**Transcription is slow or failed — SozAI Help**
Source: https://sozai.app/help/transcription/failed/

# Transcription is slow or failed

 Updated 6 October 2026 · 3 min read

**In short** If a transcription fails, no minutes are charged: minutes are deducted only after the text is saved. Open the recording marked Failed, read the reason, delete it and upload the file again, or contact us.

## What to do when a transcription fails

### iPhone and iPad

1. Open the Library and find the recording. Pending or Processing means work is in progress; Failed means it did not work.
2. Tap the recording marked Failed: the screen shows the reason and your audio, if it was kept, which you can play.
3. Delete the recording (“Delete Failed Transcription?”) and upload the file again. If it fails again, open Profile → Help and documents → Contact Support and write to support.

### Android

1. Open the Library and find the recording. Pending or Processing means work is in progress; Failed means it did not work.
2. Tap the recording marked Failed: the screen shows the reason and your audio, if it was kept, which you can play.
3. Delete the recording (“Delete Failed Transcription?”) and upload the file again. If it fails again, open Profile → Help and documents → Contact Support and write to support.

### Web

1. Open All recordings and find the recording. In the queue or “Transcribing · …%” means work is in progress; Failed or Out of minutes means it did not work.
2. Open the recording: the screen says why, for example “No speech was found” or “The audio could not be read: the file is damaged or has no sound”.
3. Click Upload again and choose the file once more: the web version cannot retry from the earlier upload. If it fails again, click Write to support on the same screen: the message carries the number of the recording. Delete recording… removes the failed one.

## If it is taking long

While the status is Pending or Processing, do not upload again. If a recording has been stuck in processing for half an hour or more, the server puts it back in the queue by itself.

In the web version a recording with no progress for 15 minutes is marked “Processing is taking longer than usual”. You can close the page: the text appears by itself.

## Common reasons for failure

- There is no speech in the recording, or it is too short.
- The file is damaged or has no sound.
- You do not have enough minutes, so transcription does not start. See [When are minutes charged](https://sozai.app/help/billing/minutes-charged/).

The reason on the card may be in English, for example “No speech detected in audio”. The web version shows the reason in the language of the interface.

Cannot find the cause? [Contact us](https://sozai.app/help/contact/).

**Did this help?**

## Related articles

- [How to get a more accurate transcript](https://sozai.app/help/transcription/accuracy/)
- [When are minutes charged](https://sozai.app/help/billing/minutes-charged/)
- [Which files can I upload](https://sozai.app/help/recording/supported-files/)

## In this article

- What to do when a transcription fails
- If it is taking long
- Common reasons for failure

**Did not help?** Write to us. We will attach this article so you do not have to explain it again. [Contact us](https://sozai.app/help/contact/?from=transcription%2Ffailed)

**Did this help?**   [Contact us](https://sozai.app/help/contact/?from=transcription%2Ffailed)


---
This is the markdown twin of https://sozai.app/help/transcription/failed/ — the same content, without the markup.
Published by SozAI (https://sozai.app). Reuse and quotation are allowed with attribution and a link back.
Machine-readable index: https://sozai.app/llms.txt · data API: https://sozai.app/api/