Support
Common problems and their fixes are below. If yours is not here, email us — we answer within one business day.
Contact us
Tell us your operating system and the version of Scrieb (Settings → General). For a transcription problem, the processing device and the file format help us a great deal.
alex@scrieb.comSetup and first run
Why is it downloading several gigabytes before I can do anything?
Scrieb runs the AI on your own computer, so the speech models are downloaded once rather than called over the internet each time. Expect roughly 1.5–2 GB for the default set, and more if you choose a larger speech model. You do not have to wait: you can record straight away while it downloads. Those recordings are saved and transcribed automatically once it finishes, and the main screen shows progress.
Setup said Scrieb was ready, but pressing Record does nothing.
This was a bug in versions up to 0.7.0: if a model download failed, setup still reported success and closed itself, leaving the app unable to transcribe. It is fixed. Update to the current version. If you cannot update immediately, reopen setup and retry the download, or point Scrieb at a model file you already have.
The download progress bar jumps backwards.
Cosmetic only, and fixed in 0.8.0. The download itself was never affected.
What are the system requirements?
macOS 12 or newer on Apple Silicon or Intel, and Windows 10 (version 1903 or newer) or Windows 11 on x64 or ARM64. 8 GB of RAM is recommended. A GPU is not required but makes transcription several times faster.
Permissions on macOS
"Record from App" will not start, or cannot hear other apps.
Capturing audio from other applications needs the macOS Screen Recording permission, and macOS only applies it after Scrieb restarts. Scrieb explains this the first time and offers to restart itself. Since 0.8.1 it no longer refuses to start without it: it records your microphone instead and says in the recording bar that the computer’s audio is missing.
Why does recording my own microphone ask for Screen Recording?
It should not, and since 0.8.1 it does not. "Record Microphone" and a voice note started from the menu bar both capture the microphone only. If an older version asked, update.
Scrieb says permission was denied, but it never asked me.
That is rare and usually points to a problem with the installed copy rather than a setting you changed. Email us rather than working through System Settings — include your macOS version and we will sort it out.
Transcription problems
A recording is stuck on "Transcribing" and never finishes.
This is a known limitation. There is currently no time limit on a transcription pass, so in rare cases one can hang rather than fail. Quit and reopen Scrieb: recordings interrupted that way are picked up again automatically on the next launch, so nothing is lost. We are working on a proper fix. If it happens repeatedly on the same file, send it to us if you can share it.
A recording says transcription failed.
Try it again first, and try a different processing device under Settings → AI Models → Processing device (for example CPU instead of GPU). If it keeps failing, email us with your operating system, the processing device you used and the file format. From 0.8.1 onwards Scrieb records a specific reason for the failure, which makes these much faster to diagnose.
Speakers were counted wrong — two people came out as three.
Open the recording’s Speakers tab, set the number of speakers and run "Identify again". You can also rename speakers there, so "Speaker 2" becomes "Respondent".
Names and technical terms are spelled wrong.
Add them under Settings → Transcription → Custom vocabulary. New transcripts will use your spelling. This is the fix for a surname or product name you have been correcting by hand every time.
How do I export my transcripts?
Open the recording and choose Export: DOCX to edit or quote, PDF for a fixed copy, TXT to paste into analysis software or anywhere else.
Windows
Transcription is extremely slow on a Snapdragon or ARM laptop.
Two things to check. First, make sure you have the ARM64 build — before 0.8.0 the Windows version ran under emulation on these machines, which is many times slower. Second, in versions up to 0.8.0 a single GPU crash quietly switched off every GPU option while the settings still showed your original choice, so you could be running on CPU without knowing. Since 0.8.1 only the backend that actually failed is set aside, it is shown as stopped with a "Try again" button, and the others keep working.
Playback fails with "Could not open file source".
Fixed in 0.8.0. Please update.
Which processing device should I choose on Windows ARM?
CPU is the default because it was the fastest in our testing on Snapdragon machines. Vulkan and OpenCL are available under Settings → AI Models → Processing device if you want to try them. Summaries and chat always run on the CPU.
Licence, offline use and billing
Can I use Scrieb without an internet connection?
Yes. Apart from signing in once and downloading the models, Scrieb works with the network off. Subscribers can also turn on Offline mode under Settings → Account, after which Scrieb makes no connection on its own at all — no update checks, no licence checks, no usage statistics, no crash reports. Updates, licence renewal and model downloads then run only when you click them.
My licence stopped working while I was offline.
An offline licence is valid to the end of your paid period plus a seven-day grace window. Connect once inside that window and use Sync Licence to renew it. If it does lapse, Scrieb falls back to the free allowance of one hour per day — your recordings and transcripts are untouched and come straight back when the licence syncs.
Scrieb is asking me to sign in again.
Sign-ins expire periodically and the licence cannot renew without one. Signing in again restores it. Since 0.8.1 Scrieb tells you this explicitly; before, it quietly showed you as signed out while the licence stopped renewing in the background.
I get a "System clock error".
Scrieb has detected that the computer’s clock was moved backwards, which it treats as possible tampering with the licence period. Restore the correct date and time, then restart the app.
Can I use one licence on more than one computer?
Yes. Sign in with the same email address on each machine; the licence syncs up to a device limit, and an offline licence keeps recording working without a connection.
How do I cancel my subscription?
Email alex@scrieb.com from your account address. We will cancel it and confirm within one business day.
Can I get a refund?
Yes. Email alex@scrieb.com within 14 days of purchase and you will get the full amount back.
Privacy and your data
Does Scrieb upload my audio?
No. Recording, transcription, speaker identification and summaries all run on your own computer. There is no cloud option to switch on. Our server handles accounts and billing only, and never receives audio, transcripts or summaries.
What is sent, if anything?
By default: licence checks and, if you leave them on, anonymous usage statistics and crash reports. Usage statistics and crash reports are not linked to your account, and crash reports do not include error messages, since those could contain a file name. You can switch both off, and Offline mode stops every outbound connection.
Where are my recordings stored?
On your own disk. The local database can be encrypted with a key from your operating system’s keychain, and audio files are protected by your disk encryption (FileVault on macOS, BitLocker on Windows).
Still stuck, or found something that is not listed here?
Email alex@scrieb.com