Bot capture
Bot did not join my meeting
Check the following in order:
Auto-capture is enabled: go to ’My Meetings’ settings and confirm that auto-capture with Grain Bot is turned on for the relevant meeting type (external, internal, or unscheduled).
Calendar is connected: go to ’My Account’ settings and confirm the calendar that contains the meeting is connected and checked under Calendars.
Meeting has a supported link: the bot only joins Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex meetings. Confirm the calendar event contains a valid meeting link for one of these platforms.
You are not the organizer: if ’Only auto-capture if I am the event organizer’ is checked in your settings, the bot will not join meetings you were invited to by others.
Meeting host denied the recording request
If the host rejected the Grain bot at the platform level, you have three options:
Ask the host directly: explain why you are recording and request they allow it.
Switch to Desktop capture: Desktop capture records audio locally from your computer with no bot in the meeting, so there is no recording request for the host to deny. Ensure you have appropriate consent, see Desktop capture for more information.
Use the platform's built-in recorder: if the meeting platform allows it, record natively and upload the file to Grain afterward. See Upload meetings.
Bot joined but there is no transcript or AI notes
Processing typically completes within a few minutes of the meeting ending. If notes have not appeared after 30 minutes:
Check the recording page, a status indicator will show if processing is still in progress or has failed.
If the status shows an error, contact help@grain.com with the meeting title and date.
Desktop capture
Desktop capture is not recording my meetings
Work through the following checks:
System requirements: Desktop capture requires the Grain desktop app on Apple Silicon Mac (macOS 14.2 or later) or Windows. Intel Macs are not supported.
Permissions: On macOS, go to ’System Settings’ → ‘Privacy and Security’ and confirm Grain has been granted both ’Microphone’ and ’Screen Recording’ permissions. On Windows, confirm microphone access is allowed for Grain in ’Settings’ → ‘Privacy’ → ‘Microphone’.
Auto-capture is enabled: Go to ’My Meetings’ settings and confirm Desktop capture auto-capture is turned on for the relevant meeting type.
Desktop app is running: Desktop capture only works when the Grain desktop app is open. Enable ’Open Grain app on system startup’ in ’App’ settings to ensure it is always running.
Meeting was on your calendar: For scheduled meetings, the meeting must be on a connected calendar with a supported meeting link. Unscheduled meetings are detected by audio activity rather than calendar events.
Desktop Capture recorded the wrong language or transcript is in the wrong language
Desktop capture auto-detects the spoken language. If the transcript is in the wrong language, check that your system audio and meeting platform language settings match the language spoken. The transcript language cannot be manually changed for Desktop captures.
Uploads
Upload failed or returned an error
Check the file format: Grain supports .mp4, .mov, .mp3, .wav, and .m4a files using H.264 (x264) encoding. Files using x265 encoding (common with iPhone voice recordings and some Android apps) are not supported. Use an app (like Handbrake) to re-encode the file to H.264 and try again.
Check the file length: recordings longer than 2 hours cannot be uploaded. If longer than 2 hours, split the file before uploading.
Podcast files with album artwork: these are not supported. Strip the album artwork before uploading.
Clear your browser cache: a stale cache can interfere with the upload process. Clear it and try again.
Try a different browser: if the upload fails in one browser, try another, or try it in the Grain desktop app.
Check your upload limit: starter plan accounts are limited to 10 uploads per month. The limit resets monthly, deleting recordings does not reset the count. Free plan accounts cannot upload recordings at all. If you have hit your limit, you will need to upgrade to continue uploading.
Location: uploads are processed from US-based servers. If you are outside the US and experiencing timeouts, try uploading a smaller file or on a faster connection.
For persistent issues, contact help@grain.com with the filename, file size, and a screenshot of any error message.
Desktop app
Meeting reminder notifications are not appearing
The ’Meeting reminder notifications’ toggle is on in App settings but reminders are not showing up. This is almost always an OS-level permissions issue rather than a Grain issue.
macOS: go to ’System Settings’ → ‘Notifications’, find Grain in the list, and confirm ’Allow notifications’ is on. Also check that Focus / Do Not Disturb is not silencing notifications.
Windows: go to ’Settings’ → ‘System’ → ‘Notifications’, find Grain, and confirm notifications are turned on. Check that Focus assist / Do not disturb is not blocking them.
Browser (if using Grain on the web): open site permissions for grain.com and confirm notifications are set to ’Allowed’.
If notifications are allowed at the OS level and the toggle is on but reminders still do not appear, contact help@grain.com.
Grain is not opening on startup
Go to ’App’ settings and confirm ’Open Grain app on system startup’ is enabled. On macOS, also check that Grain is not blocked from opening at login in ’System Settings’ → ‘General’ → ‘Login Items.’
Calendar and meetings
A meeting is not appearing on my Meetings page
Confirm the calendar containing the meeting is connected and checked under ’Calendars’ in ‘My Account’ settings.
Check that the calendar event has a supported meeting link (Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Webex). Events without a meeting link do not appear in Grain.
If the calendar was recently connected, allow a few minutes for the sync to complete.
Try disconnecting and reconnecting the calendar.
Meetings from a second account are not appearing
Go to ’My Account’ settings, confirm the second account is connected under ’Connected accounts’, and check that its calendar is enabled under ’Calendars’.
Still stuck?
See Contact Grain Support for live chat, email, and demo booking options. When reaching out to support, include:
A description of the issue and what you have already tried
The meeting title and date if relevant
Screenshots or screen recordings of any error messages