Fix Flow startup and No Model Available errors

Last updated: November 6, 2026

Available on: Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android

If Flow won't start dictation, shows an audio-system error, or fails to transcribe what you said, match the message to its recovery action below.

Quick checks

  • Check your connection: open any website; if it won't load, reconnect before testing Flow.

  • Update Flow before repeating a failing recording.

  • Test the selected microphone in another recording app; if it's silent there too, the problem is system-level, not Flow.

After each change below, dictate a short phrase to confirm the fix.

Mac and Windows

Message

Next action

Flow is having trouble loading / Flow is having trouble starting / Audio system failed to load

Choose Restart Flow; if the error repeats, choose Contact us.

Something's not right

After processing ends, choose Retry to transcribe and paste saved audio, or Open History.

Is your internet connected?

Check the network, then retry the retained audio after reconnecting.

Microphone disconnected

Choose Insert to recover text captured before the disconnect, then reconnect or select another input.

The internet notice has no buttons: at dictation start it can be advisory while recording continues, and it also appears when a dictation ends because of no internet. It says, “Your audio will be saved for retry if the transcription fails.”

The disconnected-microphone card appears only when the microphone in use is physically removed during dictation; recording stops at that point.

Note: Session-limit and organization-policy notices aren't microphone failures. Follow a limit notice's instructions; contact your administrator for an organization-policy block.

Mac permissions

For Microphone Permission Required, choose Grant Permission: this requests access the first time, and opens System Settings if you denied access before. For Accessibility Permission Required, choose Open Settings.

  1. Enable Wispr Flow in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.

  2. Enable Wispr Flow in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.

Windows permissions

Microphone access is disabled offers Open Settings, which opens microphone privacy settings rather than a permission prompt.

  1. Open Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone, or use the card's settings button.

  2. Enable both Microphone access and Let desktop apps access your microphone.

If the wrong input is selected, work through these steps. Choosing Don't Switch when Flow detects a new microphone leaves the previous input selected. With the MacBook lid closed, use an external mic; the built-in mic becomes selectable again about a second after you open the lid. If Bluetooth is unreliable, compare a built-in or wired mic.

  1. Select a working input under Microphone in Flow's settings.

  2. Quit and reopen Flow using Restart Flow or Quit and relaunch Wispr Flow.

  3. Restart your Mac or Windows computer and test again if restarting Flow didn't help.

Windows: blank or missing window

Flow sets the folder permissions it needs during install and update, and can repair them after repeated startup failures. This repair doesn't run for MSI or manually extracted installations.

  1. Update Flow if it opens with no window or a blank window and the microphone never becomes ready.

  2. Reinstall copied or manually extracted copies with the installer from dl.wisprflow.ai.

iPhone

  1. Enable Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Flow → Allow Full Access.

  2. Tap Allow on the confirmation.

  3. Grant Flow microphone access; a denied-permission alert offers Open Settings.

  4. Return to Flow so it can recheck Full Access and microphone permission.

Note: Wait a moment after opening Flow before switching apps — it may still be getting ready after starting from a closed state.

Couldn't start audio capture

The keyboard error menu has no Retry item for this message.

  1. Dismiss the error, then tap the mic to start a fresh recording.

  2. Quit and reopen Flow if the error keeps happening, then try the mic again.

Can't turn on Flow right now

This card means another app is using the microphone; Dismiss closes it.

  1. Stop the other app or call using the microphone.

  2. Tap Retry to start recording in Flow without tapping the keyboard mic.

Android

  1. Complete the microphone, Display over other apps, and Accessibility cards; see Android setup.

  2. Choose Allow on Keep Wispr Flow running if battery restrictions prevent Flow from staying ready.

Flow isn't responding

This card appears when Accessibility permission is still granted but text insertion has stopped responding; it can take up to 60 seconds after a stuck start. Choose Restart Flow to restart text insertion rather than reopening permission settings.

Accessibility permission was revoked

The Wispr Flow needs attention notice means Accessibility access was revoked; restarting Flow isn't the remedy.

  1. Open the notification or choose Repair accessibility on the disconnected bubble.

  2. Re-enable Accessibility access for Wispr Flow.

Wispr Flow stopped

If you see this card while Wispr Flow is still on in Accessibility settings, restarting Flow cannot fix this state.

  1. Allow Wispr Flow to autostart through Open autostart settings, only if the card requests it.

  2. Open Accessibility settings, using Fix in Settings when offered.

  3. Turn Wispr Flow off, then on again.

Other startup problems

Use this sequence after addressing any permission or Accessibility-repair notice above.

  1. Choose Settings → Apps → Wispr Flow → Force stop.

  2. Reopen Flow and test a short dictation.

  3. Restart the phone if the problem continues.

Recover saved work

Warning: On desktop, dismissing recovery cancels it and prevents its result from pasting automatically. Recovery requires retained audio: capture or storage failures, deleted recordings, and storage policies can leave nothing to retry.

Open History on the device where you dictated.

On Mac and Windows, if a long dictation loses its connection near the end, Flow transcribes the leftover audio instead of discarding it, for up to five minutes depending on the remaining audio, then pastes available text and saves it to History. Recovery can finish early if the connection keeps failing; if nothing is transcribed, use the transcription-error actions above.

While the previous dictation is starting, finishing, processing, or retrying, new attempts are rejected, not queued. The Flow was processing your last transcript card offers Cancel; let the previous dictation finish, then press the shortcut again. After cancellation, Undo retries eligible saved audio and pastes the result, and the detailed cancellation card also offers Open History.

On desktop, failed dictations appear in Recent Activity; recordings completed while Flow's window was hidden appear when you reopen it. Recordings older than 14 days can't be retried. Within that period, failed or empty recordings at least 5 seconds long offer inline Retry, while dismissed or unfinished entries offer Recover. Retry is blocked during an active dictation: “Cannot retry while dictating.”

Retrying from History updates that row without pasting into your app. The separate Paste last text shortcut re-pastes already available text without retrying; for an eligible dismissed, failed, or unformatted transcript, it retries the most recent recording and pastes the recovered text only after a successful retry.

When desktop data storage is set to never store data, Recent Activity is replaced by History disabled and no saved recording is available for recovery.

  • iPhone: Use Retry on a failed History row; it updates that row and requires audio still on the device.

  • Android: Use Retry on the error bubble or home-screen recording; tapping the Wispr icon starts a new dictation instead. Missing audio or a recording reported as too long cannot be retried. If Flow can't paste your text, choose Paste; dismissing that error leaves the clipboard text available for manual pasting.

Still stuck?

Warning: On desktop, Reset app is in Settings → System → Data. Reset & restart deletes local data, but your dictionary, stats, and settings stay saved and re-sync on restart. Reset only if advised by Flow support.

Contact support if the same startup or audio error returns after these checks, or saved audio still won't retry: use Help → Talk to support on desktop, Menu → Talk to Support on iPhone, or Report an issue in the Android drawer. Include the exact error, your device and OS, your microphone, and the checks you tried; a screenshot helps. Desktop submissions attach app logs automatically.

If a desktop submission fails, Flow tries to copy your message text—not attachments—to the clipboard. Paste it into a new submission and reattach any images.