How to make a recording on an iphone

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iPhone 13

(Image credit: Future)

Knowing how to record on an iPhone is an imperative. Whether you're a journalist who needs to document sources for an exposé or you simply want to chronicle an important event, we have an easy, step-by-step guide on how you can save audio to your iOS device.

Voice Memos is the app you'll want to use for this process. Don't worry. You don't need to download it from the Apple App Store. It should already be pre-installed on your iPhone by default.

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How to record on iPhone

1. Find the Voice Memo app on your home screen. If you can't find it, see if it's sitting in another folder (e.g., on my iPhone, the Voice Memo app is in the Utilities folder).

Voice Memos

How to record on iPhone (Image credit: Future)

2. Tap on Voice Memos. If it's your first time using the app, you'll get a "Welcome to Voice Memos" greeting. Tap on "Continue."

Voice Memos

How to record on iPhone (Image credit: Future)

3. Once you're ready to record, tap on the solid red circle. This will begin recording the audio in your environment.

Voice Memos

How to record on iPhone (Image credit: Future)

4. When you're done, hit the stop button (the red square). Your iPhone will autosave your recording and file it under "All Recordings."

If you have several Apple devices and you want to sync your recordings, ensure iCloud backup is enabled by going to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup.

Kimberly Gedeon, holding a Master's degree in International Journalism, launched her career as a journalist for MadameNoire's business beat in 2013. She loved translating stuffy stories about the economy, personal finance and investing into digestible, easy-to-understand, entertaining stories for young women of color. During her time on the business beat, she discovered her passion for tech as she dove into articles about tech entrepreneurship, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the latest tablets. After eight years of freelancing, dabbling in a myriad of beats, she's finally found a home at Laptop Mag that accepts her as the crypto-addicted, virtual reality-loving, investing-focused, tech-fascinated nerd she is. Woot!

iPhone Voice Memos

iPhone Voice Memos (Image credit: iMore)

The iPhone is a universal tool with a ton of impressive capabilities. One of those skills is the recorder (a.k.a. Voice Memos), which is a part of Apple's core applications that come pre-installed on all its mobile devices. This feature allows you to easily turn your iPhone into a recording machine that can create decent audio for any personal or professional needs — all with just a few taps.

To get started with using Voice Memos, you need to first find the app on your phone. Typically, this can be found on your home screen. However, if for some reason you can't find it, you can pull the Search tab and type Voice Memos, or you can just simply ask Siri. Once you launch the Voice Memos app, you're now ready to start recording.

  • How to record with Voice Memos app
  • How to edit your Voice Memos
  • How to sync Voice Memos to iCloud

How to record Voice Memos

  1. Tap the red circle to start recording.
  2. Tap the red square button to stop recording.
  3. Tap new recording to play.

Remember, once you tap stop, your memo is saved automatically with your current location as the title. This can be edited at any time.

How to edit and rename Voice Memos

Once you're finished recording, you can begin editing.

  1. To edit, tap memo or "new recording".
  2. Tap the three blue dots.
  3. Tap edit recording.

  1. Once you hit edit, you can then trim a voice memo by tapping the blue box with lines and dots in the upper right corner.
  2. Drag trim slider from right to left. The left if you want to trim the beginning, the right if you want to trim the end.
  3. Tap Trim for the right spot you want.

  1. Tap Save in upper right corner.
  2. Once your memo is edited and saved, you can rename it by simply tapping the name. It will become highlighted in blue.
  3. Enter a new name.

After you're done editing, you can save your audio, where the recording will then appear in a list on the Voice Memos' interface.

How to get Voice Memos iCloud enabled

Not sure if Voice Memos are set to sync with the iCloud? Here's how to check.

  1. Find Settings or ask Siri.
  2. Tap your Apple ID header.
  3. Tap iCloud
  4. Scroll down and tap Voice Memos

The great part about having your recordings saved automatically is having the ability to pull those recordings up on all your Apple devices. This is due in large part to Apple's iCloud integration. Just remember to follow the steps above in making sure you have Voice Memos turned on in the iCloud settings on each of your devices for things to work properly.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about the process of recording on your iPhone, please do not hesitate to drop us a line or two in the comments below.

How do I create an audio recording?

Open the Sound Recorder application in the following location: Start>All Programs>Accessories>Sound Recorder..
Click Start Recording to begin recording..
Click Stop Recording to stop recording..
Choose a filename and destination in the window that pops up..
Click Save..

How do I make a recording of a video on my iPhone?

Record videos with your iPhone camera.
Open Camera, then select Video mode..
Tap the Record button or press either volume button to start recording. While recording, you can do the following: Press the white Shutter button to snap a still photo. ... .
Tap the Record button or press either volume button to stop recording..

How do I make my phone record?

Use call recording responsibly and turn it on only when needed..
On your Android device, open the Phone app ..
At the top right, tap More options Settings. ... .
Under “Always record,” tap Selected numbers..
Turn on Always record selected numbers..
At the top right, tap Add ..
Choose a contact..
Tap Always record..