How to Do Something Your Don Know: How to Record a Voice Memo on an iPhone

Your iPhone includes a Voice Memos app, which allows you to record and edit audio memos. You can use this for taking personal memos, recording class lectures, and more. After recording a memo, you can trim it to remove dead air or unimportant information. You can also share your memos by sending the audio file through your email or messaging apps.

EditSteps

EditSending Audio Notes in Messages

Open your Messages app. You can send quick audio notes to your iMessage contacts using the Messages app.
Open a conversation with someone. You'll need to be chatting with another iMessage user in order to send audio notes. Check the messages in the conversation and the title bar. If they are green, you are not chatting via iMessage. If they are blue, you will be able to send audio messages.
Press and hold the microphone button next to the iMessage field. This microphone button only appears when you're chatting with another iMessage user.
Record your audio note while holding down the microphone button. You'll continue to record for as long as you're holding the button.
Slide your finger up to the Send button to send the note. This will immediately send the audio note to the other person. If you want to cancel instead, release your finger then tap the "X" next to your recording.

EditRecording a Memo

Open the Voice Memos app. You can find this on one of your Home screens. It may be in a folder labeled "Extras." The icon looks like sound graph on a white background.
- You can also hold the Home button to launch Siri and say "Record a voice memo" to start the app.
Tap the Record button to begin recording. This will immediately begin recording using your iPhone's microphone. You'll get the best results if the source of the sound you're recording is physically close to your iPhone.
- You may get better recordings if you use the Apple earbuds with the microphone built into the cable. You'll need this if you're using an iPod Touch, which doesn't have a built-in microphone.
- If your iPhone has a protective case, it may be hampering the microphone. Remove the iPhone from the case for the best recording performance.
Tap the Record button again to pause the recording. You can pause and restart your recording as many times as you'd like.
Tap "Done" after stopping a recording to save it. You'll be prompted to give the recording a name. Type a name and tap "Save" to save it to your list of recordings.^[1]
- There is no practical limit to the length of recordings, though eventually you may run out of space on your iPhone if your recording is extra long. Recordings are essentially 480 KB per minute, meaning an hour-long recording would take approximately 30 MB.^[2]

EditTrimming a Memo

Tap a recording in your Voice Memo list to open it. You'll find this list when you launch the Voice Memos app. You can trim your recordings to get rid of parts that you don't need, or to split a long recording into multiple parts.
Tap the "Edit" button underneath your selected recording. This only appears when you've selected it.
Tap the blue box to open Trim mode. You'll see red bars appear at each end of the recording.
Drag the red bars to set a new start and end point for the recording. You can tap and drag each bar to change where the recording will start and end. Use this to get rid of dead air at the beginning or end of a recording, or to select the part of the recording you want to turn into a new file.
- You can trim multiple times to get the results you want. For example, you could trim once to get rid of dead air at the start of the recording, then trim again to get rid of dead air at the end. You could then trim a section of the recording and create a new file from it.
Tap "Trim" when you're finished setting new starting and ending points. This will prompt you to either create a new recording from the trimmed portion, or to overwrite the original.
- When you choose to create a new recording, the portion of the recording you selected with the Trim tool will be turned into a new file, and the original will remain unchanged.
- If you choose to overwrite the original, only what you selected with the Trim tool will remain.

EditSharing Memo Files

Open the memo you want to share from the Voice Memos app. You'll see a list of memos when you open the Voice Memos app. You can send your memo files to other people from the Voice Memos app. The file will be sent in M4A format, which can be played on virtually any modern device that supports audio files.
Tap the Share button. You'll find this beneath the recording after you select it. It looks like a square with an arrow coming out of the top.
Select how you want to share the memo. You can send the file using Mail, Messages, or by using any other messaging apps installed on your device. If you don't see the messaging app you want to use, tap the "..." button and then toggle the app on.
Transfer your voice memos to your computer. You can save your voice memos to your computer by using iTunes.^[3]
- Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes.
- Select your iPhone at the top of the screen, then click the "Music" option in the left menu.
- Ensure that "Sync Music" and "Include voice memos" are checked.
- Click the "Sync" button and your voice memos will be copied to your iTunes library.