Retry and recover a failed transcription

Last updated: November 2, 2026

Available on: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android

If a dictation failed, came back empty, or pasted without formatting, Retry re-transcribes the audio saved on the device you recorded on. If the text exists but never pasted, use the paste controls instead.

Before you retry

  • Reconnect to the internet. Retry needs a connection.

  • Use the device you recorded on. Transcripts and audio do not sync between devices. After a desktop crash the recorded audio is in History; on mobile, recovery requires the audio to have reached device storage before the crash.

  • Finish any active dictation. Retry is blocked while you dictate ("Cannot retry while dictating"), and the ⋯ menu's Retry item is disabled.

  • Check the audio still exists. Audio is available for retry for 14 days; after that you see messages such as "Cannot retry transcription as audio is no longer available (older than 14 days)".

Mac and Windows

  1. Choose Retry on the error notification to retry and paste, or Open History to recover there.

  2. Select Retry, Recover or ⋯ → Retry transcript on the entry in History or Recent Activity.

  3. Copy the recovered text and paste it — History retries update the entry without pasting.

Within 14 days, History's inline Retry requires failed or empty audio lasting at least 5 seconds; Recover handles dismissed or interrupted processing entries without that minimum. Both require saved audio, so hold push-to-talk while you speak: dismissed recordings under 0.5 seconds are not saved and cannot be recovered. Failed dictations otherwise keep their recorded audio — even when a connection delay stops transcription without text, the audio remains available for retry.

Long recordings can take minutes to retry. If no text returns, nothing is pasted and "Retry failed. Please try again." can appear; the original History content is unchanged. Retried text can differ: dictionary replacements and casing are not reapplied, although Flow reuses the original app, website and context.

While the previous dictation is starting, stopping, processing or retrying, new dictations are rejected — not queued — and Flow shows "Transcript currently processing". Escape shows a cancellation notice with Undo, which re-transcribes and pastes the saved audio.

Text exists but did not paste

If a notice asks you to click a textbox, click it and use the Paste Last Text shortcut: Ctrl + Cmd + V (Mac), Alt + Shift + Z (Windows), or your custom binding. It retries cancelled, failed or unintentionally unformatted last transcripts; for a formatted or empty last transcript it re-pastes the existing result instead of retrying, and other states perform no paste.

Warning: Using Paste Last Text during processing cancels the in-progress transcription first.

Copy Last Text copies plain text: Ctrl + Cmd + C (Mac), Alt + Shift + X (Windows), or your custom binding. It does nothing when no last transcription exists. The notice's Copy button places the dictated text on your clipboard so you can paste it manually.

Note: On Windows, check the text field before you paste again — a "paste blocked" notice can appear once even though the text already landed.

iPhone

Warning: Cancelling a recording permanently deletes its History entry and audio, so nothing can be retried; cancelling processing keeps the audio. Signing out deletes all local transcripts and audio, so recover anything you need first.

If no working Retry is available, dismiss the error, reconnect, and open History on Flow's Home tab.

  1. Swipe left on the failed entry, or long-press it.

  2. Choose Retry.

  3. Tap the successful entry's text or timestamp area to copy it; a confirmation appears.

  4. Paste the text manually — History retries update the entry without pasting for you.

Tapping a failed entry retries rather than copies it, even if it has text. Retry is unavailable only on the entry currently being retried. A silent dictation can show "transcript is empty"; this empty, non-failed entry has no inline retry button and tapping it does nothing, but Retry remains available through its swipe actions or long-press menu.

Recover from the Flow Keyboard

Offline, a no-network screen replaces the error controls; reconnect first. If you are signed out and keyboard setup is complete, the keyboard shows a signed-out screen instead of dictation or error controls, even offline.

  1. Tap the orange triangle to the left of the microphone.

  2. Choose Retry for server or processing errors, or for cancelled processing.

Network and audio-capture errors offer only Dismiss, which clears the message and removes the triangle. A silent dictation shows neither an error nor Retry, even when nothing was inserted.

If no text returns, use History. For capture errors, tap the microphone; if it repeats, quit and reopen Flow. During transcription or processing, X cancels, and the primary button cancels instead of starting another dictation; cancelling processing makes Retry available.

Recovery from notifications

If notifications are already allowed and the keyboard is inactive, a failed dictation's "Tap to retry" notice opens Home and retries that entry; it appears once and excludes silent and cancelled dictations. Interruption and 5-minute-limit notices instead open Home and copy the text when there is no paste target.

A notification tap can also automatically copy a saved-but-unpasted transcript and show an inline copy button; that prompt clears when you copy or leave Home.

Android

Warning: Low storage and history limits remove older entries and audio, which prevents retry. Full storage blocks new recordings; free space with Manage Storage on the Low Storage notice. Confirming Delete transcript permanently deletes the entry and its audio, and switching accounts wipes all local transcription history and audio.

Note: Transcripts and audio are never included in Google cloud backup or device-to-device transfer, so a new or restored phone starts with an empty History and nothing to retry. Your settings, dictionary, snippets and styles still restore.

Tap Retry on the Flow Bubble's error card to make one fresh attempt. While it runs you cannot start another dictation — pressing to dictate shows "Still retrying your last dictation. Try again in a moment." Failures are saved in History with their captured audio.

  1. Open Flow's home screen if the error bubble is gone, including after inactivity.

  2. Find the failed or empty-result card.

  3. Choose ⋯ → Retry Transcript. The card updates when it succeeds.

While a History retry runs, Retry Transcript is hidden so the same recording cannot be retried twice. A silent recording is saved as an empty transcription, and very long recordings report that they are too long to retry.

If Retry is greyed out, reconnect — offline it looks grey while Paste stays normal. Without saved audio, Retry Transcript may be missing, and "Retry failed. Audio file missing." or "Retry failed. Audio file not found." means the audio is unavailable. A failed History retry can show "Retry failed. Please try again."; if the failure is sign-in related, sign in again before retrying.

When automatic insertion fails, Flow copies the text to your clipboard. Tap Paste, or long-press a text field and select Paste; if Paste fails, the text stays on the clipboard for manual pasting. The Wispr icon dismisses paste errors without clearing the clipboard, but starts a new dictation on transcription failures.

Still need help?

Contact support if retry keeps failing while you are online, a recent failed transcription is missing within its 14-day window, or you see an unexplained error. Include your platform, device, the exact error and what you tried.

  • Desktop: Flow tray menu → Talk to support opens in-app Support. On Windows, right-click the tray icon. On Mac, you can also use Help → Talk to support or Command+/.

  • iPhone: sidebar → Talk to support opens an in-app support sheet.

  • Android: drawer → Report an issue.