Translation or summary errors
What messages like missing language pack, Apple Intelligence not ready, and not enough memory mean, and how to fix them.
- macOS
- iPhone
- iPad
Language pack not ready
Message: Language pack not ready (Mac), or no translation even though you recorded.
Cause: Apple Translation needs to download a language pack for the pair you chose.
Fix (Mac): click Download on the message, or go to Settings → Language models or System Settings → Language & Region → Translation Languages and download the pack. Download it before the meeting. On iPhone and iPad, packs download in the background and the translation appears when the download finishes.
Apple doesn't support the language pair
Message: Apple Translation doesn't support [A] → [B], or Apple can't translate this pair.
Fix: set the Translation engine to a Cloud model or a local model (Mac). See AI engines overview.
The translation engine failed
Message: Translation engine failed — translating on-device (Mac), or Cloud translation failed (iPhone, iPad).
This is usually caused by a wrong or exhausted API key, or by losing the network. See Cloud connection and API key errors. On a Mac, the app falls back to Apple translation on the device so the meeting can continue.
Local translation model isn't installed (Mac)
The model you chose hasn't been downloaded, so the app uses another model, which can be much slower. Install the model in Local models or choose another engine. See Models on your Mac.
Memory may be low (Mac)
Your Mac doesn't have enough free RAM for the model you chose. Close some apps, choose a smaller model, or switch Translation to Cloud.
Summaries
| Message | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| This device doesn't support Apple Intelligence | Your device doesn't support it. Choose a model installed on your Mac or a Cloud model for Summary |
| Turn on Apple Intelligence in Settings | Turn on Apple Intelligence in system settings |
| The on-device model is still downloading | Wait a few minutes and try again |
| The on-device model is busy / isn't available right now | Try again in a moment |
| The transcript is too long for the on-device model | Choose a Cloud model, which can handle longer recordings |
| The on-device model doesn't support this language | The summary may be written in English. Choose a Cloud model to get a summary in the right language |
| Apple's on-device safety filter declined to summarize this recording | Choose a Cloud model in the Summaries settings |
| Apple Intelligence needs iOS 26 or later | The OS is older, so only a quick summary made of extracted lines is available |
When no AI is available, the app creates a quick summary by picking sentences from the transcript, with a clear note that it wasn't written by AI. See Meeting summaries.
The Polish button doesn't appear
Polish needs a capable enough engine. See the requirements in Polish a recording.