How To Record Audio On Android In 5 Easy Steps

Your smartphone is powerful and can do much more than make and receive calls, send SMS texts, and browse the internet. One neat feature of any Android smartphone is the audio recording function. It allows you to create handy voice notes to share with friends and colleagues. Below we explain how to record audio on Android in five simple steps.

Why Record Audio On Android?

It’s unquestionable we are in the voice messaging era. The voice recorder on your Android smartphone lets you create voice notes and voice memos that are more expressive and detailed than text messages. 

If you want to communicate with someone overseas and want to save data, sending a voice note can be extremely useful. Plus, you or the recipient can replay the messages you exchange.

You can also use your Android audio recorder for brainstorming or even drafting documents to transcribe later. With a high-quality microphone, you also record any other audio you want. 

If you want to give recording voice notes a try, follow these simple steps to record audio on Android: 

Step 1: Look for Sound Recorder on your apps

Sound recorder is a microphone app that records audio on Android and creates useful voice notes. It is usually an orange app with a microphone icon. Tap on the app to open it. 

Step 2: Tap the microphone icon to start recording audio

Android microphone is easy to use. Tap the big orange circle with a white microphone icon to start your recording. A timer will appear, and the microphone icon will switch to the pause symbol when you start recording. The only limit to the length of the recording is your device’s memory.

Step 3: Tap the microphone icon again to stop recording

In the Sound Recorder, you stop recording by tapping on the microphone icon again. Doing this initially pauses the recording and the timer will flash. 

Step 4: Tap SAVE to save your recording to your phone

Once you have recorded all the audio you want, you can pause the recording and hit SAVE at the bottom right of your screen to save an audio file to your phone.  You can name your audio recording in the box that appears. 

If you are sure you want to save the recording, confirm by hitting the SAVE button in the box. If you press CANCEL, the audio recorder will return to the paused recording. 

Step 5: Alternatively, you can hit discard to delete the recording

If you want to delete the audio recording you have made, tap DISCARD at the bottom left of your screen. A box will appear asking you to confirm the deletion of the recording. Tap DISCARD in the box to delete the recording. 

For a quick overview of the process check out the video below which will walk you through the process of recording audio using your Android phone’s sound recorder.

Share audio recordings with friends or family

You can return to saved recordings in the Sound Recorder app. Here’s how to share your sound recordings and voice notes quickly and easily: 

Step 1: Open stored audio recordings on your device

To open the recordings menu, tap the three horizontal bars. Every audio recording you have made with the app in this folder is listed chronologically. If you want to play the recording, tap the play symbol to the left of the file name. It will immediately start playing. 

Step 2: Tap the three vertical dots to the right of the audio file 

Tapping the vertical dots opens a mini-menu with the option to share your audio file. Tap the share option to get started. 

Step 3: Select the Gmail app from the share options that appear

You can share your voice notes and audio files via Gmail, Drive, Bluetooth, or NFC. If you want to send your recording by email, tap on the Gmail app. 

Step 4: Add a recipient and message to share your audio file by email

Gmail will automatically open with the audio file packaged and attached as an M4A audio file. Fill in the details of your email to send your voice note or other audio by email. 

Set audio recording as your ringtone

Use the Sound Recorder to create unique ringtones for your phone. Once you have saved the audio you want to use as a ringtone, follow these basic steps:

Step 1: Tap the three vertical dots to the right of the audio file to open the mini-menu

In the mini-menu select the option Set as ringtone. This is where you can choose to make your audio recording into a custom ringtone for your Android phone. 

Step 2: Choose the ringtone option in the box that appears

 There are two options for creating a ringtone for your Android phone:

1. Set as phone ringtone
2. Set as notification ringtone

Tap the options you want and hit OK to save your new settings. If you don’t want to change the ringtone, tap CANCEL.

Rounding up

As you can see, Sound Recorder is a great little app for recording audio on Android. This app is very easy to use and provides great sound quality for voice notes and other recordings you can easily share.