no sound recorded

Symptom: the recording ran, but the transcript says "quiet one — no speech detected", or playback is silence.

yapyap watches for this while you record. The toast "Your microphone isn't picking anything up" means the recording is running but silent — fix the input now and the rest of the recording is saved.

work down this list

1. The wrong microphone is selected. The setup line under the record button shows which mic yapyap uses. A headset that is paired but in a drawer is the classic cause. Pick the right one and record a second test.
2. The microphone is muted in hardware. Many headsets have a mute switch on the cable or earcup. Check it.
3. The OS input volume is at zero. macOS: System Settings → Sound → Input. Windows: Settings → System → Sound. Watch the input meter while you speak — if it does not move there, no app can hear you.
4. Permission was denied. If yapyap has no microphone permission, starting a recording shows "yapyap needs Microphone for this" with an Open settings button. Allow it, then start a new recording.
5. Linux: the default device is a null sink. On some ALSA/PipeWire setups the system default input is a dummy device. Pick a concrete device in the setup line instead of "default".

a call recording caught your voice, but not the other side

That is not a microphone problem. The other side comes out of your speakers, and capturing it needs system audio — turn it on and allow the permission. See recording system audio.

related messages

• "The microphone stopped responding" — the device disappeared mid-recording, usually an unplugged USB mic. Reconnect it and start a new recording. The audio up to that point is saved.
• "your microphone is busy" — another app holds the mic exclusively. Close that app, then try again.
• "no microphone found" — the OS reports no input device at all. Connect one, then start the recording again.