Troubleshooting audio playback & AirPod issues (iOS, macOS)
Last updated: November 15, 2026
Available on: Mac, Windows, iOS
If AirPods switch devices, playback stays paused, or dictation cuts out, check your input and playback settings. Use the recovery steps for your platform if Flow isn't picking up speech.
Quick checks
Using AirPods? Built-in or wired microphones are recommended for dictation. The desktop picker warns: "AirPods may be slow to start and have more errors in dictation. We recommend the built in microphone."
Does your mic work elsewhere? Record a short clip in Voice Memos (Mac/iOS) or Sound Recorder (Windows). If it's silent there too, the problem is system-level, not Flow.
Choose and test a microphone (Mac/Windows)
Warning: Finish dictation before opening the microphone picker. Opening it mid-dictation interrupts transcription. Flow attempts to save captured audio to History, but saving can fail; no audio is saved if none was captured or your organization prevents audio storage.
Open Flow → Settings → General.
Click Change beside Microphone.
Select Built-in mic (recommended) or another input.
Speak into the mic and check that the level meter responds.
Press Esc to close the dialog and stop the mic test.
Dictate a test phrase; if text appears, the input is working.
This choice affects dictation only. Auto-detect follows your computer's default input. Windows may not recognize every Bluetooth headset as Bluetooth; select the device directly when needed.
The dialog tests audio while open. A flat meter means no usable sound, including input too faint to hear. Changing inputs restarts the test. Dictation shortcuts do nothing during testing, and a silent test produces no no-audio notices.
Recover a dictation interrupted by the mic test
Recovery requires saved audio and a History item less than 14 days old. For empty or failed recordings, retry also requires at least five seconds of audio.
Close the mic test before retrying; retries are blocked during active dictation or testing.
Open History.
Select Recover on the interrupted recording, when available.
If stored audio is unavailable, Flow shows an error instead of recovering text.
When microphones connect or change
Flow prefers the highest-ranked connected mic. Connecting a higher-ranked mic does not interrupt dictation; Flow uses it for the next recording. During a mic test, changing the active device restarts the test.
For a newly connected, unranked physical mic other than AirPods, "<device name> detected" offers Switch and Don't Switch without automatically switching. This prompt requires an existing preference ranking and completed setup, does not appear during mic testing, and waits until dictation ends if you connect the mic while recording.
Virtual inputs are selectable under Show other devices (N), but are not automatically ranked or chosen and never trigger this prompt.
With AirPods selected after setup, "AirPods aren't the best for dictation" can appear at dictation start at most once per hour without blocking recording. Switch microphone opens the picker; Don't show again permanently dismisses the tip. Muting its notification category also hides it.
If you're using Notetaker
Notetaker follows the computer's default input, independently of the dictation setting. On Mac and Windows, after about 30 seconds of silence in Google Meet, Zoom or Microsoft Teams, it can switch to the meeting app's microphone if that input differs and transcribed speech hasn't already confirmed the current mic works.
"Notetaker switched mics" offers Undo for the rest of the meeting. Flow does not try again after Undo or a failed switch. It returns to the computer's default input if the switched mic is unavailable or remains silent; a switch requested during dictation waits until dictation ends.
Playback and AirPods switching on Mac
Setting | Effect |
Mute all audio while dictating — System | Mutes other audio during dictation. |
Pause music while dictating — Experimental | Pauses music instead of muting all audio. |
Dictation and notification sounds | Turn this on to hear dictation cues. |
Enabling either mute or pause disables the other. With a Bluetooth headset, playback can remain muted or paused for several seconds after dictation while the headset returns to its normal audio mode; Flow restores playback even if it does not settle. A mute already present before dictation is left unchanged.
Missing start or stop sounds
With sounds enabled, the Mac start cue normally coincides with recording. For Bluetooth audio-mode changes, it plays early. AirPods returning from music mode can still lose the first cue without affecting recording.
The stop cue is skipped if the headset changed audio modes during dictation or recording ended before the start cue played. Flow clears a system mute caused by the Bluetooth switch only when it can attribute the mute to that switch.
Stop AirPods from auto-switching (Mac)
AirPods jumping from iPhone to Mac is Apple's automatic device switching, not Flow.
Open Apple menu → System Settings → Bluetooth.
Click the i next to your AirPods.
Set "Connect to This Mac" to When Last Connected to This Mac.
Move AirPods back to your iPhone manually if they jump to your Mac.
Dictate a test phrase. If AirPods stay on your intended device, this step worked.
Recover from desktop audio errors
Select microphone and Choose Microphone open the picker. Troubleshoot opens microphone troubleshooting in your browser; use that guide for missing devices, blocked access, or microphone-start errors.
