The short version
- Download the disk image from the download page, open it and drag Voxis into Applications.
- Open Voxis, sign in, choose your language and press Start.
- When macOS asks whether Voxis may record system audio, click Allow.
That is all for watching and listening. Calls take one more step, described under "Your first call".
What you need
| Mac | Apple silicon (M1 or later). Intel Macs are not supported. |
| macOS | 15 or later |
| Download | Signed and notarized disk image, about 55 MB |
| Audio driver or virtual cable | None. Nothing extra is installed. |
| Account | A Voxis account. You can create one in the app and start for free. |
| Internet | Required while translating |
| For calls | Headphones |
Not sure which Mac you have? Open the Apple menu, choose About This Mac and read the Chip line. On an Intel Mac, the Chrome extension translates the audio of a browser tab.
Install
- Download
Voxis-arm64.dmgfrom the download page. - Open the disk image and drag Voxis into the Applications folder.
- Open Voxis from Applications. macOS may ask you to confirm that you want to open an app downloaded from the internet.
- Sign in with your Voxis account, or create one in the app.
If you want to check the file first, run shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Voxis-arm64.dmg in Terminal and compare the result with the SHA-256 checksum on the download page.
If you already have a Voxis account from Windows, Linux or the browser extension, use it. The Mac app uses the same Voxis account and minute balance as the Windows app, the Linux app and the browser extension.
Permissions macOS asks for
Voxis installs no driver, so it needs your permission instead. There are up to three questions. Only the first one matters for watching and listening.
System audio (always)
The first time you press Start, macOS asks whether Voxis may record system audio. Click Allow. Voxis has to hear what your Mac is playing in order to translate it, and without this permission it hears nothing.
If you clicked Don't Allow: open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording and turn Voxis on. Then quit Voxis with Command and Q, open it again and press Start. The permission only takes effect after the app restarts. When Voxis notices the problem itself, it shows a card with a button that opens System Settings for you.
Microphone (Meeting mode only)
The first time you start Meeting mode, macOS asks for microphone access. Voxis needs your microphone to translate what you say. Allow it, otherwise the other person hears nothing from you.
Local network (you can refuse)
macOS may ask whether Voxis may find devices on your local network. You can choose Don't Allow. Voxis does not use your local network. The question comes from the Mac's audio system while Voxis lists your speakers and microphones.
Your first translation (Video & Game)
- Pick Video & Game.
- Choose the language you want to hear. You do not choose the language being spoken. Voxis detects it.
- Press Start, then play a video, a stream or a game.
A few seconds after someone speaks, you hear the translation in your language. The original sound keeps playing quietly underneath, so the music and the speaker's tone are still there. The same translation appears as live captions in the Voxis window. When you press Stop, the original sound returns to its normal level.
Voxis can also show the translation as on-screen text, a strip that stays on top of other windows, including a video playing full screen. You switch it on in the Sound & screen card.
Voxis translates into 79 languages.
Your first call (Meeting mode)
Meeting mode works in both directions: you hear the other person in your language, and they hear you in theirs through a virtual microphone named Voxis Microphone, which you select in your call app. No bot joins the call.
- Put on headphones, so your microphone does not pick up the translated voice from your speakers.
- In Voxis, pick Meeting, choose the language you want to hear and the language the other person should hear, and press Start.
- In your call app, choose Voxis Microphone as the microphone.
- If your call app asks to record system audio, click Allow. Otherwise the other person hears silence.
Things to know:
- Voxis Microphone appears when you press Start in Meeting mode and goes away when you stop. Start Voxis first, then pick the microphone in your call app.
- It can't be the Mac's default microphone, so you pick it inside your call app each time. Some apps show an extra label after the name. Choose the entry that starts with Voxis Microphone.
- If no app is using Voxis Microphone shortly after you press Start, Voxis tells you so in its window.
- If your call app refused system audio earlier: System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording › System Audio Recording Only, turn your call app on, then restart the call app.
- We have not tested every call app on a Mac yet. Try a short call with someone you know before one that matters.
Where your transcripts go
Voxis saves a transcript of each session on your Mac, in Documents › Voxis › Transcripts. You can open, search and export past sessions from Translation history in the app. Transcripts stay on your computer.
Updating
The Mac app does not update itself. Voxis shows a note when a newer version is out. Download it from the download page and replace the app in Applications. Your account, your minutes and your transcripts are not affected.
Removing Voxis
Quit Voxis and drag it from Applications to the Trash. There is no driver to remove. Your transcripts stay in Documents › Voxis, and the app's settings stay in Library › Application Support › Voxis in your home folder until you delete them. Your account and your minutes are not tied to this Mac.
What the Mac app does not do yet
- It does not run on Intel Macs or on macOS versions older than 15.
- It does not update itself.
- It has no global keyboard shortcuts.
- Voxis Microphone cannot be the Mac's default microphone.
- There is no sound test for system audio before you start. On a Mac, system audio is checked when you press Start.
- There is no phone or tablet app.
If something does not work
I hear no translation
First make sure something with speech is actually playing. If it is, macOS is most likely not letting Voxis hear it. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording, allow Voxis, quit Voxis with Command and Q, open it again and press Start. Also check that the Mac's own volume is not muted, and that the language you chose is not the language already being spoken.
The other person cannot hear my translation
Check three things in this order. Your call app's microphone is set to Voxis Microphone. Your call app is allowed to record system audio. Voxis is still running in Meeting mode. If Voxis says that Voxis Microphone stopped, press Stop, then Start, and choose Voxis Microphone again in the call app, because the call app may have switched back to the Mac's own microphone.
Something else
Use the Report a problem button at the top of the Voxis window. It sends support a short technical summary and gives you a reference code. It never includes your sign-in or your macOS user name, and your transcript is sent only if you tick the box.