paste the copied transcript in your app.

History copies rich text and plain-text markdown, preserving formatting in rich-text editors. Confirmation reads "Transcript copied" or, for the newest row, "You can also paste your last transcript with {shortcut}".

Failed or empty rows offer Retry when the recording is under 14 days old and at least 5 seconds long; dismissed or unfinished rows offer Recover under the same age limit, without the 5-second minimum. Copy and paste the result afterwards. Retry is disabled during active dictation or while that row is retrying — the action can report "Cannot retry while dictating" — and expired audio reports "Cannot retry transcription as audio is no longer available (older than 14 days)". Rows saying "Couldn't access your microphone." offer Retry only from the row's ⋮ menu, but their hover Copy still works.

Long or incomplete dictations

Long recordings need processing before insertion; very long ones can remain processing for up to 5 minutes, and a new dictation cannot start while the previous one is starting, stopping, processing, or retrying. Recovery can end early after repeated connection failures, leaving only the text successfully transcribed. Desktop recording warns at 19 minutes and stops automatically at 20 minutes.

If a newer dictation interrupts one still transcribing, the earlier recording may remain in History without finished text; use its recovery action when available, subject to the limits above. A partly transcribed recording can leave incomplete text in any app.

Clipboard contents and remote desktops

Until the receiving app reads the clipboard, a normal paste in any app pastes the dictation again. A failed insertion can leave the dictation on the clipboard without restoring previous contents until another dictation or your next copy. On Windows, if another dictation starts before restoration, the clipboard contents at that point become the next contents restored. Flow asks clipboard managers and Windows clipboard history to skip dictated text and preserves password-manager exclusion settings when restoring.

iPhone

Recover saved text

1. Open History in Flow.

2. Swipe a row containing text and choose Copy, including when that row failed.

3. Paste using the target field's Paste command.

Tapping a row's text or long-pressing for Copy works only when the row has text and did not fail. Tapping a failed row starts Retry instead, reprocessing saved audio; copy and paste the result. The recording length, when shown, helps identify the failed dictation.

Unpasted transcripts remain in History, including when starting a newer dictation saves the earlier text without inserting it. A backup dictation cannot be retried once its audio is discarded: "Backup dictation. The audio's gone, so Flow can't transcribe it again." Using the Action Button shortcut outside a text box saves the transcript to the clipboard instead of inserting it.

Keyboard and permission checks

Both microphone permission and keyboard Full Access are required. Until the Flow keyboard is installed with Full Access, the Dictation/Home tab shows a setup card instead of History.

1. Select Flow Keyboard with the globe key: tap to advance, or long-press for the keyboard picker.

2. Enable Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Flow → Allow Full Access.

3. Grant microphone access using the keyboard's Go to Settings prompt.

4. Keep Flow Keyboard visible until text arrives; otherwise it will not insert.

5. Test in Notes.

For a missing keyboard, see iPhone keyboard setup. Full Access changes take effect without relaunching, and returning to Flow rechecks both permissions. If an app or corporate policy blocks third-party keyboards, dictate in a supported app and copy and paste the result.

Network loss can stop transcription: for "Please check your network connection and try again.", reconnect and choose Retry. Switching apps, hiding the keyboard, or a session ending before delivery can leave nothing inserted. When a phone call, Siri, or the duration cap ends dictation with the keyboard inactive, "Tap to view your transcript" opens History and copies the available text; "Your dictation is saved" with "Tap to retry" opens History and starts a retry instead.

Undo misplaced text

If text lands in the wrong place, undo it: shake the phone, press Cmd+Z on an external keyboard, or choose Edit → Undo. Flow's own undo removes only the inserted transcript and becomes Redo, which restores it.

Android

Recover from an error

In an error state, tap and long-press dictation gestures are blocked; use the error's action button or Wispr icon. You can still drag the bubble.

"Taking longer than usual. Your audio is saved in the app." means wait for processing; it is not a paste failure.

Use clipboard recovery

After automatic insertion attempts fail, time out, or cannot be confirmed, Flow offers clipboard recovery; "Text copied to clipboard" opens Flow when tapped. A copy button can appear beside the normal bubble — not the error bubble — and disappears after 5 seconds or when tapped.

1. Tap the copy button if offered; it copies text but does not insert it.

2. Long-press the target field and choose Paste.

3. Check that your words appeared.

A "nothing to copy" message means no last transcript is available to that button; check the app's History for saved transcripts. Flow labels clipboard text "Wispr Flow" and marks it sensitive, so Android may hide its preview.

If the bubble is missing or will not dictate

The bubble normally needs a focused editable field and the on-screen keyboard.

1. Focus a text field and show the keyboard if the bubble is missing.

2. Select End snooze now on Flow's home screen if snoozed; the bubble returns the next time you enter a text box.

3. Follow any overlay or Accessibility repair prompt; see Android setup.

Alternatively, shake the unlocked phone inside a text box outside a recognized banking app; "Wispr Flow is back!" confirms recovery. Tap an unresponsive-service repair bubble to retry the connection, or tap its permission warning to open Accessibility settings if permission was revoked. Offline, tapping the bubble does not start dictation and shows an offline notice.

Existing drafts and restricted fields

1. Place the cursor at the end of an existing draft.

2. Paste manually if Flow copies the transcript instead of inserting it.

Still stuck?

Contact support if text fails in every test app or Paste last transcript also fails. Include:

• Your platform, device, and target apps tested.

• Whether History contains the words, and the exact error message.

• Which manual paste, permission, and restart checks you tried and their results.