How to Transcribe a Recorded Phone Call to Text (iPhone and Android)

A call with a client, a phone interview or a consultation with a lawyer often contains details worth keeping in writing. If the call is recorded, turning it into text takes a few minutes: find the file, upload it and review the result.

First: say you're recording

Call recording rules vary by country and, in some places, by state. Many allow you to record a conversation you take part in, while others require everyone's consent. The safest (and most honest) option is to say at the start of the call that you're recording and why.

How to record the call

On iPhone: recent iOS versions can record calls from the Phone app itself, with an automatic notice to the other person. Tap the record button during the call; the recording is saved in the Notes app.

On Android: many manufacturers include recording in the Phone app (a Record button during the call), depending on the model and country. Recordings are usually saved in a folder called Call recordings, Recordings or similar.

WhatsApp, Zoom or Teams calls: use the platform's own recording if it has one. For meetings, see our guide on how to transcribe a Teams, Zoom or Meet meeting.

How to turn the call into text

1. Get the file off your phone. On iPhone, open the note with the recording, long-press the audio and choose Save to Files or share it. On Android, find it in the recordings folder with the Files app.
2. Upload it to the call recording transcriber from your phone or computer. M4A, MP3, AMR, WAV and almost any format work.
3. Pick the call's language (or leave it on automatic).
4. In a few minutes you get the text, with a timestamp for every sentence.

The first 15 minutes are free with no sign-up, enough for most calls. After that you only pay for the minutes you use, with no subscription.

How to get a more accurate transcript

Phone audio is lower quality than a normal recording, so it helps to:

• Avoid speakerphone unless you have to: with the phone at your ear, your voice records better.
• Stay out of bad-signal areas: dropouts become missing words.
• Check numbers, names and addresses by listening: click the sentence and it plays that exact moment.

If the call has background noise, there are more tips in our guide to transcribing noisy audio.

What to do with the transcript

• Download it as Word and add a summary of what was agreed at the top.
• Search the text for a figure or a name instead of listening to the whole call again.
• File it with the client's or project's records.

Privacy

Calls often contain personal data. On Sonorarium, files are deleted after 7 days, never used to train models, and you can delete your account and every transcript whenever you want.

FAQ

Does it tell my voice apart from the other person's? The transcript doesn't separate speakers automatically. While reviewing, you can add the name at the start of each turn.

Does it work with old AMR recordings? Yes. Many older Android phones record in AMR, and you can upload it as is.

How much does a 30-minute call cost? The 15 free minutes cover half of it. The rest starts at $3 for 30 minutes; all packs are on the pricing page.