FAQ & Troubleshooting

Collected against the real UI paths. Most issues can be located in 1–2 minutes.

Read first: Engines & Models — how to choose local vs. cloud, download mirrors and optional proxies, and third-party API responsibility boundaries.

---

The #1 cause of "it just won't start": installing into a path with Chinese characters

The install path must be plain English/ASCII, for example D:\TransBox. Paths like D:\软件\TransBox, C:\Users\小明\TransBox, or ones with spaces and special symbols can all break.

Already installed under such a path? Uninstall completely (including leftover folders), then reinstall to a plain-ASCII path. Renaming the folder or moving it does not count — the registry and config still hold the old path.

Why can't it live in a Chinese-named folder? This is not our restriction, it is a restriction of the underlying runtimes: the local model runtime (C/C++ components such as llama.cpp) and the bundled Python environment convert paths to bytes using the system's local code page (GBK on a Chinese Windows), so a Chinese folder name turns into mojibake and the app fails with “model file not found / DLL load failed / process exits immediately”. Windows' own APIs handle such paths fine, but these third-party components do not — which is why we must restrict the install path to ASCII.

See Q11 below for the full checklist. Model storage paths are the same — keep them ASCII too.

---

Q1: In Zoom / Tencent Meeting, the other party cannot hear my translation?

A Check in this order:

1. You have clicked [Two-way call] on the subtitle bar, and the output mode is Translated Voice;
2. TransBox output device = CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable);
3. Meeting app microphone = CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable);
4. VB-CABLE is installed and the settings page detection passes (you can use Auto-configure driver);
5. Your physical microphone is used only by TransBox, and is not also captured by the meeting app.

If you only want to listen and show subtitles, the default monitor mode (or Original Voice) are enough — CABLE is not required.

---

Q2: Browser caption mode has no “🌐 Browser captions” audio source?

A

1. Settings → Browser captions — turn on the service (default port 8765);
2. Confirm the built-in Browser native captions plugin is not disabled;
3. The extension directory name must be browser-extension;
4. Refresh the Workshop / restart the browser and try again.

---

Q3: Read-aloud has echo, or it disturbs others?

A

• Point the control bar’s Read-aloud device at your headset;
• Keep Duck original audio on;
• In call scenarios, do not point the read-aloud device at CABLE, or you may create a loop.

---

Q4: Terminology is wrong — character or item names are mistranslated?

A
Use or subscribe to a glossary extension (plugin form — packs can coexist and be switched freely). When building your own, prefer terms.json with optional src_lang/tgt_lang pairs (e.g. ja→zh); if you use terms.txt, the separator must be = or Tab — not -> / =>. See Workshop & glossaries.

---

Q5: A plugin is enabled but has no effect?

A

• Check whether a theme / language pack was disabled by another full theme or language pack;
• Engine plugins must be selected as the current engine in the ASR / MT / TTS settings;
• Middleware and glossaries need to stay enabled;
• Still broken: use Safe reset in the Workshop, then re-enable items one by one; for code plugins, use only trusted sources.

---

Q6: How do I export troubleshooting info?

A
At the bottom of Settings you will find Copy diagnostic info and Open log directory. When reporting an issue, attach the logs and reproduction steps to GitHub Issues or the Steam community.

---

Q7: Local model download is very slow or fails?

A

1. Settings → the relevant engine → Download mirror — choose “China high-speed mirror”;
2. If it still fails, enable Proxy download on the download card and set the address to match your local proxy (commonly http://127.0.0.1:7897, but the port may differ);
3. Overseas users can usually use the “Global official node” and do not need a proxy;
4. Reserve disk space: about 1.2 GB for ASR, 3.6 GB for MT, and 350 MB for TTS.

---

Q8: Cloud keeps returning 429 / connection failures?

A

1. Confirm that the API key, Base URL, and model name match the provider console, and click Test connection first;
2. Rate limits are counted against the provider’s primary account (multiple keys are merged); personal-tier concurrency is usually enough for a single user; sharing one key competes for quota;
3. Check quota / billing status in the provider console and raise the limit if needed;
4. This is an upstream limit — TransBox does not resell or host that quota. See Engines & Models.

---

Q9: Does the software include cloud costs?

A
No. The Steam purchase covers the TransBox client license only.

