Help Center

New to SpeakKey? Here's the fastest path to your first document:

1. Sign up for your free 7-day trial — no credit card required.
2. Open the Process Audio page (or the mobile app) and choose a template that matches what you're creating — meeting notes, a memo, a transcript, and so on.
3. Record or upload your audio. SpeakKey transcribes it and formats it with your template.
4. Your finished document appears in Documents, where you can edit, copy, download, or reprocess it.

That's it — everything below covers each step in more detail.

Visit /signup to create a new account. You can sign up with your email address and a password, or use a social login provider (Google, Apple, or Microsoft). After signing up with email, check your inbox for a confirmation link to verify your account.

Every new account starts with a 7-day free trial. During the trial you get full access to all features, including audio processing, document templates, and the mobile apps. No credit card is required to start. When your trial ends, your documents are preserved — you just need to upgrade to Professional to continue processing new audio.

Your Dashboard is the home screen after you log in. It shows your recent documents, quick stats (total documents processed, account status), and usage analytics for the last 30 days. Use the quick action buttons to jump straight to audio processing or your documents list.

Download the SpeakKey app on your phone — available for both Android and iPhone — and sign in with the same account you use on the web. Your documents, templates, and macros sync automatically between the app and website. The mobile apps add features like background recording, sharing audio from other apps, home screen widgets, and SpeakKey USB Stick macro execution.

Go to Process Audio and upload an audio file from your device. Supported formats are MP3, WAV, M4A, and WebM. The maximum file size is 25 MB. Select a document template before uploading to control how the AI formats your transcription.

On the Process Audio page, click the microphone button to start recording directly in your browser. Your browser will ask for microphone permission the first time. Click stop when you're finished, and SpeakKey will automatically process the recording using your selected template.

Templates tell the AI how to structure your transcription. For example, a "Meeting Notes" template will organize your audio into action items and key decisions, while a "Lecture Notes" template focuses on concepts and summaries. Select a template before processing your audio — you can always reprocess later with a different template if needed.

When you submit audio, SpeakKey uploads the file to your private storage, sends it to an AI service for transcription, and applies your chosen template to format the output. Processing typically takes under a minute. Once complete, the document appears in your Documents list and you'll see it on your dashboard.

Audio: SpeakKey accepts MP3, WAV, M4A/MP4, OGG, and WebM files. If you record in the browser or the mobile app, the right format is handled for you. When sharing from another app, MP3 or WAV give the most reliable results.

Images: JPEG, PNG, and WebP are supported for photo and image processing.

Size limit: uploads can be up to 25 MB. For long recordings, that's roughly an hour of spoken audio at typical MP3 quality. If a file is too large, record in shorter segments or export it at a lower bitrate.

SpeakKey can also process images and photos. Upload an image or take a photo with the mobile app, and the AI will extract text and create a formatted document. This is useful for digitizing handwritten notes, receipts, or printed documents.

Visit My Documents to see all your processed documents. You can search by filename or content, sort by date or name, and filter by template type. Click any document to open it and view the full text along with the original audio player.

Open a document and click the Edit button. A formatting toolbar appears with bold, italic, and underline options (also accessible via Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U). Changes auto-save 3 seconds after you stop typing, or you can click Save manually. Use Ctrl+Z to undo and Ctrl+Shift+Z to redo.

From the documents list or the document view, you can download any document as a .txt file or copy its contents to your clipboard. Use the action menu (three dots) on each document card to access these options.

To delete a document, open the action menu and select Delete. You'll be asked to confirm. Deletion is permanent — the document and its associated audio file will both be removed from your account.

If a document didn't turn out the way you wanted, you can reprocess the original audio with a different template. Open the document, select a new template, and click Reprocess. The original audio must still be stored in your account for this to work.

Templates are prompts that tell the AI how to format your transcription. Instead of getting raw text, a template shapes the output into a specific document type — like meeting notes with action items, an interview summary with key takeaways, or lecture notes organized by topic. The template is applied during processing, so choose one before you submit your audio.

SpeakKey comes with built-in templates for common use cases. These are available during your free trial. Professional subscribers get access to additional premium templates. You can browse all available templates on the Process Audio page or in the Templates section of the mobile app.

