How to Record High-Quality Audio on Your Mobile Phone

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Being able to record audio at a moment's notice is a handy, yet often overlooked, feature of modern smartphones. iPhones come with a voice recording app installed, as do many Android phones. There are a variety of free recording apps available that may offer more features. You can use these audio recording apps to record your own thoughts, class lectures, meetings, concerts, and more.

Best Ways to Record Sound on an iPhone or Android Method 1 of 3:

iPhone

Step 1 Open the Voice Memos app.

Open the Voice Memos app. This app allows you to record audio on your iPhone. It may be in a folder labeled "Extras" or "Utilities." [1] X Research source

Step 2 Tap the red Record button to begin a new recording.

Tap the red Record button to begin a new recording. Your iPhone will immediately begin recording audio from the device's microphone.

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Step 3 Point the bottom of your iPhone to the source of the audio.

Point the bottom of your iPhone to the source of the audio. To get the best sound for your recording, point the bottom of the iPhone to the source of the audio. This is where the microphone is located. Make sure that your hands are not covering the microphone on the iPhone. Make sure to keep some distance between you and the source for the best levels.

Step 4 Tap the Stop button when you want to pause recording.

Tap the Stop button when you want to pause recording. You can resume recording by tapping the Record button again. You can drag the timeline to adjust where you want to start recording again.

Step 5 Tap the

Tap the "New Recording" label to rename the recording. A text box and keyboard will appear, allowing you to enter a name for the recording.

Step 6 Play back the recording by tapping

Play back the recording by tapping "Play." This will allow you to listen to the recording before saving it. You can move the timeline to set where you want playback to start from.

Step 7 Tap the

Step 7 Tap the

Step 8 Tap

Tap "Done" once you're satisfied with your recording. If you haven't given the recording a name, you will be prompted to name it.

Step 9 Play your recordings.

Play your recordings. Your recordings will all be listed in the Voice Memos app with the .m4a file extension by default. Those iPhone voice memos can be played by iTunes, QuickTime Player, and Windows Media Player. Or you can convert M4A to other audio formats to fix incompatibility issues. Tap one to open the playback controls. You can also tap the Share button that appears to send the recording to someone, the Edit button to trim the clip, or the Trashcan to delete it.

Step 10 Use another app to record audio.

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Android

Step 1 Look for a voice recording app on your device.

Step 2 Download a recorder app from the Google Play Store.

Step 3 Launch your voice recording app.

Launch your voice recording app. Once you've found or downloaded an app, find it in your App Drawer and tap it to open it up. The App Drawer can be opened by tapping the grid button at the bottom of your Home screen. The recording interface will be different for every app, so the rest of this section is just a general guide.

Step 4 Tap the Record button to start a new recording.

Tap the Record button to start a new recording. When you launch your new recorder app, you'll generally be taken to the New Recording screen or something similar. The app may open to a list of your existing recordings first.

Step 5 Point the bottom of your Android phone towards the audio source.

Point the bottom of your Android phone towards the audio source. Most Android devices have a microphone at the bottom. Make sure that your hands are not covering the microphone while you're recording.

Step 6 Tap the Pause button to pause recording.

Tap the Pause button to pause recording. You can usually pause your recording without finishing it, allowing you to resume recording again.

Step 7 Tap the Stop button to finish your recording.

Tap the Stop button to finish your recording. This will typically save the recording to your device, but this will vary depending on the app you are using.

Step 8 Edit the recording.

Edit the recording. Most recording apps include basic editing functions, allowing you to trim out unnecessary parts. The Edit button typically appears after you have finished the recording.

Step 9 Share your recording.

Share your recording. Tap the Share button to send the recording to someone else using one of your messaging apps. Most recorders record in WAV or MP3 format, which can be played on virtually any device.

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Windows Phone

Step 1 Open OneNote.

Open OneNote. You can use the built-in OneNote app to quickly record voice memos. You can find OneNote in your App list.

Step 2 Tap the

Tap the "+" button. This will create a new note in OneNote. [2] X Research source

Step 3 Tap in the body of the note, then tap the

Tap in the body of the note, then tap the "Audio" button. It looks like a microphone. OneNote will begin recording immediately.

Step 4 Tap the Stop button once you

Tap the Stop button once you're finished with what you want to record. The audio will be added to the body of your note.

Step 5 Tap the

Tap the "Play" button to listen to your recorded audio note. The audio will be played back.

Step 6 Download a different recording app if you need more options.

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Community Q&A

How do I transfer a large audio recording from my mobile phone to my computer? Community Answer

I use Google Drive to do this. Download the Google Drive app from the App Store and log in with your email. Then (at least on the iPhone recorder app), click on the recording you want to send, then click "Export," then "Copy to Google Drive." Then you log into Google Drive on your computer and there it is!

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How can I record a sound with iPhone 6? Community Answer

On your iPhone 6 there are pre-installed apps that cannot be removed; one of those is called Voice Memos. Find the app on your device and open it. You should see the word "record" at the top, a big red button toward the bottom, and a list of recordings beneath that. Just click the red button and it will record any audio picked up by the iPhone's microphone.

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Can I record audio and shoot a video at the same time? Community Answer

Most smartphone cameras automatically include any audio that occurred during filming into the video, so there is no need to do both at the same time.

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Advertisement References
  1. ↑http://www.solveyourtech.com/record-audio-iphone-5/
  2. ↑http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/apps/use-onenote-mobile
  3. ↑http://www.wpxbox.com/best-pocket-recorder-apps-for-windows-phone/

About This Article

wikiHow Technology Team

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 20 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 1,037,650 times.

How helpful is this? Co-authors: 20 Updated: June 29, 2024 Views: 1,037,650 Categories: Audio Recording | Cell Phones

1. Open Voice Memos, Sound Recorder, or your desired app.
2. Hold the bottom of the phone near the audio source.
3. Tap the Record button.
4. Tap Stop when you're finished.
5. Name the file if prompted.

Did this summary help you? Yes No Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,037,650 times.

Reader Success Stories

Shweta Thakur Nov 24, 2017

"We do have mobile app of screen recorder. It used to record mobile screen with or without front cam and also record audio as your product does. Your product is compatible with all operating systems. It is very helpful article." . " more

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Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. wikiHow Technology Team Click a star to vote % of people told us that this article helped them. Co-authors: 20 Updated: June 29, 2024 Views: 1,037,650

"We do have mobile app of screen recorder. It used to record mobile screen with or without front cam and also record audio as your product does. Your product is compatible with all operating systems. It is very helpful article." . " more

"I like it. I asked for it which I really need on my phone and they responded to me fast." "How to record audio in Android smartphone was helpful for me. Thanks!" "Thanks for clear and simple instructions!"

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