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Setting up dictation that works before you lose signal
Offline dictation works perfectly once it is set up, and not at all if you install it on the aircraft. Here is the order of operations, and how to prove it works before you need it.
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The order of operations
- Install and launch, online Not the night before at the airport — a speech model is a few hundred megabytes to a couple of gigabytes and hotel Wi-Fi is not to be trusted with it.
- Let the model download finish The app will say when it is done. An app installed but never launched has no model and will do nothing offline, which is the single most common version of this going wrong.
- Grant microphone and accessibility permission Both are prompted on first use. They are local operations but they require you to be at the machine and paying attention, which is easier at a desk than in a middle seat.
- Activate your licence if you have bought one Licence activation needs a connection once. Vaitly Voice Free needs no sign-in at all, so there is nothing to activate — worth knowing if you are travelling imminently.
- Dictate one real sentence, online Proves the whole chain works before you remove a variable.
- Turn Wi-Fi off and dictate again The actual test. If words appear, you are ready.
The checklist
Before you travel
- The app has been launched at least once and the model download completed.
- Microphone permission granted.
- Accessibility permission granted, and the app relaunched afterwards.
- Licence activated, if you have one.
- One sentence dictated successfully with Wi-Fi off.
- The rewriting or tidy-up step also tested with Wi-Fi off.
- Your vocabulary entries added — you cannot look up how a client's name is spelt at 35,000 feet.
What still needs the network, and when
| Thing | When | Matters offline? |
|---|---|---|
| Speech model download | Once, on first run or when changing model | No, after it has happened |
| Licence activation | Once, after purchase | No, afterwards |
| Update checks | Periodically | No — it fails quietly and retries later |
| Cloud rewriting, if configured | Every dictation that uses it | Yes. Turn it off or use a local writing model |
| Product analytics, unless opted out | Occasionally | No — queued or dropped |
| Recognition itself | Never | No |
Battery, which nobody mentions
Local recognition uses your Mac's own silicon, so dictation costs battery in a way cloud dictation does not. On a modern Apple Silicon Mac this is modest — a few percent over a long writing session — but it is not nothing on a nine-hour flight with no power socket.
- Use a smaller, faster model if the app lets you choose. The accuracy difference on clean audio is small; the power difference is not.
- Latch rather than holding for long passages — fewer model wake-ups.
- Dictate in bursts, edit in between. Better writing and better battery.
- Let the model unload when idle if the app offers it. A model held warm all day costs both memory and power.
Realistic expectations on a plane
Aircraft cabins are loud, and cabin noise is broadband — the hardest kind for a recogniser to separate speech from. Two things make a genuine difference:
- A headset with a boom microphone. Close to your mouth, away from the ambient noise. This is worth more than any software setting.
- Speaking quietly but clearly. A close microphone lets you speak at a level your neighbour will not object to, which also solves the social problem.
Questions
Will dictation work on a plane?
Yes, with an on-device app that has already downloaded its model. Do the install, the permissions and one test dictation at home. The cabin is loud, so a headset with a close microphone makes a large difference.
How big is the model download?
A few hundred megabytes to a couple of gigabytes depending on the model. It happens once and is reused. Do it on a connection you trust.
Does VV need to sign in to work offline?
Free dictation needs no sign-in at all. If you have bought a plan, the licence is activated once with a connection and then works offline.
Will the AI tidy-up work offline?
In VV, yes — the writing step is a local model. In apps that use a cloud service for that stage it will not, which is worth testing specifically before you travel rather than discovering mid-flight.
Does offline dictation drain the battery?
It uses your own silicon, so yes, somewhat — modest on Apple Silicon but noticeable across a long session with no power. A smaller model and letting it unload when idle both help.