You can create your own templates with a custom prompt. Go to your Templates list and click "Create Template." Write a prompt that describes how you want the AI to format the transcription, give it a name, and save. Your custom templates appear alongside the built-in ones when you process audio.

The Template Gallery is a community collection of shared templates. Browse templates created by other users, filter by category, and copy any template to your own library with one click. You can also publish your custom templates to the gallery for others to use.

Built a template you're proud of? You can publish it to the Template Gallery so other users can find and copy it. Publishing creates a shareable link you can send to anyone — they can preview the template and copy it into their own library.

Publishing a template shares only its name, description, and instructions — never your documents or recordings. You stay in control: manage everything you've shared from My Public Templates, and unshare a template at any time to remove it from the gallery.

After installing, open SpeakKey and sign in with your existing account (email/password, Google, or Apple). When prompted, grant microphone permission — this is required for audio recording. The app will sync your templates, macros, and documents from your account.

Tap the record button to start recording. You can pause and resume at any time. Recording continues even if you leave the app, switch to another app, or lock your screen — a notification keeps you informed that recording is active. The recording will also pause automatically if you receive a phone call. When you're done, tap stop and the audio will be processed with your selected template.

While a recording is paused, extra controls appear: tap the template name to switch templates mid-recording, and use the Auto-type toggle to change whether the finished text is typed to your computer automatically — handy if you change your mind partway through a dictation.

You can share audio files from any app (voice recorder, file manager, email, etc.) directly to SpeakKey. Use your phone's Share menu and select SpeakKey. The audio will be converted to MP3 if needed and sent for transcription. For best results, share files in MP3 or WAV format.

You can also share text to SpeakKey from any app — a web page selection, a note, a message — and SpeakKey will type it to your connected computer. Highlight text, use your phone's Share menu, and select SpeakKey. By default a chooser appears so you can pick the typing method or a saved preset for that one share. If you'd rather skip the chooser and type immediately with your default method, turn off Settings → Typing Output → Choose Method When Sharing Text.

Take a photo with your camera or share an image from another app. SpeakKey uses AI vision to extract text and create a formatted document. This works well for handwritten notes, printed pages, receipts, and whiteboard photos. Select a template to control how the extracted text is organized.

Add a SpeakKey macro widget to your home screen for one-tap macro execution. Long-press your home screen, select Widgets, and find SpeakKey (available in 1x1 and 2x1 sizes). Choose which macro to bind to the widget during setup. You must be logged in when configuring the widget. Tap the widget anytime to run the macro instantly.

To use macros for typing on a connected computer, you need a SpeakKey USB Stick receiver (a Bluetooth USB adapter) and the SpeakKey USB Stick Utility app installed on your phone. Plug the SpeakKey USB Stick into the target computer's USB port, pair it with your phone via Bluetooth in the SpeakKey USB Stick Utility app, then run macros from SpeakKey. The keystrokes are sent through the SpeakKey USB Stick as if typed on a physical keyboard.

SpeakKey can type to your computer three ways: SpeakKey USB Stick (Broadcast) uses the SpeakKey USB Stick Utility app; SpeakKey USB Stick (Direct) connects straight to the SpeakKey USB Stick dongle over Bluetooth; and Bluetooth Keyboard makes your phone act as a Bluetooth keyboard paired to any computer or tablet — no dongle required. Pick your default under Settings → Typing Output → Default Typing Method, where you can also set the typing speed and keyboard layout for each method.

Presets save a snapshot of a method plus its device, speed, and layout, so you can switch between computers or dongles in one tap. Save the current setup as a preset from Settings, then pick presets from the method list. You can also long-press any Type button to choose a method or preset for that one typing job — a one-off that doesn't change your saved settings.

While SpeakKey is typing to your computer you can stop it at any time. The Type button turns into a red STOP button on the screen you typed from (the result screen or a document) — tap it to halt typing immediately. If you navigate elsewhere in the app, a red STOP button appears in the top bar of the main screens for as long as typing is in progress. You can also stop from the typing progress notification in your notification shade.

Formatting tags turn markers in your text into real keystrokes while typing. With System Tags enabled, HTML-style tags like <b>, <i>, and <u> are sent as Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I / Ctrl+U instead of being typed literally, so bold and italics carry through to the target application. You can also create custom tags that map any text marker to a keystroke — including multi-modifier combinations like Ctrl+Shift+S — from the Formatting Tags screen.

