Transcription issues

Check your internet connection

Epilude sends your audio to the cloud for transcription. Without an active internet connection, transcription won't work. Verify you're connected and try again.

Audio quality matters

Poor audio leads to poor transcription. For better accuracy:

• Reduce background noise — Move away from fans, AC, or noisy environments
• Speak clearly — Use your normal speaking voice at a steady pace
• Keep the mic close — Closer microphones capture clearer audio. See Audio & microphone setup

Check your language setting

If the wrong language is selected, Epilude will try to match your speech to the wrong language model, resulting in garbled output.

1. Open Settings → Dictation → Language
2. Verify the correct language is selected
3. Choose the specific regional variant for best accuracy (e.g., "English (US)" vs. "English (UK)")

Wrong words or names

Unusual names, technical terms, and jargon may be misrecognized. This is a limitation of speech-to-text models in general.

To improve accuracy:

• Speak uncommon words more slowly and clearly
• Consider spelling out highly unusual terms

Slow transcription

If transcription is noticeably delayed:

• Check your connection speed — Slow internet adds latency to cloud transcription
• Shorter dictations — Very long dictations take longer to process

Filler words appearing

Epilude automatically removes common filler words like "um" and "uh" through Smart Formatting, which runs on every dictation. If filler words are still showing up, check that your Cleanup level isn't set to None — None inserts the verbatim transcript, fillers and all.

Still having issues?

If you've tried the steps above and transcription is still unreliable, contact support. Include your macOS version, Epilude version, and a description of the issue.