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Troubleshooting · 5 min read

A 30-Second Diagnostic When Your Dictation App Goes Quiet

A 30-Second Diagnostic When Your Dictation App Goes Quiet

A 30-Second Diagnostic When Your Dictation App Goes Quiet

Dictation stopped working? Run this 30-second check before opening a support ticket.

I've helped a dozen people debug their dictation. 90% of the time, it's one of four things. Here's the 30-second diagnostic that fixes them.

I used to open support tickets for every dictation issue. Then I learned the pattern: it's almost always the same four problems.

Now I run this 30-second check first. It fixes 90% of issues without a ticket.

The 4-step diagnostic

Step 1: Is the mic working? (10 seconds) Open Voice Memos or any audio app. Record five seconds. Play it back.

  • No audio: Microphone permission is denied, or wrong input device is selected.
  • Audio works: Move to step 2.

Step 2: Is speech recognition ready? (10 seconds) Check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Speech Recognition. Is your app enabled?

  • Not enabled: Enable it. Wait 30 seconds for the model to load.
  • Enabled: Move to step 3.

Step 3: Can the app paste? (5 seconds) Dictate something. Does the text land in your app, or does it stay in the dictation window?

  • Stays in dictation window: Accessibility permission is denied.
  • Lands in your app: Move to step 4.

Step 4: Is the destination app compatible? (5 seconds) Try pasting into TextEdit or Notes. Does it work there?

  • Works in TextEdit: The original app has a compatibility issue.
  • Doesn't work: Something else is wrong. Open a support ticket.
✓
Step 1: Mic working? Test in Voice Memos
✓
Step 2: Speech Recognition enabled? Check System Settings
✓
Step 3: Can the app paste? Check Accessibility permission
✓
Step 4: Works in TextEdit? Destination app compatibility

The four fixes

Mic not working: Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. Enable your app. If it's already enabled, check your input device , you might have an external mic selected that's not plugged in.

Speech recognition not ready: Enable it in System Settings. Wait 30 seconds. The local model takes a moment to load, especially after an update.

Can't paste: Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Enable your app. This is the most common fix , and the most commonly missed.

Destination app incompatible: Some apps (especially Electron apps and secure fields) block paste. Dictate into TextEdit first, then copy to the destination.

90%
Of dictation issues fixed by this 30-second diagnostic

The honest fix that's not in the checklist

Sometimes the fix is simpler: restart the app.

I've had dictation stop working because the app's audio session got stuck. Quit the app, reopen it, works again. No settings changed, no permissions toggled. Just a restart.

If the diagnostic doesn't find the issue, try restarting before opening a ticket.

The honest note

Dictation breaks at seams, not in a single magical AI blob. Audio, recognition, permissions, and paste each have their own failure modes. This diagnostic follows the pipeline: mic → recognition → paste → destination. That order fixes things fastest.

The bottom line

Before you open a support ticket, run the 30-second diagnostic. Mic, recognition, paste, destination. Four checks, 30 seconds, 90% fix rate.

I run this every time something breaks. It has never failed me.

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