The mic works by recording audio and sending it for transcription server-side. If the transcription is missing words, mangling them, or failing entirely, try these.
Reduce background noise
Traffic, music, TV, or a noisy gym can all muddy the transcription. Move to a quieter spot or cup your hand around the mic.
Speak at a normal pace
Not too slow (weird pauses confuse the model), not too fast (words get dropped). Natural pace is best.
Keep it under a minute
There's a size cap around 9 MB. A normal spoken prompt (10–30 seconds) is nowhere near that, but very long recordings can hit the limit. If you're dictating a lot, break it into multiple edits.
Check microphone permission
iPhone Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone → Mighty Nimble should be on. If it's off, the mic icon won't record anything.
Try again
Transcription isn't deterministic — re-recording the same thing might produce a different (better) result.
Or just edit the routine after
Voice is one way to input a prompt — you can always follow up with a text edit to refine. If the transcription got the gist but missed a detail, edit the routine by typing the fix.
Connection matters
Transcription requires internet. If you're on poor Wi-Fi or cellular, the upload can fail or partially fail. Try a stronger connection.