diff --git a/lib/providers/voice_provider.dart b/lib/providers/voice_provider.dart
index 1887ae1..2cd07d0 100644
--- a/lib/providers/voice_provider.dart
+++ b/lib/providers/voice_provider.dart
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import 'package:just_audio/just_audio.dart';
 import 'package:path_provider/path_provider.dart';
 import 'package:permission_handler/permission_handler.dart';
 import 'package:record/record.dart';
+import 'package:vad/vad.dart';
 
 import 'api_client_provider.dart';
 
@@ -98,25 +99,13 @@ class VoiceNotifier extends Notifier<VoiceState> {
   AudioPlayer? _player;
   StreamSubscription<Amplitude>? _amplitudeSubscription;
 
-  // Recording / silence detection
-  //
-  // Silence threshold is dynamic: we track the session peak dBFS and treat
-  // "silent" as "current level is at least _dropFromPeakDb below peak."
-  // This auto-calibrates to whatever mic + room the user is on rather than
-  // assuming a fixed ambient level. Until the peak climbs above
-  // _dynamicArmDb we fall back to a conservative static threshold so a
-  // quiet room doesn't spin forever. A grace period at the start of the
-  // recording gives the user time to begin speaking before silence checks
-  // arm.
-  int _recordingStartMs = 0;
-  int _silenceMs = 0;
-  double _peakDb = -100.0;
-  static const _fallbackThresholdDb = -35.0;
-  static const _dropFromPeakDb = 15.0;
-  static const _dynamicArmDb = -20.0;
-  static const _graceMs = 1500;
-  static const _silenceDurationMs = 2000;
-  static const _minRecordingMs = 300;
+  // VAD-based speech detection
+  VadHandler? _vadHandler;
+  StreamSubscription<void>? _vadSpeechStartSub;
+  StreamSubscription<List<double>>? _vadSpeechEndSub;
+  bool _speechDetected = false;
+  int _speechStartMs = 0;
+  static const _vadGraceMs = 1500;
 
   // Voice mode callbacks
   Future<void> Function(String transcript)? _onTranscript;
@@ -164,6 +153,9 @@ class VoiceNotifier extends Notifier<VoiceState> {
     required void Function(String message) onError,
   }) async {
     if (state.voiceModeActive) {
+      if (state.mode == VoiceMode.recording && !_speechDetected) {
+        onError('No speech detected');
+      }
       exitVoiceMode();
       return;
     }
@@ -211,12 +203,14 @@ class VoiceNotifier extends Notifier<VoiceState> {
     _amplitudeSubscription?.cancel();
     _amplitudeSubscription = null;
     _recorder?.stop();
+    _stopVad();
     _player?.stop();
     _ttsQueue.clear();
     _ttsPlaying = false;
     _sentenceBuffer = '';
     _lastSeenLength = 0;
     _streamComplete = false;
+    _speechDetected = false;
     _onTranscript = null;
     _onError = null;
     state = const VoiceState();
@@ -248,9 +242,8 @@ class VoiceNotifier extends Notifier<VoiceState> {
   Future<void> _startListening() async {
     if (!state.voiceModeActive) return;
 
-    _silenceMs = 0;
-    _peakDb = -100.0;
-    _recordingStartMs = DateTime.now().millisecondsSinceEpoch;
+    _speechDetected = false;
+    _speechStartMs = 0;
     state = state.copyWith(mode: VoiceMode.recording);
 
     final dir = _tempDir ?? await getTemporaryDirectory();
@@ -258,9 +251,6 @@ class VoiceNotifier extends Notifier<VoiceState> {
         '${dir.path}/voice_rec_${DateTime.now().millisecondsSinceEpoch}.m4a';
 
     try {
-      // Recreate the recorder each session — the record package can leave
-      // the native AudioRecord in a bad state after stop/error cycles,
-      // and a stale instance is the most common cause of "could not start".
       _recorder?.dispose();
       _recorder = AudioRecorder();
 
@@ -279,52 +269,52 @@ class VoiceNotifier extends Notifier<VoiceState> {
       _amplitudeSubscription = _recorder!
           .onAmplitudeChanged(const Duration(milliseconds: 200))
           .listen(_onAmplitude);
+
+      // VAD for speech detection — uses its own AudioRecorder internally
+      await _stopVad();
+      _vadHandler = VadHandler.create();
+      _vadSpeechStartSub = _vadHandler!.onSpeechStart.listen((_) {
+        if (!_speechDetected) {
+          _speechDetected = true;
+          _speechStartMs = DateTime.now().millisecondsSinceEpoch;
+        }
+      });
+      _vadSpeechEndSub = _vadHandler!.onSpeechEnd.listen((_) {
+        if (!state.voiceModeActive) return;
+        final now = DateTime.now().millisecondsSinceEpoch;
+        final sinceStart = _speechStartMs > 0 ? now - _speechStartMs : 0;
+        if (_speechDetected && sinceStart >= _vadGraceMs) {
+          _amplitudeSubscription?.cancel();
+          _amplitudeSubscription = null;
+          _stopVad();
+          _handleSilence();
+        }
+      });
+      await _vadHandler!.startListening(model: 'v5');
     } catch (e) {
       _onError?.call('Microphone error: $e');
       exitVoiceMode();
     }
   }
 
+  Future<void> _stopVad() async {
+    await _vadSpeechStartSub?.cancel();
+    _vadSpeechStartSub = null;
+    await _vadSpeechEndSub?.cancel();
+    _vadSpeechEndSub = null;
+    if (_vadHandler != null) {
+      await _vadHandler!.dispose();
+      _vadHandler = null;
+    }
+  }
+
   void _onAmplitude(Amplitude event) {
     if (!state.voiceModeActive) return;
-
     final db = event.current;
-    final validDb = !(db.isNaN || db.isInfinite);
-
-    // Normalize dB to 0..1 for the pulse animation. -60dB is dead-quiet,
-    // 0dB is peak; we clamp and bias so the button visibly breathes even
-    // on soft speech without exploding on loud input.
-    if (validDb) {
-      final norm = ((db + 60.0) / 60.0).clamp(0.0, 1.0);
-      if ((norm - state.amplitude).abs() > 0.02) {
-        state = state.copyWith(amplitude: norm);
-      }
-      if (db > _peakDb) _peakDb = db;
-    }
-
-    final elapsed =
-        DateTime.now().millisecondsSinceEpoch - _recordingStartMs;
-    // Grace period at the start — let the user begin speaking before we
-    // start silence-counting. Also suppresses any false triggers while
-    // the native recorder is still warming up.
-    if (elapsed < _graceMs) return;
-    if (elapsed < _minRecordingMs) return;
-
-    // Dynamic threshold once we've seen real speech; static fallback
-    // before that so a dead-silent session doesn't spin forever.
-    final threshold =
-        _peakDb > _dynamicArmDb ? _peakDb - _dropFromPeakDb : _fallbackThresholdDb;
-    final isSilent = !validDb || db < threshold;
-
-    if (isSilent) {
-      _silenceMs += 200;
-      if (_silenceMs >= _silenceDurationMs) {
-        _amplitudeSubscription?.cancel();
-        _amplitudeSubscription = null;
-        _handleSilence();
-      }
-    } else {
-      _silenceMs = 0;
+    if (db.isNaN || db.isInfinite) return;
+    final norm = ((db + 60.0) / 60.0).clamp(0.0, 1.0);
+    if ((norm - state.amplitude).abs() > 0.02) {
+      state = state.copyWith(amplitude: norm);
     }
   }