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Voice commands aren't working in Cook Mode

Voice control in Cook Mode requires three things to be set up correctly:

  1. OS-level microphone permission for Forktastic
  2. Wake word recognition working
  3. Recognition language matching how you’re speaking

Most “voice isn’t working” reports trace to one of these three.

Diagnosis flow

Open Cook Mode and look at the microphone icon in the top-right:

  • Blue, pulsing → Voice is on and listening. If commands still don’t work, see “Recognition failing” below.
  • Gray → Voice is off. Tap the icon to enable.
  • Red with strikethrough → Microphone permission denied at OS level. See “Permission denied” below.

Permission denied (red icon)

Forktastic doesn’t have permission to use your microphone.

iOS

  1. Open iOS Settings.
  2. Scroll down to Forktastic in the app list (near the bottom).
  3. Tap Microphone.
  4. Toggle Allow Microphone on.
  5. Return to Forktastic; Cook Mode should now show voice as available.

Android

  1. Open Android Settings.
  2. Tap Apps → Forktastic.
  3. Tap Permissions → Microphone.
  4. Select Allow (or “Allow only while using the app”).
  5. Return to Forktastic.

Web

In Chrome / Edge / Safari, the browser asks for microphone access the first time you start Cook Mode. If you clicked Block:

  1. Click the lock icon in the address bar.
  2. Find Microphone and change it to Allow.
  3. Reload the page.

Wake word not triggering

The microphone is on but commands aren’t being heard.

Try the wake word out loud

Say clearly: “Hey Forktastic” — wait for the icon to brighten briefly (it acknowledges hearing the wake word), then say your command.

If nothing happens when you say the wake word:

  1. Speak louder / closer to the device. If you’re 6+ feet away, the recognizer may not pick you up.
  2. Try the shorter wake word. Change it to just “Forktastic” in Options → Voice control → Wake word.
  3. Background noise. Turn off the radio / TV / extractor fan momentarily and try again. If the wake word triggers in quiet, the issue is ambient noise.

Test the recognizer

In Options → Voice control → Test recognition, Forktastic shows a live transcript of what it’s hearing as you speak. Useful to see if the issue is wake-word detection or full-command parsing.

Wake word triggers but commands aren’t recognized

The icon brightens after “Hey Forktastic” but the command itself doesn’t do anything.

Likely causes:

  • Command isn’t in the supported list. See Voice commands in Cook Mode for the full list. Free-form questions (“how long do I cook this?”) aren’t supported.
  • Language mismatch. Your account language is Spanish, but you’re speaking English (or vice versa). Voice follows the account language setting. Either change the language or speak in the matching language.
  • Heavy accent or fast speech. Try speaking more slowly and clearly. The recognizer adapts to your voice over time but starts from a generic model.

Voice works but text-to-speech doesn’t read steps out loud

Two different features. Voice input (commands) is independent from voice output (reading steps).

To enable reading out loud:

  1. Options → Voice control → Read steps aloud → toggle on.
  2. Set your preferred speaking voice via OS settings — iOS: Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → Voices.

If the toggle is on but no audio plays:

  • Device on silent? Even with silent switch on, Forktastic’s TTS should play through if the system has a route — but earpiece-only routing may mute it. Use the volume keys to increase media volume.
  • No internet? Some TTS voices are downloaded on demand. Make sure the device has connectivity the first time you enable.

Voice intermittently misbehaves mid-recipe

Recognition works sometimes, fails other times.

Common causes:

  • Battery saver mode. iOS Low Power Mode and Android battery saver throttle CPU. The recognizer may drop frames. Disable for the cooking session.
  • Running background apps consuming the mic. If you’re recording a video, on a phone call, or using another voice app, the mic is busy. Close other apps.

Test on a different device

If you have access to a second device, sign in and try Cook Mode there. If voice works on device B and not device A, the issue is device-specific (likely permission or hardware). If voice fails on both, the issue is account-level (language setting) or environmental (background noise).

Get help

If voice has been broken for multiple sessions and none of the above fixes it, email support@forktastic.com with:

  • Device model and OS version
  • Forktastic version
  • Voice setting screenshots (Options → Voice control)
  • What “doesn’t work” looks like exactly