1. Device power and pairing
1.1 My device won't turn on
Make sure the device has been charged. The green charging light turns off once it's fully charged.
Try a forced restart. This won't delete any data.
press and hold the Power button for 12 seconds or more
then release once the LED state changes.
If it still won't turn on, try a factory reset (note: this will delete any unsynced sessions):
Quickly press the Power button 3 times.
The LED will flash white rapidly to confirm reset has started.
Press and hold the Power button for 2 seconds during the flashing to complete the reset.
If none of the above works, we can arrange a replacement under warranty.
1.2 My device won't pair with the app
First, a quick check if you use the desktop app: If you've ever enabled USB-C upload on the desktop app and your Remote is currently plugged into a computer or phone via USB-C, unplug the cable and try pairing again.
Standard pairing steps:
Confirm your device is on and charged, with the LED showing white.
Stay close to your phone or computer (within 14 metres).
In the Heidi app, go to Settings → Add Device and follow the in-app instructions.
If you see an error, take a screenshot and send it to us with your app version and device serial number.
1.3 My app says my device is already paired with another account
A Remote can only be paired to one account at a time. We recommend devices aren't shared across team members, but if you've received a device that was previously paired:
Ask the original user to unpair the device from their app first. This is the cleanest option.
If the original user can't be reached or is unknown, contact us with the serial number (printed on the device) and we can clear the pairing on our end so you can pair it to your account.
2. Device freezing and transcribing
2.1 My device is frozen or the LED is stuck (solid white or red)
Perform a forced restart. This won’t delete any data. This is the safest first step for any unusual behaviour - frozen device, stuck LED, or buttons not responding.
Press and hold the Power button for 12 seconds or more.
Release once the device restarts or the LED state changes.
Check your device is on the latest firmware version within settings.
2.2 My device won't transcribe
Confirm the device is on and charged with a white LED before you start transcribing. Important: the device will not record while it's charging.
Press the transcribe button on the front of the device - the LED should change to red.
Check the LED stays red throughout the session:
If the LED changes to white or goes off, the device may be low on charge or there may be a hardware issue. Charge it fully and try again.
If the LED stays red but the session doesn't show up properly, this might be a syncing or transcription issue.
As a test, turn off the Remote and record a short session using your phone or computer's built-in microphone instead. This helps us work out whether the issue is with the Remote or an issue with the app.
2.3 My phone is capturing audio instead of my Remote when I resume a session
Resuming a paused session by clicking within the app will change the audio input to your phone’s microphone.
Instead, paused sessions need to be resumed by pressing your Remote’s transcribe button once.
Please note, if you have stopped your Remote session (by holding down the transcribe button for 2 or more seconds), pressing the transcribe button again will start a brand new session. This is because the previous session was stopped, rather than paused. To pause a session, press the transcribe button once but do not hold.
3. Device syncing
3.1 My device won't sync
A few things to check first:
Are you transcribing and syncing at the same time? If a sessions starts while a sync is in progress, the sync will pause and resume automatically once the session finishes.
Is the Remote plugged in via USB? When the Remote is plugged in via USB, it prioritises the wired connection for data transfer. It's normal for Bluetooth to disconnect during this, and the app may show the device as not connected. The LED may slowly pulse white while syncing or charging. Bluetooth pairing becomes available again once unplugged.
If sync is still failing, please let us know:
Whether the sync is completely failing (with an error message and no new sessions being created)
Whether some sessions are syncing but others aren't
Whether the affected sessions were transcribed in offline mode (e.g. used out of range of your app)
Don't perform a factory reset - you'll lose your unsynced sessions.
3.2 My Remote isn't appearing or won't connect on the Desktop app
This only applies to the desktop app. There's a setting called USB-C upload (Settings → Device → USB-C upload). While this setting is on, any time the Remote is plugged into a computer via USB-C the Remote's Bluetooth broadcast is disabled. You won't be able to discover or connect to the Remote over Bluetooth until you unplug the cable.
To fix:
If the Remote is plugged in to your computer, unplug the cable. This re-activates Bluetooth on the Remote.
If your Remote was previously not plugged into your computer, go to your Desktop App settings (Settings → Device) and toggle off USB-C upload.
The Remote should now appear in your device list and connect normally.
3.3 My computer recognises my Remote as a generic "USB removable device" instead of "Heidi Remote"
First, try these quick checks:
Plug the Remote into a different USB-C port on the same computer.
Try a different USB-C cable - ideally a known-good data cable, not a charge-only one.
If the computer still only sees a generic USB device, this is most likely an MDM (Mobile Device Management) policy applied by your organisation that blocks USB ports or USB mass-storage. Unfortunately, we can't bypass enterprise MDM policies. Please contact your IT Admin at your organisation to troubleshoot.
4. Using Remote across platforms
4.1 I want to use my Remote between platforms (e.g. phone and desktop)
You don't need to re-pair. The same account can be used across iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows - you just need to release the Bluetooth connection on the platform you were last using, then reconnect on the new one.
Step 1 - Release the connection on the previous platform:
iOS: swipe up to open the App Switcher, then swipe up on the Heidi app to fully close it. Alternatively, turn off Bluetooth on the iPhone.
Android: closing the app is not enough on Android - you must turn off system Bluetooth on the Android device to fully release the connection.
macOS desktop: fully quit the Heidi desktop app using Cmd+Q, or right-click the dock icon → Quit. Alternatively, turn off Bluetooth on the computer.
Windows desktop: close the Heidi app window. Alternatively, turn off Bluetooth on the computer.
Step 2 - Connect on the new platform:
Open the Heidi app and confirm you're signed in with the same account that originally paired the Remote.
Navigate to the Device tab:
On desktop, click the Device tab in the bottom-left corner.
On mobile, open device settings from within the app.
Your previously paired Remote should appear automatically.
Make sure the device is powered on and not connected to any other app, then tap Reconnect.
If the Remote doesn't appear, make sure it isn't plugged into a computer via USB-C.
4.2 I am unable to view my Remote session on another platform
To see the session on another platform:
Manually refresh the page or app on the other platform.
You don't have to fully end the session first - but visibility depends on whether Remote was online when the session started:
Started online / connected: the session will be visible on the other platform after a refresh. There may be a brief lag while the server catches up.
Started offline: the session won't be visible anywhere else until Remote reconnects and syncs.