How to troubleshoot an oravo app?
Last updated 5 days ago. Available on: Android 7 and later
Tap into any text field, tap the Oravo Bubble, and speak — your words appear as text in any app. This guide walks you through your first dictation in about 30 seconds, plus the device-specific setup some Android phones need.
Quick checks
Is the on-screen keyboard open? The Oravo Bubble only appears when the on-screen keyboard is open. It shows up early in the keyboard animation — you don't need to wait for it to finish opening.
Is Oravo up to date? Several bubble visibility and text insertion bugs were fixed in recent versions.
Are you on a Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, OPPO, Vivo, Realme, Huawei, Honor, or Motorola device? If yes, jump to Device-specific setup below — these manufacturers need extra permissions. If you're on a Pixel or other stock Android device and the bubble still doesn't appear, open Settings → Accessibility → Oravo and confirm it's enabled.
How to start your first dictation
- Tap into any text field — Messages, WhatsApp, Gmail, Notes, or anywhere you want to type. The on-screen keyboard opens.
- Look for the Oravo Bubble along the left or right edge of your screen. It appears as soon as the keyboard starts opening. If you don't see it, see Device-specific setup below.
- Tap the Oravo Bubble to start recording. You'll hear a short sound and see a live waveform — that means Oravo is listening.
- Speak your message at a natural pace. Oravo transcribes in real time, adds punctuation automatically, and applies any custom dictionary entries or snippets you've set up.
- Tap the checkmark to insert your text. When your words appear in the text field, you're done — your transcript is also saved as a card in the Oravo app.
Note: If the Oravo Bubble shows a pulsing spinner, Oravo is reconnecting automatically — no action needed. If it shows a warning triangle, tap it to go directly to the accessibility permission screen and re-enable Oravo. Once reconnected, you'll see a brief "Oravo Bubble reconnected" message.
Tip: Oravo inserts text directly in popular chat and social apps — including WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, Instagram, Teams, Signal, Slack, Discord, Snapchat, Google Messages, and Gmail — without requiring you to paste manually. If insertion can't be completed, Oravo retries up to 5 times, then copies your text to the clipboard and shows a notification with a copy button so you can paste it anywhere.
Where the Oravo Bubble appears
The Oravo Bubble works in most text fields across Android, including some you might not expect:
- In-app text fields: Messages, WhatsApp, Gmail, Notes, and the vast majority of apps where you can type.
- Notification reply boxes: Inline reply fields in the notification shade — for example, replying to a WhatsApp message directly from a notification. Any text you've already typed is preserved, and your dictated text is inserted at the cursor position.
- Browser address bars: The URL and search bar in Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Samsung Internet, Opera, Vivaldi, DuckDuckGo, Kiwi, UC Browser, Yandex, Firefox Beta/Nightly, and other Chromium-based browsers, so you can dictate URLs or searches without tapping into a separate field.
Device-specific setup
Some Android manufacturers restrict background apps aggressively, which can stop the Oravo Bubble from appearing. After completing the steps for your device, the Oravo Bubble appears whenever the on-screen keyboard opens.
Note: On OnePlus, Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, and Samsung devices, the system may silently revoke Oravo's accessibility permission in the background. When that happens, the Oravo Bubble shows a warning triangle and you'll receive a high-priority notification — tap either to re-enable Oravo.
Samsung
Follow these steps to keep Oravo running in the background:
- Open Settings → Battery → Background usage limits.
- Add Oravo to "Never sleeping apps."
- Open Settings → Apps → Oravo → Battery and set it to Unrestricted.
- Disable "Put unused apps to sleep" in Battery settings.
- Open any text field. If the Oravo Bubble appears at the edge of your screen, you're done.
Xiaomi / Redmi / POCO
Follow the on-screen accessibility setup, including any extra MIUI confirmation prompts. Then complete these protection steps:
- Enable autostart for Oravo.
- Add Oravo to the battery saver exemption list (set to No restrictions).
- Lock Oravo in recent apps.
- Open any text field. If the Oravo Bubble appears, setup is complete.
Vivo
Grant the battery exemption when Oravo prompts you during setup. On Vivo devices, also enable autostart and lock Oravo in recent apps:
- Open Settings → More Settings → Applications → Autostart.
- Enable Oravo.
- Lock Oravo in recent apps (swipe down on the app card).
- Open any text field. The Oravo Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.
Transsion (Tecno / Infinix / itel)
Enable autostart and disable battery optimization:
- Open Security → Permissions → Autostart and enable Oravo.
- Open Settings → Battery → Battery optimization and set Oravo to Don't optimize.
- Lock Oravo in recent apps.
- Open any text field. The Oravo Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.
Motorola / Lenovo
Disable battery optimization for Oravo:
- Open Settings → Apps → Special app access → Battery optimization.
- Set Oravo to Don't optimize.
- Lock Oravo in recent apps (swipe down on the app card).
- Open any text field. The Oravo Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.
OPPO
Complete all of the following:
- Enable Auto-Launch for Oravo.
- Allow Background Activity for Oravo.
- Add Oravo to the power saving exception list.
