Wrong language or garbage transcription

If your dictations come out as nonsense, garbled English when you spoke German (or vice versa), or strange characters — **this is almost always the language setting mismatch**. **VoicePad does NOT auto-detect language.** It forces whichever language you've selected. This is a deliberate design choice — auto-detection is unreliable and produces inconsistent quality. Forcing a language gives you 99% accuracy when set correctly. **The fix (10 seconds):** 1. Open VoicePad → Settings → Language 2. Confirm it matches the language you're actually going to speak 3. English speakers: 🇬🇧 English 4. German speakers: 🇩🇪 German 5. Try a quick test dictation **Common scenarios that produce garbage:** - You set up VoicePad in English but you're German — speaking German with English forced = garbled words - You switch languages without changing the setting — same problem in reverse - You're bilingual and switched topics mid-dictation — Whisper transcribes whichever language matches the current setting, regardless of what you're saying **Other quality issues that AREN'T language-related:** | Symptom | Likely cause | Fix | |---------|--------------|-----| | Words split or missing | Mic gain too low | Increase Mic Sensitivity in Settings | | Background noise transcribed as words | Noisy environment | Switch to Outdoor mode in Recording settings | | Wrong technical terms | Whisper unfamiliarity | Add to Custom Dictionary (Windows) | | Garbage at start of recording | Initial silence | Wait 1 second after pressing record before speaking | **For best quality:** - Use a decent microphone (built-in laptop mics are okay; USB headsets are dramatically better) - Speak at normal pace — no need to slow down - Reduce background noise where possible - Switch to a larger Whisper model: Settings → Speech Model → Small or Medium (Pro) **Custom Dictionary for technical terms:** If Whisper consistently mishears specific words — your name, brand names, technical jargon — add them to the Custom Dictionary: Settings → Tools → Custom Dictionary → Add Entry Format: original (wrong) word → corrected word. Don't add more than 20-30 entries at a time. Too many entries causes Whisper to hallucinate. Test, then add more. For the full troubleshooting list, see [Help Center → Troubleshooting](https://voicepad.tech/help/#troubleshooting).