diff --git a/ts/components/CompositionArea.stories.tsx b/ts/components/CompositionArea.stories.tsx
index 2d57ff2fb4c..2b05179d6f6 100644
--- a/ts/components/CompositionArea.stories.tsx
+++ b/ts/components/CompositionArea.stories.tsx
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import * as React from 'react';
 
 import { storiesOf } from '@storybook/react';
 import { action } from '@storybook/addon-actions';
-import { boolean } from '@storybook/addon-knobs';
+import { boolean, select } from '@storybook/addon-knobs';
 
 import { IMAGE_JPEG } from '../types/MIME';
 import type { Props } from './CompositionArea';
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import enMessages from '../../_locales/en/messages.json';
 import { fakeAttachment } from '../test-both/helpers/fakeAttachment';
 import { landscapeGreenUrl } from '../storybook/Fixtures';
 import { ThemeType } from '../types/Util';
+import { RecordingState } from '../state/ducks/audioRecorder';
 
 const i18n = setupI18n('en', enMessages);
 
@@ -42,7 +43,11 @@ const createProps = (overrideProps: Partial<Props> = {}): Props => ({
   cancelRecording: action('cancelRecording'),
   completeRecording: action('completeRecording'),
   errorRecording: action('errorRecording'),
-  isRecording: Boolean(overrideProps.isRecording),
+  recordingState: select(
+    'recordingState',
+    RecordingState,
+    overrideProps.recordingState || RecordingState.Idle
+  ),
   startRecording: action('startRecording'),
   // StagedLinkPreview
   linkPreviewLoading: Boolean(overrideProps.linkPreviewLoading),
diff --git a/ts/components/CompositionArea.tsx b/ts/components/CompositionArea.tsx
index c4ab4bafe35..f0c59552d19 100644
--- a/ts/components/CompositionArea.tsx
+++ b/ts/components/CompositionArea.tsx
@@ -11,7 +11,10 @@ import type {
   LocalizerType,
   ThemeType,
 } from '../types/Util';
-import type { ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType } from '../state/ducks/audioRecorder';
+import type {
+  ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType,
+  RecordingState,
+} from '../state/ducks/audioRecorder';
 import type { HandleAttachmentsProcessingArgsType } from '../util/handleAttachmentsProcessing';
 import { Spinner } from './Spinner';
 import type { Props as EmojiButtonProps } from './emoji/EmojiButton';
@@ -90,7 +93,7 @@ export type OwnProps = Readonly<{
   isFetchingUUID?: boolean;
   isGroupV1AndDisabled?: boolean;
   isMissingMandatoryProfileSharing?: boolean;
-  isRecording: boolean;
+  recordingState: RecordingState;
   isSMSOnly?: boolean;
   left?: boolean;
   linkPreviewLoading: boolean;
@@ -176,7 +179,7 @@ export const CompositionArea = ({
   completeRecording,
   errorDialogAudioRecorderType,
   errorRecording,
-  isRecording,
+  recordingState,
   startRecording,
   // StagedLinkPreview
   linkPreviewLoading,
@@ -371,7 +374,7 @@ export const CompositionArea = ({
       errorDialogAudioRecorderType={errorDialogAudioRecorderType}
       errorRecording={errorRecording}
       i18n={i18n}
-      isRecording={isRecording}
+      recordingState={recordingState}
       onSendAudioRecording={(voiceNoteAttachment: AttachmentType) => {
         onSendMessage({ voiceNoteAttachment });
       }}
diff --git a/ts/components/conversation/AudioCapture.stories.tsx b/ts/components/conversation/AudioCapture.stories.tsx
index fe9b3e38d3d..b44e89d5cec 100644
--- a/ts/components/conversation/AudioCapture.stories.tsx
+++ b/ts/components/conversation/AudioCapture.stories.tsx
@@ -5,9 +5,12 @@ import * as React from 'react';
 
 import { action } from '@storybook/addon-actions';
 import { storiesOf } from '@storybook/react';
-import { boolean } from '@storybook/addon-knobs';
+import { select } from '@storybook/addon-knobs';
 
-import { ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType } from '../../state/ducks/audioRecorder';
+import {
+  ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType,
+  RecordingState,
+} from '../../state/ducks/audioRecorder';
 import type { PropsType } from './AudioCapture';
 import { AudioCapture } from './AudioCapture';
 import { setupI18n } from '../../util/setupI18n';
@@ -25,7 +28,11 @@ const createProps = (overrideProps: Partial<PropsType> = {}): PropsType => ({
   errorDialogAudioRecorderType: overrideProps.errorDialogAudioRecorderType,
   errorRecording: action('errorRecording'),
   i18n,
-  isRecording: boolean('isRecording', overrideProps.isRecording || false),
+  recordingState: select(
+    'recordingState',
+    RecordingState,
+    overrideProps.recordingState || RecordingState.Idle
+  ),
   onSendAudioRecording: action('onSendAudioRecording'),
   startRecording: action('startRecording'),
 });
@@ -34,11 +41,21 @@ story.add('Default', () => {
   return <AudioCapture {...createProps()} />;
 });
 
