Accuracy depends most on which microphone is listening. Voicebuds hear you differently than your phone does — so the advice splits.
With Voicebuds in
- Fit first. The in-ear microphones pick up your voice directly, so a well-seated bud matters more than anything else on this list. If accuracy dips, reseat the buds or try another tip size before changing how you speak. See Fit and comfort: choosing the right ear tips.
- Whisper like you'd tell a friend something private. You don't need to project or push air — a soft, close whisper comes through clearly. Think "quiet aside," not "stage whisper."
- Keep your words shaped. Quiet is fine; blurry isn't. Let the ends of words land instead of trailing into a mumble — your quietest voice still works when the words stay distinct.
- Noisy rooms are OK. Cafés, offices, and street noise affect Voicebuds far less than a phone mic — the mics are tuned to your voice, not the room. Sustained wind directly on the buds is the main exception; step into shelter if it's howling.
- Dictate in full phrases with natural pauses between sentences — whole thoughts give the engine context that single words don't.
With the phone microphone (no Voicebuds)
- Speak at a normal conversational volume — the phone mic can't hear a whisper.
- Quieter is better. Background conversations, music, and wind all cut into accuracy on the phone mic.
- Keep the phone reasonably close to you while dictating.
- The same phrasing advice applies: full phrases, natural pauses, words kept distinct.
For both
- Spell out unusual names, acronyms, and technical terms on first use when accuracy is critical.
- A slow or unstable connection can reduce transcription quality — accuracy problems that appear on hotel Wi-Fi and vanish at home are the network, not you.
- Build a quick review habit. No voice system is perfect — names, numbers, and homophones are the usual suspects, and Subtle's Terms of Use require reviewing transcripts and AI outputs before relying on them.
If accuracy suddenly drops
- Reseat your Voicebuds.
- Force-close and reopen the Subtle app.
- Check your internet connection.
- Check for a firmware update: Voicebuds settings → About — updates sometimes improve audio processing.
Still consistently poor?
Email support@subtle.co or submit a request with a short screen recording showing a spoken phrase and the transcript you got — that's the fastest way for us to diagnose it.