Why is Descript Not Working?

Oh no! Descript isn't working!

Unfortunately, Descript goes down from time to time and certain features won't work as well as they normally do.

While this is frustrating, understand that it is temporary and happens to pretty much all software - especially software like Descript that uses artificial intelligence for most of it's core functionality.

Why does this happen?

Well, if you look at the cover image for this blog article, you can see all the different systems that Descript uses. There are systems and servers for transcription, for publishing, for maintaining your account and drive info, and on and on. There's a lot of moving pieces and things can go down for any number of reasons including equipment failures, power outages, bugs, and more.

How to Check System Status

So, if one particular feature isn't working in Descript, there is a way to check if it's just your project/computer or if it's Descript itself that is having issues. To do so, go to https://status.descript.com/ and you can see if something is down.

System Issues

If there are issues in any of Descript's systems, you will see something like the cover image of this blog article. When that's the case, you can try to work around the features that are down or take a break and come back later. Rest assured, if the error is appearing on the Status page, the Descript team knows about it and is working to fix it. In my experience, most issues get resolved quickly.

Notifications

You can get notified whenever systems go down and come back by hitting the "Subscribe to Updates" button in the top right corner.

All Systems Operational

When everything is operational, it will look like this:

What To Do If All Systems Operational but I'm Still Having Problems

If everything is good on Descript's end but you're having issues, here are some troubleshooting steps that will fix 80% of common issues:

Don't Panic

When something isn't working, don't panic. Check the status page and follow appropriate troubleshooting steps, if necessary. It's probably a temporary glitch and things will get back to normal soon.

For more in-depth info about Descript, check out the Descript Mastery course.