How to make a recording on my phone

There’s an old saying: Nothing ruins a great video like lousy audio. And when using consumer cameras, you’re often stuck with a less-than-optimal microphone to begin with.

But if you have a reasonably modern smartphone, you have all you need to record great audio on location.

Get close to the source

Many times the shot you want doesn’t make for good audio. Usually it’s just a distance problem: When you’re far enough to get the shot framed the way you want it, the camera mic isn’t close enough to pick up a good, clean audio take.

But you don’t need a microphone and boom to solve this problem. Grab your smartphone, hit record, and then set it just out of frame, close to your subject—and start recording.

Then just overlay or mix the phone track onto your video track later, and reduce the volume of (or delete) the original audio track. Voila! Crisp, detailed dialogue.

To make it easier when cutting everything back together, don’t forget one of the oldest cinematic tricks in the book: Have your subject clap his or her hands loudly once everything’s recording, then wait another second to start talking. Big productions generally use a clapper board, but a simple, loud, on-camera clap can give you the same visual (and audio) cue you’ll need to align your smartphone audio track with the raw video tracks later.

Cut down distortion

So you’re at a loud concert or dance club and everything you shot has an audio track that sounds like static. Unfortunately, the ambient audio in the room was too loud for the gain on your camera, and it clipped your recording levels. At best, it sounds like somebody turned on a fuzz box; at worst, it’s a totally inaudible mess.

Given most smartphones aren’t so flexible with setting custom gain (and distort easily at high volumes), there’s not always a great solution in your phone’s software.

Good thing Scotch tape is all you need to address this tricky situation! Just place a small piece of tape over the microphone hole(s) on your phone and it will reduce the amount of sound that’s able to enter the mic, often giving you a much better result.

Make sure there are no bubbles or seams in the edges of the tape that might leak higher-volume sounds, and experiment with different thicknesses of tape (duct, masking, paper, etc) until you find one that works best with your phone and environment.

Not sure? Stick a few small squares of varying tapes onto the back of your phone before your next concert so you’ve got some options to play with. Easy.

(Seems obvious, but you’d be surprised … ) Use Airplane Mode!

Now you’re prepared to capture decent audio for awkward shots and noisy environments. The red light’s on, everything’s going well… when a text message noisily arrives, messing up your recording.

Avoid these embarrassing audio gaffes by always setting your phone to Airplane Mode (which silences its cellular, Bluetooth, and WiFi connections) and muting its volume when on location, so that you don’t ruin an otherwise perfect take. The screenshot below is from iOS—but most all modern smartphones have this feature, so make sure you know where it is and how to use it.

Additional pointers

The three tips above should get you on your way to capturing great audio. Here are a few more pointers to help out.

With loads of apps built-in and several that can be added to it, your Android smartphone lets you do much more than just connect, work, and enjoy.

This all-in-one device can also be used to record your voice or any audio that you like. It's easy to do that and doesn't require any expensive recording gear. So, let's explore how you can record audio on your Android device.

Why Record Your Voice or Audio?

Recording your voice or any audio on your phone could make a lot of things easier and fun, too.

As a student, you could make study notes on your phone. A creative professional could instantly record an idea that sparked in the mind, instead of writing it down. You could record a client meeting to capture all the details. Or even record a piece for your next podcast.

At home, your phone would come in handy to record special moments and create memories. Your baby's first words, your kitty's meow, or a song you want to sing and share—you could record them all.

You could even use a screen recorder to record your gameplay.

It's easy to record audio as your Android phone would have a recorder built-in, or you can download an app from Google Play to do that.

How to Record Your Voice or Audio on Android

Most recent Android phones come with a voice recorder or recorder app installed. Our OnePlus Android phone has a recorder app, so we'll show you the steps to record audio with that. The steps for your phone's app might be slightly different.

1. Swipe up from the bottom of the phone screen to open the app drawer. Tap on the Recorder app to open it.
2. When you first open the Recorder app, it will ask your permission to allow the app to record audio. You can allow Recorder to record audio at that particular time or whenever you use the app.
3. Tap on the microphone icon at the bottom to start the recording.
4. Speak into the microphone to record your voice. Most phone mics are located at the bottom of the handset, so make sure to keep a little distance from the mic when you speak. If you're recording some other audio, point the mic in the direction of the sound. And, don't mistakenly cover the mic with your hand when you're holding the phone.
5. Once the recording starts, the timer will also start to keep track of the duration.
6. When you're done, tap on the Pause button.
7. Then, to save the recording, tap on the white square icon at the bottom right. This will bring up the option to name your recording and save it.

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This way you can easily make recordings on your phone without a third-party app or extra hardware. All your saved recordings will be available to listen to on the Recorder app.

To share your recordings on social media or email, open your File Manager. Then select Audio, choose the recorded file, and share it on social media, email, or via Bluetooth or a USB cable.

For clear and better recordings, choose a quiet room with the windows closed and no fans on. Sometimes, the slightest of sounds can be picked up in the recording.

How to Record Audio With Screen Recorder on Android

Most phones running Android 10 or later have a screen recorder app installed, and you can record audio with that app. Here are the steps for a OnePlus Android phone. The method could be a little different for your phone.

1. Swipe down from the top of the phone screen twice to open the Quick Settings menu. You may need to swipe left to locate the Screen Recorder app. Tap on it and then tap Start now.
2. The Screen Recorder menu will come up on the screen with the buttons for Record, Settings, and Close/Stop.
3. First, tap Settings to open the Settings menu.
4. In the Audio source option, select Microphone audio. Now, only the audio from the phone's microphone will be recorded. In case you want to record the audio of an app or a game, choose the Internal audio option.
5. Select the app or game that you want to record and tap on the red Record button. The screen recording will start and so will the timer.
6. Tap the Pause button to pause the recording and tap the Record button again to resume.
7. When you are done, tap the white square Stop button to stop the recording. Your screen recording will be saved to the phone's gallery.

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Now you can view your video, edit it by trimming it, apply a cool filter, or even add music to it. You can also share the recording via email, social media, or a USB cable.

How to Record Audio With a Free Android App

In case your phone doesn't have a screen recorder, you can download one from the Google Play Store. For this tutorial, we've chosen XRecorder by InShot (free, in-app purchases available). It is one of the best screen recorders for Android and offers a lot of features, including recording both the internal audio and the microphone audio together.

1. Open the XRecorder app.
2. Select Allow to enable the floating menu ball on top of apps.
3. Tap on the Settings icon in the floating ball menu. In Settings, select Audio Settings under the Video section.
4. Choose Microphone if you want to use the phone's mic to record your voice or audio.
5. Alternatively, you can choose Internal and microphone if you want to record your voice with the audio of an app or game on your screen.

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Now you are ready to begin recording any app on your screen. To do that:

1. Open an app or game that you want to record. The XRecorder floating ball menu will be on the right of the screen
2. Choose the red circular Record button to start the recording. The recording timer will start on the circular button in the menu's center.
3. When you're done, press the orange square Stop button. Your video will be saved on the XRecorder app, and you can edit it before sharing it.

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There are many ways to record your screen, and many cool screen recorders like XRecorder on the Google Play Store. These apps are great, especially if you want to record your gameplay and voice your comments. You could also create cool videos with your photos and narrate the story of each picture.

Record Cool Voice Recordings or Videos With Your Android Phone

As you know now, it's easy to record your voice or audio on your Android phone. The built-in recorders or an app from the Play Store is all you need.

So use them to make voice notes or reminders, record some fun videos, or create happy memories on your Android phone.

Does my phone have a voice recorder?

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Can I make recordings on my Android phone?