First: check microphone permission
Offbook needs microphone access to hear your lines. If you see "Microphone Access Required":
- Chrome: click the lock/tune icon in the address bar → Site settings → set Microphone to Allow, then reload.
- Safari (Mac): Safari asks again on every visit unless you allow it for the site. With your Offbook practice tab open, choose Safari › Settings for the site you practice on in the menu bar (for example, Settings for app.offbook.com…) and set Microphone to Allow. You can also change it in Safari › Settings › Websites › Microphone.
- System level: on macOS check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone; on Windows check Settings → Privacy → Microphone. Your browser must be allowed.
"No speech was detected"
This means the session started but no audio activity arrived in time. Try again and start speaking a bit sooner after your cue. Also check that the correct input device is selected in your OS sound settings; headsets and external interfaces sometimes grab the default.
Lines aren't being picked up
- Speak at a natural volume, reasonably close to the mic. Whispering and shouting both hurt accuracy.
- Make detection more forgiving: in Scene Controls → Line Detection, choose Auto and drag How exact? toward Forgiving (see practice settings).
- Turn on auto-advance on silence so a missed match doesn't stall the scene.
- As a fallback, say "next line" or press Enter to advance manually.
Tip: Very short lines ("Yes.", "Oh?") are the hardest to detect. Recent updates improved short-line pickup significantly, so make sure you're not on an old cached version by doing a hard refresh (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+R).
Best environment for recognition
- Rehearse in a laptop or desktop browser: we recommend Chrome. On your phone or tablet, you can listen to your scenes anywhere (an iPhone app is coming soon).
- Reduce background noise. Fans, music, and other voices can confuse detection.
- Headphones help: they stop your scene partner's audio from being picked up by your mic.