FAQ
Questions people ask us
Every answer we publish on the site, by topic: plans and refunds, listeners, interpreters, AI voices, audio and the rest.
4 questions · 2 topics · updated Oct 17, 2026
Listeners
2 questionsHow much delay is normal?
A few seconds behind the speaker is normal on every channel. Captions in the speaker's language come first; translated captions wait for enough of the sentence to keep the meaning right; an AI voice waits for enough words to speak naturally. The Console shows each channel's lag. A channel that reaches 3 s reads behind, and one that reaches 15 s reads down.
/docs/faq#docs.delay-normal
Do listeners need an app or an account?
No. Your audience opens the session's link or scans its QR code with the phone camera, and reads and listens in the browser. They install nothing and need no account to read captions or listen. The InterScribe app is there for people who prefer it: in the app, they enter the code from the host or select Scan QR code. A free listener account keeps what they save and lets them take part. A session that requires a partnership pass asks people to sign in.
/docs/faq#docs.listeners-app
Audio and setup
2 questionsWhat happens if the internet drops during the event?
Captions pause while the sound can't reach InterScribe, and everything reconnects on its own when the connection comes back. Nobody has to restart the session. At the sound desk, the desktop agent's Overview shows Agent is disconnected once it loses its connection to InterScribe, or Agent is reconnecting audio while it is still connected but its audio is coming back. Either way it keeps trying. The command-line agent runs as a service and reconnects on its own. In the Console, the connection badge usually turns amber and shows Reconnecting…. The session keeps running for listeners, and the buttons stay on screen, disabled, until the link is back. It shows Offline in red only when this computer's own microphone is the floor. A link that drops three times within 15 minutes shows Unstable. On listeners' phones, the page shows Reconnecting…: "Your connection dropped. Captions will catch up on their own." When the venue sends no sound, it shows No sound is reaching us. The computer that sends the sound needs a working connection for the whole event. Keep a phone hotspot ready as a backup.
/docs/faq#docs.internet-drops
Can I use a phone hotspot or Wi-Fi instead of a cable?
Yes, but a cable is the steadiest connection for the computer that sends the sound, and for interpreters. Wi-Fi works: if you can't plug in, sit close to the router. A phone hotspot can drop when the phone gets a call or moves, so use it only as a backup. Mobile data can drop when the signal changes. Whatever you use, watch the connection badge at the bottom right of the Console.
/docs/faq#docs.phone-hotspot