Captions
in your view
Getting started with the XRAI AR2 captioning glasses: charging, pairing, the controls, captions in the lenses, updates and quick fixes.
Captions in your view
The XRAI AR2 show live captions from the XRAI app in both lenses, so you can watch the person speaking instead of your phone. This guide takes you from the box to your first conversation, and keeps you going after that.
Getting to know the XRAI AR2
Captioning glasses that show live captions from the XRAI app in both lenses. Three microphones in the frame pick up the conversation.
| Part | What it does | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microphones | One above the bridge and one on each arm. While the glasses are connected, the app listens through them. |
| 2 | Touchpad | Tap, or swipe along the arm, to start and stop captions and use the glasses' menu (page 08). |
| 3 | Power button | Hold 1 second to turn on, 3 seconds to turn off (page 07). |
| 4 | Charging contacts | Magnetic contacts that charge the glasses in their case (page 04). |
In the box
The XRAI AR2 glasses, a charging case that recharges them up to 12 times, and a USB-C cable for the case.
What you need
An iPhone with iOS 17.5 or later, or an Android phone with Android 11 or later, and the free XRAI app.
111234Charging
The glasses run for up to 8 hours on a charge. The case holds enough to recharge them about 12 times, for up to 96 hours away from a socket.
- Charge the casePlug a USB-C cable into the case. Its lights show how full it is while it charges.
- Put the glasses in the caseThe magnetic contacts on the arm meet the contacts in the case. Close the lid.
- Wait for the case lightsThey stay on while the glasses charge and go out when the glasses are full. The light on the glasses flashes slowly while they charge.
One at a time
The case and the glasses can't charge at the same time. Charge the case, unplug it, then charge the glasses in it.
| Case lights | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 white light | Case about 25% full |
| 2 white lights | About 50% |
| 3 white lights | About 75% |
| 4 white lights | Full |
| Lights go out after 3 seconds | No glasses in the case |
If the glasses don't charge
Lift them out and put them back so the magnets line up, then close the lid fully. Check the case has charge: open the lid and count its white lights. If they still don't charge, hold the power button on the glasses for 15 seconds to reset the charging system, then put them back.
Get the app and sign in
The XRAI app makes the captions; the glasses show them. It is free to download.
- Install XRAI GlassFrom the App Store on iPhone (iOS 17.5 or later) or Google Play on Android (Android 11 or later).
- Sign inWith Apple, Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn or Microsoft 365. If you are new to XRAI, signing in creates your account. Use Microsoft 365 if your organisation gave you XRAI through your work account.
- Allow the microphone and BluetoothThe app can't caption without the microphone, and needs Bluetooth to find the glasses. On Android, allow it to run in the background too.
- Say yes to smart glassesWhen the app asks whether you have smart glasses, answer Yes, let's set them up.
1
Pair your glasses
You pair the glasses once, from inside the app. After that the app connects to them by itself whenever they are on and nearby.
- Switch the glasses onHold the power button for 1 second, and turn on Bluetooth on your phone.
- Tap ConnectOpen the XRAI app next to the glasses. It shows Glasses found with the last four digits of their name, for example XRAI AR2 (0088).
- Tap PairiPhone: tap Pair on the Bluetooth Pairing Request. Android: leave access to contacts and call history off, then tap Pair.
- Watch the Bluetooth iconIt turns amber while the glasses connect, then blue. On Android, allow the app to run in the background if it asks. On iPhone, the glasses also appear in Settings → Bluetooth under My Devices.
If Glasses found doesn't appear
Check the glasses are charged, on, and not connected to another phone; the light by the power button blinks when they are ready to pair. On iPhone, check Bluetooth is allowed in Settings → XRAI Glass. Tap the Bluetooth icon to search again for 30 seconds.
1
2
3The power button and light
One button turns the glasses on and off, turns the display off between conversations, and resets them if needed.
| Press | What it does |
|---|---|
| Press once | Turn the display off or on. The glasses stay connected. |
| Hold 1 second | Turn on |
| Hold 3 seconds | Turn off |
| Hold 15 seconds | Reset, if the glasses stop responding or won't charge |
| The light | Means |
|---|---|
| Slow flash | Charging |
| Blinking | Ready to pair |
| Three flashes | Battery low |
12
The touchpad and menu
Most of the time you control captions from the app. The touchpad on the other arm starts and stops them without taking out your phone.
| Gesture | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tap | Start captions, or choose the highlighted menu item |
| Swipe down | Stop captions, go back, or open the menu |
| Swipe forward or back | Move to the next or previous menu item |
- Captions
- Starts captioning.
