How to Record a Phone Call on iPhone (Official Method)

Apple has finally brought a feature many users have wanted – call recording. Surprisingly, this is a feature that has never been available on any iOS smartphone until today. With Apple finally listening to its users, it’s time to take a look at the official phone call recording feature, what devices are supported and most of all how do you record a phone call on your iPhone?

Before we dive into more details about Call recording on an iPhone, the important thing to note is that not every country around the world makes it legal to record phone calls. So check with the laws in your country and also note that whenever you might be recording a call, the other person on the call will get a voice alert stating that the call is being recorded.

Call Recording on iPhone – Finally Here

Apple has just released the iOS 18 which is now the latest iteration of iOS. However the call recording was not included in the update. The call recording feature is currently available to users through the iOS 18.1 beta. But the update is expected to release soon to the public. It may already be available, depending on when you are reading this.

Earlier, the iOS 18.1 beta was available to only iPhone 15 Pro models, but with the fourth beta available to all models, Call Recording also comes to older devices. Call Recording is not a part of Artificial Intelligence features, which is great as AI features are limited to iPhone 15 Pro devices and iPhone 16 lineup. This means the feature is now available for iOS 18 eligible devices.

How to Record a Call on iPhone (iOS 18.1 or later)

As the call recording feature baked into the operating system with iOS 18.1, you will not have to worry about looking for different ways or even apps to record calls on your iPhone. Apart from just recording calls on your iPhone, Apple Intelligence will help you transcribe these calls (iPhone 12 or newer). Do note that the call transcribe feature is available only in the following countries:

Call Transcription Regions – English Language

Australia
Canada
India
New Zealand
Singapore
United Kingdom
United States

Call Transcription Regions – Spanish Language

Mexico
United States

Call Transcription Regions – Japanese Language

Japan

Call Transcription Regions – Mandarin Chinese Language

China Mainland
Taiwan

Call Transcription Regions – Cantonese Language

China Mainland
Hong Kong

Call Transcription Regions – Portuguese Language

Brazil

List of iPhones that support Call Recording

iPhone XR
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 Mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 Mini
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhone 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro Max

Now that you know the regions where the call transcription feature will work when recording calls on your supported iPhone, here is how you can record a phone call.

First up, call a contact.
When the call gets connected, tap on the Record option in the top left corner.
Before the call gets recorded, an automated voice message will be relayed to the receiver stating that this call will be recorded. If you don’t let it play, the recording will not start.
If you want to stop the call recording, simply tap on the Stop icon.

And this is how you can record a call using your iPhone. Apart from just being able to access the call recordings, you can also check out the transcribed calls that are stored on your iPhone. Here is how you can do that.

To access the call recording audio on your iPhone, simply launch the Notes app and tap on Call Recordings.
You can also view the call recording transcription in the Notes app.
You can choose to share the recorded audio with other people via supported apps, and even choose to save the recording to the Files app on your iPhone.

While it is good to know that the iPhone XR and newer models will be getting features very soon (already available on beta), what do you do if you have an iPhone older than the iPhone XR? Well, there are some other options that you can consider.

Phone Call Recording on Older iPhone Models

If you have an older iPhone (something older than the iPhone XR) you will not be getting this fun call-recording feature, and in this case you will have to rely on other ways to record calls on your iPhone. Some of them may require you to use apps or even external devices to record calls. We have listed different ways that you can pick to record calls on your iPhone. Obviously, these will not be as easy as the official method.

Note: Follow these alternatives only if the call recording is allowed in your region.

Record Calls via Call Recording Apps

Since iOS never really had any call-recording features built into the operating system, several call-recording apps have popped up on the App Store for users to install. However, these apps are all paid, meaning that you can use a free trial and then will have to pay a monthly fee to use them. Looking at how Android users have call recording baked right into the operating system, it simply makes no sense to pay for these kinds of apps. However, if you have no option but to record calls on your iPhone, you can take a look through these apps.

Acr Call Recorder (weekly @$6.99, monthly @$14.99)

Acr Call Recorder lets you save all of your recorded calls to the cloud storage services of your choice, and also has speech-to-text enabled for over 50 dialects. Additionally, you can also edit or change the voice recordings using the Acr Call Recorder app.

Rev Call Recorder (free, transcriptions require credits)

Rev Call Recorder claims to be the only free call-recording app on the Apple App Store. You can easily record incoming and outgoing calls without any limits. However, this is a recording app that will only work in the United States. So, if you plan to use this app outside the United States, it will not work. If you want the fancy transcription feature, you will have to purchase credits.

Call Recorder for iPhone (weekly, monthly, and annual subscriptions)

Here is another top-rated call recorder that you can install on your iPhone. The Call Recorder for iPhone lets you record unlimited incoming and outgoing calls for a small fee. You can choose between a yearly, monthly, or even weekly subscription and get access to call transcription. If you want the transcribed audio in another language, the Call Recorder for iPhone app will let you do just that.

Record Calls via the Voice Memos App

This might seem odd, but it is one of the ways that you will have to work with if your iPhone does meet the requirements to get the system-baked call recording feature. This is also a better alternative if you don’t want the other person to know that you are recording the call. Here is how you can master this. You will need two phones for this to work smoothly.

First, launch the Voice Memos app on your secondary iPhone. If you have an Android phone, you can use Recorder.
Now, press the record button in the Voice memos app.
Using your main iPhone, call your contact.
Make sure to keep the call on speakerphone, as this is the only way that you can record the call using the Voice Memos app.

This is one of the odd ways to record a phone call if you don’t want to install other call-recording apps that are available on the App Store for iPhones. Will this method work for you? Yes, it will as long as the phones are near to each other and the call is routed via the speakerphone.

Record Calls via Google Fi’s Voice App

Google Voice is a service provided by Google that gives you a phone number to make and answer calls. It works just like your regular SIM only, this one is more digital. Now, depending on the type of Google account that you use, the call recording options are different. Google lets you choose between two types of accounts-workspace and personal.

Google Workspace accounts have an on-demand call recording option. All you need to do is to tap on the record button during the call. This will play an audible message stating that the phone call is being recorded. However, if you have a personal account, you can follow these steps.

Launch the Voice app on your iPhone
Now, tap on the menu icon at the top left.
Choose Settings followed by Calls.
Now under calls, switch on Incoming Call Options.
Whenever you have an incoming call or make an outgoing call, you will have to press number 4 to record the calls. Yes, the call participants will also hear the audible message that the call is being recorded.

MagSafe Compatible Call Recorders

Here is one option that you can decide if you don’t want to deal with any apps, or secondary phones or use Google Voice. In 2023, we saw several new devices being released by different brands that claim to help you record calls on your iPhone. These devices are available on Amazon and are priced between $30 to $100. These devices can be added to your iPhone using MagSafe. With built-in storage options and the ability to record your audio calls in a mp3 audio format, you will be able to access and listen to all your recorded calls easily.

This concludes the different ways you can follow to record a phone call on your iPhone. Thanks to Apple’s iOS 18.1 beta 4 update, all eligible iPhones are able to make use of the call recording feature. Is call recording a useful feature for you? Let us know in the comments.

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