How to Transfer Voice Memos From iPhone to a Computer

There are four reliable ways to get Voice Memos from an iPhone onto a computer. On a Mac, turn on Voice Memos in iCloud, or AirDrop the recordings. On a Windows PC, save them to iCloud Drive with Save to Files and download them, or email them to yourself. Each way gives you a standard .m4a audio file that plays on any computer.

The catch is that Voice Memos has no "export everything" button and no Windows app, so the recordings that matter often never leave the phone. This guide walks through each method step by step, what format you'll end up with, and how to make sure the important ones survive a lost or broken phone.

How to transfer voice memos from iPhone to a Windows PC

Apple doesn't make a Voice Memos app for Windows, and iCloud for Windows covers iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive, not Voice Memos. So the job is to turn each recording into a file somewhere a PC can reach. The best place is iCloud Drive.

Method 1: Save to Files, then download from iCloud Drive (free, best for most people)

To move several recordings at once, tap Select above the list of recordings, choose them, then tap Share and Save to Files.

If you installed iCloud for Windows, the same files also show up in the iCloud Drive folder in File Explorer. Be careful there: Apple says that dragging an item out of iCloud Drive to another folder moves it, which removes it from iCloud Drive on all your devices. Copy the files out instead of dragging them, so the iCloud copy stays as your backup.

Method 2: Save to OneDrive or Google Drive

If you already use OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox on the PC, install that app on the iPhone and sign in. Apple's Files app can then show it as a location. Turn it on in Files under Browse → More → Edit. After that, the recording's Save to Files step can point straight at your OneDrive or Google Drive folder, and the file appears on the PC through that service's own app.

Method 3: Email it to yourself

For one or two recordings, this is the quickest route with nothing to set up. Tap the recording, tap the More Actions button, tap Share, then choose Mail (or Gmail or Outlook). Send it to your own address, then open the email on the PC and download the .m4a attachment. It's slow for dozens of files, but every computer can do it.

How to transfer voice memos from iPhone to a Mac

A Mac has its own Voice Memos app, so you have more options.

Syncing alone isn't a backup. With Voice Memos in iCloud on, a recording you permanently delete on one device is removed from all of them. Saving copies as files, using step 3 or Save to Files, gives you something that survives a mistake.

Rendered or Editable: which format to choose

When you share a recording, Apple's Share options offer two formats:

For moving recordings to a computer or keeping them for the long term, choose the default. An .m4a file plays in the media players built into Windows and macOS, and opens in nearly every audio editor.

If you deleted a voice memo by mistake

Check Recently Deleted first. In Voice Memos, go to the folder list (tap the Back button if you don't see it) and open Recently Deleted. Tap a recording, then tap Recover, or tap Edit and Recover All. Apple keeps deleted recordings there for 30 days by default. You can change that in Settings → Apps → Voice Memos → Clear Deleted. Once something is erased from Recently Deleted, it's gone from every device signed in to your Apple Account.

Back up the recordings you can't replace

Most voice memos are grocery lists and meeting notes. A few are irreplaceable: a child's first song, a grandparent telling the story of how they met, the last birthday message from someone you've lost. Treat those differently.

If you have older recordings on tape as well, the same rules apply once they're digital. Our guide to digitizing audio cassettes covers getting them there. And to capture a conversation with someone far away, here's how to record a phone call on iPhone or Android.

Give the recording a home, not just a folder

A folder of .m4a files is a backup. It isn't something your family will actually open. In Memory Murals, you can upload an exported .m4a voice memo to your Media library and add it to a memory, next to the photos from the same day and a few lines about who's speaking and what was happening. Then invite the family, so the recording isn't sitting on one person's phone or one person's computer.