Common questions

Does it need an account or a sign-up?

No. There is nothing to create and nothing to sign in to. Loquela works from the moment it opens.

What does it cost to start?

Nothing. Every new install has a small allowance so you can use it properly before deciding anything. See What Loquela costs.

What happens when there is no internet?

Typing, speaking aloud, all the phrase boards, prepared discussions and the settings keep working. Listening keeps working too, once the one-time language download has finished.

Only translation and the suggested replies need a connection. If it drops mid-conversation, what was said stays on screen and the translation fills itself in when the signal returns.

Can I change the languages later?

Yes, any time, in Settings → Language & voice. Nothing is locked in by the first-run questions.

The language we need is not there

Tell us. A request for a language is genuinely the most useful message we get, and reaching the languages other apps overlook is the reason Loquela exists.

Can other people read the conversations?

Conversations stay on the device. There is no screen anywhere in Loquela that plays a past conversation back — not for you, not for us.

If the device is shared or left around, turn on the app lock in Settings → Privacy.

Does it replace an interpreter?

No, and it should never be used as one. In many public health systems a professional interpreter is free and it is their right. Ask for one. Loquela is for everything around and in between.

Can I use it on two devices?

There is a safe copy you can switch on, which carries the phrases someone has made, their prepared discussions and their card to another device signed in to the same Apple Account.

Conversations are never copied. They stay on the device they happened on.

The voice does not sound right

Try the others — selecting a voice plays a sample straight away. Better-quality voices are installed through the device's own settings, not through Loquela. See The voice, and the size of the words.

The words came out wrong

They can. The words are produced by a machine, which is why the original always stays on screen next to the translation and why the warning above the conversation never goes away.

If a translation is wrong in a way that matters, tell us what it should have said.

How do I get help from a person?

Write to helpdesk@loquela.co.nz. See Getting help.