Apple Intelligence Not Available
Why Apple Intelligence polish may be unavailable on your Mac, and what to do instead.
Apple Intelligence polish needs macOS 26 or later, on a Mac that supports Apple Intelligence. Dictation keeps working normally when it is unavailable. Below macOS 26, the AI step is skipped and you get your cleaned-up text without AI polish. To keep AI polish, choose EG-1 or another option.
How do I find out why Apple Intelligence is unavailable?
Open Settings > AI Polish and select Apple Intelligence. EnviousWispr shows the status Apple reports for your Mac. For some statuses, Apple does not say the underlying cause.
What are the common reasons?
- macOS is too old. Apple Intelligence polish needs macOS 26 or later. Check your version by choosing the Apple menu, then About This Mac. macOS 15 has Apple Intelligence, but apps like EnviousWispr cannot use it until macOS 26.
- Apple Intelligence was not enabled at the last check. On macOS 26, open System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and turn it on. On macOS 27 or later, this status does not identify the cause. System Settings may not offer a fix. You can keep dictating or choose another model in Settings > AI Polish.
- The model is not ready. The on-device model may still be downloading. Try again later.
- Your Mac does not support the feature. Apple decides which Macs qualify. There is no way around that from inside EnviousWispr.
What can I use instead of Apple Intelligence?
Pick EG-1, S1-mini, or an Ollama model you downloaded to polish your dictation text on your Mac. Or enter your own API key for OpenAI, Gemini, or Claude, which sends your text to that company. Compare them in Choosing an AI Provider.