• Local open-weights models can be downloaded and used for free (you handle bandwidth and disk);
• For cloud services, sign up and pay with providers such as Alibaba Cloud / Tencent Cloud / Xiaomi yourself;
• Third-party model names, pricing, and availability follow each provider’s announcements.

---

Q10: When listening to a game (e.g. COD), in-game announcements are captured but teammates' voices are not?

Based on user feedback and Windows audio behaviour; results may vary by game and version.

Cause
When the audio source is set to a specific app, TransBox captures that process's output on the default playback device (Windows per-process loopback, the same technique as OBS "Application Audio Capture"). Many games send voice chat to the Windows "Default Communications Device" or to a separate Chat channel on a headset, so a per-process capture does not hear it. Voice from Discord, Battle.net or Xbox Game Bar belongs to a different process.

Fixes (pick one)

1. Send the game's voice chat to the same device as the game audio (recommended). In the game's audio / voice chat settings, find the voice chat output device (menu names differ by game) and choose the same headset/speakers as the main game sound. Other games work the same way (e.g. VRChat: Settings → Audio Options, where the microphone / voice device is shown and can be changed; see the screenshots in Two-way interpreting setup).
2. If your headset exposes separate Game / Chat devices, switch the subtitle bar audio source to that playback device (or "All system audio") and pick the Chat device. This also avoids gunfire noise and usually improves recognition.
3. For Discord etc., select that program as the audio source, or use "All system audio".

---

Q11: Model fails to load?

See the red box at the top first: the install path must be plain ASCII — by far the most common cause. Renaming the folder is not enough; uninstall cleanly and reinstall.

A common cause is a non-English character or special character in the install path (e.g. D:\软件\TransBox) — based on user feedback. Install to a plain English path without spaces, such as D:\TransBox. If already installed in a non-English path, uninstall completely (including leftover folders), then reinstall to the English path. Then confirm models under Settings → ASR / MT and Save & apply. If it still fails, export diagnostics (Q6).

---

Q12: How do I set up two-way interpreting?

See Two-Way Call Interpretation Wizard. In short: TTS output = speakers → only you hear it; TTS output = the virtual cable input (CABLE Input) → in your meeting/game, set the microphone to CABLE Output and the other side hears the translation.

---

Q13: Translation latency is too high?

• Watching browser video: use the browser caption extension; latency is almost unnoticeable.
• Voice calls: the pipeline is recognise → translate → speak, typically around 2 seconds, sometimes a few sentences behind. For reference, professional human simultaneous interpreters typically lag 3–7 seconds.

---

Q14: The official website is slow, update checks fail, or downloads stall?

A
Before reinstalling or switching ISPs, consider bad DNS resolution (DNS poisoning): the site's domain may resolve to a wrong, far-away, or unreachable server, which makes the website, update checks, and update downloads slow or flaky.

Switching the system DNS to a public Chinese resolver (Alibaba 223.5.5.5, Tencent 119.29.29.29) usually fixes it:

1. Press Win + R, type control, press Enter to open Control Panel. In Category view, click Network and Internet; in the "All Control Panel Items" (small icons) view shown below, click Network and Sharing Center directly.

   

2. In Network and Sharing Center, click Change adapter settings on the left.

   

3. Right-click the network you are using (WLAN or Ethernet) → Properties. If there is no Properties entry, double-click the adapter first to open its status window, then click Properties.

   

   

4. Double-click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), select Use the following DNS server addresses, and enter:

   • Preferred DNS server: 223.5.5.5
   • Alternate DNS server: 119.29.29.29

   

5. Click OK on each window to save, then flush the DNS cache: Win + R → cmd → Enter → run ipconfig /flushdns. Reopen the browser or TransBox and try again.

Still slow?

• Changing DNS only affects name resolution; with a proxy / VPN / accelerator running, resolution may still go through it — turn it off temporarily and retest.
• Corporate and campus networks may force their own DNS; test with a phone hotspot to confirm.
• If you lose internet access entirely, switch DNS back to Obtain DNS server address automatically.
• If updates still fail, export diagnostics (Q6) and attach screenshots of the failing page / update error.

Why these two addresses

223.5.5.5 is Alibaba Public DNS and 119.29.29.29 is Tencent DNSPod. Both resolve quickly inside mainland China, return closer real nodes, and are less likely to hand you a stale or wrong address. No reboot is needed, but browsers and the client may cache the old resolution, so run ipconfig /flushdns and reopen them.