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Set Up On-Device Speech Recognition

Configure Maise as your Android speech recognizer and enable voice dictation in any text field. Everything runs on-device using distil-Whisper — no microphone data is sent to any server.

Overview

Maise provides two ways to use on-device speech recognition on Android:

  • System speech recognizer — Registers Maise as Android's preferred RecognitionService. Apps that call the standard SpeechRecognizer API use Maise automatically.
  • Voice keyboard (IME) — Adds a voice dictation button to the keyboard in any text field across the entire system.

Both are optional and independent — you can enable either or both. The ASR model used is distil-whisper/distil-small.en, a compact English-language Whisper variant that loads quickly and runs efficiently on mobile hardware.

Voice Activity Detection (WebRTC VAD) automatically stops recording when silence is detected, so you don't need to manually tap a stop button. Maximum recording duration is 30 seconds.

Set Maise as the default speech recognizer

1
Open the Android Settings app.
2
Navigate to Apps → Default Apps → Assist & voice input. The exact path varies by device — on Samsung it may be under General Management → Language.
3
Under Speech recognizer, select Maise.
4
The first time Maise is used for recognition, it will request Microphone permission. Tap Allow.
Shortcut: In the Maise app, tap Open Speech Settings on the ASR tab to jump directly to the relevant settings screen.

Enable the voice keyboard

The Maise keyboard input method (IME) adds a microphone button to any text field on the device, allowing you to dictate text anywhere without switching apps.

1
Open the Android Settings app.
2
Navigate to System → Language & input → On-screen keyboard (or Virtual keyboard on some devices).
3
Tap Manage keyboards and enable the toggle for Maise.
4
Confirm the security prompt. Maise is now available as a keyboard option. Switch to it using the globe or keyboard icon that appears in text fields.
Shortcut: In the Maise app, tap Open Keyboard Settings on the ASR tab to jump directly to the keyboard management screen.

Test it in the app

Before relying on ASR system-wide, test it in the Maise app to confirm it works on your device:

1
Open the Maise app and tap the ASR tab at the top of the screen.
2
The status line will read Loading model… on first launch while the Whisper model initializes, then Ready — tap to record.
3
Tap Start Recording and speak. Recording stops automatically after a pause in speech, or you can tap Stop Recording early.
4
The status changes to Transcribing… then Done. The recognized text appears in the output field below.

Troubleshooting

Status stays on "Loading model…" for a long time

  • The Whisper model loads from storage on first use. On slower devices this can take 5–10 seconds. Subsequent loads are faster.

Shows "(no speech detected)"

  • Make sure the microphone permission is granted to Maise in Android Settings → Apps → Maise → Permissions.
  • Speak clearly and within range of the microphone. Background noise can interfere with VAD.

Maise does not appear as a keyboard option

  • Make sure you enabled Maise in Manage keyboards (step 3 above).
  • The keyboard switcher icon only appears in text fields — look for it when your keyboard is open.
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