SerialectLanguage-learning stories for iPhone
Support
Answers to what Serialect raises most, and a form to write to us.
What it needs
- Writing stories: an iPhone 15 Pro or later with Apple Intelligence turned on and its model downloaded.
- Everything else: any iPhone on iOS 27 can build a word list, import and export words, and read three sample stories with Listen, meanings and Read back.
- Languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), French, German, Italian and Portuguese (Brazil or Portugal). The app and the meanings are in English.
Questions
Why can't I write an episode?
Today says why. If your iPhone can’t run Apple Intelligence, Serialect can’t write stories on it, and it offers the sample stories. If Apple Intelligence is off, turn it on in the Settings app. If it’s still downloading, your first episode can be written when it’s ready; come back to the app and it checks again.
When is my next free episode?
Today and the Finished sheet both say. A free episode comes 7 days after the last one was saved, and that’s one date across the app. Cancelling, or a run that fails, doesn’t use it up. Finish your latest episode first, on either plan.
How do I restore or manage Serialect Plus?
In the app, go to Settings › Plan. Restore Purchases finds a subscription on the same Apple Account, and Manage subscription opens Apple’s sheet, where you can change or cancel it. You can also cancel in the iPhone’s Settings › [your name] › Subscriptions.
How do I get a refund?
Purchases are handled by Apple, so refunds are too. Ask at reportaproblem.apple.com.
What happens when Plus ends?
Your words and episodes stay, and Listen, meanings, Read back and export carry on. A new episode comes each week, in the language you opened last.
A meaning says it needs a pack. What do I do?
Meanings come from Apple’s Translation, which needs a free pack for each language. The word card offers Apple’s download. If you decline it or you’re offline, you can still mark the word, and the card offers the download again the next time you open the app.
Why isn't there a Listen button?
Listen needs a voice for that language on your iPhone. Add one in the iPhone’s Settings › Accessibility › Read & Speak › Voices. A better voice there is free.
Read back says it needs a download.
The first time you use Read back in a language, your iPhone needs Apple’s speech model for it. Go online, close Read back and open it again. If it says the language isn’t available on your iPhone, it can’t be read back there yet.
The microphone isn't working in Read back.
If you turned it off, go to the iPhone’s Settings › Apps › Serialect and turn it on. If it says the microphone is busy, try again when your call or recording has finished. Somewhere quieter, a little closer to the phone, helps too. Read back can miss words and it can guess, so treat its marks as a guide.
Why does a figure read below my target?
The writer works towards your target and doesn’t always reach it. The figure is what it reached, and it’s an estimate. Below your target you’ll see, for example, “About 93% of these words are ones you know · 11 may be new”. You can change the target in Settings under Reading level, for each language.
An episode has a mistake, or something it shouldn't.
Stories are written by AI, so they can contain mistakes. In the Reader, the More menu has Report this story, which opens a mail for you to see and send, and Never use a word from this story. Themes off is in Settings under Your stories.
Why was an episode skipped?
Apple’s model sometimes refuses part of an episode, even a harmless one. Serialect never tries to get round that: it drops that episode and moves on to the next, so a number can go missing from Today.
How do I import a deck or a word list?
Go to Words › Import, and choose a flashcard deck (.apkg), or a CSV, TSV or text file. Serialect reads a deck’s review history and counts a word as known once a card has reached an interval of 21 days; you can change that to 7 or 90 before importing. A file can be up to 200 MB. Importing never demotes a word, and never touches a word you’ve set to never use.
How do I export my words and stories?
Settings › Export, or Words › Export, on either plan. You get your words as CSV and your stories as JSON, for one language at a time. Your iPhone’s backup also covers your words and stories; Serialect has no sync of its own.
How do I start again with a language?
To redo the test, go to Words › Retake the test, which changes your estimate and leaves your own marks alone. To remove a language, use Delete [language] at the foot of Settings. It removes that language’s words and stories from your iPhone and can’t be undone, so export first. It doesn’t give you a free episode sooner.
Write to us
Tell us which iPhone you have, your iOS version, and the app’s version from the foot of its Settings. If it’s about a story, Report this story in the Reader opens a mail with the text in it, for you to see and send. We use what you send only to reply to you and to look into a report.