- Settings
- Display brightness and a factory reset. A factory reset clears the pairing, so pair the glasses again afterwards.
- Demo
- Previews what the glasses can show.
“Hello. You're ready to go.”
If this appears over the captions, a touch on the frame has started the glasses' voice assistant. Swipe down on the touchpad to close it.
The Bluetooth icon
The icon at the top of the conversation screen shows what your glasses are doing. While they are connected it fills to show their battery.
| Icon | What it means |
|---|---|
 | Not connected. The glasses are known to the app but not connected. Tap to search. |
 | Searching for the glasses, for 30 seconds. |
 | Connecting. |
 | Connected and ready. The fill shows the battery, red below 10%. |
 | Captioning: a conversation is running and the glasses show it. |
 | Asleep to save battery. The glasses wake when a conversation starts. |
Tap or hold
Tap the icon to search for the glasses. Hold it to disconnect them, or to connect them again.
11Captions in your glasses
The glasses show captions while a conversation is running in the app. Start one, read along, and save it when you finish.
- Tap +At the bottom of the conversation screen. The Bluetooth icon turns green and captions appear in the lenses as people speak.
- Pause if you need toThe pause button stops captioning for a moment; tap it again to carry on in the same conversation.
- Tap the red stop buttonWhen the conversation is over.
- Keep or discardKeep saves the transcript to your conversation list; Discard deletes it.
If there are no captions in the lenses
Check a conversation is running and the icon is green. If the display is off, press the power button once. See page 18.
123
4Settings for the glasses
Captions in the glasses have their own settings, on the AR2 tab of the settings panel. The app sends them to the glasses each time they connect.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Glasses font size | Small, Medium or Large. Larger text shows fewer words on each line. |
| Glasses brightness | Five levels. Brighter is easier to read outdoors and uses more battery. |
| Glasses subtitle position | Where captions sit in your view: bottom, top or centre. |
| Subtitle timeout | How long a caption stays before it clears, up to 20 seconds. |
| Mic recording angle | 360 listens all round you; Forward listens to the person in front of you. |
| Exclude wearer voice | With Forward: leaves your own voice out of the captions. |
Set them in the app
Brightness changed on the glasses doesn't last: the app sends its own setting each time they connect.
1234
5Languages and translation
Tell the app what is being said, and the language you want to read. Captions can be translated into more than 300 languages and dialects.
- Tap the languages iconAt the bottom left of the conversation screen.
- FROM: the language being spokenTap the circle next to it. You can choose up to ten, or Automatic on Ultimate. The heart keeps a language in your favourites.
- TO: the language you readChoose one, or No translation to keep the spoken language.
Two languages, two people
Choose both languages on FROM and turn on Autoreverse: each person reads the other's words in their own language.
123
4Offline captions and AI engines
Cloud engines are the most accurate and use Pro minutes. Engines on your phone are free and work without a connection.
- Tap the cloud icon
- Opens AI Engine Priority: Cloud, On Device or Custom, and the engine for each task.
- Hold the cloud icon
- Switches between online and offline captioning. Offline, the icon is crossed out.
| Phone | Offline captions use |
|---|---|
| Android | Engines you download once, on Wi-Fi: NVIDIA for European languages, Alibaba for Chinese, Japanese and Korean, Zipformer for English. |
| iPhone 15 Pro and later, with iOS 26 | Apple's newer on-device speech recognition. Nothing to turn on. |
| Older iPhones | Apple's dictation: turn on Settings → General → Keyboard → Enable Dictation. |
12
3Pro minutes
Cloud captioning and translation use Pro minutes. Offline captioning is free.
| While captioning with | Pro minutes a minute |
|---|---|
| Engines on your phone | Free |
| A cloud engine for captions | 1 |
| Cloud translation, per language | +1 |
| Translations read aloud by a cloud voice | +1.5 |
See what you have left
Tap the rate chip at the bottom right of the conversation screen. Premium includes 600 Pro minutes a month; on Ultimate the XRAI engines are free. To buy more, tap your picture → Purchase.
1Updating the glasses
Firmware updates fix problems and improve how the glasses connect. The app updates them for you in a few minutes.
