# My transcription is stuck or failed

> What to do when a recording sits in Uploading, Queued, or Transcribing, what Failed means, and when Retry transcription helps.

Updated: 2026-08-16 · Canonical: https://usecanto.com/help/troubleshooting/transcription-stuck/

A recording that seems stuck is usually still uploading — transcription only starts once the audio has fully reached the cloud, and on a weak connection that can take a while. A recording marked **Failed** can be retried with one tap.

## Check the status first

The pill on the recording tells you which stage it's in:

- **Recording** / **Uploading** — the audio hasn't left your device yet. This is the stage that depends on your connection.
- **Queued** / **Processing** / **Transcribing** — the audio is safely in the cloud and being worked on. Your connection no longer matters.
- **Preparing AI** — the transcript exists; the summary and chat are being generated.
- **Ready** — done.
- **Failed** — transcription didn't complete; see below.

A recording also shows **Locked** or **Not transcribed** when you're over the free plan's monthly minutes — that's a plan state, not an error. See [Why is my recording locked or not transcribed?](https://usecanto.com/help/transcription/locked-recordings/)

## Stuck on Uploading

1. Check that the device has a network connection. The recording waits safely on your device until the upload completes — nothing is lost while it waits.
2. On iOS and Android, open the app and leave it in the foreground for a minute so the upload can run.
3. Don't sign out while a recording is uploading — signing out removes local recordings from the device, and one that never uploaded can't be recovered.

## Stuck on Queued, Processing, or Transcribing

Give it time first — a long recording takes longer to transcribe, and most recordings are ready within minutes of finishing their upload. If a recording has been sitting in one of these states for over an hour:

1. Open the recording and choose **Retry transcription** from the ⋯ menu.
2. If retrying doesn't clear it, [contact support](https://usecanto.com/help/troubleshooting/contact-support/) with the recording's title and date.

## The recording shows Failed

1. Open the recording — the message underneath explains what happened.
2. If it says "The recording was too short or too quiet to produce a transcript.", there was no usable speech in the audio. Play it back to confirm; a retry won't change the result if the audio really is silent. See [My recording is missing or silent](https://usecanto.com/help/troubleshooting/recording-lost-or-silent/) for why that happens.
3. For any other failure, use **Retry transcription** from the ⋯ menu. Transient errors on our side usually clear on retry — see [Retry a failed transcription](https://usecanto.com/help/transcription/retry-transcription/).
4. If it fails again, contact support with the title and date. Don't delete the recording — the audio is intact, and we can usually recover the transcript from it.

## When should I contact support?

Write in if a recording is stuck in the same state for more than an hour after retrying, or fails repeatedly on audio that clearly contains speech. Include your platform, the recording's status pill, and its title and date — see [Contact Canto support](https://usecanto.com/help/troubleshooting/contact-support/).

Related articles:

- [Retry a failed transcription](https://usecanto.com/help/transcription/retry-transcription/)
- [How does transcription work in Canto?](https://usecanto.com/help/transcription/how-transcription-works/)
- [Why is my recording locked or not transcribed?](https://usecanto.com/help/transcription/locked-recordings/)