WhatsApp problem after installing 8.2

By Laurent, 10 March, 2015

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hi,

I cannot dictate a message in WhatsApp since I have installed iOS 8.2...

It looks like the app stops listening after a few seconds and before I press dictate again to finish the dictation process... Can someone check it before I contact WhatsApp?

Thanks a lot...

Options

Comments

By Lielle ben simon on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

Hi! It's work me, i have no problem with dictation.
I am offer to reinstall the app and installing and to see if the problem has bing solved. Good lak!

By Laurent on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

In reply to by Lielle ben simon

Just re-installed it and it's working normally now... Thanks for the reminder!

By yorkshire-drew on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

I tried reinstalling the app but still have the dictation problem. Focus seems to shoot down to the bottom of the screen. No problems dictating in the Notes app though. So the problem must be with What's App.

By sockhopsinger on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

If it was working before you installed iOS 8.2, then it's probably not a WhatsApp bug. Try deleting and re-installing.

By Emmel on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

Hi, does some one knows why the dictation function of the whats app and the calendar of the iphone cuts you off after 8 words? Dictation works fine with other applications, for example writing an email dictation does not shut off unless you press ok, but just after updating to IOS 8.2 then the dictation only works for a few words in whats app and calendar and then it cuts you off, does some one know how to fix this bug please? I tried reinstalling whats app and nothing.

Thank you : )

By Emmel on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

Hi Laurent, thanks so much for the info. I tried reinstalling whatsapp on an iphone 6 and it didn't work. I am glad it worked for you : )

I wanted to ask you if the dictation is allowing you to record more than 15 words on Whatsapp. In my phone and in my wife´s phone, after updating to 8.2, whatsapp and calendar only allows you to record arround 15 words before it cuts you off, the interesting part is that dictation allows you to dictate words in other apps like email, docs... for as long as you want till you press the ok button to stop dictating.

Laurent, how is it on your phone, does it allow you to dictate more than 15 words on whatsapp and calendar?

Thank you so much : )

By Laurent on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

In reply to by Emmel

Hi Emmel,

After re-checking and re-installing whatsapp for the 3rd time, I confirm your post : (... I cannot dictate more than 8 / 10 words...

Sorry for the false hope!

Laurent.

By KE7ZUM on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

This happens ith all the apps. not just what's app. I have to dictate a while, then it stops, then I keep going until my whole sentence is dictated. This is a global bug.

By Toonhead on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

I can confirm the exact same behavior within Whatss app, but here's a switch. I have tried dictating in the messages app so far and it doesn't exhibit this type of behavior, I'm able to dictate pretty long messages, much longer than the 12 to 15 words I can get with what's app before it dumps you out. So I can't quite agree with Sara's assertion that it's system-wide. It quite definitely happens within what's app, that much I can quite definitely confirm.

By KE7ZUM on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

Hmm. it happened in tw recorder, and audio boom, and once in messages. Looks like this might be random, again.

By Mister Kayne on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

Yes, I too face this problem. The dictation stops half way. Other challenges I face are that I keep losing focus in a group conversation. It skips some messages in the thread. Cannot copy messages sometimes in a conversation thread. Overall very difficult to make sense of what is going on with the conversation if the focus keeps skipping a message between

By splyt on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

Can you confiirm iif this happens only with VO turned on or all the time?

After all I am having the same issue. Ununstalled whatsapp and reinstalled it and it did work for some time and then stopped .....
It did not yet happen in other apps.

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

My wife's had this issue since upgrading to 8.2. Only seems to be affecting Whatsapp and the Calendar. After uninstalling whatsapp and reinstalling it, it seems hit or miss(mostly miss) but it always stops between 8 and 10 words in, usually 9. Disabled/enabled dictation, enabled/disabled whatsapp mic access, rebooted. No change.

Edit: If I don't say anything or make a long continuous noise, dictation doesn't end. It's only after a set amount of words. I said words one at a time with a few seconds in between them and it only died after 6 words.

By splyt on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

but was she using VO?

Specifically I would like to jknow if it is a vo / dictation specific bug or if it happens with other people out of accessibility features usage.

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

No, VO is disabled.

Thanks for your post… That's why I thought the problem was sorted out after the first reinstallation. It did work for a while...

By Laurent on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

Hi, I am not that sure that it's a system wise issue… I don't have any problem with iMessage, Mail and SMS.

