You can use iPad as a portable recording device to record personal notes, classroom lectures, musical ideas, and more, using the built-in microphone, a supported headset, or an external microphone. You can fine-tune your recordings with editing tools like trim, replace, and resume.
When Voice Memos is turned on in iCloud settings, your recordings appear and update automatically on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac signed in to the same Apple Account. You can also filter out background sounds and record in stereo or mono.
Make a basic recording
- Go to the Voice Memos app on your iPad.
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Tap the Record button to begin recording.
To adjust the recording level, move the microphone closer to or farther from what you’re recording.
- Tap Done to finish recording.
Your recording is saved with the name New Recording or the name of your location, if Location Services is turned on in Settings > Privacy & Security. To change the name, tap the recording, then tap the name and type a new one.
To fine-tune the recording, check out our guide, Edit a recording.
Note: For your privacy, when you use Voice Memos to make recordings, an orange dot appears at the top of your screen to indicate your microphone is in use.
Filter out background sounds
Your Mono and Stereo recordings can include background sounds or leave them out.
- Open the Voice Memos app on your iPad.
- Open Control Center.
- Tap Voice Memos at the top of Control Center.
- To filter out background sounds and record only your voice, select Voice Isolation.
Record stereo or mono
Which recording mode you select determines how the recording sounds on playback.
- Open the Settings app on your iPad.
- Tap Apps and tap Voice Memos.
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Tap Recording Mode, then choose one of the following:
- Mono: Audio playback is the same in both ears.
- Stereo: Separates audio playback between the left and right ears.
When Stereo is selected, Voice Memos records using multiple microphones on your iPad and with right and left audio channels. If you listen to a Stereo recording through headphones, you hear different sounds from different microphones; however, the waveform display still looks the same.
Use the advanced recording features
Pausing and resuming as you record lets you make a recording in parts.
- Open the Voice Memos app on your iPad.
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Tap the Record button to begin a recording.
To adjust the recording level, move the microphone closer to or farther away from what you’re recording.
To see more details while you’re recording, swipe up from the top of the waveform.
- Tap the Pause button to stop recording; tap Resume to continue.
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To review your recording, tap the Play button.
To change where playback begins, drag the playhead right or left across the small waveform at the bottom of the screen before you tap the Play button.
- To save the recording, tap Done.
Your recording is saved with the name New Recording or the name of your location, if Location Services is turned on in Settings > Privacy & Security. To change the name, tap the recording, then tap the name and type a new one.
To fine-tune your recording, read our article, Edit or delete a recording.
Mute the start and stop tones
Turning on Silent mode mutes the start and stop tones.
Open Control Center, then tap the Silent Mode Off button to turn on Silent mode.
Use another app while recording
You’re free to use another app while you’re recording, as long as it doesn’t play audio on your iPad.
- Open the Voice Memos app on your iPad.
- Tap the Record button to begin recording.
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While recording, you can open the Home Screen and open another app.
If the other app starts playing audio, Voice Memos stops recording.
- To return to Voice Memos, tap the orange icon at the top of the screen.
With Voice Memos turned on in iCloud settings or preferences, iCloud saves your recording, and it shows up automatically on any iPhone, iPad, or Mac where you’re signed in to the same Apple Account.
Unless you turn on Stereo Recording in Settings, recordings using the built-in microphone are in Mono. To record in Stereo, you can also connect an external stereo microphone or audio interface that works with iPad. Look for the Apple “Made for iPad” or “Works with iPad” logo on the accessory.
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