Some applications need a moment to apply formatting or move focus. On the Formatting Tags screen you can set a delay before and after each system tag's keystroke; custom tags have their own per-tag delay.

When SpeakKey types to a computer (via the SpeakKey USB Stick or as a Bluetooth keyboard), it sends key presses the same way a physical keyboard does. For symbols and punctuation to come out correctly, the keyboard layout selected in SpeakKey must match the layout set on the target computer.

The default is US English. If you type and see the wrong symbols — for example @ and " swapped, or accented characters misplaced — go to Settings → Typing Output → Keyboard Layout and choose the layout that matches the computer you're typing on.

The mobile apps offer an OLED-optimized theme with true black backgrounds for OLED screens. Go to Settings and select OLED mode. You can further customize individual colors (top bar, background, buttons, text, and accent) in the OLED Theme Settings screen.

The mobile apps cache your recently viewed documents and templates locally. If you lose connectivity, you can still browse cached content. New recordings are queued and will upload automatically when you're back online. Up to 5 retry attempts are made for any failed uploads.

Your account is the same everywhere. Sign in on the web, an Android phone, and an iPhone at the same time — your documents, templates, and macros sync automatically across all of them. Create a document on your phone and it's waiting for you on the web; edit a template on the web and it's there on your phone.

Changes you make offline are saved on the device and sync up the next time you're connected, so you can keep working without a signal and catch up later.

Macros are saved sequences of keystrokes and text that automate repetitive typing tasks. For example, you could create a macro that types a login sequence, fills out a form, or inserts a block of boilerplate text. Macros are executed via the SpeakKey USB Stick from the mobile app, which types the sequence on a connected computer as if using a physical keyboard.

Create a new macro and add a sequence of actions. Available action types:

• Text — Type regular text
• Secret Text — Type sensitive text (like passwords) that stays hidden
• Special Keys — Send keystrokes like Ctrl+C, Alt+Tab, F1-F12, arrow keys, Page Up/Down, etc.
• Tab — Press the Tab key (useful for moving between form fields)
• Enter — Press the Enter key
• Delay — Pause for a set number of milliseconds (50ms to 10,000ms) between actions
• Pause for Confirmation — Stop and wait for you to tap before continuing — useful before typing a password or submitting a form

Macros can type sensitive values like passwords using the Secret Text action. Secret values are masked in the web interface — you won't see them in plain text when viewing or editing a macro — and are only sent to your phone when it needs to type them.

Because a macro types exactly what it's given into whatever currently has focus, treat secret macros like a password manager entry: make sure the correct field is selected before you run one, and only run them on computers you trust. For an extra checkpoint, add a confirmation pause to a macro so it waits for your tap before typing.

Open any macro to edit its actions. You can add, remove, or modify individual actions. Use drag-and-drop to rearrange the order of actions within a macro, or to reorder macros in your list.

To run macros, you need:

1. A SpeakKey USB Stick receiver plugged into the target computer's USB port
2. The SpeakKey USB Stick Utility app installed on your phone
3. Bluetooth enabled and paired with the SpeakKey USB Stick

Once connected, select a macro in SpeakKey and tap Run, or use a home screen widget for one-tap execution.

Long-press your phone's home screen and select Widgets. Find SpeakKey in the list — there are two sizes available (1x1 and 2x1). After placing the widget, you'll be asked to select which macro to bind to it. Tap the widget at any time to execute that macro instantly. The widget shows brief status feedback: "Running...", "Done!", or "Error!" if something went wrong.

Go to Account Settings to update your first name, last name, and display name. Your email address is shown but cannot be changed from this page.

In Account Settings, scroll to the Security section. Enter your current password and your new password (minimum 8 characters), then confirm it. If you signed up with a social login provider, you may not have a password set — you can add one here.

Your subscription status is shown in Account Settings under the Subscription section. To upgrade from the free trial, visit the Pricing page. The Professional plan is $67/month. Once subscribed, use the "Manage Billing" button to access the Stripe billing portal where you can update your payment method, view invoices, or cancel your subscription. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period.

