iPhone Dictation Not Working in Asana? 10 Fixes That Work

Short answer: In Asana on iPhone, dictation uses the mic on your keyboard, so a text field must be open. Tap into a task name, description or comment box until a cursor blinks. If words vanish, Return may have started a new task, or your comment was never sent.

You open Asana on your iPhone to update a task between meetings, and you would rather say it than type it with your thumbs. You tap the mic on your keyboard and nothing happens. Or there is no mic. Or there is no keyboard at all, however many times you tap the task. Or you dictate a quick list of to-dos and one sentence turns into three tasks. Or you record a careful comment by voice, go back to your inbox, and find out later that nobody ever saw it.

On iPhone, dictation lives on the keyboard, and Asana only shows the keyboard while you are editing a text field. Most of Asana is not a text field. Lists show tasks you can open, tick off or drag, and a task page is a stack of separate fields: the name, the assignee, the due date, the projects it belongs to, any custom fields, the description, subtasks and the comment box at the bottom. Only a few of those take words. The rest open pickers, and while a picker is on screen, the keyboard and its mic are usually gone.

So most Asana dictation problems on iPhone are about the keyboard and the field you are in, not about your microphone. This guide works through every cause in order, starting with the most common. If dictation is failing in every app on your phone and not only in Asana, start with our complete guide to iPhone dictation not working instead. The same fixes apply to Asana on iPad.

Where the mic comes from in Asana

Asana's task fields have no dictation button of their own. On iPhone, the mic you dictate with is part of your keyboard. Apple's keyboard has one, and so do some third-party keyboards, including ours. You tap it, speak, and the words arrive at the cursor exactly as if you had typed them, so Asana treats them the same way it treats typing.

That has one big consequence: if the keyboard does not appear, there is no mic to tap. Many "Asana dictation is broken" problems are really "no keyboard" problems, and most of the rest are about where the words went after they arrived.

The 30-second Notes test

Before you change anything, open the Notes app, create a new note, tap in the body so the keyboard appears, then tap the mic key and say a sentence.

• If dictation fails in Notes too, the problem is dictation on your iPhone, not Asana. Go to fixes 8 and 10.
• If it works in Notes but no keyboard appears in Asana, start with fix 1, then fix 6.
• If the keyboard appears but has no mic, or the mic will not start, go to fixes 2 and 8.
• If your words arrive but one sentence became several tasks, or a comment never reached anyone, go to fixes 3 and 4.
• If a field will not open for editing at all, go to fix 5.
• If your words went missing, go to fixes 7 and 9.

The 10 fixes, in order

1. Tap into a field, not just the task

Home, My tasks, your inbox and your projects are lists. Scrolling them, opening a project or switching between list and board views shows you tasks, but nothing is being written yet, so the keyboard stays down.

Tap a task to open it. The task fills the screen, but opening it is not the same as editing it. Tap the task name to change it, tap the description area, including its placeholder text on an empty task, to write the details, or tap the comment box at the bottom of the task to write a comment. The keyboard slides up with a cursor where you tapped, and that is when the mic appears.

To add a new task, use Asana's add button, or the add task row at the end of a list or a board column, depending on where you are. Either way, the new task opens with a cursor in its name and the keyboard already up.

Be careful where you tap in a list. The checkmark beside a task completes it, and a tap there instead of on the words is the quickest way to make a task disappear (fix 9). Pressing and holding a task lets you drag it, and in some views swiping a task can act on it, so tap rather than swipe when all you want is a cursor.

2. Find the mic key on your keyboard

If the keyboard appears but there is no mic, check which keyboard is showing. Apple's mic key sits at the bottom of Apple's keyboard, on the right on most current iPhones. Many third-party keyboards have no mic of their own, so if one of those is active there is nothing to tap. Tap and hold the globe key and switch to Apple's keyboard, or to a third-party keyboard that has a built-in mic.

Some fields bring up a different keyboard on purpose. A number custom field may show a number pad, which usually has no mic key, and password boxes, including the sign-in page your company uses for Asana, always show Apple's own keyboard. Those are fields you type into rather than dictate into. If a third-party keyboard keeps switching back to Apple's in ordinary text fields, our guide to a third-party keyboard that keeps switching back explains why. If Apple's keyboard is showing and still has no mic, dictation is turned off or restricted on your iPhone, which fix 10 covers.

