# Microphone and recognition

On macOS, Nock's voice helper records from the system's current input device. The current Settings interface does not provide a separate microphone picker.

## Choose the input

1. Open **System Settings → Sound → Input**.
2. Select the microphone you want to use.
3. Speak and check the input level.
4. Return to Nock and try a short dictation in a scratch note.

If a headset was connected or disconnected, check the system input again. Test the built-in microphone to determine whether a recognition problem follows the external device.

## Check permissions

Microphone access is required. Nock's speech helper can appear as **Nock Speech** in macOS privacy settings. Apple's speech fallback also needs Speech Recognition permission. See [permissions](/nock/permissions) for the differences.

## Language and vocabulary

Choose the default language in **Settings → General → Languages**. Supported cloud recognition uses that default; ticking several languages does not guarantee automatic switching between them. The current Apple fallback is configured for US English.

Add short specialist terms under [Your words](/nock/dictionary). Better input audio and the correct language usually matter more than adding many hints.

## What happens to audio

Nock records during an active hold or hands-free session, including a brief tail after release. Cloud recognition sends that audio to the speech service used by your configuration. The microphone is closed between recordings. A cloud recognition failure does not guarantee an automatic switch to local recognition in the same recording.

Apple's fallback prefers on-device recognition where that capability is supported. It is not an unconditional offline guarantee: Apple's service may process speech when on-device recognition is unavailable. Check the recognition path before relying on a recording remaining entirely on the computer.

## Troubleshoot in order

No system input level: fix the device or macOS input first. System level but no Nock caption: check Microphone permission and the configured shortcut. Caption with wrong words: check language and device quality. Correct caption but missing insertion: use the recovery steps in [dictation](/nock/dictation).

## Keep a simple comparison test

Use the same short, non-sensitive sentence when comparing input devices. Check that the system input actually changed, then repeat the sentence once in Nock. Changing the microphone, language, polishing, and provider together makes the result difficult to interpret.

If Nock's composer mic and global dictation both fail to recognize the same sentence, they share enough of the speech path that fixing the input or service is more useful than changing the destination app. If the composer recognizes correctly but another app receives no paste, focus and insertion permissions are the better next checks.

For repeating **speech paused** or helper-retry messages, follow [voice troubleshooting](/nock/voice-troubleshooting). Keep typed chat available while diagnosing voice input instead of repeatedly issuing the same spoken task.