Why does holding Fn open the emoji picker?

macOS can use Fn (the globe key) for emoji or input sources. Set System Settings › Keyboard › 'Press globe key to' to 'Do nothing'. Toolbay Flow also holds Fn back from macOS while it is running and warns you if macOS still uses it.

Why does my music get quieter when I dictate with AirPods?

Using a Bluetooth headset's microphone switches it to a low-quality call mode. Since version 0.4.15, Toolbay Flow uses your Mac's built-in mic when the default input is a Bluetooth headset, and never keeps the headset mic open between dictations, so your music stays as it was.

Does dictation work offline on Mac?

Toolbay Flow works offline once installed: speech recognition and cleanup run on your Mac. Apple Dictation depends on your Mac and language; check Keyboard › Dictation for whether input is processed on your device.

How to dictate on a Mac for free

By the Toolbay team · Updated October 26, 2026

There are two free ways. Apple Dictation is built in and takes a minute to turn on. Toolbay Flow is a free app that works like Wispr Flow: hold Fn, talk, and it types clean, punctuated text with the filler words gone. Both are below, step by step.

Way 1: Apple Dictation (built in)

Open Keyboard settings. Choose Apple menu › System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar.
Turn on Dictation. Go to Dictation and turn it on. Pick a shortcut in the Shortcut menu if you want one.
Start dictating. Click in a text field and press the Microphone key, your shortcut, or choose Edit › Start Dictation. Speak, then press the key again or wait; it stops after 30 seconds of silence.

Say punctuation out loud (“comma”, “new paragraph”) for the best results.

Way 2: hold Fn with Toolbay Flow

Install Toolbay Flow. Install the free Toolbay app for Mac, then Toolbay Flow in one click. Or use the .pkg installer from the Toolbay Flow GitHub releases (aarch64 for Apple silicon, x64 for Intel).
Allow it to open. The app is not notarized yet. If macOS says it can't check it, open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway.
Allow Microphone and Accessibility. Flow asks for these two permissions. Accessibility lets it paste text into other apps. After you allow them, Flow restarts and picks up where you were.
Hold Fn and talk. Click into any text box, hold Fn, speak, and let go. Cleaned-up text appears where your cursor is. Fn + Space starts hands-free mode.

Useful keys: Fn + Ctrl edits selected text by voice, ⌘ + Ctrl + V pastes your last dictation again, Esc cancels. All can be changed in Shortcuts.

Which way should you use?

Apple Dictation for the odd short reply. Toolbay Flow if you write long emails, documents or AI prompts by voice and don't want to clean them up afterwards. All the free Mac options are compared in free voice to text apps for Mac.

Fixes and questions

Why does holding Fn open the emoji picker?: macOS can use Fn (the globe key) for emoji or input sources. Set System Settings › Keyboard › 'Press globe key to' to 'Do nothing'. Toolbay Flow also holds Fn back from macOS while it is running and warns you if macOS still uses it.
Why does my music get quieter when I dictate with AirPods?: Using a Bluetooth headset's microphone switches it to a low-quality call mode. Since version 0.4.15, Toolbay Flow uses your Mac's built-in mic when the default input is a Bluetooth headset, and never keeps the headset mic open between dictations, so your music stays as it was.
Does dictation work offline on Mac?: Toolbay Flow works offline once installed: speech recognition and cleanup run on your Mac. Apple Dictation depends on your Mac and language; check Keyboard › Dictation for whether input is processed on your device.

Wispr Flow is a trademark of Wispr. Toolbay's tools are independent open-source projects, inspired by Wispr Flow, and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Wispr.