3. Keep Return out of task and subtask names

When you add tasks to a list, a task name is a single line, and Return has a job: it saves the name and, in many places, starts a fresh task underneath, ready for the next one. That is great for dictating a quick list of to-dos one at a time, and exactly what goes wrong when you dictate a long thought. Saying "new line" or "new paragraph" while you dictate inserts a Return, so a single sentence can end up split in two, with the rest of what you said sitting in a second task or in a new empty row. Subtask names follow the same rule.

The other trap is starting to talk the moment a new task opens. The cursor starts in the name, so the whole brief goes into the name, and you end up with a task title that fills the screen and an empty description. Keep the name to one short phrase, then tap into the description and talk through the details there. The description is a multi-line editor, so Return starts a new line rather than a new task, and it is where teammates expect to find context, steps and links.

If a sentence has already split in two, open the first task, tap at the end of its name, and dictate or paste the rest back in. Then delete the fragment.

4. Send your comment before you leave the task

This fix is about words that arrived but never reached anyone. Asana saves changes to a task's name and description for you once you finish editing. The comment box does not work that way: your words only become a comment when you tap the send button beside the box.

Until you tap send, the comment is a draft on your phone. Nobody else can see it, and nobody is notified. Going back to your inbox, switching apps or closing Asana can lose it, depending on your version. Make sending part of the rhythm: dictate, read it back, tap send, then move on. It is also worth testing Return once with a short comment, so you know whether it starts a new line or sends in your version before you dictate a long one.

A weak connection causes a related problem. Asana saves your changes to its servers, so if your signal drops at the wrong moment, an edit or a comment may not stick. If something you dictated is missing when you come back to the task, check your connection and dictate it again.

5. Make sure you can edit this project

If you tap a field and no cursor appears, or the comment box works but nothing else will open, you may not have permission to change the task. Asana lets project owners and admins choose who can edit, who can only comment and who can only view, and the names for those levels vary between plans and versions.

• Comment-only access lets you post comments but not change the task name, description or fields. If the comment box works but the description will not open, this is the likely reason.
• View-only access lets you read tasks without changing or commenting on them, so no field will bring up the keyboard.
• Guests from outside your organization often see only the projects and tasks shared with them, sometimes with limited rights.
• Tasks in other people's projects follow that project's settings, so a task that shows up in your My tasks list can still be read-only for you.

Ask a project admin to change your access if you need to edit. In the meantime, dictate your update as a comment, if you are allowed to comment, and let the task owner move it into the description.

6. Use text fields for words, and close pickers

Most of a task page is not free text. Tapping the assignee, the due date, the projects or a dropdown custom field opens a picker, and while it is on screen the keyboard, and its mic, can disappear or stop sending text to the task. People and project pickers usually have a search box, so words you dictate there filter the list instead of landing in the task. Number fields want a number, and date fields want a date from their picker. Only the task name, the description, subtask names, the comment box and text-type custom fields are made for free text.

The description and comment editors react to certain characters too. An at sign opens a list for mentioning a person, task or project, and while it is open your next words are treated as a search for whatever you are trying to mention. Dictation writes an at sign when you say it, and an email address brings one with it, so part of a sentence can vanish into the list or be swapped for a name. Depending on your version, a line that begins like a list item can also be turned into a formatted list.

If a list or picker opens, close it, then tap back into the text so the keyboard returns. It is usually easiest to dictate the words first, then set the assignee, date and fields with a tap each, and add any @mentions by hand so the notification still reaches the right person. Our guide to dictating quotes and special characters covers how to say symbols when you actually want them.

7. Check which task you are in

On iPhone a task fills the screen, which makes it easy to lose track of which one you are looking at. Tapping a notification in your inbox, a linked task in a description or a subtask in the list opens that task instead, and a subtask's page looks a lot like its parent's. The back button returns you through the tasks you opened, one at a time.

Glance at the task name, and at the parent task Asana usually shows above a subtask's name, before you dictate. If your words went into the wrong task, cut them and paste them into the right one. If you already sent a comment there, edit or delete it from its menu and post it again where it belongs.

