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iPhone · physical device

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checklist.

Simulator success is not enough. This pass covers signing, keyboard installation, microphone handoff, on-device models, and text insertion on a real iPhone. iOS 17 or newer. There is no App Store or TestFlight build today — install from source with Xcode.

signing

prerequisites before the phone.

Bundle IDs and the App Group are already final (com.vocahq.vocaphone*, team 92962VK378 when you have access). Nothing to rename for VocaHQ signing.

  1. 01

    Open the Xcode project

    Run just ios gen if needed, open ios/VocaPhone.xcodeproj, and choose your Apple team on all three targets — App, Keyboard, and Live Activity — under Signing & Capabilities.

  2. 02

    Confirm the App Group

    Enable the same App Group (group.com.vocahq) on all three targets. Automatic signing registers it the first time your team can use the VocaHQ identifiers.

  3. 03

    Install on the connected iPhone

    Select the phone as the run destination and run VocaPhoneApp. Need the short path first? Use the iPhone install guide.

on-device setup

model on the phone. gateway optional.

iOS keyboard extensions cannot use the microphone. The companion app records; the speech-to-text model still runs on the iPhone in on-device mode. A gateway is never required for that path.

  1. 01

    Grant microphone access

    Open vocaphone and allow the microphone permission.

  2. 02

    Keep Quick Dictation ready

    Leave “Keep Quick Dictation ready for 10 minutes” enabled. Confirm the app shows Quick Dictation as Ready and iOS shows its microphone indicator.

  3. 03

    Choose a transcription source

    On this iPhone — under Settings → Transcription, pick On this iPhone, download a model, and wait until it reports verified. Downloaded is not the same claim.

    Your gateway — optional. Under Settings → Transcription → Gateway, enter a trusted LAN, Tailscale, or HTTPS URL plus bearer token, or scan the gateway pairing QR. Approve camera and Local Network access when asked.

  4. 04

    Confirm Ready

    Transcription should report the selected source as Ready. A gateway path should also name the loaded model.

  5. 05

    Microphone and keyboard preferences

    Under Settings → Dictation, choose Automatic or iPhone Microphone and confirm Input in use. Under Settings → Keyboard, try Compact, Standard, and Tall in a real host app.

  6. 06

    Enable the keyboard

    Open iOS Settings from vocaphone. Under General → Keyboard → Keyboards, add vocaphone and enable Full Access. Full Access is for shared session state and for reaching a gateway you configured — not for collecting unrelated typing.

acceptance

required phase 1 gate.

Repeat in Notes at least five times, then again while Quick Dictation still shows Ready.

  1. 01

    Hand-off dictation

    Notes → vocaphone keyboard → Start
→ containing app begins recording → swipe back
→ keyboard shows active recording → Finish
→ transcript available → Insert
  2. 02

    Ready-window Dictate

    Notes → vocaphone keyboard → Dictate
→ Notes stays visible → Recording → Finish
→ transcript available → Insert
  3. 03

    What must hold

    Microphone stays active when returning to Notes. Expired ready windows open vocaphone again. Finish stops the recorder. Text inserts directly, never via clipboard. Cancel removes local audio. The keyboard, app, and Live Activity name the same place — “Transcribing on this iPhone” or “Transcribing on your gateway”. Secure fields that block third-party keyboards must fail without a gateway error.

Need the short install path or the build recipes?

back to the iPhone guide read the build documentation