Forgot your Voicebuds, or they're charging? You can still dictate — Subtle falls back to your device's microphone.
What changes without the buds
| With Voicebuds | Without (device mic) | |
|---|---|---|
| Whispering | Yes — in-ear mics hear your quietest voice | No — speak at normal volume |
| Noisy places | In-ear mics isolate your voice | Device mic picks up the room |
| Where it works | Keyboard, Mac hotkey, in-app | Same surfaces |
| Speech engine | Subtle engine | Device transcription |
Accuracy expectations differ: the Subtle engine with in-ear microphones is tuned for quiet and noisy environments; the device-mic path behaves like standard phone dictation.
On iPhone
Tap the mic on the Subtle keyboard as usual. Without buds connected:
- Sometimes the mic button will open the Subtle app first — phone-mic capture needs the app awake. Tap through and dictate; the text returns to where you were. To avoid the detour, turn on the Keyboard dictation switch next to your profile button on the Subtle Home screen — it keeps the phone mic ready while your Voicebuds are disconnected.
- If you see "Enable microphone access to dictate", grant mic permission: Settings → Subtle → Microphone.
On Mac
Nothing to change: the default microphone setting, Recommended, uses your Voicebuds when they're connected and your Mac's built-in mic otherwise. To pick a specific mic, open Subtle's Settings → General → Microphone and choose Built-in mic or another input. If the mic you chose is unplugged, the menu shows "Selected microphone (not connected)". Your dictation hotkey works the same either way.
In the Subtle app
On iPhone, the in-app mic buttons (notes, chat) automatically use your phone's microphone when no buds are connected — the mic button's look tells you which is live: the earbud gradient means Voicebuds, navy means your phone. Offline? On-device transcription keeps basic dictation working; see Offline mode: what works and what doesn't.