8. Free up the microphone

Dictation needs the microphone to itself. A phone or FaceTime call, a video call in another app, or a recording app still running in the background can all keep hold of it, and dictation may refuse to start until they let go. End the call or stop the recording, then try again.

Headphones are the next suspect. If the mic key does nothing, or dictation starts and gives up at once, disconnect your Bluetooth earbuds or headset and test with the iPhone's own microphone. If that works, the problem is the headset connection, not Asana. Our guide to iPhone dictation not working with AirPods walks through the headphone side.

9. Find words that landed somewhere else

If you dictated and the text seems to be missing, it usually went somewhere you were not looking. Check these in order:

• The next task down. A spoken line break may have split your sentence into two tasks (fix 3).
• The name instead of the description. If the cursor was in the task name, your details are in the title, not underneath it.
• A subtask, or the parent. The two pages look alike, so your words may be on the other one (fix 7).
• The comment box. Your words may still be sitting there unsent (fix 4).
• Completed tasks. A tapped checkmark completes a task, and many views hide completed tasks. Asana usually offers an undo straight afterwards. If you missed it, change the view's filter to show completed tasks and tap the checkmark again to reopen it.
• Somewhere other than the project you expected. A task added from My tasks is assigned to you but may not belong to any project yet, and one added inside a project lands in the section you added it to.
• Search. If the search field was active, your words became a search, not a task.

If you still cannot find a task, search for a distinctive word from it. And remember that dictation replaces any selected text, just as typing does. If a word was highlighted when you tapped the mic, what you said replaced it. Shake to undo straight away, then tap once where you want the new words so nothing is highlighted before you start again.

10. Check dictation on your iPhone

If dictation failed in Notes too, the problem is on the phone. Open Settings, go to General, then Keyboard, and make sure Enable Dictation is on. If the switch is missing or greyed out, check Screen Time: under Content & Privacy Restrictions, open the allowed apps list and make sure Siri & Dictation is allowed. A work or school iPhone may also restrict dictation, or third-party keyboards, through its management profile, in which case your IT team holds the setting.

Make sure the keyboard language matches the language you are speaking, since dictation follows the active keyboard. Then install any pending iOS update, update Asana from the App Store, and if nothing else has worked, restart your iPhone. A restart clears stuck audio sessions and keyboard processes in one step.

Asana quirks that look like broken dictation

• Dictation stops halfway through a thought. iPhone dictation stops when you pause. Our guide to iPhone dictation that keeps stopping explains what you can do about it.
• Every task name ends with a full stop. iPhone dictation adds punctuation automatically, which suits sentences better than task names. You can turn off Auto-Punctuation under Settings, General, then Keyboard, or simply delete the full stop.
• The keyboard closes while you are talking. Scrolling the task page or tapping outside the field can end editing, which closes the keyboard and stops dictation. Keep your thumb off the screen until your words have arrived.
• Your edit is on your iPhone but not on your computer. Asana syncs through your account. Check that your phone is online, then reload the task on the other device.
• Names and project jargon come out wrong. Client names, product codenames and team acronyms are the words general dictation handles worst. Read them back, because a task is read by other people.

Quick triage

• No keyboard when you open a task: no field is being edited yet. Fix 1.
• Keyboard has no mic: a keyboard without a mic, a number pad, or dictation off. Fixes 2 and 10.
• One sentence became two tasks: Return in a task name. Fix 3.
• Teammates never saw your comment: it was never sent. Fix 4.
• Comment box works, description will not open: comment-only access. Fix 5.
• Mic vanished after tapping a field: a picker is open. Fix 6.
• Words landed on a different task: a notification or subtask opened another page. Fix 7.
• Mic starts then stops at once: microphone busy or Bluetooth. Fix 8.
• Task or words went missing: check the places in fix 9.
• Fails in Notes too: iPhone dictation settings. Fix 10.

