How to transcribe a phone call recording on iPhone or Android

A phone call recording is only useful if you can find what was said. This guide shows how to record a call on each phone, how to get the audio file out, and how to turn it into a transcript you can search, quote and share. For the upload itself, see call recording to text.

Before you record: consent

Recording laws differ by country, and in the United States by state. Some places need only one person on the call to agree (which can be you); others need everyone to agree. Tell the other person you're recording and get their agreement at the start, so it's on the recording too. This isn't legal advice: if the call is for work, a dispute or anything sensitive, check the rules where you and the other person are.

Before you pay for a transcript on Allnote on the go, you confirm you have permission from the people in the recording.

Record a call on iPhone

Recent versions of iOS can record a call without any app:

1. During the call, tap the record button on the call screen. On some iOS versions it sits under More.
2. Both people hear an announcement that the call is being recorded.
3. Tap stop, or hang up, to finish.

The phone call recording is saved in the Notes app, in a folder called Call Recordings. In some languages and regions, Notes also shows a transcript of the call.

Call recording isn't available in every country or language. Apple keeps the current list on its call recording support page. If you don't see the record button, your country, language or iOS version is probably the reason.

Record a call on Android

Android phones differ more than iPhones:

• Google Phone app (Pixel and many other phones): where call recording is offered, it's in the Phone app's settings, and the other person hears an announcement.
• Samsung Phone app: many Galaxy phones have a Record call option during the call, in the call screen's menu.
• Other brands: look in the Phone app's settings for "Call recording".

Whether the option appears depends on the phone maker, the Phone app and your country. If it isn't there, don't install an app that promises to record calls secretly: besides the legal risk, many simply record silence on recent Android versions.

No call recording on your phone?

If your phone or country blocks call recording, you still have options:

• Use speakerphone and a second device. Put the call on speaker and record it with another phone, a laptop or the free online voice recorder. The quality is lower, but it works for most calls.
• Make it a video call instead. Zoom, Teams and Google Meet can record a call on their own, and every participant sees that it's being recorded. See how to get a transcript from a Teams or Zoom recording.
• Use your voicemail or business phone system. Many business phone systems can record calls and email you the file.

Get the audio file off your phone

• iPhone: open Notes, then the Call Recordings folder. Open the call, tap the recording's ⋯ menu and choose Save Audio to Files, or share it to your email or computer.
• Android: open your Files app and look in Recordings or Call recordings, or share the file straight from the Phone app's recordings list.

Phone call recordings are usually M4A, MP3 or WAV files. All three can be uploaded as they are.

Turn the phone call recording into text

1. Open Allnote on the go and choose the file. Several calls? Select up to 20 at once.
2. Pick the language spoken. Each file is transcribed in one main language.
3. Read the free preview. Check names, numbers and anything you need to quote.
4. Pay for the file, or use credits from a pack. There's no account and no subscription.
5. Rename "Speaker 1" and "Speaker 2" to real names, then download Word or TXT, or copy the text.

Getting a cleaner transcript

• Use a quiet room. Background noise on either end lowers accuracy.
• Avoid speakerphone if you can. Recording on the phone itself is clearer than recording a speaker from across the room.
• Take turns. Speaker labels are most reliable when people don't talk over each other.
• Spell out names and numbers. Say "that's S-H-A-H" or repeat an account number, and the transcript has the right answer somewhere to copy.

What you can do with the transcript

• Keep a record of what was agreed, with a timestamp on every paragraph.
• Send a summary. Add AI notes to get key points and action items from the call. It's an optional add-on, charged separately.
• Share it. Send a read-only link, or a Word file with the speaker names in it.

Privacy

Files are deleted 7 days after the transcript is ready, or straight away when you click Delete. Uploads you don't pay for are deleted after 24 hours. Recordings are never used to train AI.

What it costs

You pay for the recording you upload. There's nothing to subscribe to and nothing to cancel.

Questions

Written with AI help.