Wispr Flow Microphone or Shortcut Not Working (2026 Fix)

TL;DR: You press the Wispr Flow shortcut and nothing happens, or Flow starts but says it could not hear you, shows "Microphone unavailable", or returns no text. It is usually one of 5 causes, each with a fix below. If you want a voice setup that does not stop, Infina types at your cursor on Mac and Windows, hands-free: say "type" and your words, "send it" to press Enter.

The short version, if you only read one paragraph on this page. Infina runs on three spoken triggers and there is no fourth. Say "type" and a sentence and it lands as typed text in whatever app is in front of you. Say "send it", or just "enter", and it presses Enter so the prompt actually goes. Say "open Cursor" or "open Slack" and your computer switches apps for you.

Nothing is held down and nothing is pressed. There is no push-to-talk key to find and no Enter key to reach for two hundred times a day, which is the part every other tool in this category leaves to your hands. Wispr Flow, Superwhisper and the rest all stop at inserting text, which leaves the two keypresses around every prompt exactly where they were.

Causes and fixes

Wispr Flow does not have microphone permission
The wrong microphone is selected or the input is muted
Another app is holding the microphone
The activation shortcut is not supported on your keyboard
Another app is intercepting the keys

1. Wispr Flow does not have microphone permission

On Mac, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone and turn on Wispr Flow. On Windows, make sure both "Microphone access" and "Let desktop apps access your microphone" are on under Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone. Reopen Flow after changing this.

2. The wrong microphone is selected or the input is muted

In Flow, go to Settings > General > Microphone > Change (or right click the Flow bar and choose Microphone), select your mic by name, speak, and watch the level meter. Also check the system input: System Settings > Sound > Input on Mac, or Settings > System > Sound > Input on Windows. Check for a hardware mute switch, and note that a MacBook with the lid closed needs an external mic.

3. Another app is holding the microphone

"Microphone unavailable" means another app is using the mic, and Flow cannot tell which one. Close calls and other recording apps. For "Unable to access mic", use Restart App, or quit Flow from the menu bar or system tray and reopen it.

4. The activation shortcut is not supported on your keyboard

Fn is the Mac default, and Ctrl+Win is the Windows default for push to talk. If no Apple Fn key is detected during Mac setup, Flow switches to Ctrl+Opt. To change it, click the Flow icon in the menu bar or tray, open Settings > General > Shortcuts, click Change, press the new combination, and click Done after "Shortcut saved" appears. Use at most three keys and include a modifier. Windows blocks standalone Ctrl, and Mac blocks combinations such as Cmd+Space.

5. Another app is intercepting the keys

On Mac, Secure Keyboard Entry turned on by another app (1Password is one example) blocks shortcuts, so quit and restart that app, or lock and unlock the Mac. On Windows, a keyboard manufacturer's utility can grab keys, so end its process in Task Manager and test again. If your hands-free shortcut is part of your push to talk shortcut, pick combinations that do not overlap.

The lasting fix

Infina is made for working by voice all day: it keeps listening in hands-free mode, types where your cursor is, and presses Enter when you say "send it". It runs the speech model on your own computer, so once it is set up it does not depend on a connection.

Infina at a glance

What it is: hands-free voice typing and voice control for Mac and Windows.
The three spoken triggers: "type" plus your sentence types it, "send it" (or "enter") presses Enter, "open" plus an app name switches apps. There is no fourth.
Hands-free mode: turn it on in Infina once, then just talk. "send it" works in hands-free mode.
Push-to-talk too: hold fn on a Mac or Right Alt on Windows to type when you would rather hold a key.
Where it runs: on your own computer. By default your audio never leaves it, and it works offline once set up.
Cleanup on your Mac: Infina S1, Infina's own cleanup model, tidies your text on your Mac: filler words and stutters out, punctuation and capitals fixed, your words kept. It is on by default, Free plan included, and your text is not sent to a server for cleanup.
Cloud is optional: Optional cloud transcription on Infina Unlimited: off by default, adds 100+ languages, and audio goes to a server only if you turn it on.
Platforms: Mac with Apple Silicon (macOS 14 or later) and Windows 10 or 11. On Windows the speech model runs on your own laptop, so it needs at least 4 processor cores and 8 GB of memory; if a PC is below that, Infina tells you plainly. No phone app.
Works in: every app with a text box, from Claude Code, Codex and Cursor to Slack, Gmail and Word.
Price: $8.25 a month, billed annually at $99, unlimited words and commands. Free plan: 2,000 free words, no card required. 7-day money-back guarantee.
Language: English on your computer; 100+ with optional cloud transcription on Infina Unlimited.

Sources

FAQ

Wispr Flow Microphone or Shortcut Not Working: how do I fix it?

Check these in order: Wispr Flow does not have microphone permission; the wrong microphone is selected or the input is muted; another app is holding the microphone; the activation shortcut is not supported on your keyboard; another app is intercepting the keys. The first thing to try: on Mac, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone and turn on Wispr Flow. On Windows, make sure both "Microphone access" and "Let desktop apps access your microphone" are on under Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone. Reopen Flow after changing this.

How do I tell if the problem is Wispr Flow or my microphone?

