How to Download Voice Memos From iPhone

Easily get your voice memos off your iPhone

By
Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen
Writer
  • Swansea University, Staffordshire University
Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010. Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications.
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Updated on January 30, 2020

The Voice Memos app on your iPhone is like having a dictaphone on your person at all times. While it can be very useful, what do you do when you need to transfer those files from your iPhone? Here are a few different options for how to download voice memos from iPhone onto other devices. 

Voice Memos is available on all modern versions of the iPhone, but it's not available for the iPad. 

How to Download Voice Memos via iCloud

Since iOS 11, iOS devices have had an app called Files. It's where you can save files to your iCloud drive and view and access them from elsewhere. Here's what to do.

  1. Open Voice Memos. 

  2. Tap the ellipses. 

  3. Tap Save to Files.

    Screenshots depicting how to save a voice memo to Files

    You may need to scroll down to find the option.

  4. Choose a folder to save the voice memo to.

  5. On your desktop, go to https://www.icloud.com and log in.

  6. Select iCloud Drive.

    iCloud.com site with iCloud Drive highlighted

  7. Your voice memo is now listed under where you saved it.

How to Download Voice Memos via AirDrop

If you own a Mac desktop or laptop, you can easily download voice memos via AirDrop. Here's what to do.

  1. Open Voice Memos.

  2. Tap the ellipses. 

  3. Tap AirDrop.

    Screenshots depicting how to send a voice memo via AirDrop

  4. Choose the device you want to share the voice memo with.

How to Download Voice Memos via Dropbox

Another easy alternative is to use a cloud storage app like Dropbox. Here's how to share and save voice memos from iPhone to Dropbox.

  1. Open Voice Memos.

  2. Tap the ellipses. 

  3. Scroll down and tap Save to Dropbox.

    Screenshots depicting how to save a voice memo to Dropbox

  4. Tap Choose a Folder.

  5. Choose the folder you want to save the voice memo to.

  6. Tap Save.

    Screenshots depicting how to save a voice memo to Dropbox

How to Save Voice Memos From iPhone to Your Computer via iTunes

Want to know how to transfer voice memos from iPhone to computer in a more traditional way? It's still possible to save your voice memos to your computer via iTunes, although it's not quite as practical as the other methods. Here's what to do.

Syncing with iTunes can cause the music on your iPhone to be removed in exchange for what's on your computer. Check your settings carefully, and ideally use one of the other methods to transfer your voice memos.

  1. Connect your iPhone to your PC or Mac.

  2. Open iTunes and wait for it to detect your iPhone.

  3. Select the iPhone logo near the top of the iTunes screen.

    iTunes with the iPhone button highlighted

  4. Select Music. 

    iTunes with the iPhone Music screen displayed

  5. Select Sync Voice Memos.

    iTunes iPhone music screen with Sync Voice Memos highlighted

  6. Select Sync.

  7. Your voice memos are now listed alongside your songs in the Music Library. 

    Voice memo files are also available in certain folders. For PC users, memos can be found in C:\Users\(your username)\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Voice Memos; Mac users can find them in Macintosh HD > Users > (your username) > Music > iTunes > iTunes Media > Voice Memos.

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