Service status alerts: incident banners and slow-dictation notifications
Last updated: July 30, 2026
Available on: Mac, Windows
When dictation suddenly feels slow or stops working, service status alerts tell you whether the problem is on Flow's side or your setup. Flow shows a banner on the Hub home page during active incidents in your region, and may send a desktop notification after a slow dictation.
What it is
Service status alerts are in-product signals that appear when Flow detects a service issue affecting your region. Instead of wondering why dictation feels slow or broken, you see a clear indicator with a link to the live status page for the current incident.
There are two types of alerts: a Hub banner that stays visible while an incident is active, and a desktop notification shown after a slow dictation.
When to use it
Pay attention to these alerts when:
Dictation suddenly feels slower than usual and you want to confirm it's not your setup.
Dictation stops working entirely and you need to know whether to troubleshoot or wait.
You want to track resolution progress for an active incident.
How it works in Flow
Overview
Flow checks for active incidents in your region and surfaces them through a Hub banner and, when relevant, a desktop notification after a slow dictation.
Key behaviors
Orange banner: Flow is experiencing degraded performance. Dictation may be slower than usual.
Red banner: Flow is experiencing an outage. Dictation may be unavailable or unreliable.
View status link: Banners include a View status link that opens the Wispr Flow status page, where you can find the current incident and live updates.
Desktop notification: If a dictation takes noticeably longer than usual during an active incident, Flow may send a desktop notification so you know a service issue is the cause. The notification dismisses automatically as soon as your transcript pastes. Notifications include a View status action button.
Cannot be silenced: Incident notifications bypass notification mute settings, so service issues stay visible.
Region targeting: Alerts only appear when the active incident affects the region associated with your account.
Auto-dismiss: The banner disappears automatically once the incident is resolved — no manual action needed.
Note: Incident banners are informational. The issue is on Flow's side, so no action is required from you.
Examples
Orange banner appears after dictation feels sluggish
You dictate a paragraph and it takes longer than usual to transcribe. When you open the Hub, an orange banner reads "Dictation is a bit slower than usual. We're on it." with a View status link. Clicking it opens the Wispr Flow status page for the current incident.
Red banner during an outage
Dictation isn't working at all. You open the Hub and see a red banner that reads "Service disruption: dictation may not work reliably right now." The View status link takes you to the page for the current incident, where you can track resolution progress.
Desktop notification after a slow dictation
A dictation takes noticeably longer than usual. A desktop notification tells you a service issue in your region may be responsible. For degraded performance, the notification reads "Wispr Flow is experiencing degraded performance — We're on it!" For an outage, it reads "Wispr Flow service disruption — We're actively working to fix this."
The notification dismisses itself automatically the moment your transcript pastes. Notifications include a View status action button that opens the Wispr Flow status page.
FAQs
Why do I see an orange or red banner on the Hub home page?
Flow has detected an active service incident affecting your region. Orange means degraded performance; red means an outage. Click View status for real-time updates.
Why am I not seeing a banner even though Flow feels slow?
Banners only appear when an active incident affects your specific region. If no incident is detected, check your microphone setup or network connection.
Where can I check the current status of Wispr Flow?
Click the View status link in any incident banner to open the Wispr Flow status page, where you can find the current incident and live updates.
Will the banner go away on its own?
Yes. The banner disappears automatically once the incident affecting your region is resolved. You don't need to dismiss it manually.
Why am I no longer seeing "your microphone quality is low" warnings?
The low microphone quality notification is currently disabled by default because it could appear too frequently — even when your microphone was working normally. This notification is separate from slow-dictation alerts, which are still shown when there is an active service incident in your region.
Limitations and notes
Incident banners and slow-dictation notifications are available on Mac and Windows. Other platforms may add support in the future.
The banner appears on the Hub home page only.
Alerts are region-specific. You only see a banner or notification if the incident affects the region associated with your account.
Region is determined from your network. Using a VPN or changing networks can change which region Flow associates with you, and may affect whether you see a banner for a given incident.
Right after launching Flow, there may be a short delay before incident banners appear. During that window, an active incident in your region may not trigger a banner.
Only dictation-latency incidents surface via this banner. Other types of service issues are not shown here.
The low microphone quality notification is disabled by default and will not appear for most users.
This feature rolls out in stages. If you don't see incident banners or notifications, your account may not have been enabled yet — this does not mean there is no service issue. Check the Wispr Flow status page directly if dictation feels broken.