iOS: Missing audio chunks during unstable internet
Last updated: June 11, 2026
Available on: iOS. Includes related notes for Mac and Windows.
If words or sentences are missing from your dictation after your internet dropped, this guide helps you recover the audio and prevent it from happening again. Most issues resolve in under 2 minutes.
Quick checks
Is Flow up to date? Several audio recovery bugs were fixed in recent versions.
Did you see an orange triangle warning icon on the keyboard? Your dictation was interrupted by a connection issue. Tap the triangle to see the error details, then dismiss or retry.
Did the keyboard hide its controls and show a Wi-Fi off icon? Flow disables the keyboard's dictation controls when no network is detected. Reconnect and the controls return automatically.
Is your connection stable now? Load a webpage. If it loads quickly, continue to the steps below. If it's slow or fails, wait for a better connection. If the dictation entry is missing from the Home tab entirely, skip to Still stuck?
How to recover missing audio
When your connection becomes unstable during a dictation, the audio stream may be interrupted and part of your audio may not be transcribed on the first attempt. Flow saves your audio locally for most failure scenarios so you can retry it from history.
Note: If you manually cancel a recording in progress, it is not saved.
Open your dictation history by tapping the Home tab at the bottom of the screen. Your recent dictations appear in a list, with the most recent at the top.
Retry the affected dictation. If the transcription is empty, tap the entry to retry automatically. If text is already present, long-press the entry and choose Retry from the menu.
Wait a few seconds for the transcription to complete. The history list refreshes automatically and the full text appears in your entry. If text still doesn't appear, retry again — there's no limit on retries.
Tip: Swipe left on any history item to quickly access Copy (when text is present), Retry, and Report.
If you see a database error on desktop
On Mac and Windows, Flow may show one of three database error notifications: Local database corruption, There was an error, or Storage Full. Each notification includes a Restart Flow button and a Contact us button.
Warning: Don't ignore this notification. Continuing to dictate without restarting can result in lost audio that cannot be recovered.
Click Restart Flow as soon as you see the notification. Dictations saved before the error remain accessible, but any dictation still being saved at the moment of the error — and any new dictations — may be lost until you restart.
Check your history after Flow reopens. For Storage Full and There was an error, your existing history is kept. For Local database corruption, restarting resets your local history to give you a clean working database.
Warning: Resetting your local history on Local database corruption removes locally stored dictations on that device. Your account settings and cloud-synced content are not affected.
How to prevent this
Stay on one network: Avoid dictating while moving between networks (for example, leaving Wi-Fi range).
Keep dictations short: Dictations under 5 minutes are less likely to be affected by brief network interruptions. Flow automatically stops a dictation after 5 minutes regardless of connection state.
Avoid audio interruptions: Incoming phone calls may interrupt the recording session. Flow can resume automatically after brief interruptions based on your background recording timer in Settings → Disable Flow Session (options: Never, 1 hour, 15 min, 5 min (default), Immediately).
Use Wi-Fi when possible: A stable Wi-Fi connection can improve transcription quality compared with a weaker cellular connection.
Disable Low Data Mode: If Low Data Mode is enabled in Flow settings, it reduces audio quality to save data, even on Wi-Fi. Disable it for best transcription quality on a reliable connection.
Common issues
Bugs fixed in recent updates
Several issues related to audio loss during connection drops have been fixed in recent versions of Wispr Flow. To resolve any of these, update Wispr Flow to the latest version.
Partial transcripts lost when one chunk failed mid-dictation: If a single segment of a long dictation failed to transcribe, all previously transcribed segments from that dictation were discarded. Flow now preserves and pastes the successfully transcribed portions even when a later segment fails.
Long dictations slow to recover during transcription outages: When transcription was unavailable, each segment of a long dictation could wait before trying an alternative — causing significant delays before any text appeared. Flow now switches to its backup transcription path immediately for the rest of the session once the first failure is detected, dramatically reducing delays during outages.
Network errors showed inline text labels instead of a warning icon: The iOS keyboard previously displayed "Server is busy" or "Network error" as inline text alongside a separate retry button. Errors now show as an orange triangle warning icon next to the mic button. Tapping the triangle opens a menu explaining the issue — for network errors, it reads "We didn't catch anything. Please try speaking again." with a Dismiss option.
Keyboard showed "Audio was silent" for network failures: When a dictation failed due to a network issue, the iOS keyboard incorrectly showed "Audio was silent." The keyboard now shows a warning icon with a network error message so you can tell the difference between a connectivity problem and a microphone problem.
Audio lost when transcription failed: Audio recordings were previously lost when a transcription failed. Audio is now saved to history so you can retry later.
Transcript disappearing even when deletion failed: A deleted transcript could vanish from history before the deletion completed. Transcripts are now only removed from the list after the deletion succeeds.
Dictations silently lost after a storage error on desktop (Mac & Windows): If Flow encountered a storage error (such as a full disk or corrupted database), it could continue running while silently failing to save new dictations. Flow now shows a notification with a Restart Flow button and stops losing audio in the meantime.
FAQs
What does the orange triangle on the keyboard mean?
The orange triangle is a warning icon that appears next to the mic button when a transcription error occurs. Tap it to open a menu with a description of the problem and your options — either Dismiss to clear it, or Retry if the error is recoverable. For network errors specifically, the menu reads "We didn't catch anything. Please try speaking again." and only offers a Dismiss option.
What's the difference between a network error and "Audio was silent"?
A network error means your dictation was interrupted by a connectivity problem — check your connection and try speaking again. "Audio was silent" means Flow didn't pick up any sound — check that your microphone isn't muted and that you spoke clearly.
Is there a limit on how many times I can retry a dictation?
No. You can retry a saved dictation from history as many times as you need.
What happens when I delete a transcript?
You'll see a confirmation dialog ("Delete this transcript?") before anything is removed. Once confirmed, a brief toast confirms the action ("Transcript deleted"). The entry is only removed from the list after the deletion succeeds.
If part of my long dictation failed, will I lose everything?
No. If one segment of a long dictation fails, Flow preserves the segments that transcribed successfully and pastes them for you. You may see a partial transcript rather than nothing at all. You can retry from history to attempt the full dictation again.
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 happens consistently even on a stable connection.
Include your iOS version, device model, and what you've already tried. Most issues are resolved in one reply.