Most issues are solved in two minutes. Work through the sections top to bottom, from download to daily use.
Downloading & installing
- 1Download the .dmg from the download page and open it with a double-click.
- 2Drag WhispaWave onto the “Applications” icon. Don’t launch it straight from the DMG.
- 3Eject the DMG afterwards and launch WhispaWave from the Applications folder.
The app won’t start or seems “damaged”
- Re-download the .dmg if in doubt: an interrupted download can corrupt the file.
- Check your macOS version: WhispaWave needs macOS 15 (Sequoia) or newer (Apple menu → “About This Mac”).
- It’s a universal app: one download runs on Apple Silicon and Intel, there’s nothing to choose.
Permissions on first launch
WhispaWave needs two permissions. Grant both under System Settings → Privacy & Security:
- Microphone: so WhispaWave can record your speech.
- Accessibility: so the finished text lands where your cursor is. WhispaWave doesn’t read along; the permission only allows inserting text.
WhispaWave isn’t in the menu bar
- WhispaWave runs as a menu-bar app (not in the Dock). Look top-right for the icon.
- If the menu bar is full, macOS hides icons. Make room or use a menu-bar manager.
The shortcut doesn’t respond
- Check that WhispaWave is running in the menu bar (icon visible).
- Check System Settings → Privacy & Security that Microphone and Accessibility are allowed.
- Test whether the shortcut clashes with another tool. Reassign it in settings if needed.
No text appears
- Make sure the cursor is actually in a text field.
- Some apps need one click to focus before text can be inserted.
- If it only fails in one app, check the Accessibility permission: without it macOS can block inserting.
Updates fail
- Make sure WhispaWave lives in the “Applications” folder: it needs write access there for automatic updates.
- If the update won’t go through, download the latest .dmg from the download page and install over the top. Your settings are preserved.