Troubleshooting Common Issues

Solutions for permissions, recording problems, text output issues, and model download errors.

Written By Daniel

Last updated 4 months ago

SpeakUp does not type text into my app. What should I do?

This is almost always a missing Accessibility permission. Go to System Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Accessibility. Find SpeakUp in the list and make sure it is toggled on. If it is already on, try toggling it off and on again. You may need to restart SpeakUp after changing this setting.

SpeakUp does not hear my voice or does not transcribe anything.

Check these things in order:

  1. Make sure you have granted Microphone permission. Go to System Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Microphone, and confirm SpeakUp is listed and toggled on.

  2. Make sure your microphone is working. Try recording in another app like Voice Memos or QuickTime.

  3. Make sure you are holding the hotkey while speaking (in push-to-talk mode) or that hands-free recording is active.

  4. Check that the speech recognition model has finished downloading. Open SpeakUp Settings to see the model status.

The model download is stuck or failed.

The speech model is about 500 MB and requires an internet connection to download. If the download stalls:

  1. Check your internet connection.

  2. 2. Quit SpeakUp completely (click the menu bar icon, then Quit) and reopen it. The download will resume.

  3. 3. If you are behind a corporate firewall or VPN, try disconnecting temporarily.

SpeakUp transcribes but the text is wrong or garbled.

A few things to try:

  1. Speak clearly and at a natural pace. Very fast or very quiet speech can reduce accuracy.

  2. 2. Reduce background noise if possible. The AI model works best in a reasonably quiet environment.

  3. 3. Make sure you are speaking in a language that is enabled in SpeakUp Settings. If you have only English enabled but speak German, the results will be poor.

I see random text appearing even though I am not speaking.

This can happen if SpeakUp picks up background noise (TV, music, other people talking) while the hotkey is held or in hands-free mode. Make sure to release the hotkey or stop hands-free recording when you are not actively dictating. If the issue persists, try using a directional or noise-canceling microphone.

My hotkey does not work or conflicts with another app.

If your chosen hotkey does not trigger SpeakUp, another app may be using the same shortcut. Open SpeakUp Settings and change the hotkey to a different combination. Common safe choices include Fn key, Right Option, or Control+Shift combinations.

macOS says SpeakUp is from an unidentified developer.

SpeakUp is signed and notarized by Apple. If macOS blocks it, right-click the app icon, click Open, and then click Open in the dialog. This only needs to be done once. After that, SpeakUp will open normally.

How do I contact support?

Email us at contact@getspeakup.app. We respond within 24 hours on business days. Please describe your issue and include your macOS version (click the Apple menu, then About This Mac) so we can help you faster.