Voibe on Windows
Voibe works the same way on Windows as it does on a Mac: hold a key, speak, release, and the text appears in whatever app you're using. Install it once and it works everywhere — Outlook, Word, Slack, Chrome, VS Code, Cursor, any text field on your PC.
The one real difference is where transcription runs. On Windows, Voibe uses zero-retention cloud mode: open-source models, audio deleted the moment it becomes text, never stored and never used to train AI.
On this page
What you need
- ✓ Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit
- ✓ A microphone — your laptop's built-in mic works; a wired headset works better
- ✓ An internet connection — dictation runs in the cloud on Windows
- ✓ No special hardware — no GPU or NPU needed, because the models don't run on your PC
Not sure which Windows you're on? Press Win + R, type winver, and press Enter. Full system requirements.
Install Voibe
- a. Download the Voibe installer (VoibeSetup.exe).
- b. Open your Downloads folder and double-click the installer.
- c. If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning about an unrecognised app, click More info, then Run anyway. SmartScreen shows this for newly released installers until enough people have downloaded them.
- d. Follow the installer, then launch Voibe.
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Allow microphone access
Voibe needs your microphone to hear what you're saying. Windows asks the first time Voibe tries to record — allow it.
If you missed the prompt:
- a. Open Settings (Win + I).
- b. Go to Privacy & security → Microphone.
- c. Turn on Microphone access and Let apps access your microphone, then find Voibe in the list below and turn it on.
Voibe only uses the microphone while you're actively dictating. It doesn't listen or record when the hotkey isn't pressed. More on what Voibe can and can't do.
Pick your hotkey
The hotkey is the setting that matters most — you'll press it thousands of times. Pick something you can reach with one hand and that no other app has claimed.
Good Windows choices
Voibe recognises left and right modifier keys separately, so you can dedicate the right-hand one to dictation and keep the left free for normal shortcuts.
Both dictation styles work on Windows: hold the key for Push-to-Talk, or double-tap to go Hands-Free and speak without holding anything. Full guide to dictation modes and hotkeys.
Test your first dictation
- a. Open any app with a text field — Notepad, Outlook, a browser search bar.
- b. Click into the field so the cursor is blinking.
- c. Hold your hotkey.
- d. Say something — "Hello, this is my first Voibe dictation."
- e. Release the key.
- f. The text appears in the field — capitalised, punctuated, ready.
The system tray icon
Voibe has no main window sitting in your taskbar. It runs quietly in the background and lives in the system tray — the cluster of small icons at the right-hand end of the taskbar, next to the clock. That's where you open settings, history, and stats.
If you can't see the Voibe icon, Windows has probably tucked it into the overflow area. Click the chevron (^) to the left of the tray icons to reveal hidden ones. To keep Voibe visible permanently, drag its icon out of the overflow panel and onto the taskbar, or turn it on in Settings → Personalisation → Taskbar → Other system tray icons.
On a Mac the equivalent is the menu bar at the top of the screen. What the Voibe menu contains.
How privacy works on Windows
Windows dictation runs in zero-retention cloud mode. Here is the whole journey, with nothing left out:
- You speak. Voibe captures the audio on your PC and encrypts it.
- It travels over an encrypted connection to an open-source speech model running on a zero-retention provider, which turns it into text.
- The moment transcription completes, the audio is deleted. Only the text comes back.
- The text lands at your cursor. Your PC holds the only copy that exists. Nothing is stored, sold, or used to train any AI model.
There are no API keys to bring, no model to pick, and no vendor account to create. Voibe handles all of it in the background.
The Cloud AI privacy page names every provider in the chain and what each one is contractually held to. See also the privacy overview.
Mac vs Windows: what differs
| Feature | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Push-to-Talk and Hands-Free | Yes | Yes |
| Works in every app, system-wide | Yes | Yes |
| Developer Mode and custom vocabulary | Yes | Yes |
| Zero-retention cloud mode | Yes | Yes — the only mode |
| Fully on-device mode (works offline) | Apple Silicon only | Not yet |
| Live Dictation | Yes | Not yet |
| Where the app lives | Menu bar | System tray |
| Permissions to grant | Microphone + Accessibility | Microphone |
| Price | Same plan | Same plan |
One seat covers both. If you use a Mac and a PC, sign in with the same email on each and your plan follows you. More on using Voibe across machines.
Common Windows problems
SmartScreen blocked the installer
Click More info in the warning dialog, then Run anyway. Windows shows this for installers it hasn't seen many times yet. Only ever run the installer you downloaded from getvoibe.com.
The hotkey does nothing
Almost always another app has claimed the same key. Common culprits on Windows are Xbox Game Bar, Nvidia GeForce Experience overlays, Discord push-to-talk, and vendor keyboard utilities from Logitech, Razer, or Corsair.
Pick a different hotkey in Voibe, or turn off the conflicting shortcut in the other app. Full hotkey troubleshooting.
The hotkey works everywhere except one app
Apps running as administrator only accept input from other apps running as administrator. If dictation works in Chrome but not in a tool you launched with Run as administrator, right-click Voibe and run it as administrator too.
Voibe heard nothing
Check that the right microphone is selected as your Windows input device under Settings → System → Sound → Input, and that its volume isn't muted. Bluetooth headsets are the usual cause of thin or missing audio. More on no audio detected.
Dictation is slow or fails intermittently
Windows dictation needs the internet, so a flaky connection shows up as slow or failed transcriptions. Corporate networks sometimes block outbound connections too — if you're on a managed device and dictation never completes, ask your IT team to allow Voibe's traffic.
Still stuck? Email hi@getvoibe.com and we'll help you out.