PLAUD (Plaud Note, NotePin & Desktop)

Physical AI voice recorders and companion mobile, web, and desktop apps that turn recorded conversations into transcripts, summaries, and action lists.

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026 · Applies to: Plaud Note, Plaud Note Pro, Plaud NotePin, Plaud Mobile App (v4.0+ & earlier), Plaud Web (web.plaud.ai), & Plaud Desktop

These instructions were checked against official product documentation on the review date. Menus, features and availability may change or vary by device, software version and subscription. If your screen looks different, check the official help links below or contact AAT Solutions.

Know your model: Plaud Note vs Plaud NotePin vs Plaud Desktop

Because each PLAUD model has different physical controls and recording capabilities, check which one you are using first:

  • Plaud Note & Plaud Note Pro (credit-card recorders): On the original Plaud Note, slide the physical switch down for in-person room meetings, or slide it up for phone calls when attached magnetically to the back of a phone without a headset (Plaud Note Pro switches between call and ambient room modes automatically). During a live recording, you can short-press the physical button on Plaud Note or Note Pro (as well as NotePin S) to drop a Highlight marker at an important moment.
  • Plaud NotePin (wearable recorder): Records in-person conversations and lectures (the original NotePin does not support phone-call vibration recording and does not support physical-button highlight markers during recording). Pressing and holding to start recording gives 1 strong vibration and turns the red indicator light on, whereas pressing and holding to stop recording gives 2 strong vibrations and turns the red indicator light off (a brief light touch only gives a gentle feedback vibration). Practise starting and stopping a short test clip first.
  • Plaud Desktop (computer app for Windows & macOS): Captures supported online meetings directly from your computer's system audio and microphone without sending a meeting bot into the call. Account & device prerequisite: Using Plaud Desktop requires an active Starter membership (or higher) and the applicable hardware device binding (activating a Starter plan requires having a Plaud hardware device bound to the same Plaud account).

Getting started in 5 steps

  1. Agree recording permission first: Always follow your workplace or university recording policy and obtain participant consent before recording a meeting, lecture, or call.
  2. Start and stop your recording:
    • Original Plaud Note: Set the mode switch (down for in-person room audio, up for an attached phone call; Plaud Note Pro switches automatically). Press and hold the record button for 1 second until you feel 1 vibration to start (short-press during recording to flag a highlight). Hold for 1 second until you feel 2 vibrations to stop.
    • Plaud NotePin: Press and hold the centre of the NotePin until you feel 1 strong vibration and see the red indicator light turn on; when finished, press and hold again until you feel 2 strong vibrations and see the red indicator light turn off.
  3. Transfer to the Plaud Mobile App and enable Private Cloud Sync for Web access: Open the Plaud mobile app so the recording transfers from the hardware recorder. If you want to review and edit mobile recordings on your computer at https://web.plaud.ai/, open the mobile app's settings, turn on Private Cloud Sync, and sign in on the web with the same Plaud account (where permitted by your organisation). Transferring to the phone alone does not make mobile recordings appear on Plaud Web until Private Cloud Sync is active on that same account.
  4. Generate or review your transcript and summary, and rename speakers: In Plaud v4.0+, transcription and summary generation can run automatically once a recording transfers (depending on your workflow settings), or you can start generation manually by opening the recording and selecting Generate — where the v4 manual panel lets you choose the spoken language, summary template (such as Meeting Minutes or Lecture Summary), and Label my voice automatically (exact controls vary by app version and plan). Once generated, tap a generic speaker label (such as Speaker 1) in the transcript to enter the speaker's real name: on Plaud Web (v4.0+), renaming updates both the transcript and summary; on earlier app versions (v3.30 and below), choose whether to rename one paragraph or all matching paragraphs and check or regenerate the summary afterwards. Where your version and template include a Mind Map view, you can optionally view the visual map alongside your written summary.
  5. Review on a computer screen and export: Sign in at https://web.plaud.ai/ on your computer (with Private Cloud Sync enabled on the same account in the mobile app) to review the transcript and summary, start audio playback and select a timestamped transcript paragraph to listen from that moment, and use Export:
    • Transcripts and summary notes export as DOCX (Word), PDF, or TXT (with Markdown also available for summary notes on supported v4 views).
    • Audio recordings export in audio formats (MP3 or WAV).

Common problems, and what to do

  • You are wearing Bluetooth headphones on a call. When you wear a headset, a Plaud Note attached to the back of a phone cannot pick up the remote caller's voice through the phone casing. Either place the phone call on speakerphone with the recorder in normal room mode, or — if the meeting is on your computer — use Plaud Desktop (with your active Starter-or-higher membership and bound account) to capture system audio and your microphone.
  • The hardware recorder is unresponsive and needs a reset. Use the reset procedure for your specific model:
    • Original Plaud Note: Connect the Plaud Note to power using its charging cable, then press and hold the record button for 15 seconds.
    • Original Plaud NotePin: Place the NotePin on its charging dock connected to power, then press and hold the button for 12 seconds.
  • Adding text notes or images during vs after a recording. During an active recording in the mobile app or Plaud Desktop, you can add live Highlights / multimodal inputs. After a recording has already finished, open the recording's details page in the Plaud Mobile App to add text notes or images and refresh the summary so those details are incorporated.

5-minute practice exercise

  1. With your Plaud Note (in room mode) or Plaud NotePin bound to the Plaud mobile app, start a 60-second test recording speaking two short agenda points and one action item (on NotePin, confirming 1 strong vibration and the red light turning on), then stop the recording (confirming 2 vibrations and the red indicator light turning off).
  2. Open the Plaud mobile app and let the recording finish transferring.
  3. Wait for automatic v4 processing to complete — or tap Generate and select a summary template such as Meeting Minutes — then tap Speaker 1 in the transcript to rename it to your own name and check the transcript and summary text (you can also view the Mind Map if available in your version).
  4. If using a computer, enable Private Cloud Sync in the mobile app, sign in with the same account at https://web.plaud.ai/, open your test recording, and export the summary notes as a DOCX file.

Official PLAUD support links

Need more detailed guidance?

This quick guide covers the basics. Get hands-on training to set up PLAUD around your meetings, lectures, and document workflows.

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Using this as part of a dyslexia or ADHD toolkit? See our dyslexia & ADHD training.

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