Troubleshoot dictation

A failed dictation can happen before the microphone starts, while words are being recognized, or when the finished text is inserted. Find the last step that worked before changing several settings at once.

Preserve a transcript first

If you saw the right words in the caption, avoid making another recording immediately. Click a scratch note and use Paste Last Transcript. If a notice says the text is on your clipboard, try Command + V there. Once the words are safe, investigate why the intended destination failed.

Nothing reacts to Fn

Check Settings → General for the actual Dictation Mode binding. Test a deliberate hold rather than a quick tap. If Fn opens emoji, change macOS’s Globe-key action or choose another supported binding.

Open Nock’s menu-bar menu. A hotkey blocked by a missing permission message points to Accessibility or Input Monitoring. Grant those through Permissions, then refresh permission status or restart the listener if that menu action is available. Restart listener is for keyboard detection; it does not fix a disconnected microphone.

If the app displays an unlock card, the key reached Nock. Review account/access status rather than repeatedly changing shortcuts.

Recording starts, but no words appear

Check System Settings → Sound → Input and confirm that speaking moves the input level. Nock’s macOS voice path uses that system input. Then check Microphone access, including the Nock Speech helper entry where present.

A cloud connection may fail without producing a transcript. Check the message in Nock and the account/provider configuration. The current recording does not necessarily fall back to local recognition after a cloud failure. See microphone and voice troubleshooting.

Caption is correct, but the field is empty

Stay in the intended app until insertion finishes after release. Nock uses a clipboard paste into the app in front; it cannot reliably prove that the correct text field accepted it. A desktop or webpage with no editing cursor can receive no text without a useful insertion error.

Try the same short sentence in a basic note. If that works, focus or compatibility in the original app is the likely difference. If no app accepts text, check Accessibility. A paste that fails can leave the words on the clipboard with a recovery notice.

Words appear, but are changed

Check Primary language, then test with polishing off and review replacement rules. Recognition hints address misheard names; replacements address exact expansions. Neither makes every dictated sentence correct. Review terminal commands, addresses, and messages before submitting them.

Report a reproducible problem

Record Nock’s version, macOS version, input device, destination app, shortcut, and whether the caption was correct. Include the exact non-sensitive error and a short example. A clear “correct caption, no text in app X, works in Notes” report is more useful than “dictation is broken.” Keep private transcripts, screenshots, and keys out of the report.