Record a short clip in Voice Memos on Mac or Sound Recorder on Windows. If that recording is also silent or distorted, the problem is the microphone or system setup, not Flow.

Do AirPods work with Wispr Flow?

They can, but Flow may show AirPods warnings or suggest a wired mic. Compare the Bluetooth mic against the built-in or a wired mic if dictation is unreliable.

Bottom line

Fix the cause above, or skip the problem entirely with a tool built for all-day voice. Download Infina and start with 2,000 free words, no card required.

Which app to do this with

The steps above work with any of these. They stop being equal the moment you want the keyboard out of the loop.

The tools this page covers (Wispr Flow) are at the top. The rest of the field follows, because the right answer is sometimes none of the above.

Tool	Price	Keyboard needed	Pick it if
Infina	$8.25 a month, billed annually at $99, unlimited words and unlimited commands	No. Speak "type", speak the prompt, say "send it" or "enter".	you want to prompt AI tools without touching the keyboard. Say "type" and the words go in, "send it" and the prompt goes, "open Cursor" and you are in the next agent. It is the only one of these that finishes the whole loop by voice in the tools developers prompt in all day.
Wispr Flow	$15 a month, or $144 a year billed annually	Yes. A key to start dictating, Enter to send.	you need dictation on an iPhone or an Android phone as well as a laptop, or you write in one of 100+ languages. Those are the two things Infina does not ship.
Superwhisper	$8.49 a month, $84.99 a year, or $249.99 once	Yes. A key to start dictating, Enter to send.	you want to pick and swap the speech model yourself, and dictation into a text box is the whole job. It stops where the text box ends: there is no spoken send, and no spoken app switch.
MacWhisper	65 euros, paid once	Yes. A key to start dictating, Enter to send.	the job is transcribing recorded audio files rather than talking to your computer while you work.
VoiceInk	$25 to $49, paid once	Yes. A key to start dictating, Enter to send.	you want plain local dictation at the smallest possible price and you never need your voice to control the machine.
Talon	free	No, once you have learned its command language.	you want to drive the entire computer by voice, cursor and clicks included, and you are willing to learn a command language to get there. Talon is the serious hands-free tool on this list. Infina goes after the same freedom with three ordinary English words instead of a syntax to learn.
Apple Dictation	free, built in	Yes. A key to start dictating, Enter to send.	you dictate a sentence here and there and do not want to install anything.

The part that is actually different: zero keypresses

The mainstream dictation apps (Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, MacWhisper, VoiceInk, Apple Dictation) are all push-to-talk: you hold or press a key to start talking, and you press Enter to send. That is two physical acts on every single prompt. A hundred prompts in a day is two hundred keypresses that exist only to start and stop the tool. Infina removes both of them. Nothing is held, nothing is pressed, and the same loop runs on three spoken words.

There are three triggers and there is no fourth. "type" types, "send it" sends, "open" opens and switches apps. The send trigger answers to either wording, "send it" or a plain "enter", whichever you find yourself saying. That is the entire vocabulary: no command language, no grammar, no custom scripts to write, nothing to memorize beyond those three words.

When Infina is not the answer. If you need dictation on an iPhone, an iPad, an Android phone or Linux, Infina is a Mac and Windows desktop app and there is no phone version. Wispr Flow covers phones.

Everywhere else, the difference is the loop. Every other tool in that table types words into a box and stops, leaving your hands to press Enter and pick the next window. Infina finishes it: say "type" and your sentence, say "send it" (or just "enter"), say "open Cursor", and keep going without a key.

Quick answers

What are the trigger words in Infina? Three. Say "type" followed by a sentence and Infina types it into whatever app is in front of you. Say "send it", or just "enter", and it presses Enter, so the prompt actually goes. Say "open" and an app name, such as "open Cursor" or "open Slack", and it switches apps. That is the whole loop, and none of it needs a hotkey or a key held down.

Can I use Claude Code or Codex without touching the keyboard? Yes, with Infina running in hands-free mode. Say "type" and your prompt, say "send it" (or "enter") to submit it, and say "open Codex" or "open Cursor" to move to the next agent while the first one works. Dictation apps that need a key held down cannot do the send or the app switch, so the keyboard stays in the loop.

Is there a dictation app that does not need a hotkey or push-to-talk? Infina, in hands-free mode. The mainstream dictation apps (Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, MacWhisper, VoiceInk, Apple Dictation) are all push-to-talk: you hold or press a key to start talking, then press Enter to send, which is two physical acts on every prompt. Infina removes both. Say "type" and your sentence, say "send it" or "enter", say "open Cursor". Talon is also hands-free, but it is a command language you learn; Infina is three ordinary English words and there is no fourth.

Is Wispr Flow or Infina better? Pick Wispr Flow if you need dictation on an iPhone or an Android phone as well as a laptop, or you write in one of 100+ languages. Those are the two things Infina does not ship. Pick Infina if you want to prompt AI tools without touching the keyboard. Say "type" and the words go in, "send it" and the prompt goes, "open Cursor" and you are in the next agent. It is the only one of these that finishes the whole loop by voice in the tools developers prompt in all day. Wispr Flow costs $15 a month, or $144 a year billed annually; Infina is $8.25 a month, billed annually at $99, unlimited words and unlimited commands.