+story.add('Initializing', () => {
+  return (
+    <AudioCapture
+      {...createProps({
+        recordingState: RecordingState.Initializing,
+      })}
+    />
+  );
+});
+
 story.add('Recording', () => {
   return (
     <AudioCapture
       {...createProps({
-        isRecording: true,
+        recordingState: RecordingState.Recording,
       })}
     />
   );
@@ -49,7 +66,7 @@ story.add('Voice Limit', () => {
     <AudioCapture
       {...createProps({
         errorDialogAudioRecorderType: ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType.Timeout,
-        isRecording: true,
+        recordingState: RecordingState.Recording,
       })}
     />
   );
@@ -60,7 +77,7 @@ story.add('Switched Apps', () => {
     <AudioCapture
       {...createProps({
         errorDialogAudioRecorderType: ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType.Blur,
-        isRecording: true,
+        recordingState: RecordingState.Recording,
       })}
     />
   );
diff --git a/ts/components/conversation/AudioCapture.tsx b/ts/components/conversation/AudioCapture.tsx
index 31861f8f484..fc93b42eef6 100644
--- a/ts/components/conversation/AudioCapture.tsx
+++ b/ts/components/conversation/AudioCapture.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,10 @@ import { noop } from 'lodash';
 import type { AttachmentType } from '../../types/Attachment';
 import { ConfirmationDialog } from '../ConfirmationDialog';
 import type { LocalizerType } from '../../types/Util';
-import { ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType } from '../../state/ducks/audioRecorder';
+import {
+  ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType,
+  RecordingState,
+} from '../../state/ducks/audioRecorder';
 import { ToastVoiceNoteLimit } from '../ToastVoiceNoteLimit';
 import { ToastVoiceNoteMustBeOnlyAttachment } from '../ToastVoiceNoteMustBeOnlyAttachment';
 import { useEscapeHandling } from '../../hooks/useEscapeHandling';
@@ -30,7 +33,7 @@ export type PropsType = {
   errorDialogAudioRecorderType?: ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType;
   errorRecording: (e: ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType) => unknown;
   i18n: LocalizerType;
-  isRecording: boolean;
+  recordingState: RecordingState;
   onSendAudioRecording: OnSendAudioRecordingType;
   startRecording: () => unknown;
 };
@@ -50,7 +53,7 @@ export const AudioCapture = ({
   errorDialogAudioRecorderType,
   errorRecording,
   i18n,
-  isRecording,
+  recordingState,
   onSendAudioRecording,
   startRecording,
 }: PropsType): JSX.Element => {
@@ -59,18 +62,14 @@ export const AudioCapture = ({
 
   // Cancel recording if we switch away from this conversation, unmounting
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!isRecording) {
-      return;
-    }
-
     return () => {
       cancelRecording();
     };
-  }, [cancelRecording, isRecording]);
+  }, [cancelRecording]);
 
   // Stop recording and show confirmation if user switches away from this app
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!isRecording) {
+    if (recordingState !== RecordingState.Recording) {
       return;
     }
 
@@ -82,15 +81,15 @@ export const AudioCapture = ({
     return () => {
       window.removeEventListener('blur', handler);
     };
-  }, [isRecording, completeRecording, errorRecording]);
+  }, [recordingState, completeRecording, errorRecording]);
 
   const escapeRecording = useCallback(() => {
-    if (!isRecording) {
+    if (recordingState !== RecordingState.Recording) {
       return;
     }
 
     cancelRecording();
-  }, [cancelRecording, isRecording]);
+  }, [cancelRecording, recordingState]);
 
   useEscapeHandling(escapeRecording);
 
@@ -103,7 +102,7 @@ export const AudioCapture = ({
 
   // Update timestamp regularly, then timeout if recording goes over five minutes
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!isRecording) {
+    if (recordingState !== RecordingState.Recording) {
       return;
     }
 
@@ -133,7 +132,7 @@ export const AudioCapture = ({
     closeToast,
     completeRecording,
     errorRecording,
-    isRecording,
+    recordingState,
     setDurationText,
   ]);
 
