How do I record speaker output on Android?

Speaker output recording allows you to capture audio playing from your Android device’s speakers and save it as a digital file. This can be useful for recording music, podcasts, meetings, lectures, or any other audio content you want to keep or share. Speaker output recording is different from using your phone’s microphone to record, as it captures the audio directly from the internal audio pipeline before it reaches the speakers. This results in a higher quality recording without background noise.

Some common uses for speaker output recording on Android phones include:

Recording music or audio from apps like Spotify for playback later.

Capturing audio from video calls or conference calls for notes or sharing.
Recording podcasts, online lectures, or speeches to review again.
Creating high-quality audio clips to sample in music production.

With the right apps and settings, recording speaker output on Android is straightforward. This guide will cover different methods to record from your device’s speakers, troubleshoot any issues, and save the audio in a shareable digital format.

Checking if Your Phone Supports Output Recording

Before trying to record audio output on your Android device, you’ll want to check if your phone’s hardware and software supports this feature. Here’s how:

Open the Settings app on your device and go to About Phone or About Device. Look for the “Android version” listed. Your phone will need to be running Android 10 or later to support internal audio recording.
Next, check if your phone model has the necessary hardware to route internal audio to be recordable. This is typically only available on newer phones, especially from 2020 onwards. You can search online for your specific phone model and “internal audio recording” to verify.

Finally, test if an OEM app like Voice Recorder can actually start capturing speaker output. Try playing audio or video in a different app, then open Voice Recorder and check if levels respond. If it fails here, your phone likely does not offer full support.

Knowing for certain if your Android version and hardware allows for internal audio capture is key before attempting this process. If your phone does not properly support it, you may need to use a cable connection or HDMI capture device instead.

Using a Third-Party App

There are a number of third-party apps available on the Google Play Store that allow you to record audio output on Android devices. Two popular options are Rec. and Hi-Q Recorder.

Rec. (https://www.androidpolice.com/record-audio-android-apps/) is a simple but powerful audio recorder. It allows you to record audio from internal and external sources, including speaker output. The app provides controls for start, stop, pause and setting the audio source. Rec. recordings are saved locally in high quality formats like AAC and users can share files via email or cloud services.

Hi-Q Recorder (https://democreator.wondershare.com/screen-recorder/android-screen-recorder-with-internal-audio.html) offers similar functionality for recording audio including from speaker output. It provides additional options like trimming recordings, adding tags, and saving files to the cloud. The app has a clean, easy-to-use interface. Users mention excellent audio quality in recordings as a benefit.

Both Rec. and Hi-Q Recorder offer free and paid versions. The premium options provide features like unlimited recording time, cloud storage integration, editing tools and more. But the free versions will meet most basic speaker output recording needs.

Setting Up the Audio Source

To record audio from your Android device’s speakers, you first need to specify the speaker output as the audio source in your recording app. The MediaRecorder API provides a setAudioSource() method for this.

Typically you would set the source to MediaRecorder.AudioSource.MIC to capture microphone input. To capture speaker output instead, use MediaRecorder.AudioSource.REMOTE_SUBMIX.

For example:

MediaRecorder recorder = new MediaRecorder();
recorder.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.REMOTE_SUBMIX);

This routes the audio output from your device’s speakers directly into the MediaRecorder to be captured.

Note that REMOTE_SUBMIX may not be supported on all Android devices. You can check getAudioSourceMax() to verify it is available before attempting to use it.

Starting the Recording

Once you have your audio source set up and a third-party recording app installed, you are ready start capturing the audio output from your Android device. The process is quite simple:

Open the audio recording app you installed, such as Smart Voice Recorder or Easy Voice Recorder.
Tap the record button – this is usually a red circle icon. Some apps may prompt you to select the audio source if you have not set this previously.

The recording timer will start counting to show recording is in progress. You can monitor audio levels in real-time in the app during recording.
Play audio through your device from the source you want to capture. This could be music playing in another app or game sound effects for example.
When you are finished, tap the stop button to end the recording.

The key steps are opening your recorder app, starting the recording, playing back the audio you want to capture from your device, then stopping when done.

Stopping and Saving the Recording

To stop recording the audio output and save the file on Android, it’s a fairly simple process:

1. Tap on the red stop button in your recording app to stop the capture. The button is usually shown with a square or dot inside it.

2. You may see a prompt to confirm you want to stop the recording, tap Yes.

3. After stopping, most recording apps will give you the option to Play / Review the recording. I recommend listening back quickly to ensure a clear capture.

4. To save or export, look for the Save or Export option in your recording app. Naming the file and location is available in most apps. Common locations are to the Downloads or Music folders.

5. After saving the recording, you’re all done! You can find the audio file in your android’s Files to use or share.

Recording With OEM Apps

Many Android devices come with built-in recorder apps that allow you to record audio. For example, Google Pixel phones have the Recorder app pre-installed. To use it:

Open the Recorder app on your Pixel phone.

Tap the red record button to start recording audio.
Speak into the phone’s microphone or position it near the audio source.
Tap the stop button when finished recording.

The recording will be automatically saved to the app.

You can also find recorder apps pre-installed on phones from manufacturers like Samsung, LG, OnePlus, and others. The options and steps may vary slightly between OEM apps, but generally involve opening the app, starting a recording, stopping when done, and saving the file.

One advantage of using OEM recorder apps is that they are optimized to make the best use of the built-in microphones and audio components. This can result in higher quality recordings compared to some third-party apps.

Using Accessibility Features

Certain Android devices include accessibility features that can be leveraged to enable call recording. Accessibility services run in the background and can access audio streams from other apps.

To use accessibility for recording on Android 10 and higher, enable the accessibility service for your recording app in your device’s settings. Open Settings > Accessibility and enable the service. This grants the app permission to access audio from other apps.

However, as noted by The Verge, Google is cracking down on the use of accessibility services for call recording, so this method may stop working in the future.

Some key points when using accessibility features:

Make sure the feature is enabled on your Android version
Grant the recording app accessibility permissions

Check that the app can successfully record audio using accessibility
Be aware Google may restrict this in the future

Troubleshooting Tips

If you encounter issues while recording internal audio on your Android device, here are some troubleshooting tips:

No sound in recordings

Make sure you have enabled internal audio recording in your screen recorder app settings. Some OEM apps like OnePlus Screen Recorder have this option built-in. You can also try using a third-party app like AZ Screen Recorder (https://www.amazon.com/Hecorat-Screen-Recorder-2019-Editor/dp/B07J2WLS6M). Additionally, check that your media volume is turned up and not muted.

Sound missing from certain apps

Due to Android limitations, internal audio recording does not work for some apps. Games and apps with DRM protections may block recording. Try using a third-party accessibility service app like AutoAudio Recorder (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maxxton.android.aaudio&hl=en&gl=US) which can bypass some restrictions.

Distorted or noisy recordings

Experiment with gain/sensitivity settings in your recorder app. Setting gain too high can lead to clipping. Reduce gain until audio sounds clean. Additionally, check that microphone permissions are enabled for the recorder app.

Conclusion

To summarize, there are multiple ways to record audio speaker output on an Android phone. You can use a third-party app, configure your phone’s accessibility settings, or even record output using the OEM voice recorder app on some phones.

A couple key tips to keep in mind are:

Check your phone’s specs to confirm it supports output recording before getting started.

When using a third-party app, make sure to allocate the audio source properly to record speaker output rather than microphone input.
Adjust volume levels both on your phone and in the recording app to achieve a quality recording.

Following this advice, Android users should have no problem finding a solution to record audio playing from their phone’s speakers, be it music, videos, system sounds, or any other media.