Support
Something not working, or a question the answers below don't cover? A real person reads every message, usually within two working days.
Getting started
Which iPhones does Quern work on?
iPhone 15 Pro or later, on iOS 26.4 or later. Quern does all its transcription and summarising on your iPhone, which needs Apple Intelligence, so it won't install on earlier models.
Why is Quern "getting ready"?
The first time, iOS downloads speech recognition for your language. It happens once. The speaker-labelling models come with the app, so there's nothing else to wait for. You can start recording straight away; transcripts catch up when the download finishes.
Which languages does it transcribe?
Your iPhone's language, or another you choose in Quern, wherever Apple's on-device speech recognition supports it; otherwise English (UK).
The free trial and unlocking
How does the trial work?
Everything works free for 30 days from when you start the trial. After that, unlocking Quern costs a one-time price shown in the app, with no subscription. It works with Family Sharing.
What happens if I don't unlock it?
You can't make new recordings or import files, but everything you've already recorded stays yours: you can still play it, read it, correct it and export it.
I've bought Quern but it's asking me to unlock again
Tap ⓘ beside "Recordings" to open About Quern, then Restore purchase, signed in with the Apple Account you bought it with. On a new iPhone, or after reinstalling, this brings the unlock back.
How do I get a refund?
Refunds are handled by Apple: go to reportaproblem.apple.com.
Recording
My recording paused on its own
A phone call, another app taking the microphone, or your AirPods switching to another device pauses the recording instead of ending it. Everything before the pause is safe. Tap Resume to carry on, or Save.
Quern closed or my phone died while recording
Quern saves audio as it records. Open it again and the recording will be there, missing at most the last few seconds, and it will be transcribed.
Does Quern record through my AirPods?
No. Quern records from the iPhone's own microphone even when AirPods are connected, so everyone in the room is heard clearly, and playback still goes to your AirPods. If the iPhone's microphone can't be used, the recording screen says which microphone it's recording from.
Can I record from the Lock Screen?
Yes. Add Quern's Record control to Control Centre, the Lock Screen or the Action Button, or add its Lock Screen widget. You can also say "Start a recording in Quern" to Siri.
Speakers
The speakers are wrong
Open the recording and tap Edit speakers, beside Transcript. You can rename a speaker, merge two that are really one person, move a passage to the right speaker, or tell Quern how many people were there and let it look again.
Can Quern recognise people I record often?
Only if you ask it to. When you name a speaker in Edit speakers, Quern asks whether to recognise that voice; you can also choose Recognise from that speaker's menu. After that it suggests them in new recordings, and you confirm each suggestion. Choose This is me for your own voice and transcripts and actions say You. See or forget every voice in About Quern › Recognised voices.
Correcting the transcript
A word was misheard
Touch and hold the word to correct it. If the same word appears elsewhere in the recording, Quern offers to change the others too. Then tap Regenerate beside the summary to use the corrected transcript.
A name is spelt more than one way
The recording says "A name may be misspelt" above the transcript. Tap Check: you can hear each spelling said, then choose the right one, and every use changes. Quern remembers your choice and suggests it when it hears the name the old way in later recordings; see or forget these in About Quern › Remembered spellings.
I changed something by mistake
In the recording's More menu, Corrections lists every change to the words, newest first, and Undo puts back what was there. A word you've changed again since is left as it is.
Summaries and reading
There's no summary
Summaries use Apple Intelligence. Check it's switched on in Settings › Apple Intelligence & Siri, and that its model has finished downloading. Very short recordings, or ones with no speech, get a short note instead of a summary, rather than a summary of nothing.
What's the Clean reading?
Transcripts are verbatim by default. Clean hides "um", "uh" and repeated words while you read. The recording and the verbatim text are never changed, and exports stay verbatim.
Does Quern work with VoiceOver?
Yes. Transcripts are read a paragraph at a time, with actions to fix a word or change the speaker. See Accessibility for VoiceOver, Voice Control, text size and more.
Your recordings
Where are my recordings stored?
On your iPhone, in Quern's own storage. They're included in your iPhone's iCloud or computer backups if you have those turned on. See Privacy.
How do I get them out?
From a recording's More menu, Export saves a folder with the transcript as Markdown, the audio, and SRT and VTT subtitles, ready for Obsidian or any notes app. Share as PDF is in the same menu, and the Share button sends the summary and transcript as plain text.
How do I delete a recording?
Swipe it left in the list and tap Delete, or touch and hold it; in a recording, it's in the More menu. Quern asks first. A recording still in progress can't be deleted.
Can I move recordings to a new iPhone?
Restoring your new iPhone from a backup of the old one brings them across. You can also export them first.