Support

Something not working? Start here.

Nearly every problem comes down to one of three things: a macOS permission, the speech model, or the notes provider. The three checks below fix most of them in a minute. If not, an engineer is one email away.

The app sends us nothing on its own. Whatever you tell us is all we know.

Email an engineer

app.support@bitsummit.com

A person reads every message. No ticket bot, no tiers.

  • Your macOS version
  • App Store or direct download
  • Speech model and notes provider
  • What you did right before it went wrong
Write to support

Or click the menu bar icon and choose Send Feedback. That form is the only thing the app can ever send us.

Before anything else

Three checks that fix most problems.

1

Screen Recording permission

You will notice the recording has your voice and nobody else's.

macOS only lets an app hear another app's audio through this permission.

  1. Open System SettingsPrivacy & SecurityScreen Recording
  2. Turn on NoteHand
  3. Quit and reopen the app. macOS does not apply the change while it is running
2

The speech model

You will notice recording fails at once, or a message says the model is missing.

Transcription runs on the Mac, so a Whisper model has to be on the Mac. It is downloaded once, about 470 MB.

  1. Click the menu bar icon
  2. Choose Download Whisper model…, or open SettingsModels
  3. Pick a size. Larger is more accurate and slower
3

The notes provider

You will notice the transcript arrived but there are no notes.

The model that writes the notes is not running or not reachable. The transcript is always kept, so nothing is lost.

  1. Open SettingsNotes
  2. Using Ollama? Make sure it is running
  3. Using your own OpenAI or Anthropic key? Make sure it is still valid

Troubleshooting

By topic.

Recording

The recording has no audio from the other participants

The Screen Recording permission is missing. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording, turn on NoteHand, then quit and reopen the app. This is check 1 above.

My meeting was not detected

Detection works for Zoom, Teams, Meet, FaceTime, Slack and Discord when the app is in front of you, and only for the apps you left ticked in Settings. A meeting in a browser tab or a phone on speaker is not detected. Press ⌘⇧R or choose Start Manual Recording from the menu bar. Manual recordings get the same notes.

The menu bar icon shows a call but I did not want to record it

Nothing is recorded until you choose to. Detection only offers. Turn off detection for that app in Settings → Detect these apps if you would rather not be asked.

The app quit or the Mac slept during a call

Audio is written as it goes, so everything up to that point is kept. Open the Library and the meeting will be there with what was captured.

Notes and files

The transcript arrived but there are no notes

Either no notes provider is set up, or the one you chose did not respond. Check Settings → Notes. With Ollama, make sure it is running. With an API key, make sure it is still valid. This is check 3 above.

Notes take a long time to appear

Anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes, depending on the speech model size, the length of the call and the notes provider. A large local model on a long call is the slowest case. Switch to a smaller speech model in Settings → Models if you prefer speed over the last bit of accuracy.

Where are my markdown files?

In the folder you chose during setup, organised as YYYY/MM/YYYY-MM-DD-title.md. If you skipped that step, set a folder in Settings → Export and new notes go there. Right-click any meeting in the Library to show its file in Finder.

Can I change the export folder later?

Yes, in Settings → Export. New meetings are written to the new folder. Files already written stay where they are; move them yourself if you want everything together.

The notes are wrong or thin

The notes are a reading of the call by the model you chose; the transcript underneath is the record. A larger speech model improves the transcript, and a stronger notes model improves the reading. Both are settings, not purchases.

Coach

Coach shows "listening" but never updates

Coach works from the transcript and the notes provider. If transcription is running (check 2) and the notes provider responds (check 3), the first update arrives a few minutes into the call. With no notes provider configured, Coach has nothing to write with.

Coach stopped updating

When the call ends, Coach says so and stops on purpose. If the call is still going, check that recording is still running in the menu bar.

Can the other side see Coach?

No. Coach is a window on your Mac. Nothing joins the call and nothing is announced. Consent to record remains your responsibility.

Dictation

Dictation copies to the clipboard instead of typing

That is how the App Store version works: it copies the text and asks you to press ⌘V, because the App Store build cannot request Accessibility. If you have the direct download, the Accessibility permission is missing: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, turn on the app, then quit and reopen it.

Dictation refused to paste and offered "Re-insert"

You switched apps before letting go of the shortcut, so the app was not sure where to put the text. Instead of pasting into the wrong window, it holds on to it. Click into the right field and choose Re-insert Last Dictation from the menu bar.

The shortcut clashes with another app

Change it in Settings → Dictation shortcut. The default is ⌥Space.

Is my dictation saved anywhere?

No. Dictated audio is processed in memory and discarded. Your clipboard is put back the way it was after the text is inserted.

Purchase and new Macs

I paid on one Mac. How do I unlock another?

App Store purchases are tied to your Apple ID. On the other Mac, open Settings → License → Restore while signed in with the same Apple ID.

Moving to a new Mac

Migration Assistant brings your meeting history across with the rest of your data. Your exported markdown files are the portable copy either way. Restore the purchase as above.

I used my three free meetings and want to keep going

Unlock for US$19 once, from the menu bar or Settings → License. Everything you recorded during the free meetings stays. See Pricing.

Refunds

Purchases through the Mac App Store follow Apple's refund process, started from your Apple account. For the direct download, write to app.support@bitsummit.com and a person will reply.

Company Macs

Deploying to a managed fleet

Use the App Store version. It works with Apple Business Manager and any device management tool, and does not need the Accessibility permission on each Mac. BITSUMMIT can plan the rollout, pre-load the speech model, set a standard notes provider and complete your security questionnaire. See Teams and IT or write to sales@bitsummit.ca.

Our IT team needs the security details

Everything is on the Privacy page: what runs where, what can cross the line, the permissions and why. Send the questionnaire and we will complete it.

Writing to us

What helps, and what we will never ask for.

What helps

  • Your macOS versionApple menu → About This Mac. Sonoma, Sequoia and later behave slightly differently around permissions.
  • Which buildApp Store or direct download. They differ in how dictation types and in which permissions they can ask for.
  • Speech model and notes providerSettings → Models and Settings → Notes. Most timing and quality questions come down to these two.
  • What you did right beforeWhich app the call was in, whether it was detected or started with ⌘⇧R, and what you expected to happen.

What we will never ask for

  • Your recordings or transcriptsWe cannot see them and we do not want them. If a sample would help, you decide what to send, and a single sentence is usually enough.
  • An account or a loginThere is none. Your email address is the only thing that identifies you, and it goes no further than the inbox.
  • Remote access to your MacNever. Every fix on this page is a setting you change yourself.
  • Your API keyIf notes stopped, we will ask whether the key is valid. We will not ask what it is.

Still stuck?

Write to a person.

Made by BITSUMMIT, a managed IT and security services company in Toronto and Halifax. Support is what we do all day, and an engineer reads every message.