Bard user guide
Connect your device, record conversations, and find your transcripts.
Get connected
- Connect your phone or computer to the Bard-… Wi-Fi hotspot shown by your device.
- Open its setup page. Choose your Wi-Fi network, enter its password, and select Connect.
- After submitting, watch Bard’s display for the connection result. Reconnect your phone to your usual Wi-Fi when the hotspot disconnects.
- Enter the six-digit pairing code in this web app, sign in with the code sent to your email, and confirm the agreement. Check that the device name, such as Bard-2WH0, matches your device.
Your email sign-in code and your device pairing code are different. If a pairing code expires, request a fresh one on Bard.
Three buttons. One simple menu.
Navigate with the three buttons
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume + / − | Move forward / backward through menu cards and pages. Menus wrap around at the ends. |
| Power · press once | Open the selected card or perform the action shown on screen: start, save, pause, resume, toggle, or confirm. |
| Power · double-press | Go back or cancel, as shown by the screen hint. In Dictation, a double-press cancels an active request; double-press again once idle to leave. |
| Power · hold 1.5 seconds, then release | Open Live Assistant directly. Disabled during recording and active alerts. The microphone starts after release. |
| Power · keep holding for 4 seconds | Power off. During active recording, the recording is saved before shutdown. A paused recording retains its earlier 1.5-second shutdown hold. |
Triple-tap no longer opens Wi-Fi setup or resets Bard. Use Settings for those actions. When Bard is asleep in low power mode, the first button press wakes it; press again to navigate.
The selected navigation dot is gold. Inactive navigation dots, loader tracks, and progress tracks share the same dark brown; active loader dots and progress use gold. Menu icons retain their individual colors.
Buttons adapt to the screen
- Record: press Power to save the recording.
- Playback: press Power to pause, resume, or replay; use + / − to change volume.
- Live: press Power to pause or resume listening; double-press to leave.
- Dictation: press Power to start talking, then press again when finished.
- Alarms / Reminders: browse entries and alert switches with + / −; press Power to toggle the selected item.
- Todos: browse with + / −; press Power to mark done or undo.
- Pomodoro: browse Timer, Stop timer, Alert LEDs, and Alert sound with + / −; press Power to act.
- Brightness: adjust with + / −; press Power to return. Sounds: browse with + / − and press Power to preview at full volume.
- Alert ringing: press Power to dismiss.
Main menu order
Assistant modes: Live → Dictation.
Record, play back, upload
Open Record to capture a conversation. Press the middle button to save. Your recording stays on the SD card. Let people know before you record them.
Use Playback to listen on Bard; press to pause or resume. Open Upload while connected to Wi-Fi to send recordings to your paired space.
In the web app, open Recordings to read transcripts and notes. Saved transcript sections appear as processing continues. If a section fails, the rest of the recording can still be available. Use Retry unfinished sections when offered; completed sections are kept. Unavailable sections appear as gaps with their time range.
Use the web app
On a computer, use the sidebar to switch pages. On your phone, use the floating bottom menu. Each section opens its own page.
- Recordings: browse recordings, transcripts, and notes. Use the waveform player to play or pause, seek to a point, and change playback speed while audio is available.
- Devices: find your paired devices by their Bard name.
- Assistant: read your saved conversations and device actions.
- Account: review your profile and full recording agreement, or sign out. On a computer, Sign out is also in the sidebar.
Use the theme control beside navigation to switch between System, Light, and Dark.
For nerds
AI activity shows recording parts, request status, response times, token usage, and cost estimates when rates are configured. Server logs shows your processing events and captured Gemini HTTP inputs and outputs. Full payloads can include private meeting text and audio. On mobile, find both pages in Account.
Talk to your assistant
Live is a conversation: start the session, speak naturally, and let Bard detect your turns. Press to pause the microphone, press again to resume, or double-press to leave.
Dictation handles one request at a time. Press to talk, then press when finished. Assistant history in the web app keeps your questions, replies, and device actions as text.
Try “Add buy coffee to my to-do list,” “Remind me to call Alex at 4 pm,” “Wake me up tomorrow at 6 am,” or “Start a Pomodoro.” You can also ask to list, change, or delete alarms, reminders, and to-dos, and toggle their alert sound or LEDs.
Check the saved time on your device after creating an alarm or reminder. Assistant requests need a working connection.
Alarms, reminders & to-dos
Alarms are one-time time alarms. Past completed alarms are cleared automatically. “Wake me up” creates a wake-up alarm with a gentle chime and warm light that gradually increases from the scheduled time.
Reminders show the task and its time. To-dos can be marked done or undone with a press; completed text is struck through.
Each alert category has separate sound and LED switches. Press to dismiss a due alert. Enabled alert lights can reach full brightness regardless of your normal LED setting.
Make room to focus
Pomodoro uses a 25-minute focus period and a 5-minute break. Press to start, pause, or resume. Browse to Stop timer to reset it.
The timer keeps running while you browse or enter low power mode. Restarting the device stops it. Sound and LED alerts can be switched independently, including by the assistant.
Make Bard yours
Settings menu order
Wi-Fi shows the network name, IP and MAC address. Bluetooth shows its name and MAC when enabled. Info includes your short Bard ID, firmware, battery, SD storage, and credits.
LED brightness previews changes on the lights. Display controls backlight brightness. Both allow 0–100%. Torch overrides both to full brightness; use + and − to browse its lighting modes.
Sounds lets you browse and play Recording, Alarm, Wake up, Pomodoro, Reminder, and Error samples with matching LEDs. These previews play at full volume; your saved preference is restored afterward.
Low power turns off the display, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth while idle until a button wakes Bard. During recording, a dim 5% recording light remains visible.
If something needs attention
I can’t pair my Bard
Check your Wi-Fi connection and use a fresh device pairing code. Sign in with your email code, then finish the pairing agreement.
The header battery is flashing red
The battery is low. Charge Bard. Charging shows a green battery with a yellow bolt; low power mode uses a yellow battery indicator.
I want to clear or reset Bard
Read the red confirmation screen carefully. Formatting the SD card deletes its files. Factory reset clears device settings. Hard reset clears settings and the SD card. Keep a copy of anything you need before confirming.
A transcript has missing sections
Saved sections remain available. Use Retry unfinished sections when offered to retry recoverable failures. A provider-blocked section is shown as unavailable and is not automatically resent. AI activity and Server logs show the recorded details.
An assistant request failed
Check Wi-Fi and try again. Long error details scroll on the display. A retry may be needed after reconnecting.