By Kahio on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

Any body else with an alternative solution? I've already uninstalled and installed what sap and the issue is still there. After a few spoken words, the dictation service stops and writes down only the first 5-10 words.

HELP!

By apostrophe on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

I love the dictation feature, but soon after upgrading to iOS 8.2 on March 14, I found that dictation suddenly broke. After a short time I realized that the problem was across all applications, not just iMessage where I originally discovered it.

I'm offering my solution in case it might work for your situation... What I realized at the end of the day was that the problem was more than just iMessage. Dictation was completely frozen. So, doing what all good IT professionals do, I rebooted the iPhone. Once it was back up I found that dictation worked fine across all applications! I've only had it running now for about 12 hours since the reboot (including a good night's sleep) so I don't know if any new problems will crop up -- but so far so good.

So, if you haven't rebooted since your upgrade, you might give that a try. "Sadly", since iOS is very stable the need to reboot is rare and may be often forgotten -- but it's always worth a try. My suspicion (if this works for you) is that there may be a minor bug in the iOS update or initial-boot scenario.

Here's my post on the apple support forum that may be useful:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/27828869#27828869

Cheers

By Luis Peña on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

Several people have recommended rebooting the iPhone or reinstalling the WhaatsApp application. I have tryed all of these solutions without any success. we should report this problem both to Apple and to WhatsApp. In fact I wrote to support@whatsapp.com on March 12th, but I haven't received any answer yet.

By Saqib on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

Hi. I have had the same issue and have given up on the app. Dictation wasn't a problem up until the new update. The Funny thing is that dictation isn't broken within the text messaging app or even Facebook messenger. The trouble with instant messaging apps is that you need to reply in a timely manor and not having dictation working will slow you down to the point where you can't play catchup as I have found that I end up having conversations with 3 people on the go. I can only suggest that you use a Bluetooth keyboard for now.

Hi,

What is really funny is that if you use the whatsapp form to report the problem, the dictation works normally! I realised it while I was reporting the problem... Can someone double-check it?

Thanks.

By LorieELA on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 23:34

Spoke with Apple yesterday and they have not received any official complained about the dictation issues. I'm finding dictating issues on whatsapp and on outlook. Apple said to call (800) 694-7466 with problems so they could be made aware of the bug officially.

By Max on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

I also have the same issue with. not being able to dictate properly in Whatsapp that happened after upgrade. I have an Iphone 5c Whatsapp cuts me off pretty quick. ALL OTHER PROGRAMS DICTATE FINE. I just wanted to emphasize that because I can dictate in everything else like text messages or notes. So its definitely a whatsapp issue. We need to get together and find out what we can do. We can get this fixed if we are in greater numbers and all send the message. Let me know what you guys think.

By Ray on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

Hi.

I have the same issue. 5s, VO, 8.2, Whatsapp only dictates 4 words or so and then stops. So ffar seems to work fine with other apps, email, text/I message, Facebook, Twitter etc.. Resorted to replying to messages using Emoji's or voice messages. I'll be logging a call with Whatsapp today.

Still waiting for an iPad version of Whatsapp, but that's a discussion for another day.

Happy hunting..!!

By splyt on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

What you have to notice is that this is niot an accessibility bug because dictation is not an accessibility functionaluity.
The fact that people have encontered such a problem in softtwares that somehow also manage the microphone usage makes me suspect that may be that dictation is having trouble accessing the microphone and thinks that no more words are being spoken but this is spiculation.
It clearly is a Apple bug however it's not affecting every kind of programs.

By Ray on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

Hi Splyt..

I agree with your comment.But as a collective, dictation is a key feature we visually impaired folks use and maybe depend on. I'm personally frustrated and sometimes reluctant to update apps or do iOS updates as this may risk having bugs and faults to features we rely on. It's all speculation on who's fault it is, but my question is, why are there issues regardless of VO compatability?

Regular fully sighted/able bodied iOS users don't face the same issues we do. And it's always an uphill struggle to get things to work for disabled users. And quite frankly, although Apple does a terrific job at making their producs accessible, I don't feel that bugs ar rectified quick enough. Updates should all work perfectly from the outset and if we don't shout loud enough, we're not heard.

I'm not tekky enough to know the nuts and bolts of how apps are developed, but if it worked once upon a time, why won't it now?

Sorry, going to get off my high hourse now.

Cheers..

