iOS: Missing audio chunks during unstable internet

Last updated: September 7, 2026

Available on: iOS

Words or whole sentences missing after your internet dropped? Recover the audio from history and prevent it happening again. Most issues resolve in under 2 minutes.

Quick checks

  • Is Flow up to date? Open the App Store, tap your profile picture, and update Wispr Flow if an update is listed.

  • Does the Home tab ask you to finish setup? Tap Finish setup and allow Full Access in Keyboard Settings — without it, dictations aren't saved.

  • Is the entry just not loaded yet? Scroll down the Home tab to load older entries.

  • Is your connection stable now? Load a webpage. If it loads quickly, continue below; if it's slow or fails, reconnect to Wi-Fi or cellular first. If the dictation is missing from the Home tab entirely, skip to Still stuck?

How to recover missing audio

If the live transcription ends early, Flow re-transcribes from the audio saved on your device, which can take longer than usual. Nothing is inserted until that finishes, and the dictation is always saved to the Home tab so you can retry it.

  1. Tap the Home tab at the bottom of the screen. Dictations appear newest first.

  2. Tap the affected entry if it shows an orange retry indicator. Flow retries it right away.

  3. Long-press the entry or swipe left and choose Retry if there's no failure indicator.

  4. Wait a few seconds for the full text to appear in the entry. If it doesn't, retry again — there's no limit on retries.

While a retry is running, the Retry and Delete actions are temporarily disabled.

Tapping an entry opens a detail screen with the full transcript and, when audio was saved, a player (play/pause, scrubber, and 1x / 1.5x / 2x speed). Playback stops if you background the app, start a new dictation, or take a call. If the saved audio file has been removed from the device, the entry shows the transcript with no player.

If a dictation is interrupted or fails while the Flow keyboard isn't open, Flow sends a one-time notification (when notifications are allowed): "Your dictation was interrupted" or "Your dictation reached the time limit" opens Home with the transcript copied; "Your … dictation is saved / Tap to retry" opens Home and retries that transcript automatically.

Tip: Swipe left on a history item for Copy, Retry, and Report (Copy only when there is transcript text); long-press for the same actions plus Delete. Copy is also in the ••• menu, and a "Transcript copied to clipboard" toast confirms it.

Note: Flow keeps dictation history on the device until you delete it. With Settings → Data & Privacy → Auto-delete transcripts on (off by default), Flow clears every transcript that isn't from the current day at each launch — retry the same day you recorded. Transcripts are stored per device and don't sync between iPhone and Mac.

How to prevent this

  • Stay on one network: avoid dictating while moving between networks, such as walking out of Wi-Fi range.

  • Use Wi-Fi when possible: stable Wi-Fi improves transcription quality compared with weak cellular.

  • Keep dictations short: shorter dictations are less likely to be hit by brief interruptions. Flow stops a dictation automatically after 5 minutes regardless of the Disable Flow Session setting.

  • Avoid audio interruptions: incoming calls can interrupt a recording. Flow auto-resumes only if the interruption is shorter than the Disable Flow Session period; longer interruptions end the session. Settings → Disable Flow Session sets how long Flow keeps recording after the app is backgrounded — Never, 60 min, 15 min, 5 min (default), or stop on app close — and is stored per device, not synced. Bluetooth route changes stop recording only when the input device actually changes.

  • Turn off Low Data Mode: it compresses your audio to reduce data usage. On a fast connection, off sends the highest-quality audio; Flow may still compress on slow connections.

FAQs

What does the orange triangle on the keyboard mean?

It appears next to the mic button when a transcription error occurs. Tap it for a message explaining the failure, with Dismiss and Retry options. A Wi-Fi-off icon instead means Flow detected no connection; the normal keyboard returns once you reconnect.

What's the difference between a network error and Flow not hearing anything?

A network error means connectivity interrupted your dictation, shown by the orange warning triangle. When Flow picks up no sound, the entry is saved with an "empty transcription" placeholder instead — see "Why does my entry say the transcription is empty?"

What happens when I delete a transcript?

A confirmation alert titled "Delete this transcript?" appears first. After you confirm, the entry disappears.

If part of my long dictation failed, will I lose everything?

Usually not. Flow re-transcribes the audio in pieces, so segments that succeed are kept and pasted, and you may see a partial transcript. If the connection fails on the final piece, or no piece returns text, nothing is pasted — but the dictation is still saved to the Home tab so you can retry it.

Which recordings can't be retried?

Recordings you cancel yourself aren't saved. Audio is also not saved if your organization has enforced-privacy mode enabled, or if Auto-delete transcripts is on and the dictation is from a previous day. A dictation is also unrecoverable if Flow was force-quit or crashed mid-recording — that session is discarded on the next launch.

Can Flow retry a failed dictation on its own?

Yes. If your most recent dictation saved as an empty record, Flow retries it in the background when you reopen the app, and a fresh transcript may appear at the top of your history.

Why does my entry say the transcription is empty?

Flow captured no speech, so the row shows an "empty transcription" placeholder and a no-audio message with Dismiss and Retry may appear at the time of dictation. Check that your mic isn't muted or in use by another app — Flow can't detect a muted mic, and a mic in use by another app shows a "microphone in use" message.

Why did my recording stop by itself?

Flow stops recording on phone calls, Siri, alarms, and on audio route changes such as Bluetooth headphones connecting or disconnecting. The transcript is still saved to history.

Still stuck?

Reach out to our support team if:

  • Retrying from history doesn't recover your transcription.

  • A dictation is missing entirely from the Home tab.

  • This keeps happening even on a stable connection.

Use Report (swipe left on the entry, or long-press → Report) to send the failing dictation to support. Include your iOS version, device model, and what you've already tried. Most issues are resolved in one reply.