How to use your phone as a microphone with a Bluetooth speaker?

What You’ll Need

To use your phone as a microphone with a Bluetooth speaker, you’ll need a few basic items:

• Smartphone with Bluetooth connectivity – Most modern smartphones have Bluetooth capability built-in.
• Bluetooth speaker – Any portable Bluetooth speaker will work, such as models from JBL, Anker, Bose, etc.
• Relevant apps like music/recording apps – You’ll need a recording app like Voice Recorder or an audio editing app like GarageBand or Audacity on your phone to capture and edit the audio.

Enable Bluetooth on Both Devices

The first step is to make sure Bluetooth is enabled on both your phone and Bluetooth speaker. On most Android phones, open the Settings app and select Connections > Bluetooth. Turn on Bluetooth by toggling the switch. On an iPhone, open Settings and tap Bluetooth. Turn on Bluetooth.

Next, consult your speaker’s manual to learn how to put the speaker in pairing mode so it’s discoverable by your phone. Often there is a Bluetooth button you press and hold to initiate pairing.

Once the speaker is in pairing mode, go back to your phone’s Bluetooth settings. Your speaker should show up as an available device. Tap on it to connect and pair the devices so they can communicate over Bluetooth. Confirm any pairing prompts that appear on your phone or speaker. The devices may make a noise once successfully paired.

Now your phone and Bluetooth speaker will automatically connect when Bluetooth is enabled and they are in close proximity. You only need to pair them once.

Install a Recording App on Your Phone

To use your phone as a microphone, you’ll need to download a recording app. Look for an app that is designed for high quality audio recording and transcription. Some top options include:

• Google Recorder – Comes pre-installed on Pixel phones. Provides real-time transcription and easy audio search.
• Otter – Available for both iOS and Android. Transcribes audio in real-time with 85% accuracy.
• Voice Recorder – A simple recording app for Android. Records in high quality formats like WAV.

Look for an app that allows you to record uncompressed or lossless audio formats like WAV for best quality. Also make sure the app has options to reduce background noise during recording.

Start a Recording Session

Once you have enabled Bluetooth on both your phone and speaker, you’ll need to open a recording app on your phone to start a new session. The Voice Memos app comes pre-installed on iPhones and is a simple option to use.

To start recording with Voice Memos:

• Open the Voice Memos app on your iPhone.
• Tap the red Record button at the bottom of the screen to start a new recording.

As an alternative, you could install a third-party recording app like Recorder from the App Store. The process would be similar – simply open the app and tap a record button to begin.

Once you’ve started recording in the app, any audio picked up by your phone’s microphone will be captured in the recording session. Next, you’ll need to play that audio through your Bluetooth speaker.

Play Audio Through the Speaker

Once you have paired your phone and Bluetooth speaker, you need to set the speaker as the audio output for your recording app. This will route the audio picked up by your phone’s microphone through the external Bluetooth speaker.

To do this, simply tap on the Bluetooth speaker name in the recording app’s audio settings. This will set the speaker as the output destination for audio rather than the phone’s internal speaker.

With the Bluetooth speaker set as the audio output, any audio that your phone’s microphone picks up will now play through the external speaker rather than the phone itself. This allows you to use your phone as a microphone while leveraging the better audio quality and volume of the Bluetooth speaker.

According to Monster DNA Max Bluetooth speaker review, using your phone as a mic with a Bluetooth speaker allows you to take advantage of both devices – using the phone for recording and the speaker for improved playback.

Adjust Recording Settings

The recording app likely has various settings you can adjust to improve audio quality like sample rate, bit rate, channels, etc. These impact how accurately the audio gets digitized and how large the recording files become.

Higher sample rates like 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz will capture more of the audible frequencies but create larger files. CD quality audio uses 44.1 kHz. Lower sample rates like 22.05 kHz take up less space but may sound more compressed or lose high frequency content.

Select mono for recording just vocals or stereo for ambient sounds using both phone mics. Stereo takes up more space. You may also adjust bit rate/bit depth which controls the dynamic range – 16 bit or 24 bit are common.

The Apple Voice Memos app lets you change sample rate and channels under Settings. On Android check the recording app permissions and settings. Adjust to find the optimal balance of audio quality and file size for your needs. Refer to app guides like this Lifewire tutorial for your specific device and app.

Record Your Audio

While recording, speak into your phone’s microphone as you normally would with a dedicated external microphone. Hold the phone close to your mouth just as you would a regular microphone during the recording. Monitor the input levels and audio quality through your Bluetooth speaker to ensure good volume without peaking or distortion.

Adjust the distance between your mouth and the phone microphone to achieve the optimal balance of volume and clarity. Get closer to the mic for quieter vocals or farther for loud audio. You can also tweak recording levels and sensitivity in your recording app’s settings as needed.

Listen carefully through the speaker and watch for visual cues like level meters in the app to avoid overly loud audio that has audible clipping or distortion. Make small adjustments as you record until you get a clean, undistorted signal coming through the Bluetooth speaker.

End and Save the Recording

When you are finished recording, tap the stop button in your recording app to end the session. You will then be prompted to name or tag the recording file before saving it.

Most recording apps will save the audio file directly to your phone’s internal storage. However, some apps also give you the option to save recordings to cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox for easy sharing and backup. Check your app’s settings to set the save location.

To save to your phone, simply name the file when prompted after stopping the recording. To save to cloud storage, you may need to link your cloud account in the app settings first before recording.

Once saved, the audio file will be accessible in your phone’s file manager app as well as within your recording app’s library for easy playback.

Transfer the Recording

Once you have finished recording your audio on your phone, you will likely want to transfer or share the file in some way. Here are a few options for transferring your recording off your phone:

You can email the audio file directly from your phone. Just attach the file to a new email in your email app. This allows you to send the recording to yourself or share it with others easily.

You can also share the recording via messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, etc. Open the messaging app, attach the audio file and send it to any of your contacts.

For larger file transfers, use a cloud storage service like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. Upload the recording from your phone to cloud storage for easy sharing or playback from other devices later. See this guide for how to connect and transfer files from a Samsung phone to cloud storage.

Finally, you can transfer the recording directly to a computer or laptop using a USB cable connection. Follow the steps to connect your phone to your computer via USB. Once connected, you can access the phone’s files and drag and drop the recording to save it on your computer. See this guide for transferring files from a Samsung phone to a PC.

Tips for Better Quality

To get the best audio quality when using your phone as a microphone, follow these tips:

Record in a quiet environment. Background noise from air conditioning, traffic, or other people talking can get picked up by the microphone and make your recordings sound unprofessional. Find a quiet room or use sound dampening materials if needed.

Keep the phone close to your mouth. The proximity effect means that sounds closest to the microphone are amplified compared to further away sounds. Keep the phone within 6 inches of your mouth as you record for optimal sound quality.

Use a phone stand or tripod. Holding the phone introduces vibrations and movement that can cause distracting sounds. Mounting your phone on a stand or tripod keeps it stable and stationary for better quality. Look for phone tripods with a microphone attachment.

Check microphone settings and enable noise cancellation if available. Some recording apps and phones allow you to toggle noise cancellation which can help eliminate background sounds.

Consider connecting an external microphone. Devices like lapel mics or shotgun mics often provide superior sound over a phone’s built-in microphone. Look for mics with a 3.5mm jack or Lightning connector.