How do I transfer voice memos to my computer?

Voice memos are audio recordings made using the Voice Memos app on iPhones. People use this app to record meetings, lectures, interviews, musical ideas, and more. The recordings are stored locally on the iPhone.

There are several benefits to transferring these voice memos from an iPhone to a computer:

It frees up storage space on the iPhone.

It creates a backup of important recordings in case they get accidentally deleted from the iPhone.
It allows for easier organization and sharing of recordings.
The recordings can be accessed on a computer without needing the iPhone.

This guide will go over several methods to transfer voice memos from an iPhone to a Windows or Mac computer.

Prerequisites

Before transferring voice memos from an iPhone to a computer, there are a few prerequisites the user needs to fulfill:

First, the user needs an iPhone with recorded voice memos they want to transfer. The Voice Memos app comes pre-installed on iPhones, and allows users to easily record audio memos. Make sure there are voice memos saved in the app that you want to move to your computer.

Second, the user needs access to a Mac or Windows PC with enough storage space to receive the voice memos. The computer needs to have sufficient hard drive space to store the audio files that will be transferred from the iPhone. Transferring voice memos takes up a negligible amount of space, but ensure there is adequate room on the destination computer.

As long as the user has an iPhone containing voice memos and a computer to transfer them to, they will be able to complete the process. The next step is choosing the preferred method to actually transfer the audio files from the iPhone to the computer.

Using iCloud

One way to transfer voice memos from your iPhone to your computer is by using iCloud. To save voice memos to iCloud from your iPhone:

1. Open the Settings app and tap your name at the top.

2. Tap “iCloud” and scroll down to “Voice Memos”. Make sure the toggle is turned on to enable syncing.

3. Open the Voice Memos app and your recordings will now be synced automatically with iCloud.

To access your synced voice memos on your computer:

1. On your Mac, open the iCloud Drive app.

2. Click “Documents” in the sidebar and select “Voice Memos”.

3. You will now see all of your synced voice memos that you can listen to or save to your computer.

For more details, visit: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/keep-recordings-up-to-date-iph38b91c7af/ios

Using AirDrop

AirDrop allows you to wirelessly transfer voice memos from your iPhone directly to your Mac computer using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. To use AirDrop, your iPhone and Mac need to be within close proximity, approximately 30 feet. Both devices also need to be connected to the same wireless network.

Here are the steps to transfer voice memos from your iPhone to your Mac using AirDrop:

Open the Voice Memos app on your iPhone and select the voice memo(s) you want to transfer.
Tap the Share icon in the bottom left corner.

Select AirDrop from the share menu.
Choose your Mac from the list of available devices.
Accept the AirDrop request on your Mac to receive the voice memo(s).

The voice memo(s) will automatically save to your Mac’s Downloads folder. You can then access them like any other file on your Mac. Keep in mind AirDrop only works between Apple devices running iOS 7 or later and Macs running OS X Yosemite or later.

Sources:

How to transfer voice memos from your iPhone to your computer

How to AirDrop Voice Memos from iPhone to iOS or Mac

Using Email

One easy way to transfer voice memos from your iPhone to your computer is by emailing the audio files to yourself.¹ Here’s how to do it:

On your iPhone, open the Voice Memos app and tap on the voice memo you want to transfer. This will open up the voice memo playback screen.

Tap on the Share button in the bottom left corner. This will bring up the sharing options.

Choose “Email” from the sharing options. This will open up a new email with the voice memo attached.

Address the email to yourself and tap Send. The voice memo will be attached and sent to your email address.

On your computer, open the email and download the attached voice memo file. You can then access it directly on your computer.

Emailing voice memos to yourself is a quick and easy way to get the files off your iPhone. Just be sure to use an email service that allows large attachments if your memo is long.

Using iTunes

One way to transfer voice memos from an iPhone to a computer is by using iTunes. To do this, you will need:

An iPhone
A computer with iTunes installed
A USB cable to connect the iPhone to the computer

Follow these steps:

Connect the iPhone to the computer using a USB cable. The iPhone should appear in iTunes if open, or iTunes should open and detect the iPhone if closed.
Open iTunes on the computer and select the connected iPhone by clicking on the device icon in the top left corner.