- Open any text field. The Oravo Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.
Realme
Complete all of the following:
- Set battery optimization for Oravo to Not optimized.
- Enable Auto Launch for Oravo.
- Allow background activity for Oravo.
- Open any text field. The Oravo Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.
OnePlus
Complete all of the following:
- Disable battery optimization for Oravo.
- Enable App Auto-Launch for Oravo.
- Lock Oravo in recent apps.
- Open any text field. The Oravo Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.
Huawei / Honor
Honor devices follow the same steps as Huawei:
- Open Settings → Apps → App launch → Oravo.
- Set Oravo to Manage manually and enable all three toggles.
- Open Settings → Apps → Special access → Battery optimization.
- Set Oravo to Don't allow.
- Open any text field. The Oravo Bubble appears at the edge of your screen.
Common issues
Bugs fixed in recent updates
The following issues have been resolved. Update Oravo to the latest version and restart the app.
Dictated text falling back to clipboard in popular chat apps: Oravo would frequently require a manual paste in WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, Instagram, Teams, Signal, Slack, Discord, Snapchat, Google Messages, Gmail, and similar apps, even when direct insertion would have worked. Oravo now inserts text directly and reliably in these apps.
App crashing on Android 14+ devices after revoking microphone permission: The app could crash repeatedly after microphone permission was revoked. The Oravo Bubble now stays visible in a limited mode (recording disabled) so you can re-grant microphone permission without reinstalling.
Shake-to-unsnooze not working: Shaking the device to wake the bubble from snooze was non-functional. Shake-to-unsnooze now works correctly, and the bubble is positioned correctly when the keyboard is open at the time you shake.
Snooze deactivating when opening the keyboard or tapping a text field: Snooze could be unintentionally cancelled when the keyboard opened or when tapping into a text field. Snooze now stays active until you explicitly dismiss it.
"Oravo is snoozed" home screen card persisting after the app was stopped: The snooze card could remain on the home screen even after the app was force-stopped or shut down by the system. The card now disappears correctly when the app is no longer running.
Oravo Bubble not repositioning correctly when rotating the screen: The bubble could lose its edge position (e.g., right-edge anchoring) when rotating between portrait and landscape. The bubble now correctly preserves its anchored position after rotation.
Bubble briefly becoming visible during snooze when the accessibility process restarted: The bubble could flash visible momentarily while snoozed if the accessibility process restarted in the background. The bubble now stays hidden consistently during snooze.
Repair prompt not appearing if accessibility permission was revoked during snooze: If accessibility permission was revoked while the bubble was snoozed, no prompt appeared to guide you through re-granting it. The repair screen now appears correctly in this situation.
Bubble taking 5 seconds to shrink when focusing a search field: When both Shrink the bubble when not in use and the Shrink the bubble in search fields sub-option were enabled, focusing a search field would wait the full 5-second inactivity delay before shrinking. The bubble now shrinks instantly when a search field is focused.
Oravo Bubble showing no visual feedback when the accessibility connection is lost: On some devices — particularly Samsung One UI 6 and phones with aggressive battery or deep-sleep modes — Oravo's accessibility connection could be dropped silently. The bubble would still appear on screen but typing would stop working. The bubble now shows a pulsing spinner while reconnecting, or a warning triangle if the permission has been revoked or reconnection takes too long. Tapping the warning triangle takes you to the accessibility permission screen, and an "Oravo Bubble reconnected" message confirms when the connection is restored.
Oravo Bubble not appearing after granting accessibility permission: Users could grant the accessibility permission during setup but the bubble would never appear. The bubble now reliably appears as soon as the permission is granted, and reappears after a device reboot.
Oravo Bubble flickering or unexpectedly hiding when tapping into text fields: The bubble could briefly flicker or auto-hide when moving between text fields. Both are now smooth and consistent.
