Troubleshooting

The fixes below are ordered by how often they come up. Start at the top.

The transcript is empty

Kairos isn't hearing the microphone.

1. Check Settings → Audio and confirm the right input device is selected.
2. Check that the device shows a level when the pastor speaks.
3. On macOS, confirm System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone has Kairos enabled.
4. On Windows, confirm Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone has Kairos enabled and your device is the default.

No detections are landing

Kairos hears the audio but isn't catching references.

• The transcript should be filling. If it isn't, see above.
• Open Settings → Detection and lower the confidence threshold. Bump it back up once you're seeing the right matches.
• If your audio is noisy (room mic, distant speaker), consider switching to a cleaner feed off the soundboard.

My switcher can't find Kairos on NDI

Kairos is sending NDI but the switcher isn't discovering it.

1. Confirm both machines are on the same subnet (the same Wi-Fi or the same VLAN).
2. On Windows, allow Kairos through Windows Defender Firewall on Private networks. On macOS, allow local network access when prompted.
3. Restart the NDI listener: toggle Settings → Broadcast off and on, then refresh the source list in your switcher.
4. If you're crossing routers or VLANs, you'll need an NDI Discovery Server. Most single-network setups don't.

Verse overlay shows up but with no transparency

You're seeing a solid background where you expected a key.

• Open Settings → Broadcast and check the alpha mode.
• Switch to Straight alpha for vMix, OBS, and most modern switchers.
• Switch to Premultiplied alpha if your downstream tool expects pre-blended channels.
• If you want a solid backdrop (no key), leave it on None.

Voice commands keep firing accidentally

A guest speaker uses phrases that sound like commands.

• Open Settings → Detection and turn voice control off for the service. Translation switching and chapter navigation then fall back to UI controls or a remote controller.

The app feels slow during transcription

On older hardware, on-machine transcription can fall behind.

• Open Settings → Transcription and switch to cloud transcription if you have a stable internet connection.
• Close other heavy applications (a separate video encoder, a browser with many tabs) on the same machine.

Crashes or unexpected errors

If something goes wrong that isn't covered here, send us the details. what you were doing, what happened, and (if you can) a screenshot. Open the FAQ for the most common follow-ups, or email the maintainer directly.