Meeting Recording & Transcription

If a meeting isn't recording, a transcript is stuck, or a notetaker didn't join, start here. This guide covers the #1 cause (waiting rooms), the quick checklist, and links out to specific issues.

Most problems fall into a few predictable buckets. Run the quick checklist first, then jump to the specific issue at the bottom.

Key terms to know

Notetaker: the AskElephant bot that joins your meetings to record and transcribe.
Transcript: the text version of everything said in the meeting.
Recording: the video and/or audio file of the meeting.
Meeting status indicator: a colored dot on a meeting showing whether the notetaker is preparing (blue), joining (yellow), recording (green), or failed (red).
Calendar integration: the connection between your Google or Microsoft calendar and AskElephant. Nothing works without it.
Meeting link: the Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet URL on a calendar event. The notetaker joins the link, so an event without one is never recorded.
Event log: a per-meeting record of what happened, including who admitted the bot, who toggled recording, and who ended the call. Your first stop when diagnosing.

First rule: connect your calendar

AskElephant discovers meetings through your calendar. Without this connection, nothing else works.

On first login, connect Google or Microsoft when prompted.
Already logged in? Your Name → Preferences → Connected Calendar → Connect.
Verify in My Meetings that upcoming meetings appear.

If you use both Google and Microsoft calendars, connect only one to avoid duplicates.

A connected calendar is only half of it: each event also needs a meeting link. An event without one is tagged Will not be recorded and the notetaker never joins. See Meetings for how to add a link to an event.

The #1 cause: the waiting room

More than half of "notetaker didn't join" reports come down to the bot waiting to be admitted. Check your meeting's waiting room and click Admit.

Google Meet changed their admit flow in March 2026. The default button may now say Deny. To admit the bot, click the three-dot menu (⋮) next to the request in the people panel and select Allow. Only the host or co-host sees this.

For the full list of notetaker-side issues, see Notetaker didn't join or got stuck.

Where to look first

Before digging into configuration:

Check the status indicator in My Meetings. Green means recording, red means failed, yellow means still trying.
Open the event log on the meeting page. It usually tells you exactly what happened (who admitted the bot, whose settings blocked recording, when the bot left).
Refresh the page. Many display issues resolve with a hard refresh (Cmd+Shift+R on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows).
Wait 10-15 minutes. Recordings and transcripts don't appear instantly.

Browse by specific issue

Notetaker didn't join or got stuck — bot missing, waiting rooms, missing meeting links, wrapped URLs, last-minute calendar edits, bot timing out when alone.
Recording is missing or shows "Recording failed" — no recording generated, privacy-first rule, duplicates, RingCentral, mobile uploads.
Recording plays but video or audio is wrong — black screen, audio-only mode, wrong meeting content, truncated recordings, silent audio.
Transcript is missing, stuck, or hard to export — the Reprocess Transcript button, audio quality, copying, API export.
Can't find a meeting that should exist — search vs My Meetings, privacy rules, team member meetings.

Quick checklist

Before you dig deeper:

Calendar is connected.
The calendar event has a meeting link. No link means no notetaker.
Notetaker actually joined (check waiting room, check status indicator).
You've waited at least 10-15 minutes.
The meeting is set to record (toggle is on, no Will not be recorded tag).
You're looking in the right place (Recorded vs All Meetings vs Search).
The event log doesn't show an internal attendee's settings blocking recording.

Need More Help?

Reach the AskElephant support team by:

clicking the Support tab on the right side of your screen,
emailing [email protected],
or using @askelephant support in your dedicated Slack channel.

Include the meeting link, your platform (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, RingCentral), what you expected vs. what happened, and any screenshots of error messages.