Quick answer
If a dictation won't upload or appear in the workflow, it's a connection issue — your audio is saved locally, so confirm you're online and signed in, then let BigHand retry. If BigHand won't detect your microphone or recorder, unplug and reconnect it, check Windows can see it, then select it in BigHand's device settings. When in doubt, fully restart the BigHand app and update to the current version.
WHY IT HAPPENS
Two very different problems.
BigHand has two moving parts, and it helps to know which one has failed. The first is recording — capturing your voice from a microphone, footpedal or hand-held device that Windows has to recognise first. The second is uploading — sending the finished dictation to the BigHand server so it lands in the right person's workflow. If you can record but nothing appears for the typist, the audio is safe on your PC and the upload is the problem. If you can't record at all, it's a device problem. The steps below tackle both.
THE FIX
Work through these in order.
- Confirm the dictation actually uploadedIf your recording won't appear in the workflow, check BigHand's outbox or sent list. A dictation that's still queued hasn't uploaded yet — your audio isn't lost, it just hasn't sent. Let BigHand retry, and it will usually clear once the connection is back.
- Check you're online and signed inUploads fail when BigHand can't reach the server or your sign-in has dropped. Open a website to confirm you're online, then make sure BigHand shows you as connected and signed in rather than offline.
- Reconnect your microphone or recorderIf BigHand won't detect your device, unplug it and plug it back in — ideally into a different USB port. Give Windows a few seconds to recognise it before reopening BigHand.
- Confirm Windows can see the deviceOpen Windows Sound settings and check your microphone or recorder is listed and set as an input device. BigHand can only use a device that Windows has already recognised, so if it's missing here, fix that first.
- Select the device inside BigHandIn BigHand's audio and control device settings, choose your microphone, footpedal or hand-held recorder from the list. If it was working yesterday, a Windows update or a swapped USB port can quietly change which device is selected.
- Fully restart the BigHand app (and service)Close BigHand completely and reopen it. If uploads still won't move, restart the whole PC — this restarts the background BigHand service that handles sending dictations, and often clears a stuck queue.
- Update BigHandMake sure you're on the current version. Older builds can lose compatibility with device drivers and the server after an update, which shows up as failed uploads or missing recorders.
- Using BigHand over remote desktop?If you access BigHand through a remote or virtual desktop, the recording device often has to be reconnected after each new session. Disconnect and reconnect the session, then restart BigHand so it picks up your microphone again.
Affecting several people, or every dictation? If dictations across the firm stop reaching the workflow, or nobody's recorder is detected after an update, the cause is usually server-side or a deployment issue — not one person's headset. That's the point to involve your IT provider or BigHand support rather than reconfiguring each desk.