Error messages on the Oravo Bubble not dismissing automatically: Error messages would stay on screen until manually dismissed. They now disappear automatically after 8 seconds. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Re-granting permissions from a home screen warning card not returning you to the app: Tapping a home screen error card to re-grant overlay or accessibility permissions would leave you in system settings. You're now brought back to the app automatically after granting the permission. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Oravo Bubble not appearing in notification reply boxes and browser address bars: The bubble was missing when replying to notifications (such as WhatsApp inline replies) and when tapping into browser address bars. Text insertion in notification reply fields could also fail on Pixel, Samsung One UI, Xiaomi, OPPO/OnePlus/Realme, and Vivo devices. Both surfaces are now fully supported, and any text already typed in a reply box is preserved. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Text not inserting after Oravo loses its connection to the active text field: Oravo could lose its link to the text field mid-dictation and fail to insert text. Oravo now detects this automatically and retries the insertion. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Feedback reports showing incorrect or merged transcript versions: When submitting feedback, the raw transcript, formatted text, and pasted text could be merged together. Each version is now correctly preserved. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Oravo Bubble rendering incorrectly on first dictation after a fresh install or app data clear: The Done (checkmark) button could be missing or cut off, the waveform could appear squashed, and on some devices (including Pixel 8a and OnePlus) the bubble could be clipped on both edges. The bubble now consistently shows at full width with all controls visible. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Oravo Bubble shrink-then-expand animation when starting recording: The bubble could briefly shrink and snap back to full size when tapped, and the waveform could take about a second to start moving. Both are now smooth from the first frame. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Oravo Bubble appearing at the wrong width while recording: The recording bubble could display misaligned or at an incorrect width. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Oravo Bubble stopping on Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO devices: Oravo could be stopped in the background by the system on MIUI-based devices. Setup now guides you through autostart and the battery exemption list. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Blank screen in Picture-in-Picture on OnePlus devices: The Picture-in-Picture window could appear blank. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Editing a snippet or dictionary word created a duplicate: Renaming a snippet trigger or dictionary word could cause the original entry to reappear after syncing or relaunching. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Onboarding buttons misaligned on tablets and foldables: Primary and secondary buttons on onboarding screens could appear at different widths on larger displays. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Spark Mail not recognized as an email app: Oravo could fail to detect Spark Mail and apply the Email writing style. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Oravo Bubble resizing incorrectly when anchored to the right edge: The bubble could glitch when resizing while docked on the right side of the screen. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Cancel and Done buttons not responding immediately: The Cancel and Done buttons in the dictation bubble had a brief delay before becoming tappable. They now respond immediately.
Oravo Bubble flashing off-screen from the right edge: The bubble could jump off-screen briefly when switching to recording.
Writing style not applying correctly across many Android apps: Oravo was not correctly detecting which app you were dictating into across messaging, work, and email apps, so the wrong style could be applied.
Writing style not applying right after changing it: Starting a dictation immediately after picking a new style could use the previous style.
Selected writing style reverting after restart: A style like "Very Casual" could reset to the default after a restart. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Back button behavior on the dashboard: The back button now dismisses the keyboard first before returning to the Home tab. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
App crashing on the "How did you hear about us?" onboarding screen: Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Oravo Bubble unresponsive after signing out and back in: The background service powering the bubble could fail to restart. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Dictated text appearing in the wrong app after switching apps: Oravo could lose track of the active app. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Oravo Bubble not reappearing after switching back to a text field: Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Oravo Bubble not appearing while the keyboard is opening: The bubble could stay hidden while the keyboard was animating. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Oravo Bubble stuck on "Ready" after dismissing the keyboard: Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Dictated text inserted multiple times in Google Docs or Gmail: Text could be inserted up to five times in slower apps. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Oravo crashing in TikTok, WeChat, or Xiaohongshu: Oravo could crash in apps with complex layouts. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Dictated text not inserting in Gmail on Samsung devices: In apps using an embedded web browser for text fields, dictated text could fail to appear. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Audio recording missing after simultaneous dictations: A race condition could cause one recording to be lost. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Text not inserted in WhatsApp, Telegram, or other slower apps: Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Dictated text inserted twice in messaging apps: Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Text not inserted after back-to-back dictations: A timing issue when starting a second dictation immediately after the first. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
Paste or Retry buttons unresponsive after a transcription error: Tapping these buttons incorrectly started a new recording. Fixed in version 1.0.3.
FAQs
- What's the difference between Tap Mode and Hold Mode?
- The bubble appears but nothing happens when I tap it
- The bubble doesn't appear in a specific app
- I just finished onboarding but I don't see the Oravo Bubble
- Can I move or snooze the Oravo Bubble?
- How do I change the Oravo Bubble size?
- My dictated text isn't being inserted
- Why does a failed transcript card only show Retry and Delete?
- What happens if my dictation reaches the 5-minute limit?
- Can I use Oravo offline?
- My transcription failed — what happened?
- I see a warning card about permissions on the home screen
- What happens if I revoke microphone permission on Android 14+?
- How do I change my dictation language?
- Can the same word be both a dictionary entry and a snippet?
Limitations and notes
Warning: Deleted transcripts cannot be recovered. Make sure you've copied anything important before deleting a card.
- Oravo requires Android 7 or later.
- An internet connection is required for transcription.
- Writing styles currently apply in English only.
- Sound effects play at the system sonification volume level.
- Transcript history is stored locally on your device and does not sync across devices.
- Privacy mode is available in Settings → Data & Privacy. When enabled, data is stored only on your device.
- Dictation sessions are capped at approximately 5 minutes. You'll get a warning about a minute before the cap, and at the cap your audio is automatically submitted for transcription.
- Shaking your device wakes the Oravo Bubble from snooze. After shaking, the bubble reappears the next time you focus a text field.
- A separate Oravo Bubble Opacity setting (Settings → Oravo Bubble Opacity) lets you adjust transparency in 5 steps from 20% to 100%. The default is 80%, and the screen includes a Reset button in the app bar to return the setting to default.
- On Android 14 and later, if microphone permission is revoked, the Oravo Bubble remains visible but recording is disabled until the permission is re-granted.
Still stuck?
Reach out to our support team if:
- The Oravo Bubble doesn't appear after following the device-specific setup steps.
- Dictation consistently fails to transcribe despite a stable internet connection.
- You see an error message not covered in this guide.