Support

How can we help?

Common questions and fixes are below. If something is not covered here, email us and we will get back to you.

System requirements

• Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later) — required for all features.
• macOS 15 Sequoia or later — required for all features.
• AI cleanup and summaries additionally need macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence enabled in System Settings.
• No account required. No internet needed after the first transcription model download.

Cadence will not start

If Cadence quits immediately on launch, check that you are running macOS 15 or later and that your Mac has Apple Silicon. Cadence does not run on Intel Macs. If you are on a supported machine and it still will not open, try removing and re-downloading the app.

Microphone permission

Cadence needs microphone access to dictate and capture meetings. On first launch macOS will ask for permission. If you accidentally denied it, go to System Settings, Privacy and Security, Microphone, and turn Cadence back on.

Screen recording permission for meetings

Capturing the audio from your speakers during meetings (to hear the other side) requires the Screen Recording permission. Cadence will prompt you for this the first time you start a meeting recording. You can grant it in System Settings under Privacy and Security, Screen and System Audio Recording.

My dictation shortcut is not working

Make sure no other app has claimed the same global shortcut. Open Cadence settings and pick a different key combination. The function key (Fn) set to push-to-talk is the simplest option since most apps do not intercept it.

AI cleanup and summaries are not available

These features run on Apple Intelligence, which has three requirements: an Apple Silicon Mac, macOS 26, and Apple Intelligence turned on in System Settings under General. If any condition is not met, Cadence disables the AI toggle and shows the exact reason in the Settings footer — for example "needs macOS 26" or "turn on Apple Intelligence." You do not need to dig around to find out why; the app will tell you.

If you have macOS 26 and Apple Intelligence is on but the feature is still unavailable, the model may still be downloading. Cadence will show "still downloading" in Settings and the toggle will enable itself once the download finishes.

Lost a recording

Cadence writes audio to disk as you speak, so a crash mid-sentence should leave the recording intact. Check Recently Deleted in the sidebar in case it was accidentally removed. If a recording is missing entirely, check that Cadence still has permission to write to its data folder in your user library.

License key not recognised

Try pasting rather than typing the key to avoid a stray character. A monthly plan that was cancelled or has a failed payment will show as inactive. If you just purchased, give it a minute and try again. You can always find your key and manage your plan in the customer portal.

Verify your license key  ·  Customer portal

Still need help?

Email us at [email protected] and describe what happened. Including your macOS version and a brief description of the issue helps us get back to you faster.

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