Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
Gboard freezes or lags when typing, including by voice, for 3 typical reasons: a full cache, personalization turned on, or too many active languages at once. What helps, in order: clear the Gboard cache and data, turn off Personalization in Settings → Advanced and cut the number of active languages to 1-2.
If Gboard hangs during ordinary typing or clearly stumbles on voice input, the cause is usually not a failure of a specific phone. According to Google, there are 3 typical causes, and all of them are fixed in the keyboard's own settings.
Why this happens
Google's official list of causes is short and specific. The first is a full Gboard cache: over time accumulated temporary data can slow the keyboard down, including voice recognition. The second is personalization turned on: the keyboard constantly adapts to your typing style, and this also uses resources. The third is too many active languages at once: the more language models Gboard keeps ready, the slower input becomes. The causes are given according to Google's official documentation.
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The keyboard hangs, typing lags, recognition breaks off | The official list of causes: an overloaded cache, personalization turned on, too many active languages. | 1) clear the Gboard cache and data; 2) Settings → Advanced → turn off Personalization; 3) cut the number of active languages to 1-2. |
How to fix it step by step
- Clear the Gboard cache and data in the app settings. This is the first step from Google's official list for keyboard freezes, and it often removes most of the problem.
- Open Settings → Advanced in Gboard itself and turn off Personalization: personalization constantly analyzes your typing style and adapts to it, and this also uses keyboard resources.
- Cut the number of active languages to 1-2: the more language models Gboard keeps ready at the same time, the slower both ordinary and voice input become.
- If the freezes remain after all three steps, check in turn which of them gave an improvement; this will show which of the three official causes was the main one in your case, and not just a combination of them.
If it did not help
If there is no time to deal with all three causes at once, start at least with clearing the cache: according to Google, it is the first and simplest step. Potok does not exist on a phone, a tablet or a watch: it works only on a computer (Windows, macOS and Linux), and as a cloud service it recognizes speech on servers in Russia, so it does not work without the internet even there. If you dictate a lot at a computer, Potok can replace the built-in dictation there. Other voice input errors on Android are collected in the android section, and if voice input does not work on Android at all, that is a separate cause, covered there too.
Frequently asked questions
Reinstalling is not mentioned in the official list of causes, so first go through the remaining two steps: turn off Personalization in Settings → Advanced and cut the number of active languages to 1-2. If the freezes remain after that, we have no data on more drastic measures than these three steps.
Gboard freezes or lags when typing, including by voice. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Gboard freezes or lags when typing, including by voice you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Gboard freezes or lags when typing, including by voice. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Gboard freezes or lags when typing, including by voice you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Gboard freezes or lags when typing, including by voice. Versions are available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the default hotkey is Ctrl+Space; there are no mobile versions. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. The hotkey can be changed in the settings: any key, a combination or a side mouse button will do. Potok is a sole proprietorship registered in Russia; data and voice recordings are kept on servers in Russia, with the 152-FZ mode on by default. For Gboard freezes or lags when typing, including by voice you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Gboard freezes or lags when typing, including by voice. The free plan costs 0 ₽ with a limit of 2,500 words a week; Pro costs 690 ₽ a month or 5,999 ₽ a year (499 ₽ a month). Here is how Potok works: hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), speak, release — and the finished text is inserted into the active field of any app. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Gboard freezes or lags when typing, including by voice you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
If you want to compare for yourself
Take one of your own tasks and dictate it in Potok. The first 14 days have no limits and need no card. Potok is a cloud service, so it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokYou dictate in the app, and recordings and voice messages are transcribed by @potok_now_bot in Telegram. 60 minutes per month are free; the Potok subscription removes the limit in the bot and in the app.
Built-in dictation and Potok
| Tool | Where it works | Russian language | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | primary language | cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline |
| Windows voice typing (Win+H) | Windows 10 and 11 | Windows 11 only | Microsoft cloud, does not work offline |
| macOS Dictation | macOS | yes | on the device or on Apple servers |
Primary sources: support.google.com · support.microsoft.com