Notification | What to do |
Microphone disconnected | Recording stopped; select Insert to paste text recorded before disconnection. |
Is your microphone muted? | No audio was captured; select Select microphone or Troubleshoot. |
We couldn't hear you | No speech was picked up; select Select microphone or Troubleshoot. |
No audio received | A mic or permission problem may be preventing audio; Contact us is the only button. |
Microphone is not working | Stop dictation, then select Select microphone or Contact us. |
Unable to access mic | Select Restart App if microphone access remains stuck. |
After speech, continuous silence triggers No audio received at about five seconds and Microphone is not working at about 15 seconds. Both clear when audio returns; stopping dictation clears the second, while the first remains temporarily available. The separate muted-mic notice appears after a dictation captures no audio.
Faint input can count as silence. An entirely silent recording produces no transcript; a faint stretch after speech does not prevent normal transcription. For silence from the start, finish recording and check the result rather than relying on an in-dictation warning.
Unable to access mic can appear after eight seconds waiting for access and clears automatically if access succeeds. After each recovery action, dictate a test phrase and confirm text appears. A missing repeat notice does not confirm recovery.
Microphone permission is blocked
Mac: Microphone Permission Required offers Grant Permission. It shows the system prompt if access has never been requested; otherwise it opens System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. Flow may open that pane automatically when access is already denied or restricted.
Windows: Microphone access is disabled means Windows privacy settings block Flow. Open Settings goes directly to microphone privacy settings, without an in-app permission prompt.
Enable microphone access for Flow in the prompt or settings.
Dictate a test phrase to confirm text appears.
Using a MacBook with its lid closed
Your laptop lid is closed means the built-in mic cannot be used. Open the lid or use Select microphone to choose an external input. Flow re-enables the built-in mic about a second after you open the lid, even if the Mac never slept; no app restart is needed.
The picker disables built-in inputs, including Auto-detect when it uses that mic, with "Laptop lid is closed". Flow skips them unless no alternative is available. A lid change that changes the active input restarts an open mic test.
An empty recording with the built-in mic selected can produce the lid warning; an external mic gets the generic no-audio notice. A very short press gets "Don't tap. Hold down {{shortcut}}." instead. For 60 seconds after the lid warning, "Is your microphone muted?" is suppressed.
Dictate a test phrase after opening the lid or selecting an external mic; confirm text appears.
Recover from audio interruptions (iOS)
Open Flow Settings.
Enable Use your device mic to use the built-in microphone instead of Bluetooth input.
Dictate a test phrase and confirm text appears.
Starting a dictation or meeting recording stops History playback or in-app video, including Picture in Picture, until the microphone is released. Playback won't start while a dictation or meeting holds the microphone. History playback also stops when Flow leaves the foreground or you retry or delete a recording.
Recording stops during a call or device change
An incoming call stops dictation. After a call or Siri interruption, recording can resume automatically if the interruption ends within your background-recording time limit, or whenever that setting is 0. If it does not resume, tap the keyboard's mic button to start again afterward.
Connecting or disconnecting an audio device stops active recording. An audio-output override does not stop dictation when the built-in mic remains selected. Notetaker can resume after an interruption when iOS permits it; otherwise the meeting recording ends.
If a call, Siri, or the five-minute limit ends dictation while the keyboard is inactive, the transcript is saved to History and a notification opens that recording. Command-mode queries are excluded; stopping dictation yourself does not trigger the duration-limit notification.
Setup or recording errors
Enable Full Access offers Finish Setup to open keyboard settings. For Microphone access denied, use Go to Settings and turn on Microphone. Separate in-app permission alerts offer Open Settings and Cancel.
Recording errors identify audio, transcription, network, mic-in-use, or permission problems, or say "Unknown error. Please try again." Network failures stop dictation; check your connection before retrying.
Retry starts dictation again, either in Flow or by opening the Flow app. Dismiss the message with the x or by swiping down. The keyboard's separate error strip offers Retry to retry transcription and a dismiss action to clear the message.
A failed dictation is still saved, and a notification lets you tap to retry when the keyboard isn't visible; with the keyboard visible, Flow shows the error there instead.
If audio cannot start, the full-screen audio-failure view offers Retry to restart recording and clears automatically when recording starts. Right after launch, Flow retries audio startup automatically before reporting a failure.
After retrying, dictate a test phrase and confirm text appears.
Still stuck?
Contact support if recording still fails after selecting an input, granting access, or reconnecting the mic.
Mac: Help → Talk to support. Windows: Talk to support in Flow's system tray menu or the app sidebar's Help menu. iOS: Menu → Talk to Support.
Note: Support requests include app logs and request details. iOS also includes app and OS versions, device name/model, and timezone.
Select Report an issue, not Share feedback.
Choose Issue as the request type; desktop pre-selects it, but iOS has no selection.
Describe the problem, your platform, device model, and steps you've tried.
Send your request; a request type and description are required.
If sending fails on desktop, Flow reports the error and copies your message to the clipboard so you can paste it and retry. On iOS, a failed send shows an error without copying the message.