Slate — FAQ & Troubleshooting

Updated: July 23, 2026

Questions

What is Slate?

A private voice journal. You talk, your iPhone writes it down, and Slate notices what keeps coming up and reads your week back to you on Sundays. There is no server and no account. Everything happens on the phone.

Which iPhones does Slate work on?

Recording works on any iPhone that runs iOS 26. Transcription runs on iPhone 12 and newer. Reflections are written by Apple Intelligence, which Apple supports on iPhone 15 Pro and newer. On earlier phones your recordings and transcripts work fully, and always will.

Which languages can Slate transcribe?

The current list lives in the app under Settings, Transcription. Set the language before you record. Slate transcribes in the language it is set to, so speaking a different one produces a poor transcript.

Where is my journal stored?

On your iPhone. Audio never leaves it. If you turn on backup in Settings, your transcripts and reflections back up to your own iCloud account, encrypted. Audio stays on the phone even then.

Can you read or recover my journal?

No. There is no server copy, so we cannot read your journal, and we cannot recover it if it is deleted. Your iPhone and your own iPhone backup are the only places it exists. We consider this a feature, and it comes with that responsibility.

What does Slate cost?

One month free, then $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year, or a one-time lifetime purchase of $99.99. Payments go through your Apple account.

How do I cancel or get a refund?

Apple handles both. Cancel under Settings, your name, Subscriptions. Request refunds at reportaproblem.apple.com. Canceling the trial before it ends means you are never charged.

Is Slate professional support of any kind?

No. Slate is a private place to think. It is not a medical, psychological, or crisis service. If you are in crisis, contact local emergency services or a crisis line.

Troubleshooting

The card says reflections are paused and Apple Intelligence is off, but I turned it on

The switch that matters is at the top level of the Settings app: Settings, Apple Intelligence & Siri, first screen. The similarly named row inside Slate’s own settings page controls Siri suggestions, not Apple Intelligence. If the switch is genuinely on, the model may still be downloading. The download is large and only runs on Wi-Fi while the phone charges, and it needs about 7 GB free. Both the phone language and the Siri language must be ones Apple Intelligence supports. A work-managed phone can have Apple Intelligence blocked by its profile.

Reflections aren’t available on this phone

Apple Intelligence needs an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, and Slate will not pretend otherwise on earlier hardware. Your recordings and transcripts work fully.

I press Start and nothing happens

You are probably on a call. iPhones do not allow any app to record the microphone while a call is active, including video calls. End the call and try again.

My transcript came out in the wrong language

Slate transcribes in the language set under Settings, Transcription. Pick the language you speak, then record again.

The recording sounds far away, or my AirPods didn’t record

Slate records from the iPhone microphone, so keep the phone near you while you talk. AirPods play audio back but do not capture your voice in the current version.

The widget stopped opening the app

Remove the widget from your screen and add it again. iOS occasionally keeps a stale copy of a widget after an app update, and a fresh add clears it.

An entry says it didn’t go through

The banner on the timeline says what happened and offers the honest next step. When the recording itself is fine, trying again keeps your audio. Dismissing the banner deletes the entry, so dismiss only what you do not want.

An entry is stuck on Transcribing or Reflecting

Open Slate and leave it in the foreground for a minute. Interrupted work resumes on its own when the app comes forward.

Something else? Write to e@hsla0001.com. A person reads it.