How to Record Audio with Android & Get the Best Transcription

For many, a smartphone is a treasured possession. With the capability to store photos, record audio and video, stream movies, and play games, long gone are the days of a mobile being used for its primary purpose.

In fact, our phones have become valuable business tools. With the recording features they possess, meetings, training sessions, interviews and more can all be stored and shared in an instant.

How can you utilise these capabilities to the maximum so that your recordings can be transcribed quickly and accurately? In this blog, we’ll look at how to record audio on Android, helping you get it right first time.

When you require audio files to be transcribed, simply speak to our team for high-quality audio transcription.

What is an Android phone?

Some of us are still relatively new to the world of smartphones. In this space where iPhone, Samsung, and Google seem to dominate the market, the vast capabilities of each model can be overwhelming. To keep things simple, a fair assumption would be that if your phone isn’t an iPhone, it’s an Android.

Android is the operating system your phone uses, and where Apple devices use iOS, the phones made by Samsung, Google, Motorola, Sony and others all use the Android system.

Despite the technology behind the screen fundamentally being the same across all Androids, each manufacturer incorporates its use in different ways. For example, each Android device may have an inbuilt voice recorder, but how you access it may vary across handsets. This is somewhat different to Apple, who uses the same voice recorder app across each of its devices.

Why would I record audio with an Android phone?

There could be a number of reasons for recording audio on an Android device. From the recreational to the professional, having access to an audio recording can help you relive moments that made you laugh or retrieve important quotes from a meeting. Recording on an Android device could be used for:

• HR interviews
• Job interviews
• Recording training sessions
• Leaving yourself important notes
• A study aid

If you need to record audio with an Android device, it’s simple to facilitate. Each manufacturer may have a slightly different way of accessing the recording app, but it’s easy enough regardless of the Android handset you have. Simply follow the steps below:

Swipe up on your home screen

Swiping up gives you an overview of all the apps currently on your smartphone. In many cases, a search bar will appear at the top of the screen. Tap this and type “recorder.” Depending on your phone, your voice recording app should then show.

However, some phones label their recorder as “memo”, so this could also be a worthwhile search.

If you are unable to type into a search bar, scroll through the apps until you find one called voice recorder, recorder, memo or notes.

If no app appears under any of these names, you can visit your app store and download it.

Open the app

Tap the app to open it. You’ll be presented with a simple screen with a ‘record’ button on display. At this stage, you might not want to record immediately – you’ll be best off checking the settings to ensure you obtain the best possible recording.

Tap the menu and access settings

Depending on your phone model, you should have a menu located on the recording screen. It will appear as the “burger” menu of three stacked lines, or may simply be a button saying “menu.” Hit this and find the settings option.

Within these options, you’ll find settings for how your audio files will be stored, which format the app records in, and the recording quality. With Samsung phones, for example, many Galaxy models offer three modes for recording: standard, interview, and STT.

Standard is the most basic audio recording option. This is perhaps ideal for capturing something spontaneous to refer back to later.

Interview mode takes advantage of both microphones on the phone, allowing optimal audio capture during an interview or two-way conversation.

STT, also known as Speech-to-text, is where the phone records and transcribes. Limited to just ten minutes of audio, it can be handy if you need to document something but cannot write it down.

As a side note, the first time you access the recorder app, you might be asked to grant specific permissions such as access to music and audio.

Hit record

Once the settings are organised, you can go ahead and record. Simply hit the record button (in some cases, it looks like a microphone) and record the conversation. Once finished, just hit stop. You’ll have an option to save the recording and play it back again if you’d like to check it over. You’ll find the completed recording within the app, often on its home screen.

If any editing is then needed before transcription, you can open the recording and tap the pencil icon. This will let you cut out parts of the conversation that are no longer needed, which can be especially helpful for erasing any silences at the beginning and end of the audio file.

Share your recording with a transcription service

With the recording now complete, the app allows you to share it. You’ll be able to attach it to an email, send it in WhatsApp or share in a direct message via social media.

At McGowan Transcriptions, we’ll accept your audio recording for transcription via email or the secure uploading facility on our website.

If you choose to send via email, simply attach the audio file and send it to our team at mcgowantranscriptions@globallounge.co.uk. To make use of our uploading tool, just follow these simple instructions. Once we have received your files, we’ll send you an email to confirm safe receipt.

How can I record audio with Android if I don’t have a voice recorder?

Most Android phones will have a voice recorder built in. However, the older models often don’t. Head to your Google Play Store and search for voice recording apps. There are a variety available, most of which are typically free. Before choosing an app, it’s also worth checking their reviews, privacy policies, and storage policies. You may wish to choose one of the following apps:

• Easy Voice Recorder
• Smart Voice Recorder
• RecForge II

Are my Android audio recordings safe with a transcription company?

Yes – at McGowan Transcriptions, we take the security of your audio files extremely seriously. Your Android audio files are protected by:

• Being held on a dedicated UK server.
• Daily third-party McAfee scans.
• AES 256-bit encryption with SSAE 16 certification.

Best practices for how to record audio with Android

Before you conduct your recording, there are some things worth putting in place to ensure the best possible recording. This will not only help for when you play the file back, but will aid the transcribers in detecting tones, pauses and any complex language that may be used.

We would always recommend the following:

• Ensure speakers are not sitting too far apart.
• Remove anything that could create additional background noise.
• Position the microphones suitably so that audio is clearly picked up from all speakers.
• Set the phone to “do not disturb” mode if possible.
• Inform others that you are using the room for recording. This will help stop any interruptions.
• Test the Android audio recorder with a colleague before conducting an interview or training session.
• Ensure the phone is sufficiently charged.
• Close windows or doors to prevent additional noises being picked up.

If you are recording important information on your Android device and require accurate, non-AI transcription services, contact our team. At McGowan Transcriptions, we use only the most skilled transcribers to help deliver accurate interview transcription, medical transcriptions, legal transcriptions and more. Contact us today to see how we can help.