Extract Audio From a Video and Save It as a Voice Memo on iPhone

Extracting audio from a video and saving it as a voice memo is a common need — meeting recordings, music snippets, speeches, or any video content where you only need the audio track. iPhone does not have a built-in "extract audio" button, but several native and third-party methods make it straightforward.

This guide covers all methods for iPhone and Mac, including how to save the audio directly to the Voice Memos app.

Part 1. Understanding the Process — Audio Extraction vs Voice Memo Import

Before diving into methods, it helps to understand what "turning a video into a voice memo" actually involves technically.

Important: The Voice Memos app on iPhone does not have a native import function for audio files converted from video. The converted audio file can be saved to Files or Music — but to get it into Voice Memos specifically, a Shortcuts workaround is needed (covered in Part 3).

💡 Tip: If you just need the audio for playback (not specifically in Voice Memos), saving to the Files app or Apple Music library is often simpler and provides more playback flexibility than Voice Memos.

Part 2. Method 1 — iMovie on iPhone

iMovie (free, available on the App Store) can export only the audio track from any video in your Camera Roll.

Steps:

1. Open iMovie on your iPhone
2. Tap the + icon → Movie (not Magic Movie)
3. Select the video you want to extract audio from → tap Create Movie
4. In the timeline, tap the video clip
5. Tap Actions (scissors icon) → Detach Audio — this separates the audio from the video track
6. Delete the video track (tap the video → Delete)
7. Tap Done → tap the share icon (box with arrow up)
8. Select Save Video — this saves the audio as a .m4a file in your Camera Roll

Note: The exported audio appears in the Photos app as an audio file. You can then share it or open it in another app.

🗣️ r/iPhone user: "Used iMovie to extract audio from a 2-hour lecture video. The process was a bit fiddly but worked perfectly — got the audio in M4A format and imported it into my podcast app."

Part 3. Method 2 — Shortcuts App (Save Directly to Voice Memos)

The Shortcuts app (built into iOS 13+) can automate the audio extraction process and — with the right actions — save the result directly to Voice Memos.

Build the Shortcut:

1. Open Shortcuts app → tap + to create a new shortcut
2. Add action: Select Photos (or Get Clipboard if sharing a video URL)
3. Add action: Encode Media → set Audio Only to ON, Format to M4A
4. Add action: Save to Voice Memos (search for "Voice Memos" in the action search)

If "Save to Voice Memos" is not available as a direct action:

1. After Encode Media, add Save File → save to iCloud Drive or On My iPhone
2. Then manually import into Voice Memos by sharing the file → Voice Memos

💡 Tip: You can add this shortcut to your Share Sheet so it appears when you tap the share button on any video in the Photos app. In the shortcut settings, toggle Show in Share Sheet on.

To run the shortcut:

1. Open the video in Photos
2. Tap the share icon → scroll down → tap your shortcut name
3. The shortcut processes the video and saves the audio automatically

Part 4. Method 3 — QuickTime Player on Mac

QuickTime Player (built into every Mac) can export only the audio track from any video file.

Steps:

1. Open the video file in QuickTime Player
2. From the menu bar, click File → Export As → Audio Only
3. Choose the save location → click Save

QuickTime exports the audio as an M4A (MPEG-4 Audio) file. The export is fast and lossless relative to the original audio quality.

To import into Voice Memos on Mac:

1. Open the exported M4A file in Finder
2. Right-click → Share → Voice Memos

Or simply double-click the M4A — it opens in QuickTime or Music, from which you can AirDrop or iCloud Drive sync it to your iPhone.

🗣️ r/MacOS user: "QuickTime's File > Export As > Audio Only is the fastest way I've found to strip audio from a video on Mac. One menu selection and it's done."

Part 5. Method 4 — iMovie on Mac (Advanced Audio Export)

iMovie on Mac provides more control over audio export settings than QuickTime.

Steps:

1. Open iMovie → create a new project
2. Import your video → drag it to the timeline
3. Go to File → Share → File
4. In the export dialog, set Video codec to Audio Only
5. Choose quality (Best, Better, Good) → click Next → save the file

iMovie on Mac can export in higher quality audio formats and gives you control over the audio mix — useful if the original video has multiple audio tracks.

⚠️ Important: When extracting audio from a video on iPhone or Mac, always keep the original video file until you have confirmed the audio export is complete and correct. Deleting the source video before confirming the export can result in losing both the video and having no audio if the export failed silently.

Part 6. Recovering a Deleted Video File

If the original video file was accidentally deleted during the audio extraction process — either from the Camera Roll or from your Mac — Ritridata can often recover it.

For a video deleted from iPhone Camera Roll:

Check the Recently Deleted album in the Photos app first (available for 30 days after deletion). If the 30-day window has passed and you have an iPhone backup on your Mac or PC, an iTunes/Finder backup restore may recover it.

For a video deleted from a Mac or external drive:

1. Stop writing new files to the drive immediately
2. Install Ritridata on a different drive
3. Run a Deep Scan on the affected volume
4. Filter by video file types (MOV, MP4, M4V)
5. Preview and recover the video to a safe location

💡 Tip: Large video files (particularly iPhone 4K recordings, which can be 1–6 GB each) have excellent recovery rates because their large size means they occupy substantial contiguous disk space that is less likely to be overwritten quickly.

FAQ

Q: Can I import an audio file directly into Voice Memos without converting it? Voice Memos does accept audio file imports via the Share Sheet — tap Share on any audio file → Voice Memos. This works with M4A and MP3 files. However, converting a video to audio first is required; you cannot import video directly into Voice Memos.

Q: Will extracting audio reduce quality compared to the original video audio? Using QuickTime's "Audio Only" export or iMovie's "Detach Audio" keeps the same audio codec as the original — typically AAC in iPhone videos. Re-encoding to MP3 in a third-party app does reduce quality. For best results, stay with M4A/AAC format throughout the process.

Q: Can I do this without iMovie or any paid apps? Yes — the Shortcuts method uses only built-in iOS apps (Shortcuts is pre-installed). QuickTime on Mac is also completely free and built in. No paid software is needed for basic audio extraction.

Q: Does this work for videos recorded in any app, not just the Camera Roll? The methods above work for any video file accessible from the Photos app or Files app on iPhone. Videos recorded in third-party apps (WhatsApp, Instagram, etc.) can usually be exported to Camera Roll first, then processed.

Q: Is there a file size limit for iMovie audio extraction on iPhone? iMovie handles videos of any length in the Camera Roll, but very long videos (1+ hour) may take several minutes to process during export. The file size limit is effectively your iPhone's available storage for the output file.

Q: What format does QuickTime export audio as? QuickTime Player on Mac exports audio as M4A (MPEG-4 Audio with AAC codec) when using the File → Export As → Audio Only option. M4A is compatible with iPhone Voice Memos, Apple Music, and most audio players.

References

• Apple Support — iMovie for iPhone User Guide
• Apple Support — QuickTime Player User Guide for Mac
• Apple Support — Shortcuts User Guide
• Apple Support — Use Voice Memos on iPhone
• Ritridata — Data Recovery Software