Willow Voice not working: recover your dictation, then fix the microphone, permissions or language

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When Willow Voice fails or turns inaccurate, do two things in order. First recover what you said: open Local Transcript History, find the unfinished dictation, and click Retry transcription. Then check the microphone, which Willow's help center calls the most common cause of sudden accuracy problems. Permission and Keychain prompts after an update have their own fix below.

I built YapToText, a dictation app for the Mac, so read what I say about Willow Voice with that in mind. Every fact about Willow Voice here comes from its own help center, read on October 11, 2026.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 9 sections
  1. Recover the dictation first
  2. Check the microphone
  3. It hears nothing, or types nothing
  4. Permission or Keychain prompts after an update
  5. It types the wrong language
  6. It crashes or the icon is gone
  7. Where to get help
  8. The short version
  9. Questions

Recover the dictation first

  1. Open Local Transcript History in Willow.
  2. Find the most recent unfinished dictation.
  3. Click Retry transcription. You may need to try once or twice.

Willow often keeps recent recordings on your computer even when transcription failed, which is why this works.

Check the microphone

The wrong microphone being selected is the number one cause of a sudden drop in accuracy, by Willow's own guide. It recommends the built-in microphone or a good wired one, and says AirPods microphones can switch on without your noticing and clip the start or end of speech, which shows up as missing words or invented text.

  1. In Willow, open Audio Settings, Microphone, and select the right input.
  2. In System Settings, Sound, Input, confirm the same microphone and set Input Volume high.
  3. Speak and watch the input meter move.

You can keep AirPods for sound output and use the built-in microphone for input. AirPods dictation on a Mac explains why Bluetooth microphones do this.

It hears nothing, or types nothing

  • Microphone permission. System Settings, Privacy and Security, Microphone. Make sure Willow Voice is on.
  • Accessibility permission. System Settings, Privacy and Security, Accessibility. Switch Willow Voice off and on again.
  • The hotkey. If Fn does nothing, look in System Settings, Keyboard for a system action on that key, or bind another hotkey in Settings, Hotkey Binding.

Permission or Keychain prompts after an update

Willow's help center describes a problem in version 1.8.4 and 1.8.4.1, fixed in 1.8.4.2: Accessibility permissions not applying, or repeated Keychain prompts.

  1. Update: open Willow, Check for Updates, and install 1.8.4.2 or later.
  2. Open System Settings, Privacy and Security, Accessibility. Select Willow Voice and click the minus button to remove it.
  3. Restart Willow. When Willow Voice reappears in the list, enable it, and restart Willow again.
  4. Press your hotkey and click Allow when asked for the microphone.

If Keychain prompts continue, open Keychain Access, select login, Passwords, search for the item named in the prompt, delete that entry, then reopen Willow and sign in once. For about a day an incorrectly signed build of 1.8.4 was published. If you installed it, Willow says to download the app again from its website and reinstall.

It types the wrong language

  1. Click the Willow menu bar icon and open Settings.
  2. Go to Preferred Languages.
  3. Turn Auto Detect off.
  4. Select the language or languages you speak.

Willow says this usually happens when Auto Detect guesses wrong, with several languages in play or background noise.

It crashes or the icon is gone

Willow's first check for a crash or unexpected shutdown is the menu bar: open System Settings, go to Menu Bar, and enable Willow Voice under Allow in Menu Bar. If your Pro plan is missing on one device, compare the email and login method on both. Willow says a mismatch is almost always the cause.

Where to get help

Willow's help center gives an email address for support on each article. Include your version, your microphone and what you tried.

If you are on an Apple silicon Mac and want to compare, YapToText is the free app I built. It transcribes on the Mac, with no account and no server in the loop, and if the app or the Mac dies mid-sentence the audio survives and is transcribed at the next launch. It is Mac only, and Willow also runs on Windows and iPhone. The Willow guide covers setup, and the alternative page compares the two.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

The short version

  • Failed dictation. Local Transcript History, Retry transcription.
  • Missing or invented words. Wrong microphone. Use the built-in one.
  • Prompts after an update. Update to 1.8.4.2 or later, then remove and re-add Accessibility.
  • Wrong language. Turn Auto Detect off.
  • No icon. System Settings, Menu Bar, allow Willow Voice.

If a fix here no longer matches Willow, open an issue on GitHub and I will update this page. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Why is Willow Voice not working?

The usual causes are the wrong microphone, a permission that needs switching off and on, or a stale permission after an update. Retry the failed dictation from Local Transcript History first.

How do I recover a failed Willow Voice dictation?

Open Local Transcript History, find the most recent unfinished dictation and click Retry transcription.

Why does Willow Voice keep asking for Keychain access?

Willow says versions 1.8.4 and 1.8.4.1 could cause repeated prompts. Update to 1.8.4.2 or later, and delete the named Keychain entry if prompts continue.

Why is Willow Voice typing in the wrong language?

Auto Detect picked the wrong one. Turn it off under Preferred Languages and select your language.

Why does Willow Voice miss words with AirPods?

Willow says AirPods microphones are lower quality and can clip the start or end of speech. Use the built-in microphone for input.