Asana on iPhone versus Asana on Mac

On a Mac you dictate with a keyboard shortcut rather than a mic key, and a task opens in a side pane next to the list rather than filling the screen, so the usual traps are a selected task row with no cursor and a pane that quietly switches to another task. Everything Asana does with your words is the same on both: Return in a task name starts a new task, comments wait for you to send them, and access levels decide which fields you can change. Our guide to Mac dictation not working in Asana covers the desktop side, and our guide on how to dictate tasks and comments in Asana covers setup on both. If you also keep a personal task list in Todoist, our guide to iPhone dictation not working in Todoist covers the same kind of problems there.

A dictation workflow that suits Asana

• Capture first, one phrase per task. In a list, dictate a short task name, press Return, and dictate the next. You can empty your head of a dozen to-dos in a minute or two.
• Open the task for detail. Tap into the description and talk through the context, the steps and what "done" looks like. Return makes a new line here, not a new task.
• Use subtasks for steps. Dictate a step, press Return, dictate the next.
• Send comments as a habit. Read it back, then tap send before you touch anything else.
• Set dates, assignees and fields by tap. They are quicker to pick from a list than to say, and they avoid fix 6 entirely.
• Read back names and dates. A misheard name or deadline in a description matters more than a small grammar slip, because your teammates will act on it.

It is worth getting right, because speaking is much faster than typing. Most adults type around 40 words per minute on a full keyboard, and even professional typists usually sit around 80 to 100, while normal speech runs at 130 to 150 words per minute. On a phone the gap is wider still, and it is the difference between writing a proper update from the corridor and leaving it until you are back at your desk.

A keyboard with a mic that works in every project

Apple's dictation is free and built in, but it stops when you pause, it depends on settings that are easy to switch off by accident, and fixing a misheard word means going back and editing by hand on a small screen.

Voice Keyboard Pro is a custom iPhone keyboard with a built-in mic button for dictation in any iOS app, Asana included. Tap into a task name, a description or the comment box, tap the mic, speak, and your words are added at the cursor. Because it is a keyboard rather than a feature of one app, it works the same way in Asana, Notes, Messages and everywhere else you type. Like any keyboard, it only appears while Asana is editing text, and Asana still decides what Return and the send button do, so fixes 1 and 3 to 6 still apply.

A few features help with project work in particular:

• Voice Edit lets you speak a change to fix text, so you can correct a name or a deadline in a comment without selecting and retyping it.
• Two-way translation while dictating, across 24 languages, lets you speak in one language and write in another, which helps on a project whose members read different languages.
• Swipe typing is there for the moments when speaking out loud is not practical, such as an open-plan office or a quiet train.

Setup means adding the keyboard in Settings and allowing Full Access so it can reach the transcription service. Our guide to enabling Full Access for an iPhone keyboard explains what that permission does. On privacy, our servers store only operational pings. No audio and no transcript content is stored. There is a free tier with daily limits, and Pro is $4.99 a month or $34.99 a year. On a Mac, the same app lives in your menu bar: hold a hotkey, speak, release, and the text appears at your cursor in Asana or anywhere else.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn't the keyboard appear in Asana?

Nothing is being edited yet. Opening a project or a task shows it but does not start editing. Tap the task name, the description or the comment box, and the keyboard will appear with its mic.

Why did my dictation create several tasks?

Return in a task name saves it and starts a new task, and saying "new line" while dictating does the same. Keep task names to one phrase, and dictate longer text into the description, where Return starts a new line instead.

Why can't my teammates see my comment?

It was most likely never sent. A comment stays a private draft on your phone until you tap the send button. Open the task again, check whether the text is still in the comment box, and send it.

Why can I comment on a task but not edit its description?

You probably have comment-only access to the project the task belongs to. You can post comments but not change the name, description or fields. Ask a project admin for edit access if you need it.

Does this work the same way on iPad?

Yes. Asana on iPad uses the same keyboard-based dictation, the same task fields and the same comment behaviour, so every fix here applies.

What to do next

Run the 30-second Notes test, then work through the fixes that match what you saw. For most people it is fix 1: a task was open, but no field was being edited, so there was no keyboard and no mic. If one sentence turned into several tasks, it is fix 3, and if teammates never saw what you said, it is fix 4. And if you want dictation that works the same way in every app on your phone, try Voice Keyboard Pro's free tier on your next update.