Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
iPhone dictation most often does not work for 1 reason: the Enable Dictation option is turned off in the keyboard settings. It is turned on in Settings → General → Keyboard → Enable Dictation; when you turn it on for the first time, the iPhone asks you to confirm in a dialog window. After that the microphone icon should appear on the keyboard again.
If the microphone icon has disappeared from the iPhone keyboard and dictation does not start at all, this is almost always not a breakdown but one switch turned off in the settings.
What it looks like for the user
Usually it looks like this: you open any app with the iPhone keyboard to type something, and the microphone icon that is normally used to start dictation is simply not on the keyboard. The reason is not a specific app: if dictation is turned off in the keyboard settings, the icon disappears in all apps at once, not in just one. The situation looks the same if dictation was turned on at some point and then accidentally turned off with the same switch: from the user's point of view there is no difference, and in both cases the microphone icon simply does not appear.
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The microphone icon does not appear on the keyboard, dictation does not start | The Enable Dictation option is turned off in the keyboard settings. | Settings → General → Keyboard → turn on Enable Dictation; confirm in the dialog when turning it on for the first time. |
What actually broke
Nothing is broken technically: dictation on iPhone is controlled by one switch, Enable Dictation, in the keyboard settings, and if it is off, the microphone icon does not appear in any app. This is confirmed by Apple's official guide to dictation on iPhone (support.apple.com). The switch may be off by default on some devices or turned off by accident, but the cause in both cases is the same: not a hardware problem with the microphone but one parameter in the keyboard settings.
How to bring dictation back on iPhone
- Open Settings → General → Keyboard.
- Find the Enable Dictation switch and turn it on.
- When you turn it on for the first time, the iPhone shows a confirmation dialog; confirm it, otherwise dictation will not work.
- Open any app with the keyboard and check that the microphone icon has appeared again next to the keyboard.
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Free
- Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed
- Pro
- Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly
- Payment
- Russian bank cards, rubles
- Where speech is recognized
- cloud, servers in Russia; internet required
Potok is a cloud service: speech is recognized on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. Download: potok.now/download
Who this route is not for
If dictation on iPhone still did not start working after you turned on Enable Dictation, a broader analysis of causes is in the article why voice input stopped working on iPhone. Potok is not on a phone, tablet or smart watch: the program works only on a computer, on Windows, macOS and Linux. Potok is a cloud service, recognition goes on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. If you often dictate specifically at a computer, Potok can replace the built-in dictation there. A similar analysis for another language is in the article dictation is unavailable for this language: Russian, what to do.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The Enable Dictation switch in Settings → General → Keyboard works at the level of the system keyboard, so when it is turned off the microphone icon disappears in all apps at once, not in just one.
By a model estimate, the average dictation speed with Potok is about 900 characters per minute versus about 200 characters per minute with ordinary typing, so speech is noticeably faster than the keyboard.
Any microphone the system sees as a recording device will do. In Potok you choose it in the app settings or in the tray icon menu; system access to the microphone is required.
Built-in system tools (Win+H in Windows, Dictation in macOS, Voice Typing in Google Docs, Gboard on Android), voice browser extensions, and specialized desktop and web services (Potok and similar) that work on top of any app via a hotkey.
Potok states about 900 characters per minute by voice versus about 200 when typing, roughly 4 times faster. This is the product's own estimate, not an independent measurement.
Yes: Windows has built-in voice typing via Win+H (Russian only in Windows 11, Windows 10 has no Russian; it does not work without the internet), and the Mac has system dictation in the keyboard settings. Both are free.
Download Potok
Works with a single key in any program. 14 days of full access, then Free with 2500 words per week or Pro at 690 ₽/mo (499 ₽/mo paid yearly). Potok is a cloud service: speech is recognized on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokThe Potok subscription also includes the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: forward it a voice message or a long meeting recording and it returns the text. Without a subscription the bot gives 60 minutes per month for free.
Built-in dictation and Potok
| Tool | Where it works | Russian language | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows voice typing (Win+H) | Windows 10 and 11 | Windows 11 only | Microsoft cloud, does not work offline |
| macOS Dictation | macOS | yes | on the device or on Apple servers |
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | primary language | cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline |
Primary sources: support.apple.com · support.microsoft.com