Troubleshooting
Solutions for things that can go wrong.
Check the permissions first
Many problems come from a missing permission. Choose More Settings… and look under Permissions:
- Microphone: needed to record your voice and to dictate.
- Sound from your Mac: needed to record the other side. macOS doesn't let apps read this permission, so Bandje shows what happened in the last recording: sound came in, or it was silent. Silent is normal if nothing was playing.
- Automatic pasting: needed to paste dictated text for you.
A green dot means allowed. Otherwise click Open Settings…, turn on Bandje, come back and click Check Permissions.
Each time Bandje starts, it checks the microphone and automatic pasting, and tells you if one is missing. Don't need automatic pasting? Tick Do not show this message again, or turn off Warn at launch when something is missing under Permissions.
The other side is missing from the recording
macOS didn't allow Bandje to record your Mac's audio. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording and turn on Bandje under System Audio Recording Only.
My own voice is missing
Check the Microphone menu. With the lid closed, the built-in microphone is off: choose another one. If Bandje may not use the microphone at all, turn it on in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.
I hear nothing after taking out my AirPods
macOS sent the sound to another device, such as a USB microphone with a headphone jack. Choose your speakers in Sound Output.
The transcript is gibberish
The conversation is probably in a language Bandje doesn't know. Bandje can't tell, so it writes what it thinks it heard.
There are more speakers than there were
Phone menus, hold music and poor lines can confuse the speaker recognition. Give the labels the right names in Name Speakers.
Summarize isn't in the menu
Summaries need macOS 26 or later with Apple Intelligence turned on in System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri. Your Mac's language and Siri's language must match.
The shortcut doesn't work
Another app may use the same combination. Choose a different one in More Settings.