diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index bc2dfc15c0..b6a6674982 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,18 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.8.5] - 2026-02-23
+
+### Added
+
+- ⌨️ **Voice dictation shortcut.** Users can now toggle voice dictation using Cmd+Shift+L (or Ctrl+Shift+L on Windows/Linux), making it faster to start and stop dictation without clicking the microphone button.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- 🚫 **Model access KeyError fix.** The /api/models endpoint no longer crashes with a 500 error when models have incomplete info metadata missing the user_id field (e.g. models using global default metadata).
+- 🔄 **Frontend initialization resilience.** The app layout now gracefully handles individual API failures during initialization (getModels, getBanners, getTools, getUserSettings, setToolServers) instead of blocking the entire page load when any single call fails.
+- 🛡️ **Backend config null safety.** Language detection during app initialization no longer crashes when the backend config fetch fails, preventing a secondary cause of infinite loading.
+
 ## [0.8.4] - 2026-02-23
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/backend/open_webui/utils/models.py b/backend/open_webui/utils/models.py
index 285de54fc9..6040c0645d 100644
--- a/backend/open_webui/utils/models.py
+++ b/backend/open_webui/utils/models.py
@@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ def get_filtered_models(models, user, db=None):
             if model_info:
                 if (
                     (user.role == "admin" and BYPASS_ADMIN_ACCESS_CONTROL)
-                    or user.id == model_info["user_id"]
+                    or user.id == model_info.get("user_id")
                     or model["id"] in accessible_model_ids
                 ):
                     filtered_models.append(model)
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 467452cac3..b77dca902a 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
 	"name": "open-webui",
-	"version": "0.8.4",
+	"version": "0.8.5",
 	"lockfileVersion": 3,
 	"requires": true,
 	"packages": {
 		"": {
 			"name": "open-webui",
-			"version": "0.8.4",
+			"version": "0.8.5",
 			"dependencies": {
 				"@azure/msal-browser": "^4.5.0",
 				"@codemirror/lang-javascript": "^6.2.2",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index e4f677ee7f..8c024b76e2 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "open-webui",
-	"version": "0.8.4",
+	"version": "0.8.5",
 	"private": true,
 	"scripts": {
 		"dev": "npm run pyodide:fetch && vite dev --host",
diff --git a/src/lib/components/chat/MessageInput.svelte b/src/lib/components/chat/MessageInput.svelte
index a0cc2dd010..696c682018 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/chat/MessageInput.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/chat/MessageInput.svelte
@@ -824,6 +824,19 @@
 			shiftKey = true;
 		}
 
+		// Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+L to toggle dictation
+		if (e.key.toLowerCase() === 'l' && (e.metaKey || e.ctrlKey) && e.shiftKey) {
+			e.preventDefault();
+			if (recording) {
+				// Confirm and stop recording
+				document.getElementById('confirm-recording-button')?.click();
+			} else {
+				// Start recording (same logic as voice-input-button click)
+				document.getElementById('voice-input-button')?.click();
+			}
+			return;
+		}
+
 		if (e.key === 'Escape') {
 			console.log('Escape');
 			dragged = false;
diff --git a/src/lib/components/chat/MessageInput/VoiceRecording.svelte b/src/lib/components/chat/MessageInput/VoiceRecording.svelte
index 526421daa7..d3dc4cba37 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/chat/MessageInput/VoiceRecording.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/chat/MessageInput/VoiceRecording.svelte
@@ -368,7 +368,17 @@
 	let maxVisibleItems = 300;
 	$: maxVisibleItems = Math.floor(containerWidth / 5); // 2px width + 0.5px gap
 
+	const handleKeyDown = (e) => {
+		if (e.key === 'Escape') {
+			e.preventDefault();
+			stopRecording();
+			onCancel();
+		}
+	};
+
 	onMount(() => {
+		window.addEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
+
 		// listen to width changes
 		resizeObserver = new ResizeObserver(() => {
 			VISUALIZER_BUFFER_LENGTH = Math.floor(window.innerWidth / 4);
@@ -385,6 +395,7 @@
 	});
 
 	onDestroy(() => {
+		window.removeEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
 		// remove resize observer
 		resizeObserver.disconnect();
 	});
@@ -547,6 +558,7 @@
 				</div>
 			{:else}
 				<button
+					id="confirm-recording-button"
 					type="button"
 					class="p-1.5 bg-indigo-500 text-white dark:bg-indigo-500 dark:text-blue-950 rounded-full"
 					on:click={async () => {
diff --git a/src/lib/shortcuts.ts b/src/lib/shortcuts.ts
index e1973d4776..9879b8110d 100644
--- a/src/lib/shortcuts.ts
+++ b/src/lib/shortcuts.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ export enum Shortcut {
 	NEW_TEMPORARY_CHAT = 'newTemporaryChat',
 	DELETE_CHAT = 'deleteChat',
 	OPEN_MODEL_SELECTOR = 'openModelSelector',
+	TOGGLE_DICTATION = 'toggleDictation',
 
 	//Global
 	SEARCH = 'search',
@@ -64,6 +65,11 @@ export const shortcuts: ShortcutRegistry = {
 		keys: ['mod', 'shift', 'M'],
 		category: 'Chat'
 	},
+	[Shortcut.TOGGLE_DICTATION]: {
+		name: 'Toggle Dictation',
+		keys: ['mod', 'shift', 'L'],
+		category: 'Chat'
+	},
 
 	//Global
 	[Shortcut.SEARCH]: {
diff --git a/src/routes/(app)/+layout.svelte b/src/routes/(app)/+layout.svelte
index 51c7c23cff..01fd713d3a 100644
--- a/src/routes/(app)/+layout.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/(app)/+layout.svelte
@@ -152,11 +152,14 @@
 		clearChatInputStorage();
 		await Promise.all([
 			checkLocalDBChats(),
-			setBanners(),
-			setTools(),
+			setBanners().catch((e) => console.error('Failed to load banners:', e)),
+			setTools().catch((e) => console.error('Failed to load tools:', e)),
 			setUserSettings(async () => {
-				await Promise.all([setModels(), setToolServers()]);
-			})
+				await Promise.all([
+					setModels().catch((e) => console.error('Failed to load models:', e)),
+					setToolServers().catch((e) => console.error('Failed to load tool servers:', e))
+				]);
+			}).catch((e) => console.error('Failed to load user settings:', e))
 		]);
 
 		// Helper function to check if the pressed keys match the shortcut definition
diff --git a/src/routes/+layout.svelte b/src/routes/+layout.svelte
index 66f66676f5..3af997c328 100644
--- a/src/routes/+layout.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/+layout.svelte
@@ -770,7 +770,7 @@
 			const browserLanguages = navigator.languages
 				? navigator.languages
 				: [navigator.language || navigator.userLanguage];
-			const lang = backendConfig.default_locale
+			const lang = backendConfig?.default_locale
 				? backendConfig.default_locale
 				: bestMatchingLanguage(languages, browserLanguages, 'en-US');
 			changeLanguage(lang);
@@ -797,7 +797,11 @@
 
 					if (sessionUser) {
 						await user.set(sessionUser);
-						await config.set(await getBackendConfig());
+						try {
+							await config.set(await getBackendConfig());
+						} catch (error) {
+							console.error('Error refreshing backend config:', error);
+						}
 					} else {
 						// Redirect Invalid Session User to /auth Page
 						localStorage.removeItem('token');