Get started on iPhone and iPad

Enable the Dictāta keyboard, allow microphone access, and dictate in other apps with a reusable voice-input session.

Updated 2026-10-26

Dictāta's iOS keyboard turns your speech into text in supported text fields, including notes, messages, and email. You activate a microphone session once, then dictate multiple passages from the keyboard while that session remains available.

The microphone can remain active between dictations. Finishing a passage stops that dictation; ending the session releases the microphone. Read Microphone sessions & privacy for the indicators, audio handling, and controls.

Open Dictāta and complete setup

Open the installed Dictāta app and follow its setup tour. Allow microphone access when prompted. For managed cloud dictation, sign in and make sure your account has available usage. If you use your own API key, configure it in Dictāta's settings.

An internet connection is needed for iOS cloud transcription. On-device transcription described in the Android documentation does not apply to this iOS workflow.

Enable the keyboard

Open iOS Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard.
Choose Dictāta.
Tap Dictāta in the keyboard list and turn on Allow Full Access. Confirm the iOS prompt.
Return to Dictāta and complete the keyboard practice step.

You can also reach the keyboard switches through Settings → Apps → Dictāta → Keyboards, where available. Menu names can vary with the iOS version and system language.

Full Access lets the Dictāta keyboard exchange dictation commands and results with its containing app. It is separate from microphone permission: enabling Full Access does not give the keyboard extension direct access to the microphone.

Your first dictation in another app

Open Notes, create a note, and tap its text field.
Touch and hold the globe key and choose Dictāta.
Select Dictate in the keyboard's mode menu, then tap the microphone. If the session is inactive, Dictāta opens to start microphone capture.
Return to Notes when prompted. Depending on the source app and iOS, Dictāta may return automatically or show Swipe back to continue. Follow that screen's instructions if a manual return is needed.
Once the keyboard shows Listening, speak your sentence.
Tap the finish control to end the dictation. Wait while Dictāta processes the audio and inserts the result at the cursor.

The brief switch into Dictāta to activate microphone access is called the handoff. iOS keyboard extensions cannot use the microphone directly, so the containing Dictāta app handles capture while you use the keyboard in another app.

Dictate again without reopening Dictāta

After the first result appears, tap the microphone and dictate another passage. While the microphone session remains active and reachable, you can repeat this from the keyboard without reopening Dictāta for each passage.

A new handoff may be needed after the session ends, its idle timeout expires, or iOS interrupts microphone access or stops the app. The session is not guaranteed to remain available indefinitely.

Finish using the microphone

After completing your dictation, use the power button on Dictāta's Live Activity to end the full session. On a device with Dynamic Island, press and hold the activity to expand it and reveal the power button. Interactive session controls require iOS 17.2 or later.

Stopping a single dictation, cancelling it, hiding the keyboard, or returning to the Home Screen does not by itself end the microphone session. See End the microphone session for alternatives and the automatic timeout.

If setup or dictation does not work

Dictāta is missing from the keyboard list: open the installed app once, add its keyboard in iOS Settings, then select it with the globe key. Some apps and secure fields use the system keyboard instead.
Full Access Required: enable Allow Full Access for Dictāta in the keyboard settings, then reopen the keyboard.
Mic permission denied: open Settings → Apps → Dictāta and enable Microphone, then return to Dictāta and try again.
App inactive or no response: open Dictāta, check your account and connection, return to the text field, and start a new session.
Microphone already in use: end the call or other recording, then try again. Calls and audio-device changes can interrupt a session.

For more help, open Account → Contact support in Dictāta and describe the steps that led to the issue.