By KE7ZUM on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

I have the problem in message, audioboom, facebook messages, mail, , ht recorder, twisted wave and I think that's it. I reported this to apple but we'll see when ios 8.3 comes out if it is fixed.

By splyt on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

Actually sighted people are likely having he very same problem because turning cvoiceover off and trying to dictate will lead to the same problem.
We must shout, but perhaps the accessibility folks are not responsible for that.
Apple is not doing any terrific jiob other than letting their products buggy. Give me money features and a group of IT students and I probably will do a better QA process than what they are doing.
Bugs are being introduced all the time and are being corrected too late when there is a new version that probably is going to break something else so that you in practice never havee a decent product at all in the end of the process.
Nothing signals that they are going to change in a short time, so expect for more and more. I am also being hardly impacted by the dictation issue and, as I have no way of going back to a more stable version, there's nothing to be done. However, based on historical statistics and on what seens to be Apple's strategy to break first and fix whenever there's time to I don't think that things will go back as what they once were ... to sumarise: you can wait for a fix but know that the update fixing it will cost some thing else broken, and to have one fixed you must comply to the other not working as it should.

Hi Max,

I have contacted them already and they said that the problem will be corrected in the next update… I am not sure if they where referring to the Whatsapp or to the iOS next update?! But i think that the problem must be reported to them anyway…

Please also note that not everyone agree on the fact that this is a Whatsapp issue only…

Cheers...

Hi Splyt,

I totally agree with you especially, if we consider that iOS 9 is for September or October this year! And also if we take in consideration that the iPhone 4S will be out for iOS 9,,,

Cheers...

By KE7ZUM on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

I looks like it has. I was able to dictate a long ish message in to audio boom and it did not die. I also don't hear it die when I hear my sighted relative use her phone

Take care.

By JLove on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

Hello,
No change with iOS 8.3 and iPhone 6.
If you dictate fast without pausing, it sometimes works.

By Doug Greene on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

I had high hopes the IOS 8.3 would solve this annoyance, but I think it is on Whatsapp to fix it. Anyway, I have devised a work-around. Go to Messages, where dictation works perfectly, dictate your long message, then copy and paste it into the Whatsapp message field. Not exactly an Earth-shattering discovery, I grant you.

By Laurent on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

Apparently the people from WhatsApp are not in a hurry to fix this issue! Maybe they are waiting for the release of there new VOIP enabled version for iOS?

By becker2168 on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

Has anyone tried the newest version of what's app issued today to see if the dictation issue has been resolved?

By Lielle ben simon on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

Yes, i have try to dictation on whatsapp. This working well. The dectation don't stop and i can to write long messages.

By Luis Peña on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

I am pleased to report that the dictation problem has been fixed in the latest update just released. you simply need to update the app.

By Luis Peña on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

Hi, according to the release notes of the latest version of Whatsapp, the calling feature has been enabled for IOS. however, I don't find the calling tab on the iPhone app that appears on the android version of Whatsapp. does somebody else has found the means to activate this feature?

By Laurent on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

The dictation problem is still existing… Hoping someone can tested and let me know… It works only if voice-over is turned off

By Raul on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

To make calls someone has to call you and it should be activated. I haven't tried yet so I don't know.

By splyt on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

Whatsapp dictation isue persists withh voiceover. Not able to test it with VO disabled.
Once it did not stop me from duictating but it anotated only the first words. This time I was speaking pretty fast. When I spoke slowly it stopped the recognition in the first words, same kind of instability it presented before.

Please consider that I am using 8.2.

By Laurent on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

Thanks for your post! Same problem for me… The dictation works only if voice-over is disabled… I'm going to contact once again the guys from Whatsapp.

By Salman on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

I have tried something on a couple of devices (both iPhone 5S's) and have found it to work, so am just putting it out here. If you actually find the Dictate button on the iOS keyboard, and double tap it with one finger to start dictation, then dictation does seem to work the way its supposed to. Meaning, it doesn't cut you off or end abruptly.
However, if you perform the two finger double tap gesture anywhere to start dictation, then this dictation bug is indeed encountered.
Therefore, for those who are still encountering the bug, maybe you can try finding and double tapping the actual Dictate button with one finger, rather than using the two finger double tap gesture anywhere on the screen to start/stop dictation, and see how it works.
I hope this helps.

By Laurent on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:34

Hi Salman, it does work… so, the problem came from the double tap with two fingers that I've been using for years… Thanks a lot.