How to Convert a Voice Memo to MP3 or WAV (Free, for Musicians)

You hummed a hook in the car, freestyled a few bars over a beat on your laptop speakers, or recorded a melody idea before you forgot it. Now it lives in Voice Memos on your iPhone and you want it in FL Studio, Logic Pro, a beat site or a text to your producer. The problem: that recording is an M4A file, and not every app, tool or person wants M4A.

Here's how to get a voice memo off your phone and turn it into an MP3 or WAV for free, plus which format to pick and what to set before your next idea.

What format is a voice memo?

Voice Memos on iPhone and Mac saves recordings as .m4a files. M4A plays fine on Apple devices, but plenty of upload forms, beat sites, older software and collaborators expect an MP3 or a WAV. And if you want to build on the idea in a DAW, a WAV is simply the easiest file to work with.

Voice Memos also has an Audio Quality setting with two options. Apple describes them as Compressed (lower quality, smaller files) and Lossless (high quality, larger files). Compressed is the default. More on why that matters below.

Step 1: Get the voice memo off your iPhone

Before you can convert anything, you need the actual file somewhere a browser can reach it.

1. Open Voice Memos and tap the recording.
2. Tap the three dots (More) and choose Share.
3. Pick Save to Files and choose a folder, for example On My iPhone or iCloud Drive.

Prefer to work on a computer? From the same Share menu you can AirDrop the memo to your Mac or send it to yourself. On a Mac, Voice Memos lets you drag a recording straight from the app onto your desktop or into a Finder folder, and you get the M4A file.

Recording on Android? The share option in your recorder app works the same way. The file type depends on the app, but the converter below opens the common ones.

Step 2: Convert the voice memo to MP3 or WAV

You do not need to install an app for this. The free NameOnTheBeat Audio Converter runs in your browser, on your phone or on your computer. Your audio is not uploaded to a server and you do not need an account.

1. Open the Audio Converter and drop your M4A file in the box, or tap Choose files and pick it from Files.
2. Choose the format: MP3 to share it, WAV to work with it in a DAW.
3. Pick the quality. For MP3, 320 kbps is the safe choice. For WAV, 16-bit works for a voice memo.
4. Choose the sample rate: 44.1 kHz is the standard for music, 48 kHz if your project or video runs at 48 kHz.
5. Tap Convert. The new file downloads right away. On an iPhone, Safari downloads usually end up in the Downloads folder in the Files app.

Files up to 150 MB work, which covers even a very long memo.

MP3 or WAV: which one should you pick?

• MP3 if you just want to send the idea: to your producer, a co-writer, a group chat or an email. Small file, plays everywhere.
• WAV if you want to drop the memo into FL Studio, Logic Pro, Ableton or another DAW and build on it, chop it or line it up with a beat. Most music software handles WAV without any issue.

One thing to know: converting does not make the audio better. A compressed memo turned into a WAV sounds exactly like the compressed memo, just in a bigger file. A WAV is still useful because it is easy to work with, but the quality is set the moment you hit record. We explain this in more detail in WAV to MP3: which quality to choose and what you lose.

Step 3: Use the idea in your music

Once you have a WAV or MP3, a voice memo becomes a real building block instead of a forgotten file.

• Find the key of your hummed melody. Drop the file into our free Beat Lab key and BPM finder (up to 25 MB, between 5 seconds and 5 minutes) to get a key and tempo estimate, then test it by ear. That makes it much easier to pick chords or a beat in the same key. Clear, sustained humming or singing gives the detector more to work with than talking. Need more ways to do this? Read how to find the key of a song.
• Drop it into your DAW as a guide track. Drag the WAV into the FL Studio playlist or onto an audio track in Logic Pro, line it up with the beat and write or produce around it. Then re-record the real vocal over it.
• Send a clean reference. Producers work faster with a short MP3 that starts right at the idea. Trim the silence at the start and give the file a clear name, like "hook idea 92 bpm".

Set this before your next voice memo

If you often record song ideas on your phone, switch Voice Memos to Lossless. On iPhone, open the Settings app, go to Voice Memos (on newer iOS versions you find it under Apps) and tap Audio Quality. It only affects new recordings, and the files get bigger, but the ideas you save will sound closer to what you actually performed.

A few more habits that help:

• Keep the phone at a steady distance from your mouth, roughly a hand's width or a bit more, so the level does not jump around.
• Turn the beat down if you record over speakers. The memo should mainly catch your voice, not a distorted beat.
• Say the tempo or beat name at the start of the memo, so you still know what it belonged to in three months.

From memo to a finished vocal

A voice memo is perfect for catching ideas, but it is not meant to be the final vocal on your release. When the idea is ready, record the real take in your DAW with a microphone and a quiet room. If you work in Logic Pro or FL Studio and want a starting point for your mix, take a look at our vocal presets for Logic Pro and FL Studio. Check the DAW on the product page and then adjust the preset to your own voice and beat.

FAQ

Can I convert a voice memo to MP3 on my iPhone without an app?

Yes. Save the memo to Files, open the free Audio Converter in Safari, choose the M4A file and convert it to MP3. Everything happens in your browser.

Does converting a voice memo to WAV improve the quality?

No. A conversion cannot bring back detail that was never recorded. For better quality, switch Voice Memos to Lossless before you record.

Why does my voice memo show up as M4A?

That is the format Voice Memos uses for its recordings. It is a normal audio file, it is just not accepted everywhere, which is why converting to MP3 or WAV helps.

Can I convert several voice memos at once?

The free converter does one file at a time. Audio Converter Pro, a one-time purchase, converts multiple files at once and gives you a ZIP.

Looking for more free tools for your ideas and beats, like a chord generator, master checker or slowed + reverb maker? Check out all our free music tools.