Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. Guides

How to send a voice message on your iPhone

Bryan M. Wolfe
By

Typing out text messages to people is one of the simplest functions of your iPhone. However, there are times where you need to send a message but can't easily type on your keyboard — whether you're out grocery shopping, cooking, doing dishes, etc.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • An iPhone

Luckily, your iPhone 15 or other iOS device has a tool that lets you record and send audio messages directly from the Messages app. Here’s how it works.

A screenshot of a voice message being recorded on an iPhone.
Digital Trends

How to send a voice message on your iPhone

To send a voice message on your iPhone, simply follow these directions:

Step 1: First, open the Message app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Choose an Existing message from the list or tap the Message icon at the top right to begin a new message. In that case, choose a New contact.

Related

Step 3: Tap the + at the bottom left, then select Audio.

Screenshot showing how to start an audio file in Messages on iPhone.
Digital Trends

Step 4: Using your voice, Record a message.

Step 5: Tap the red square icon to Stop recording.

Screenshot showing how to record and send an audio message in the Messages app on iPhone.
DIgital Trends

Step 6: Tap the Up arrow to send the message, or tap the + icon to add time to the message. Alternatively, tap the X icon to delete the message.

Step 7: You can listen to an audio message prior to sending it. To do so, after tapping the Red square icon to stop recording, choose the icon that shows a Right arrow to listen to the recording.

Screenshot showing how to listen to an audio file through the Messages app on iPhone.
Digital Trends

Step 8: Tap the Pause icon to pause the recording.

How to save an audio message

After you send or listen to an audio message, you have two minutes to save it to your phone. Otherwise, it gets deleted automatically. To save it:

Step 1: Open the Message app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Choose the message that has the audio message.

Screenshot showing how to keep an audio recording in the Messages app on iPhone.
Digital Trends

Step 3: Tap Keep under the audio message to keep it. The audio message will remain in the Messages app.

Just like that, you've become a pro at recording, sending, and saving audio messages! You can send audio messages to other iMessage users and your Android contacts using SMS texting, so feel free to send audio messages to whoever you'd like.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Bryan M. Wolfe
Bryan M. Wolfe
Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.
The best iPhone 15 Plus cases in 2024: 15 best ones right now
A person holding the Apple iPhone 15 Plus.

Apple's iPhone 15 Plus is here, and it packs a big punch. With the iPhone 15 Plus, you have a large, crystal-clear 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with the Dynamic Island, the A16 Bionic chip for fast performance with iOS 17, and a powerful dual-camera setup with 48MP main and 12MP ultrawide lenses. And of course, you can charge it up with USB-C, as Apple has finally ditched Lightning with the iPhone 15 lineup.

However, the iPhone 15 Plus still starts at a hefty $899 for the base model, which is a hefty chunk of change. You'll definitely want to protect your investment, and one of the easiest ways to do so is with a good case (and a screen protector helps out too!). Here are some of the best iPhone 15 Plus cases you can buy right now.

Read more
The best iPhone 15 cases in 2024: our 20 favorites
New cases for the iPhone 15.

The iPhone 16 may be only a few months away now, but Apple's iPhone 15 is still a great buy. It may even turn out to be a rare gem in the churn of year-over-year upgrades. This time around, Apple packed in some significant improvements compared to its 2022 predecessor, including the new 48-megapixel sensor and new 2x optical zoom, making for one of the biggest camera upgrades to come to a standard model since the iPhone 11 adopted the dual-lens camera design in 2019.

However, just because the iPhone 15 is the most affordable pick in Apple's new lineup doesn't mean you shouldn't consider adding some protection. Apple's Ceramic Shield glass is durable, but it's not indestructible, and it's only on the front display — the back of the phone is made from normal glass that will shatter or crack quite easily if you drop your iPhone, as well as collect scratches from the bumps and scrapes of everyday life. The good news is that the popularity of the iPhone means you'll never be faced with a shortage of choices for the best and most stylish protection for your device. In fact, there are so many different companies making iPhone cases that it can be overwhelming, so we've rounded up a few of the best picks below, from clear and classy cases that let the iPhone's colorful back shine through to rugged tactical cases that will serve you well through life's most extreme adventures.

Read more
How to stop spam texts on iPhone and Android phones
iPhone showing a spam text with the Report Junk option.

Everyone from legitimate marketers to outright scammers wants to get your attention these days. With a mobile phone in nearly every pocket, many of these have turned to SMS text messages as a way to extend their reach. After all, it's a fast means of communication that's much more likely to be noticed than traditional email messages. Plus, there aren't nearly as many spam filtering solutions available for dealing with text messages, making them ripe for abuse. Here, we explore your options for reducing spam, depending on your phone type.

Read more