# Live troubleshooting

Fixes for Live calls that won't start, can't hear you, drop, answer themselves, or come back without Glyph's tools, and for an empty Live view.

Canonical page: https://themachine.myapps.ai/docs/desktop/live/troubleshooting

## Calls

| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No **Live** button | Group chats don't have calls. On a phone, the button hides while the message box has text in it. | Open a one-to-one thread, or clear the message box. |
| **Talk with Writer live** and a key box | This bot has no Glyph key yet. | Paste your Glyph key once. See [Set up Glyph](/docs/desktop/live/set-up-glyph). |
| **Couldn't reach Machine** | Machine didn't answer when checking the bot's Glyph key. Your key is safe. | Check your connection and click **Try again**. |
| *"Machine can't use your microphone…"* | The microphone is blocked or missing. | Allow the microphone (see [Microphone access](/docs/desktop/live/make-a-call#microphone-access)), then end the call and call again. |
| The bot can't hear you | You're muted, or the wrong microphone is the system default. | Check the status doesn't say **Muted**. Choose your microphone in your computer's sound settings. |
| The bot keeps answering itself | It hears its own voice through your speakers. | Use headphones, or set **Room** to **Noisy room or laptop speakers** in [Live settings](/docs/desktop/live/live-settings). |
| The bot cuts in while you think | It treats short pauses as the end of your turn. | Set **Pause before answering** to **Long**, **When it answers** to **When you've finished your thought**, or use **Hold to talk**. |
| Tapping the mascot doesn't stop it | Interrupting by tap works on Glyph's Classic voices. | On Live engine voices, just start talking. |
| *"Glyph's player isn't allowed in this app yet, so this call runs without Glyph's tools."* | The call fell back to a simpler connection. You can still talk, but the bot can't make images or search on the call. This is normal on iPhone and iPad. | Ask for images and look-ups after the call, in the thread. |
| *"The call dropped. End it to save what was said."* | On iPhone and iPad: the connection was lost. (On Machine Desktop and Android, a problem shows Glyph's own message or the row below instead.) | Click **End call** to save the transcript, then call again. |
| *"Glyph reported a problem."*, *"Glyph did not answer…"*, or another message from Glyph | Glyph had trouble on its side. | Click **End call** to save the transcript, then try again in a minute. Check your Glyph plan has minutes left. |
| No call card after hanging up | Nothing was said, so nothing was saved. | Check your microphone and call again. |
| A voice you picked doesn't work | That voice isn't on your Glyph plan's engine. | Pick another voice, or **Glyph's default**. |
| Your voice, language or **Hold to talk** is ignored on iPhone or iPad | [Live settings](/docs/desktop/live/live-settings) don't apply there yet. Calls are hands-free with Glyph's default voice. | Use Machine Desktop or Android when you need those settings. |

## Live view

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| No **Live** tab | You're on a phone, where the Live view isn't available. Use **Bot's computer** from the chat's **…** menu. |
| *"Open an app from the Dock, or watch them open as Writer works."* | The bot hasn't done anything in this thread yet. Send it a task. |
| *"The computer is asleep. It wakes when Writer works."* | The bot's computer is asleep to save money. It wakes when you send a message. |
| The view stopped following the bot | You took over by clicking around. Click the **Live** pill at the bottom right. |
| A window you closed doesn't come back | It reopens when the bot uses that app again, or open it from the dock. |
| *"Files must be 100 MB or smaller"* | Upload smaller files, or share a link with the bot instead. |

## Still stuck?

- Make sure Machine Desktop is up to date. See [Updates](/docs/desktop/get-started/updates).
- Check the general [Troubleshooting](/docs/desktop/troubleshooting) page.