- Look for the red dotOn your picture, while the glasses are connected and an update is waiting.
- Tap Update AR2 FirmwareIn the menu under your picture. Glasses Update shows the current version, the version to install and both batteries: both need to be above 25%.
- Tap Update nowThe app downloads the update, joins the glasses' own Wi-Fi to copy it (tap Join on iPhone), then the glasses install it and restart: about 3 minutes.
- Tap DoneWhen you see Update complete. Your phone returns to its own network.
If it doesn't work
Tap Try again: a second attempt often goes straight through. On a work phone with a security VPN, or if it keeps failing, use the AR2 Firmware Updater on a Mac or Windows PC: docs.xrai.glass.
1
2
3Prescription inserts
If you wear glasses, prescription inserts fit behind the AR2 lenses. They are made to your prescription and sold by XRAI from the XRAI AR2 page.
- Hold the glasses with the inside facing you
- Slot the hook ① into the hook slot ②On the frame, by the nose pads.
- Press the other side ③ gentlyUntil the insert clicks into place.
- To remove an insert
- Hold the frame steady, ease the free side away from the frame, then lift the hook out of its slot.
- Cleaning
- Use a dry lens cloth. Don't use alcohol or household cleaners on the lenses or their coating.
Reset and re-pair
If the glasses won't connect, or connect and then drop, start them afresh. This solves most connection problems.
- Forget the glasses on your phoneiPhone: Settings → Bluetooth, tap ⓘ next to GLASSES-, then Forget This Device. Android: Settings → Connected devices, tap the cog next to GLASSES-, then Unpair.
- Reset the glassesHold the power button for 15 seconds.
- Reopen the app and connectClose the XRAI app completely and open it again. When it finds the glasses, tap Connect, then Pair.
Still not connecting
In the app, tap your picture → Settings → Forget known devices, then pair again. As a last resort, the glasses' menu has a factory reset (page 08).
Quick fixes
Fixes for the problems we hear about most. Work through the row that matches yours.
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| The glasses won't turn on | Hold the power button for 1 second. If nothing happens, charge them in the case for at least 30 minutes and try again. |
| They aren't charging in the case | Line the magnets up and close the lid fully, and check the case's white lights show it has charge. If they still don't charge, hold the power button for 15 seconds to reset the charging system. |
| The app can't find them | Check Bluetooth is on and the glasses are on. On iPhone, allow Bluetooth in Settings → XRAI Glass. Tap the Bluetooth icon to search again. |
| They keep disconnecting | Charge them fully, close and reopen the app, and on Android allow the app to run in the background. Then reset and re-pair (page 17). |
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| Connected, but no captions | Start a conversation with +. If the display is off, press the power button once. Close the voice assistant with a swipe down. |
| The captions are too dark | Raise Glasses brightness on the AR2 tab (page 11). |
| The touchpad doesn't respond | Make sure your finger is dry and on the touchpad itself, where the finger is in the drawings on page 08. Wipe it with a dry cloth. If it still doesn't respond, hold the power button for 15 seconds to reset the glasses. |
| Which microphone is in use? | While the glasses are connected the app listens through them. Change it on the Audio tab of the settings panel. |
Send us a report
If a problem keeps happening: tap your picture → Settings → Vitals → Send report to support. It sends the app's diagnostics to our team.
Specifications and help
The XRAI AR2 and their case, and where to find more help.
| Display | One in each lens · 640 × 480 · up to 2,500 nits · anti-glare coating |
| Battery | Up to 8 hours · up to 96 hours with the case · 245 mAh |
| Charging case | Up to 12 recharges · 3,200 mAh · USB-C |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4 · range 10 m (32 ft) |
| Phones | iPhone with iOS 17.5 or later · Android 11 or later |
| Audio | 3 microphones · directional beamforming · 360° voice capture |
| Weight | 49 g (1.7 oz) |
| Size | Lens 52 × 40 mm · temple 145 mm · frame 140 mm · bridge 20 mm · fits heads 90 to 180 mm wide |
- XRAI Docs
- Articles and narrated video guides for everything in this guide: docs.xrai.glass
- support@xrai.glass. Tell us your phone, your glasses and what happened.
- +1 (862) 352-7009, for customers with priority support
- From the app
- Your picture → Settings → Vitals → Send report to support