@@ -197,7 +196,7 @@ export const AudioCapture = ({
     );
   }
 
-  if (isRecording && !confirmationDialog) {
+  if (recordingState === RecordingState.Recording && !confirmationDialog) {
     return (
       <>
         <div className="AudioCapture">
diff --git a/ts/state/ducks/audioRecorder.ts b/ts/state/ducks/audioRecorder.ts
index c1fa00f4d20..fe91e7a247e 100644
--- a/ts/state/ducks/audioRecorder.ts
+++ b/ts/state/ducks/audioRecorder.ts
@@ -20,8 +20,14 @@ export enum ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType {
 
 // State
 
+export enum RecordingState {
+  Recording = 'recording',
+  Initializing = 'initializing',
+  Idle = 'idle',
+}
+
 export type AudioPlayerStateType = {
-  readonly isRecording: boolean;
+  readonly recordingState: RecordingState;
   readonly errorDialogAudioRecorderType?: ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType;
 };
 
@@ -30,6 +36,7 @@ export type AudioPlayerStateType = {
 const CANCEL_RECORDING = 'audioRecorder/CANCEL_RECORDING';
 const COMPLETE_RECORDING = 'audioRecorder/COMPLETE_RECORDING';
 const ERROR_RECORDING = 'audioRecorder/ERROR_RECORDING';
+const NOW_RECORDING = 'audioRecorder/NOW_RECORDING';
 const START_RECORDING = 'audioRecorder/START_RECORDING';
 
 type CancelRecordingAction = {
@@ -48,11 +55,16 @@ type StartRecordingAction = {
   type: typeof START_RECORDING;
   payload: undefined;
 };
+type NowRecordingAction = {
+  type: typeof NOW_RECORDING;
+  payload: undefined;
+};
 
 type AudioPlayerActionType =
   | CancelRecordingAction
   | CompleteRecordingAction
   | ErrorRecordingAction
+  | NowRecordingAction
   | StartRecordingAction;
 
 // Action Creators
@@ -70,30 +82,40 @@ function startRecording(): ThunkAction<
   void,
   RootStateType,
   unknown,
-  StartRecordingAction | ErrorRecordingAction
+  StartRecordingAction | NowRecordingAction | ErrorRecordingAction
 > {
   return async (dispatch, getState) => {
     if (getState().composer.attachments.length) {
       return;
     }
+    if (getState().audioRecorder.recordingState !== RecordingState.Idle) {
+      return;
+    }
 
-    let recordingStarted = false;
+    dispatch({
+      type: START_RECORDING,
+      payload: undefined,
+    });
 
     try {
-      recordingStarted = await recorder.start();
+      const started = await recorder.start();
+
+      if (started) {
+        dispatch({
+          type: NOW_RECORDING,
+          payload: undefined,
+        });
+      } else {
+        dispatch({
+          type: ERROR_RECORDING,
+          payload: ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType.ErrorRecording,
+        });
+      }
     } catch (err) {
       dispatch({
         type: ERROR_RECORDING,
         payload: ErrorDialogAudioRecorderType.ErrorRecording,
       });
-      return;
-    }
-
-    if (recordingStarted) {
-      dispatch({
-        type: START_RECORDING,
-        payload: undefined,
-      });
     }
   };
 }
@@ -184,7 +206,7 @@ function errorRecording(
 
 function getEmptyState(): AudioPlayerStateType {
   return {
-    isRecording: false,
+    recordingState: RecordingState.Idle,
   };
 }
 
@@ -196,7 +218,15 @@ export function reducer(
     return {
       ...state,
       errorDialogAudioRecorderType: undefined,
-      isRecording: true,
+      recordingState: RecordingState.Initializing,
+    };
+  }
+
+  if (action.type === NOW_RECORDING) {
+    return {
+      ...state,
+      errorDialogAudioRecorderType: undefined,
+      recordingState: RecordingState.Recording,
     };
   }
 
@@ -204,7 +234,7 @@ export function reducer(
     return {
       ...state,
       errorDialogAudioRecorderType: undefined,
-      isRecording: false,
+      recordingState: RecordingState.Idle,
     };
   }
 
diff --git a/ts/state/smart/CompositionArea.tsx b/ts/state/smart/CompositionArea.tsx
index 1f63f249d34..95970206188 100644
--- a/ts/state/smart/CompositionArea.tsx
+++ b/ts/state/smart/CompositionArea.tsx
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ const mapStateToProps = (state: StateType, props: ExternalProps) => {
     // AudioCapture
     errorDialogAudioRecorderType:
       state.audioRecorder.errorDialogAudioRecorderType,
-    isRecording: state.audioRecorder.isRecording,
+    recordingState: state.audioRecorder.recordingState,
     // AttachmentsList
     draftAttachments,
     // MediaQualitySelector