Issues with Free-Form Input Node and TTS Prompts in Workflow Studio

We’ve been working on setting up a Free-Form Input node in RingCX Workflow Studio to capture caller information for callbacks in our business. Specifically, we are looking to capture:

• The client’s name
• The client’s company name
• A brief description of the issue the client is experiencing

This information is required to trigger an email notification to our team whenever a callback is requested. Our environment is quite particular — we operate a two-tenant system, so we cannot use the standard canned callback system. Capturing this information via the workflow is essential to ensure callbacks are logged and handled properly.

However, we’ve run into several issues and would appreciate guidance. Raising it here before we open a ticket as it’s faster and it might be something silly that we are missing.

Here’s what we’ve tested so far (in both our actual workflow and simplified flow):

1. Initial Setup

• Node: getName (Free-Form Input)
• TTS enabled in the node with prompt:
  "Please tell us your name, your company, and a brief reason for your call today."
• Input Category: Free-Form Speech
• Timeout: 10 seconds
• Connected all outcomes (Success / Timeout / Error) → JavaScript node → Email node

Result:

• Node never activated.
• Log error:

Invalid state for node [FREEINPUT]. Unable to continue.

2. Added Play Audio Node Before Free-Form Input

• Pre-recorded WAV file played the same prompt
• Added a 2-second silence node after audio
• Free-Form Input node settings remained the same

Result:

• Audio played successfully
• Free-Form Input still failed immediately after audio
• Log:

Processing node [getName] of type [FREEINPUT]
Invalid state for node [FREEINPUT]. Unable to continue.

3. Removed Preceding Audio / Silence

• Connected Answer node directly to Free-Form Input node with TTS prompt enabled
• Free-Form Input settings unchanged

Result:

• Node still did not play the TTS prompt at all
• Free-Form Input never entered listening state

4. Final Test (TTS removed from Free-Form Input)

• Node getName (Free-Form Input) TTS disabled
• Sequence: Answer → Play Audio (ivrdemo_recname) → Silence (2s) → Free-Form Input → JS → Email

Log:

2025-11-28 11:39:04: We have found a start node.2025-11-28 11:39:04: Processing node [Start] of type [START]2025-11-28 11:39:04: Start node executed. Going to target=answer_02025-11-28 11:39:04: Processing node [Answer_0] of type [ANSWER]2025-11-28 11:39:04: Answer node executed. Going to target=playAudio_02025-11-28 11:39:04: Processing node [Play_audio_0] of type [PLAYAUDIO]2025-11-28 11:39:04: Playing audio file [ivrdemo_recname].2025-11-28 11:39:12: Play Audio node executed. Going to target=playAudio_12025-11-28 11:39:12: Processing node [Silence] of type [PLAYAUDIO]2025-11-28 11:39:12: Playing audio file [2secsilence].2025-11-28 11:39:14: Play Audio node executed. Going to target=freeInput_02025-11-28 11:39:14: Processing node [getName] of type [FREEINPUT]2025-11-28 11:39:14: Invalid state for node [FREEINPUT]. Unable to continue.2025-11-28 11:39:14: [removed by moderator]  [removed by moderator] 6679No more nodes to process. IVR is exiting now.

Result:

• Audio and silence nodes executed fine
• Free-Form Input still failed to activate

Observations

• The workflow consistently fails with Invalid state for node [FREEINPUT] after audio playback
• TTS prompt inside Free-Form Input doesn’t play in our tenant
• Even removing TTS and adding silence does not fix the issue
• The JS node and Email node work fine once the input is captured

Questions / Requests for Advice

1. Are there tenant or admin settings required to enable TTS for Free-Form Input nodes?
2. Are there known issues with Free-Form Input nodes following Play Audio nodes or custom WAV files?
3. What is the recommended setup to reliably play a prompt and capture free-form speech in Workflow Studio, especially if TTS is not functioning?
4. Any suggestions for workarounds if TTS is unavailable or restricted by admin permissions?

Thanks in advance for any guidance, examples, or best practices you can share!

Attached:

simplified flow

Thank you!