Troubleshooting Recording and Transcription Issues
If Hedy isn’t recording, transcribing, or summarizing the way you expect, start here. Most issues fall into one of a handful of categories — this guide helps you identify which, runs through the quick checks that resolve most reports, and links to the detailed article for your specific symptom.
First Checks (Resolves Most Issues)
Run through these before going further:
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Are you on a supported OS? Hedy requires iOS/iPadOS 17, macOS 14.2, Android 12, or Windows 10 version 1809 or later. See Hedy System Requirements.
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Is Hedy up to date? Open your platform’s app store (or visit windows.hedy.bot for Windows) and confirm you’re on the latest version. Many issues are fixed in newer releases.
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Are the right permissions granted?
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On iPhone or Android: see Fix App Permissions on iPhone & Android
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On Mac: see Mac Microphone and Screen Recording Permissions
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Is the right microphone selected? Settings > Sessions > Microphone Settings. If you accidentally selected an unplugged USB mic or a Bluetooth headset that’s not connected, Hedy records silence.
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Is your Meeting/Class Language set correctly? Settings > Profile > Language Preferences. The default speech recognition provider (Whisper) does not auto-detect language — if this is wrong, the transcript will be wrong too.
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Restart the app. Force-quit Hedy and relaunch. This resolves transient permission and audio-session glitches.
If you’ve checked all six and the problem persists, find your symptom below.
Find Your Symptom
Recording and Audio Capture
| Symptom | Article |
|---|---|
| Hedy only captures my voice during a Zoom/Teams/Meet call — not the other participants | Hedy Isn’t Capturing Other Participants in Virtual Meetings |
| Hedy isn’t recording phone calls on my iPhone | Recording Phone Calls on iPhone |
| AirPods or Bluetooth headphones cut out mid-session | AirPods and Bluetooth Headphones Cutting Out |
| Recording stopped partway through a long session | Transcription Stopped Mid-Session |
| Hedy stops working in the background on Android | Hedy Background Operation Optimization Guide |
Transcription Accuracy
| Symptom | Article |
|---|---|
| Transcript came out in the wrong language | Transcript Came Out in the Wrong Language |
| Transcript is full of errors / accuracy is poor | Fix Poor Transcription Quality |
| Transcription is slow on Windows | Fix Slow Transcription on Windows (GPU Settings) |
| Names and technical terms are wrong | Custom Vocabulary Guide |
Summaries, Sync, and Network
| Symptom | Article |
|---|---|
| Summary or recap stuck loading, or won’t generate | Summary or Recap Not Generating |
| Session recorded on phone isn’t appearing on Mac (or vice versa) | Sessions Not Syncing Between Devices |
| Hedy hangs on “connecting” / cloud features fail | Hedy Can’t Connect (VPN, Firewall, Corporate Network) |
| Suggestions appear in chat but not as notifications over my meeting | Suggestions Not Showing Over Your Meeting Window |
Sign-in, Install, and Account
| Symptom | Article |
|---|---|
| Antivirus blocked the Windows installer | Windows: Antivirus Blocking Hedy Install |
| Windows installer warning or download issue | Windows: Troubleshooting Download and Installation |
| ”Storage issue” error when starting Hedy on Windows | Windows: “Storage issue” Error on Startup |
| ”Connection refused” error during Apple Sign-In on Windows | Windows: Apple Sign-In “Connection Refused” |
| License registered to the wrong account | Correct a License Registered to the Wrong Account |
Quick Tip: Regenerate the Summary
If a session’s summary is incomplete, has errors, or didn’t generate at all, the first thing to try is the Update Summary action on the session screen. This regenerates the summary from the existing transcript without needing to re-record anything. Most summary issues are resolved this way.
For deeper summary problems, see Summary or Recap Not Generating.
Verify the Transcript First
If a summary looks wrong, check the underlying transcript before assuming the AI is the problem. Open the session, scroll through the transcript, and confirm the words match what was actually said. If the transcript is wrong, the summary will be wrong too — and the fix is in Fix Poor Transcription Quality, not in the summary itself.
What Hedy Cannot Do
A few things are out of scope due to OS-level restrictions, and no setting in Hedy will change them:
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Record phone calls directly on iPhone. iOS prevents apps from capturing call audio. Workaround: speakerphone + second device. See Recording Phone Calls on iPhone.
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Run on unsupported OS versions. See Hedy System Requirements.
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Process indefinitely long sessions in the background. Mobile OS power management may eventually pause long sessions; the workaround is to keep the device awake and plugged in.
Still having trouble? Contact us through the chat widget with: your device and OS version, the Hedy version (Settings > About), which speech recognition provider you’re using, and a clear description of what you expected vs. what happened. The more specific, the faster we can help.
