Where are voice recording files on Android?

Android phones come with a built-in voice recorder app that allows users to easily record audio memos and save them directly on their device. The voice recordings are stored locally on the phone’s internal storage or SD card, depending on the user’s configuration.

There are a few ways users can access and manage voice recordings on their Android device. The default voice recorder app has an interface that shows all recordings and allows playback and sharing. However, recordings are also viewable in the My Files folder or through a file manager app. Some media player apps may also access and play voice recordings stored on an Android phone.

Default Voice Recorder App

Most Android phones come with a built-in voice recorder app pre-installed, which provides a quick and easy way to record audio.

The default save location for recordings made with the built-in Android voice recorder app varies by device manufacturer. According to Google Support, on Pixel phones, recordings are saved in the app’s private folder and are not easily accessible from other apps ¹. On Samsung Galaxy devices, recordings are typically stored in the “Voice Recorder” folder within internal storage.

To locate recordings made with the default voice recorder app, the easiest method is to open the app itself, where your recordings should be displayed in a list. You can play back recordings directly within the app. If you need to access the files from another location, you will likely need to use a file explorer or manager app.

Finding Recordings in My Files

The easiest way to locate voice recordings on your Android phone is to open the My Files or File Manager app, which allows you to browse all files stored on your device. Voice recordings made with the default Voice Recorder app are usually saved in the Music or Audio folder.

To find them, open the My Files or File Manager app and look for a folder called Music, Audio, or Recordings. There may also be a folder specifically for the Voice Recorder app. Navigate into these folders to view and play back any stored voice recordings.

You can also search for recordings from the main My Files screen. Tap the search icon and type keywords like “voice recording” or “audio.” This will display all files with those keywords in the title or file name. Tap a file to open it.

If you still have trouble locating recordings created by third party apps, try searching instead by date modified or file type to find “mp3” or “m4a” files saved around the time you remember recording. With some digging in My Files, you should be able to track down any recordings stored locally on your Android device.

Locating Files Using a File Explorer

Using a dedicated file explorer app can make it easier to browse and search for your audio recordings. Popular Android file managers like X-plore File Manager and Solid Explorer provide powerful search tools and folder navigation specifically designed for locating files.

For example, X-plore File Manager allows searching by file type, date modified, size, and other filters to quickly zero in on your recordings. You can also mark favorite folders like your Downloads folder that may contain audio files. Solid Explorer has a similar advanced search capability, along with cloud storage integration, root access options, and other features that can aid file management.

Both apps offer free and premium versions. The premium upgrades provide additional tools like cloud service support, theming, and other bonuses for power users. But even the free models include the core functionality for easily finding media files scattered across internal and external storage on your device.

Using these dedicated file explorer apps to visually browse folders and intelligently search for audio files can save time over trying to locate recordings directly in the generic My Files app.

Searching Directly from the Home Screen

One easy way to search for voice recording files is to use the home screen search bar on your Android device. Here are the steps:

Swipe down from the top of the home screen to access the universal search bar.

Type in keywords related to your recording files, such as “recordings,” “voice recordings,” “audio,” etc.
You should see results pop up for any recordings on your device that match the search terms. Tap on any results to open the recordings.

This leverages Google’s on-device search indexing to quickly find recordings no matter where they are saved in your files and folders. It searches titles, contents, metadata, etc. [1] This method works for both recordings saved in default apps like Voice Recorder as well as third party recording apps.

Using a Media Player App

Recordings may show up in media player apps like Google Play Music or third-party music apps that scan a device’s storage for audio files. Android provides the MediaPlayer API to play audio/video files from a device’s resources, filesystem, or over the network. Media player apps that support scanning may pick up voice recordings the same as they would music files.

Another place to check is the history or recently played sections of a music player app. If the app was used to play a recording, it may track that in the history which could provide a shortcut back to the recording file. Beyond system-level media players, individual apps may also maintain their own history and media libraries that could contain voice recordings.

Backing Up Recordings to Cloud Services

Many voice recorder apps on Android automatically back up recordings to cloud storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox if you’ve connected those services to your device. When you record something in the app, it will be synced to your cloud account and stored online so you have a backup.

For example, the Google Recorder app supports syncing recordings and transcripts to Google Drive (source). Turning on this feature will automatically upload your recordings to Drive. Other recording apps like Samsung Voice Recorder may also integrate with services like Samsung Cloud to backup your files.

So check if any recording apps on your device have options to connect and backup to cloud storage. Enabling those features will securely save copies of your recordings online in case anything happens to your device.

Using Third-Party Recording Apps

In addition to the built-in voice recorder app, there are many third-party recording apps available for Android that may save voice recordings to custom locations. Some popular options include:

Otter – Saves recordings to the Otter cloud and allows you to search transcripts.
Easy Voice Recorder – Lets you choose custom save locations like external SD cards.
Voice Recorder & Audio Editor – Features advanced editing tools and can save to internal or external storage.

Since third-party apps have their own ways of organizing recordings, you may need to hunt around to locate files. Check the app’s settings to see if there is an option to customize the save location before recording.

Searching from Settings

Android has a built-in search feature in settings that can be used to find both apps and files on your device (1). To access it:

Open your Settings app

Tap the search icon at the top
Type in keywords related to the file you are looking for

Any matches—whether an app, media file, document etc.—will show up in the search results. Tapping a file will open it directly. This provides a handy way to search everything at once instead of checking individual folders.

Conclusion

There are a few main places where voice recordings are typically stored by default on Android devices. The default Voice Recorder app saves recordings to a Voice Recordings folder which can be accessed in the My Files app. You can also find audio files in folders sorted by date in the Internal Storage directory or SD card if one is installed. Using a file explorer allows easy access to these folders to browse recordings.

Recordings may also be automatically backed up or synced with cloud storage services linked to your Google account, like Google Drive or Google Photos, making them accessible from connected devices or the web. For recordings saved in third party apps, check the app’s settings to see the save location.

In summary, while voice recordings can be scattered across different folders and apps on an Android device, the main default locations to check are the Voice Recordings folder in My Files, the DCIM and Internal Storage folders sorted by date, connected cloud storage services, and within the third party recording app’s designated save directory.