In iTunes, click on the Voice Memos tab. This will show a list of all voice memos currently saved on the iPhone.
Check the box next to Sync Voice Memos to sync the voice memos from the iPhone to iTunes on the computer. Click Apply or Sync in the bottom right corner.
The voice memos will now transfer from the iPhone to the computer and be saved in iTunes. They can be accessed through the Voice Memos playlist in your iTunes library.

Syncing voice memos through iTunes will create a backup of them on the computer. You can then access, play, and manage the voice memos in iTunes. For more details, see Sync voice memos from iPhone to itunes on iMac.

Using iExplorer

One simple way to transfer voice memos from an iPhone to a computer is by using the app iExplorer. iExplorer is available for both Mac and Windows and allows you to easily browse and export files from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

To use iExplorer to export voice memos:

First, download and install iExplorer on your computer from the official website.
Next, connect your iPhone to your computer using the USB cable. iExplorer will automatically detect and connect to the device.
In iExplorer, click on the “Voice Memos” section in the left sidebar. This will display all of the voice memos stored on your iPhone.

Select the voice memos you want to export by checking the boxes next to them. You can export one, multiple or all voice memos at once.
Finally, click the “Export” button at the bottom of the iExplorer window. Choose a folder on your computer to save the voice memos to.

The selected voice memos will now be exported and saved as .m4a files on your computer. You can play them back using iTunes or any audio player that supports the .m4a format.

Using a Cloud Service

One convenient way to transfer voice memos from your iPhone to your computer is by using a cloud storage service like Dropbox. With Dropbox, you can upload voice memo files from your iPhone and then access them on your computer.

To upload voice memos to Dropbox from your iPhone:

Open the Dropbox app and sign in to your account.

In the Dropbox app, tap the + icon in the bottom right and select “Upload audio.”
Select the voice memo files you want to upload.
The selected voice memos will begin uploading to your Dropbox account.

Once uploaded, you can access your voice memos on any computer by going to www.dropbox.com and logging in. The synced memo files will appear in your Dropbox folder. You can play them directly in Dropbox or download them to your computer.

Dropbox offers 2GB of free storage space, with paid plans available for more storage. Using Dropbox is a convenient way to keep your voice memos backed up and accessible across devices.

As noted on the Quora forums, other cloud services like Google Drive and iCloud also allow you to directly upload voice memos from iPhone and access them on a computer.

Using Third-Party Apps

Apps like Memo Master offer computer transfer features that can help you easily move voice memos from your iPhone to your computer. To use a third-party app:

1. Download and install the app on your iPhone and computer. Memo Master offers apps for iOS, Mac, and Windows.

2. Open the app on both devices and follow the instructions to connect and sync them.

3. The app will automatically transfer all your iPhone voice memos to your computer for easy access and storage. New memos you record will also be transferred.

Third-party apps like Memo Master provide a straightforward way to quickly transfer all your voice memos without needing iCloud, iTunes, or manual transfers. Just install the app and let it sync everything for you automatically.

Conclusion

We’ve covered several methods for transferring voice memos from your iPhone to your computer, including using iCloud, AirDrop, email, iTunes, iExplorer, cloud services, and third-party apps.

For casual users who only need to transfer voice memos occasionally, the easiest options are using iCloud sync or emailing yourself the memos. Just turn on iCloud sync for Voice Memos on your iPhone and the recordings will automatically sync to your iCloud account, allowing you to access them from any device. You can also quickly email yourself individual memos to save on your computer.

For power users who need to transfer many voice memos or want more advanced management, iTunes or iExplorer provide the most robust transfer options. Connecting your iPhone to your computer via USB and using iTunes allows batch transfers of all memos, while iExplorer gives you finer control over file management. Third party apps like iMazing can also provide enhanced voice memo transfer features.

Overall, with various built-in and third party methods available, you can choose the voice memo transfer option that best fits your needs and workflow.