# Connect blindGram to OpenRouter

A complete step-by-step guide to connecting blindGram Assistant to OpenRouter. Learn how to generate a key, access hundreds of free and premium AI models, and troubleshoot common issues.

OpenRouter is the default provider in blindGram because a single account connects to hundreds of AI models from Meta (Llama), Mistral, Google (Gemma, Gemini), Anthropic (Claude), and OpenAI, including several high-performance free models.

## Why use OpenRouter?

- **Hundreds of models with one key:** Switch between Llama 3, Mistral, Claude, or GPT without registering separate accounts.
- **Free models available:** Access generous rate-limited free models without entering credit card details.
- **Privacy control:** Transparent routing and logging policies configured directly in your OpenRouter dashboard.

## Step 1: Sign up and create an API key

1. Open [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai/) in your web browser.
2. Sign in or create a free account using your Google, GitHub, or email credentials.
3. Open your account menu (top right) and select **Keys**.
4. Tap **Create Key**. Enter a label (for example, `blindGram Phone`).
5. Set an optional credit limit or leave blank, then tap **Create**.
6. Tap **Copy** to copy the generated secret key (starts with `sk-or-v1-...`).

> **Security Tip:** Treat your OpenRouter key like a confidential password. It is stored locally on your Android device and sent only to OpenRouter endpoints.

## Step 2: Configure blindGram Assistant

1. Open **blindGram** on your phone.
2. Open the main menu and navigate to **Settings** > **blindGram Area** > **Assistant** > **AI**.
3. Under **The service**:
   - Tap **Provider** and select **OpenRouter** (this is the default).
   - Tap **API key** and paste your copied key.
   - Tap **Save** or press confirm.

## Step 3: Choose your model

OpenRouter hosts hundreds of models. In blindGram's **Model** selector:

- **Free models (Recommended for starting):**
  - `meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b-instruct:free` — Excellent reasoning, fast responses, and completely free.
  - `google/gemini-2.0-flash-exp:free` — Extremely fast visual processing and conversational answers.
- **Premium models (Requires paid credits):**
  - `anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet` — Outstanding image recognition and subtle text analysis.
  - `openai/gpt-4o-mini` — Balanced speed, visual precision, and cost efficiency.
- **Load models from provider:** Tap this option to search and download OpenRouter's live catalog directly inside blindGram.

## Step 4: Turn on AI features

Toggle on the features you want active:
- **Describe image:** In **Describe image**, enable **Detailed description** to send photos to your OpenRouter vision model for spoken descriptions.
- **Voice summary:** In **Voice summary**, toggle on **Summarize with AI**.
- **Text summary:** In **Text summary**, enable **Summarize messages**.
- **Ask AI:** In **Ask about messages**, enable **Ask AI about any message**.

## Troubleshooting Common Problems

### Problem: "Model not found" or "Provider error"
- **Cause:** Free models on OpenRouter occasionally change IDs or experience temporary downtime.
- **Solution:** In blindGram, tap **Model**, choose **Load models from provider**, and select an active model (such as a current free Llama or Mistral variant).

### Problem: "Rate limit reached (429)" on free models
- **Cause:** Free models on OpenRouter enforce requests-per-minute limits across public users.
- **Solution:** Wait 30–60 seconds before retrying. Alternatively, add $5 of prepaid credit to your OpenRouter account to unlock priority tier models with zero waiting.

### Problem: Voice summaries not transcribing
- **Cause:** OpenRouter does not host audio transcription endpoints.
- **Solution:** blindGram Assistant uses the speech recognition engine installed on your phone to transcribe voice notes into text first, then forwards the transcript to OpenRouter for summarization. Ensure your on-device speech engine has the matching language pack installed.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can I use OpenRouter without a credit card?
Yes. OpenRouter offers completely free models tagged with `:free` that require no payment information.

### How do I see my past AI chats?
All summaries, image descriptions, and questions are stored for one week in [AI Conversations](/docs/assistant/ai/conversations/).