Manual Windows
Windows
Installing Neato Echo on Windows, the SmartScreen warning, why no permission prompts appear, hold-to-talk, meeting audio, and updates.
Neato Echo sits in the system tray. It needs no permission grants to type into other applications — everything works from the moment you finish onboarding.
What you need
- Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit (x64)
- A microphone
Installing
Download Neato-Echo-Setup-<version>.exe from
echo.neatoventures.com (the Download
button) or from the releases
page, and run
it. It creates a desktop and Start Menu shortcut.
The installer isn't code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC" the first time you run it. Click More info, then Run anyway. If your antivirus flags it as well, antivirus blocks Neato Echo explains what to check and what to send us.
Permissions
There are none to grant. Windows doesn't require special permissions for automatic pasting.
Microphone access is governed by Windows' own privacy settings rather than by Neato Echo, and Windows shows no prompt for desktop apps. If no audio is being captured, check Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone in Windows and make sure desktop apps are allowed, then see the microphone isn't working.
Hotkeys and hold-to-talk
The default dictation hotkey is Ctrl+Win. Tap it to start and stop, or hold it while you speak.
Hold-to-talk — hold the key while you speak, release to stop — works through a native keyboard listener that ships with the app. The same listener is what makes modifier-only hotkeys work, like Ctrl + Win with no letter, and right-side-only modifiers.
Windows also reserves a long list of shortcuts for itself — anything starting Win+E, Win+L, Alt+Tab and friends. Neato Echo refuses those with an explanation rather than binding something that will never fire. Choosing a shortcut that works has the rules.
How text gets pasted
Neato Echo copies the transcription to your clipboard and simulates the paste keystroke into whatever window has focus, then puts your previous clipboard contents back.
It sends Ctrl+V to ordinary applications and Ctrl+Shift+V to terminals, which it identifies by the foreground window — Windows Terminal, the classic console host (Command Prompt and PowerShell), ConEmu, mintty (Git Bash), PuTTY, Alacritty, WezTerm, kitty, Hyper and MobaXterm by window class, plus Termius, Tabby, Wave and Rio by executable name.
Editors, IDEs and terminals covers what to do when your terminal isn't on that list.
Meeting audio
Windows can capture the other side of a call with no permission prompt and no screen-share picker. A small audio helper bundled with Neato Echo records everything the computer is playing except itself, so your own playback never loops back into the recording.
One known exception: the new Microsoft Teams client doesn't always expose its call audio this way. Meeting audio isn't captured covers the symptom and the workaround.
Updates
Neato Echo checks for updates at launch. When one is available, an Update Available button appears in the sidebar. Click it, the update downloads, and the app restarts on the new version.
Uninstalling
Uninstall from Settings → Apps as normal. Uninstalling leaves your downloaded models and your data in place.
For a clean slate, also remove the app data and the model cache:
rd /s /q "%APPDATA%\neato-echo"
rd /s /q "%USERPROFILE%\.cache\neato-echo"Related
Still need help?
Write to [email protected] with your Windows version, your Neato Echo version (Settings → System), and what you were doing. A person reads every message.