Starting from iOS 11, you can record your iPhone screen with just a few taps. It allows you to record what’s happening on the screen, create tutorials, capture gameplay, and more. In addition, you can also record internal and external audio, making the process richer and more functional.
Let’s get started and show you how to record screen on iPhone and iPad.
How to Enable Screen Recording on iPhone via Control Center
Before you can start recording your screen, you must add its button to the iPhone Control Center. Here’s how.
- Go to “Settings”and click on “Control Center”.
- Under MORE CONTROLS, tap the green plus icon to record your screen.
- It will be added to the INCLUDED CONTROLS section. You can exit settings now. If it has already been added, you can skip directly to the steps below.
How to Record Screen on iPhone and iPad
- Open Control Center.
- On an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the top right corner of the screen (where the battery icon is).
- On an iPhone with a home button, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
- To record your iPhone screen, click the “Screen Recorder”button.
- After three seconds, everything on your iPhone, including notifications, will be recorded. You can enable DND in advance so that future notifications do not interfere with screen recording.
- Important: Internal audio will be recorded along with the screen. That is, if you start screen recording and play a video in VLC or a song in Amazon Music, the audio of the movie (in VLC) or song (in Amazon Music) being played will also be recorded. Some apps such as Apple Music do not support internal audio recording during screen recording.
- Once you stop screen recording, it will be saved to the Photos app.
Guide to Screen Recording with Sound on iPhone and iPad
Do you want to record iPhone screen and audio at the same time? This can be useful when you are making a tutorial or recording gameplay with commentary. Let me show you how.
- Open Control Center.
- Press and hold the screen recording button.
- Click Microphone. It will turn red.
- Make sure “Photos”is selected and click “Start Recording”. Recording will start in three seconds.
- Important: Everything on the screen with internal audio and external audio will be recorded. For example, you record your gameplay on the screen. Now the visual effects of the game, the sound of the game and what you say will be recorded (unless the application restricts screen recording).
- Once you stop screen recording, it will be saved to the Photos app.
Note. When you long press the screen recording button (step 2 above), you can see several app names here. Photos is selected by default, which means the screen recording will be saved in the Photos app. If you choose another third party app, the screen recording can be broadcast/saved in that app. For example, you can use this feature to share your iPhone’s screen during a Zoom call. Instructions here. The Gmail app also supports this (for Google Meet).
Stop Screen Recording on iPhone and iPad
You can stop iPhone screen recording by touching the top red status bar on iPhone with the Home button. On iPhone models with Face ID, tap the tiny red tablet (which shows the time) in the top left corner. Finally, click Stop.
Alternatively, you can also open the Control Center and click the red Screen Recording button.
The screen recording file will be saved in the Photos app. Scroll down the Albums tab and under Media Types you will see Screen Recordings. Tap to view all screen recordings in one place.
How to Record iPhone Screen with Mac
If you have access to a Mac, you can use it to record your iPhone screen. I recently showed you how to record iPhone FaceTime calls with sound using this method. It’s fun and educational.
Let’s see how to use macOS to record iOS/iPadOS screen!
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac using the appropriate cable.
- On your Mac, open QuickTime Player from the Applications folder, the launcher, or using Spotlight.
- Click File → New Video Recording.
- Click the little down arrow and for Camera, choose iPhone. As for the microphone, you can choose the internal version. Also, drag the volume slider to the right.
- Finally, click the record button to start capturing what’s on your iPhone’s screen. Use your iPhone while your Mac is recording its screen. Just do not pull on the wire, otherwise the recording will fail. If you have an older phone, keep it flat on a surface so you don’t accidentally disconnect it from your Mac.
- When finished, press the stop button.
- Then click the tiny red close button in the top left corner of the QuickTime window.
- Now click “Save”to save the iPhone screen recording file on your Mac. You can AirDrop it to your iPhone if needed.
Note. In some apps (like FaceTime) you can’t record audio (unless you’re using a Mac. Steps above). Also, with some apps (such as Amazon Prime video), you can record the screen, but the recorded file will not have a movie or TV show on the screen. This is primarily to prevent piracy. Finally, you cannot record your screen and use screen mirroring at the same time.
Here is how you can record the screen of your iPhone or iPad. I hope this quick guide has helped you. If you have any confusion, please share it in the comments below. I will look and answer.