Why does it say my history is locked?
You turned on encryption and this computer cannot use the key right now. Your backup passphrase unlocks it; without the key and the passphrase, nobody can.
You turned on encryption, and Dictate Safe cannot use the key that unlocks your history right now. Type your backup passphrase on the lock screen and press Unlock. The passphrase opens the spare copy of the key and puts it back.
#Why it happens
This Mac no longer has the key that unlocks your history (this happens after moving to a new Mac, or a reset). Your backup passphrase opens the spare copy and puts the key back.Why: The key is gone from the Keychain or Credential Manager, for example after your data was moved to a new computer, or the history-key item was deleted. On Windows the message says PC.
Fix: Type your backup passphrase and press Unlock.
macOS did not let Dictate Safe use the key that unlocks your history. Quit Dictate Safe and open it again, and when macOS asks, choose Always Allow. Or unlock it with your backup passphrase.Why: The key is still there, but macOS was asked whether this version of Dictate Safe may use it, and the answer was Deny or the question was closed. After an update macOS asks once.
Fix: Quit Dictate Safe, open it again, and choose Always Allow. Or type your backup passphrase and press Unlock.
Windows did not let Dictate Safe use the key that unlocks your history. Quit Dictate Safe and open it again. Or unlock it with your backup passphrase.Why: Windows refused to hand over the key this time.
Fix: Quit Dictate Safe and open it again. Or type your backup passphrase and press Unlock.
The spare copy of the key is not on this computer, so the passphrase cannot unlock it. Import your latest backup on the Import page instead.Why: The small file that holds the spare copy of the key, history-key.dskey, is no longer in Dictate Safe’s data folder, so there is nothing for the passphrase to open.
Fix: Import your latest backup on the Import page, as the message says. The backup holds your history.
#Which passphrase
The one your backups are locked with. If you changed it, use the newest one: the spare copy of the key follows the passphrase of your latest backup.
The lock screen closes and your history is back in History, as it was.
#If you cannot unlock it
The lock screen says it plainly: “Your history cannot be opened without the key or the passphrase, by anyone, including us.” We hold no copy of either. You still have two choices there:
- Continue without my history. You can still dictate, and your words are typed as usual, but what you dictate while it is locked is not saved to History.
- I cannot unlock it: set the locked history aside, then Set it aside and start empty. Your locked history is moved, untouched, into a folder beside Dictate Safe’s data, and the app starts with an empty history. Nothing is deleted. You can then bring a backup in on the Import page, as described in restoring a backup.
A backup only helps if you can open it. Backups locked with the passphrase you forgot cannot be opened either.
Save your backup passphrase somewhere other than this computer, such as a password manager. And leave the history-key item in Keychain Access or Credential Manager alone.
If the key is lost and the passphrase is forgotten, the history cannot be opened by anyone, including us. There is no recovery service and no reset.