Spanish on the mic, English on the ticket

The buying rule is simple: speak Spanish, persist English. Live listening can show Spanish. The string that lands on the work order, the .msworkorder package, the PDF, and the yard office is English only. MarineServiceTech will not write untranslated Spanish onto the ticket.

1. Two different microphones

Use the in-app mic on Problem, Identification, Testing, Action taken, progress notes, estimate findings, parts notes, and survey narratives. Short name fields (boat name, slip, HIN) stay English and are not translated.

2. Before you start

• iOS 18 or later for offline English insert at the dock. iOS 17 can still hear Spanish; English insert at the marina without a network needs 18+.
• Do this once on shop Wi-Fi. Language packs are large. The dock often has poor signal.
• Allow Microphone and Speech Recognition when MarineServiceTech asks.
• Leave Note dictation on English when the tech is speaking English.

3. iPhone Settings — add Spanish the Apple way

MarineServiceTech cannot add a keyboard for you. The in-app screen More → Note dictation language links each Apple page below. Same links live under More → Help → Spanish → English phone setup.

Step A — Add a Spanish keyboard

1. Open Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards.
2. Tap Add New Keyboard….
3. Choose Spanish (Mexico) or Spanish (Spain). Mexico matches most U.S. yards; Spain if that is how the crew speaks.
4. Leave English on the list. You are adding a keyboard, not replacing the phone language.

Apple’s guide: Add or change keyboards.

Step B — Turn Enable Dictation on

1. Back up one screen to Settings → General → Keyboard.
2. Turn Enable Dictation on. Confirm if iOS asks.

Apple’s guide: Dictate text.

Step C — Download Spanish under Dictation Languages

1. Still under Keyboard (on some iOS versions: Keyboard → Dictation), open Dictation Languages.
2. Spanish only appears after Step A. If the list is empty of Spanish, you skipped the keyboard.
3. Turn on Spanish (Mexico or Spain to match the keyboard) and wait for the download on shop Wi-Fi.

On iOS 17–25 the app cannot install this speech pack for you. On iOS 26, More → Note dictation language → Download Spanish speech can pull the pack from inside MarineServiceTech.

Step D — Download Spanish ↔ English Translate packs

1. This is a second Apple download, not the same as Dictation Languages.
2. On shop Wi-Fi, install Apple Translate if it is not already on the phone, then download Spanish and English so they work on-device.
3. You can also start the download from MarineServiceTech (next section) on iOS 18+.

Apple’s guide: Translate text in apps.

4. In MarineServiceTech

1. Open More → Note dictation language (Field helpers), or More → Help → Spanish → English phone setup for this page.
2. Set Note dictation to Spanish → English. (Leave it on English when the tech is speaking English.)
3. Pick the dialect: United States (es-US), Mexico (es-MX), or Spain (es-ES).
4. On iOS 26, tap Download Spanish speech if Speech still shows it is missing.
5. On iOS 18+, tap the Translate download on that same screen until Translate packs show installed.

The mode is sticky on this phone. You do not set it per ticket.

5. Dictate a note so English persists

1. Open a work order. Go to a narrative field (Problem, progress note, and so on).
2. Confirm the chip / mode is Spanish → English. If it is English, you will store English speech, not a translation.
3. Tap the in-app mic — not the keyboard mic.
4. Speak Spanish. Live text in the chrome may stay Spanish. That is expected.
5. Tap Stop (or Stop & insert). Wait for translating. English is what is written into the field.
6. If a setup sheet appears, finish the missing pack, then Retry the same utterance. Do not type the Spanish into the field.
7. Save the job as usual. When you return the package to the office, the office ticket shows that English.

6. What is stored vs what you see

Audio stays on the phone. Packs download from Apple on shop Wi-Fi. The office does not receive a Spanish column to clean up later.

7. Listen to English notes in Spanish

After English is on the ticket — from the office, from typing, or from ES→EN dictation — tap the small speaker on Problem, Identification, Handoff, haul-out, blocking, and other narrative fields (also on the job diagnostic blocks).

• Translate packs + Spanish voice: the panel shows Spanish and the phone speaks Spanish.
• No packs / no Spanish keyboard or voice: the same panel shows English and reads English.

This path is display and speech only. The work order, PDF, and yard office stay English.

9. If English does not appear

Related

• How the yard office works — what the desk reads after the return
• Features — short dictation summary
• Workflow training
• Apple: Add or change keyboards
• Apple: Dictate text
• Apple: Translate text in apps