Your recordings, images, and documents are stored in private, per-account storage and are only accessible to you when signed in. Your original audio is kept so you can reprocess a document with a different template later. Payment information is handled by Stripe — SpeakKey never stores your card details.

You can delete any document at any time from the Documents list. If you'd like to delete your account or have all of your data removed, contact support@speakkey.com and we'll take care of it. For full details on how your data is handled, see our Privacy Policy.

On the web, toggle between dark and light mode in Account Settings under Preferences. In the mobile app, go to Settings to choose between default, dark, and OLED themes. The OLED theme uses true black backgrounds optimized for AMOLED screens and offers additional color customization.

Check that your file is in a supported format (MP3, WAV, M4A, or WebM) and under 25 MB. Try uploading the file again. If processing fails repeatedly, the audio may be corrupted or in an unsupported codec. Try converting it to MP3 with another tool and re-uploading. If the issue persists, contact support@speakkey.com.

Make sure your browser or device volume is turned up. Check that audio permissions are allowed for the SpeakKey website in your browser settings. Try using a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, or Edge are recommended). On mobile, make sure your phone is not on silent mode.

The output depends heavily on the template you chose. Try reprocessing the audio with a different template to get a better result. You can also open the document and edit it manually using the built-in editor with formatting tools.

On the login page, click "Forgot password?" and enter your email address. You'll receive an email with a link to reset your password. Check your spam folder if you don't see it within a few minutes.

After signing up with an email address, we send a confirmation link to verify your account. If it hasn't arrived within a few minutes: check your spam or junk folder, make sure you entered your email address correctly, and confirm your mail provider isn't blocking automated messages. You can trigger a fresh email by trying to sign in again. If it still doesn't arrive, contact support@speakkey.com and we'll verify your account manually.

Your documents and data are preserved after the trial ends. You just won't be able to process new audio until you upgrade. Visit the Pricing page to subscribe to the Professional plan ($67/month) and regain full access immediately.

Make sure you're using the same provider (Google, Apple, or Microsoft) you originally signed up with. If you created your account with email/password, social login won't work until you link it in Account Settings. If the issue persists, contact support@speakkey.com.

Larger audio files take longer to process. Most files complete within a minute or two. If processing seems stuck, try refreshing the page and checking your Documents list — it may have finished in the background. For very long recordings, consider splitting the audio into smaller segments.

Make sure you've granted microphone permission. Go to your phone's Settings → Apps → SpeakKey → Permissions → Microphone → Allow. If permission was previously denied, you may need to enable it manually from system settings. Also check that no other app is currently using the microphone.

Browser recording needs microphone permission for the site. When you first record, your browser asks to use the microphone — choose Allow. If you dismissed or blocked it, click the padlock icon in the address bar, set Microphone to Allow, and reload the page. Recording also requires a secure connection (the site must be on https), and only one app or tab can use the microphone at a time. If your browser still won't record, the mobile app is a reliable alternative.

Macro typing requires three things: (1) a SpeakKey USB Stick receiver plugged into the target computer, (2) the SpeakKey USB Stick Utility app installed on your phone, and (3) Bluetooth enabled and connected. Open the SpeakKey USB Stick Utility app to verify the connection status. If the SpeakKey USB Stick is connected but macros still don't work, try disconnecting and reconnecting Bluetooth.

If letters type fine but punctuation or symbols come out wrong (for example @ and " swapped, or accents misplaced), the keyboard layout in SpeakKey doesn't match the target computer. Go to Settings → Typing Output → Keyboard Layout and select the layout your computer uses. This is the most common cause of wrong characters when typing.

This usually means you're no longer logged in to SpeakKey, or the macro assigned to the widget has been deleted. Open the SpeakKey app and make sure you're signed in. If the macro was deleted, remove the widget from your home screen and add a new one with a different macro.

SpeakKey converts shared audio to MP3 before processing. Some uncommon audio formats may not convert successfully. For best results, export the audio as MP3 or WAV from the source app before sharing to SpeakKey.

In your phone's Settings, find SpeakKey under Apps (Android) or in the app list (iPhone) and make sure notifications are enabled. SpeakKey uses notifications to tell you when audio processing is complete, when uploads fail, and to show the active recording indicator. On both Android and iPhone, the app will ask for notification permission when you first use it.