Tips and Troubleshooting

Voice commands aren't working#

Voice commands in Cook Mode are off until you turn them on from the Cook Mode menu. The first time you enable them, your phone asks for microphone permission (and, on iPhone, speech recognition). If voice still doesn't respond:

• Check that microphone access is allowed for SousChef in your phone's Settings.
• Voice recognition listens for English commands only, whatever your device language is set to.
• A network connection helps -- some devices fall back to online recognition.

The spoken voice sounds robotic#

Step narration uses the text-to-speech voices installed on your device, so installing a better voice improves it everywhere:

• Android: Go to Settings > System > Languages & input > Text-to-speech output > Google Text-to-speech Engine > Install voice data and download an Enhanced English (UK) voice. SousChef automatically prefers an enhanced voice once it's installed.
• iPhone: SousChef narrates with a UK English voice. Add or manage higher-quality voices under Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > Voices.

Timer alerts don't reach me#

Cook Mode timers fire even when you've left the recipe or turned the screen off -- but only if you allowed notifications the first time a timer ran. Turn notifications back on for SousChef in your phone's Settings. To see timers on the lock screen or Dynamic Island, make sure Live Activities are enabled there too.

The Share Extension doesn't import#

• You must be signed in to the main SousChef app first. If you see a "please sign in" message, open the app and log in, then try sharing again.
• If SousChef isn't in the share sheet, scroll to the end of the apps row and tap More to turn it on.

The app looks stretched on my iPad#

SousChef runs on iPad as the iPhone app rather than a dedicated iPad layout, so some screens are wider or single-column and may not fill the whole display. All features -- Cook Mode, voice, timers, and importing -- work the same as on iPhone. See Supported Platforms for details.

Working without a connection#

SousChef caches your recipes, meal plan, and shopping list so you can view them offline. Changes you make offline -- like checking off shopping items -- are queued and synced automatically once you're back online. A banner appears while you're offline.

I signed out or reinstalled and lost my place#

Your recipes, meal plan, and family are stored in your account, not on the device -- just sign back in to get everything. If you switch to a new phone, sign in again there; you don't need to re-import anything.