# Permissions and access > Cephable hears you but nothing happens — the operating system permissions behind that, how to grant them, and what macOS 27 renamed. Source: https://help.cephable.com/docs/troubleshooting/permissions --- If your words appear in the Cephable Panel but nothing happens on screen, Cephable heard you and was not allowed to act. That is almost always an operating system setting. If your words never appear in the Panel, Cephable is not hearing you. Go to [Voice recognition problems](/docs/troubleshooting/voice-recognition) instead. ## Cephable hears me but nothing happens :::tabs labels="Mac, Windows" :::tab On a Mac, Cephable needs permission before it can type, click, or move the pointer in other apps. Without it, Cephable usually shows **Cephable cannot control this app**, with an **Open Settings** button. :::steps :::step title="Open the setting" Click **Open Settings** in Cephable's message. If there is no message, open the **Apple menu → System Settings → Privacy & Security**, and then: - on macOS 27 and later, choose **Device Control and Data Access** - on macOS 26 and earlier, choose **Accessibility** They are the same setting. Apple renamed it in macOS 27. To check your version, open the **Apple menu → About This Mac**. ::: :::step title="Turn Cephable on" Find **Cephable** in the list and turn its switch on. macOS asks for your password or Touch ID to confirm. If Cephable is not in the list, click **+** below the list, choose **Cephable** from **Applications**, and click **Open**. ::: :::step title="If it was already on, turn it off and on again" After a macOS update, the switch can stay on while macOS stops honoring it. This is worth doing after upgrading to macOS 27, because the upgrade carries the old Accessibility entry across. Turn Cephable's switch off, then on again, and confirm with your password. ::: :::step title="Try your command again" Click into the app you want to control, then say the command again. ::: :::step title="Quit and reopen Cephable" If it still does nothing, [quit Cephable fully and open it again](/docs/troubleshooting/overview#quit-and-reopen-cephable). ::: ::: ::: :::tab Windows does not ask Cephable for a permission to control other apps, so the cause is usually one of these. Work through them in order. :::steps :::step title="Click into the app you want to control" Cephable sends input to whichever app is active, the same way a keyboard does. Click inside the app you want to control, then say the command again. ::: :::step title="Check whether that app is running as administrator" If Cephable works everywhere except one app, that app is probably running as administrator. Windows blocks a normal app from controlling one that runs as administrator. You may see **Cephable does not have permission to read this app**, which on Windows means the same thing. Either close that app and open it normally (not with **Run as administrator**), or quit Cephable and open it as administrator: right-click Cephable in the Start menu and choose **Run as administrator** (it may be under **More**). On a work computer, your IT team may block this. ::: :::step title="Switch full-screen games to borderless windowed" Some games running in exclusive full-screen mode ignore input from other apps. In the game's display settings, choose **borderless** or **windowed fullscreen**. ::: ::: Windows security prompts and the lock screen can never be controlled by Cephable or any other app. ::: ::: ### Other messages that mean the same thing Each of these needs the same Mac setting, so the steps above fix them too. | Message in Cephable | What stops working | | --- | --- | | **Cephable cannot control this app** | Typing, clicking, and moving the pointer | | **Hold to dictate is waiting for permission** | Hold to dictate. This message has no Open Settings button, so open System Settings yourself. | | **Cephable does not have permission to read this app** | Clicking items in an app by name | ## Microphone and camera access When Cephable cannot use your microphone or camera, the Panel shows **No microphone access** or **No camera access**. The steps to fix each are on its own page: - [Allow microphone access](/docs/troubleshooting/voice-recognition#allow-microphone-access) - [Allow camera access](/docs/troubleshooting/camera-tracking#allow-camera-access) ## A workflow says "File access needed" This appears on a Mac when a workflow needs a file in your **Desktop**, **Documents**, or **Downloads** folder and macOS has not let Cephable in. The message names the folder. :::steps :::step title="Click Open Files & Folders" System Settings opens at **Privacy & Security → Files & Folders**. ::: :::step title="Turn on the folder" Click **Cephable** in the list to expand it, and turn on the folder the message named. If Cephable is not in the list, go back to Cephable's message and choose **Open Full Disk Access** instead. Turn **Cephable** on there. If it is not listed, click **+** below the list, choose **Cephable** from **Applications**, and click **Open**. Full Disk Access covers every folder at once. ::: :::step title="Run the workflow again" The workflow stopped rather than carrying on without your files, so start it again. If macOS offered **Quit & Reopen** when you changed the setting, choose it first. ::: ::: **Not Now** closes the message and leaves the workflow stopped. ## macOS asks to allow "Cephable Safe Storage" This is expected. Cephable keeps your AI History encrypted on your Mac, and the key that unlocks it is stored in your keychain as **Cephable Safe Storage**. It holds only that key, not your conversations, workflows, or tasks. macOS asks the first time Cephable needs your history. :::steps :::step title="Read Cephable's message, then click Continue" Cephable first shows **Protect AI History**, explaining the prompt that follows. Click **Continue**. ::: :::step title="Enter your Mac password" macOS asks for your login keychain password. This is normally the password you use to log in to your Mac. ::: :::step title="Click Always Allow" **Always Allow** means you will not be asked again. **Allow** works too, but macOS may ask again the next time you open Cephable. ::: ::: If you clicked **Deny**, only your saved AI History stays locked — everything else in Cephable works. macOS asks again the next time Cephable needs your history; choose **Always Allow** then. Windows protects the same key without asking, so this prompt only appears on a Mac. ## Everything Cephable may ask for | Permission | Needed for | When Cephable asks | Optional? | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Microphone | Voice commands and dictation | On a Mac, when Cephable first opens | Yes — camera and other inputs still work | | Device Control and Data Access, or Accessibility (Mac) | Typing, clicking, and moving the pointer in other apps | On a Mac, when Cephable first opens | No — Cephable cannot act without it | | Camera | Head and face controls | When you first start the camera | Yes — voice still works | | Files & Folders or Full Disk Access (Mac) | Workflows that read or write your files | When a workflow first needs a file | Yes — only for file actions | | Keychain (Mac) | Unlocking your encrypted AI History | When Cephable first needs your history | Yes — but saved history stays locked without it | ## For IT admins Rolling Cephable out to managed devices? [Deploying at scale](/docs/it-admins/deploying-at-scale) covers the device policy to check before your pilot, including the permissions you cannot pre-approve and what the macOS 27 rename means for your runbooks.