Support

What you need

A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) running macOS 14 or later, or an Intel Mac running macOS 15 or later. To check, open the Apple menu › About This Mac: it shows your chip (Apple M1, M2, M3, M4 or Intel) and your version of macOS.

The same window shows your version of macOS: Sonoma (14), Sequoia (15) or Tahoe (26). LomiSpeak works on all of them. On Ventura (13), update first. English dictation needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS Tahoe (26) or later, a free update in System Settings › General › Software Update. It is not available on Intel Macs.

Installing

1. Open your Downloads folder and double-click the LomiSpeak file you downloaded.
2. In the window that opens, drag LomiSpeak into the Applications folder.
3. Open your Applications folder and double-click LomiSpeak.

Always open LomiSpeak from your Applications folder, not from the window you dragged it out of. If you see a message asking you to move it, drag it into Applications, eject the LomiSpeak disk in Finder, and open it again. If the message says macOS is running a temporary copy, drag LomiSpeak out of Applications onto your desktop, drag it back into Applications, and open it again.

Setting up

The first time you open LomiSpeak, it walks you through setup. It asks for two permissions:

• Microphone, so it can hear you while you hold the dictation key.
• Accessibility, so it can notice the dictation key and type your words into other apps.

If you skipped a step, open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone, or › Accessibility, and turn LomiSpeak on. Then quit LomiSpeak (menu bar icon › Quit LomiSpeak) and open it again.

Speaking

1. Click where you want to type, such as a message, an email, or a document.
2. Hold the fn key and speak.
3. Let go. Your words appear where your cursor is.

• Change the language: in LomiSpeak, open Settings › Dictation language, or use the Language menu on the menu bar icon.
• English: on macOS 26 or later, English is in the same language list. If your Mac doesn’t have Apple’s English model yet, open Settings and press Download next to English; it joins the list when the download finishes. On older versions of macOS it isn’t shown; update to macOS 26 (free in System Settings › General › Software Update) and it appears.
• Use a different key: if your keyboard has no fn key, open Settings › Hold to speak and choose ⌃⌥ (Control and Option held together).
• Move the dictation pill (the small bar that appears while you dictate): drag it while it isn’t listening. To put it back, choose Reset pill position from the menu bar icon.
• Copy an earlier dictation: open LomiSpeak and click any entry in your history.

Common problems

• Holding fn opens emoji or starts Apple’s dictation. Open System Settings › Keyboard and set “Press key to” (on some keyboards, “Press fn key to”) to Do Nothing.
• Nothing gets typed. Click inside a text field first, then hold the key. Check that LomiSpeak is turned on in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility. Some fields, such as password boxes, don’t accept typed text.
• The pill says “No sound from your mic”, or that permission is needed. Check System Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone, or choose Set up permissions… from the menu bar icon.
• I can’t see the pill. Choose Reset pill position from the menu bar icon.
• The words aren’t right. Speak at a normal pace, close to your Mac, somewhere quiet, and check that the right language is selected.

Updates

LomiSpeak updates itself. When a new version is ready, you’ll see a notification, and the menu bar icon shows Restart to update. The update is also installed the next time you quit and reopen LomiSpeak.

Uninstalling

1. Choose Quit LomiSpeak from the menu bar icon.
2. Drag LomiSpeak from your Applications folder to the Trash.
3. To also remove your settings and history, delete the folder ~/Library/Application Support/lomispeak-desktop.

What you need

A 64-bit PC running Windows 10 or 11. On Windows, LomiSpeak types Tigrinya, Amharic and Afaan Oromo; English and Video to text are on the Mac only for now.

Installing

1. If the browser says the file isn’t commonly downloaded, choose Keep. Then open your Downloads and double-click LomiSpeak-Setup-0.1.11.exe.
2. Windows shows “Windows protected your PC” because the app is new. Click More info, then Run anyway.
3. LomiSpeak installs and opens on its own. Hold Ctrl+Win in any app and speak.

Speaking

1. Click where you want to type, such as a message, an email, or a document.
2. Hold Ctrl and the Windows key together and speak.
3. Let go. Your words appear where your cursor is.

• Change the language: open LomiSpeak and choose Settings › Dictation language, or use the Language menu on the LomiSpeak icon in the taskbar, next to the clock. If the icon isn’t there, click the ^ arrow beside the clock to show hidden icons.
• Use a different key: open Settings › Hold to speak and choose Ctrl+Left Alt.

Common problems

• Nothing gets typed. Click inside a text field first, then hold the keys. Some fields, such as password boxes, don’t accept typed text.
• The recording stopped while I held Ctrl+Win. Pressing another key, such as a letter or an arrow, while you hold them cancels the recording, because Windows uses Ctrl+Win with other keys for its own shortcuts. Hold only Ctrl and the Windows key.
• No sound from your mic. Open Settings › Privacy & security › Microphone and turn on Microphone access and Let desktop apps access your microphone.
• I can’t see the pill. Choose Reset pill position from the LomiSpeak icon next to the clock.

Updates

LomiSpeak updates itself. When a new version is ready, it shows Restart to update; the update is also installed the next time you quit and reopen LomiSpeak.

Uninstalling

1. Choose Quit LomiSpeak from the LomiSpeak icon next to the clock.
2. Open Settings › Apps, find LomiSpeak, and choose Uninstall.
3. To also remove your settings and history, delete the folder %APPDATA%\lomispeak-desktop.