> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.inworld.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# STT errors and troubleshooting

> How the STT API reports errors on the synchronous and WebSocket endpoints, the common gRPC status codes, and what to check when transcription fails.

## Error format

Errors follow the standard [gRPC status](https://grpc.io/docs/guides/status-codes/) format.

**Authentication error**

```json
{
  "code": 16,
  "message": "Unauthenticated: invalid or missing API key.",
  "details": []
}
```

**Invalid request**

```json
{
  "code": 3,
  "message": "Unsupported audio encoding.",
  "details": []
}
```

**Common gRPC status codes**

| **Code** | **Name** | **Description** |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `3` | `INVALID_ARGUMENT` | Invalid or missing request field (encoding, model ID, audio data) |
| `8` | `RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED` | Too many concurrent requests (rate limit) |
| `16` | `UNAUTHENTICATED` | Invalid or missing API key |

**Streaming (WebSocket) errors**

On the [streaming endpoint](https://docs.inworld.ai/api-reference/sttAPI/speechtotext/transcribe-stream-websocket.md), errors arrive as a frame with a top-level `error` key using the same status format:

```json
{
  "error": {
    "code": 3,
    "message": "invalid transcribe config: unsupported audio encoding"
  }
}
```

<Note>
A malformed first message (for example, a config not wrapped in `transcribeConfig`) currently closes the socket with WebSocket close code `1005` and no error frame. If your connection closes silently with no transcripts, check the shape of your first message.
</Note>

## Troubleshooting

| **Issue** | **What to check** |
| :--- | :--- |
| No transcript | API key, audio encoding matches request, valid audio file |
| `UNAUTHENTICATED` | `INWORLD_API_KEY` set correctly and not expired in Portal |
| `INVALID_ARGUMENT` | `audioEncoding` matches the actual format (LINEAR16 for raw PCM, MP3 for MP3, etc.) |
| Poor quality | Use 16 kHz sample rate (8 kHz telephony audio has fewer data points and will produce lower-quality results); ensure clear speech |
| Large file failures | Split or compress (e.g. MP3/OGG_OPUS); respect upload size limits |
| No Voice Profile | Ensure `voiceProfileConfig.enableVoiceProfile` is set to `true` in your request |

For more help, see the [Inworld Discord community](https://discord.gg/inworld).