How to Extract Audio From a Video on iPhone (3 Ways)
The short answer
iPhone has no built-in "save audio" button in Photos or iMovie, so you need one of three routes. If you want an M4A and don't mind building a shortcut, use the Shortcuts app's Encode Media action with Audio Only turned on. If you want an MP3, a WAV or a choice of quality, open a browser-based converter such as my video to audio converter in Safari, pick the clip from Photos and download the result to Files. App Store converter apps work too, but most of them come with ads or a subscription for a one-file job.
Why iPhone makes this harder than it should be
Every iPhone video already contains a separate audio track, usually AAC at somewhere between 128 and 256 kbps. Getting it out means copying that track into an audio-only file, which is a small job. Apple just never put a button for it in the apps people use. Photos can trim, crop and mute a clip, but it can't export the sound by itself. iMovie on iPhone can detach audio inside a project, but its share options still produce a video.
So the three options below all do the same underlying thing: read the video, keep the audio track, drop the picture, and save the result as a file you can find in the Files app.
Option 1: Shortcuts with Encode Media (built in, M4A only)
The Shortcuts app ships with every iPhone, and its Encode Media action has an Audio Only switch. Build the shortcut once and you can run it from the Share sheet on any video in Photos.
1.Create a new shortcut
Open Shortcuts, tap +, and in the shortcut's details turn on Show in Share Sheet, set to accept Media.
2.Add Encode Media
Search for the Encode Media action, add it, tap the arrow to expand its options and turn on Audio Only. The format is M4A.
3.Add Save File
Add Save File after it and turn on Ask Where to Save, so you can pick a folder in Files each time.
4.Run it from Photos
Open a video in Photos, tap Share, scroll to your shortcut and tap it. Choose a folder and the M4A lands there.
What's good: nothing to install, it works offline, and once it exists it's two taps from any video.
The limits: you only get M4A, with no bitrate choice. Building it takes a few minutes, and the Share sheet setup is fiddly the first time. People on accessibility forums who use this method say the same thing: it works, but getting it set up is the hard part. If the file has to be an MP3 for an older car stereo or an upload form, this route doesn't get you there.
Option 2: Safari, no app (MP3, M4A, WAV or OGG)
Safari on a recent iPhone can decode and encode audio inside a web page, so a converter can run entirely on the phone. That's how I built mine.
1.Open the converter in Safari
Go to the video to audio converter, tap browse and choose Photo Library.
2.Pick a format and quality
MP3 is selected by default. Switch to M4A if the file is going into Apple Music or GarageBand, or WAV if you'll edit it. For MP3 and M4A, choose 128, 192 or 320 kbps.
3.Convert and download
Tap convert, play the result in the page to check it, then tap download. Safari saves it to the Files app, in Downloads unless you changed that.
What's good: you choose the format and the bitrate, it handles MOV clips straight from Photos including HEVC ones, and it shows you a player so you can check the sound before you save anything. The conversion runs in Safari on the phone, so the video stays on the device.
The limits: keep Safari in front until it finishes. iOS pauses background tabs, so switching to another app halfway stops the conversion until you come back. The first MP3 conversion also takes a few extra seconds, because Safari has no built-in MP3 encoder and the page downloads one (about 30 MB) the first time. Your browser caches it after that.
Option 3: An App Store converter app
Search "video to MP3" in the App Store and you'll find plenty of free apps. The better ones offer batch conversion, trimming and a few extra formats.
What's good: they work offline and some handle a dozen clips at once, which neither option above does well.
Watch out for: free tiers that cap length or quality until you subscribe, full-screen ads between steps, and requests for access to your whole photo library when the app only needs one clip. Read the free tier's limits on the App Store page before you hand an app your video.
An app makes sense if you pull audio from videos every week. For one file, Shortcuts or Safari is less hassle.
Which one should you use?
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| An M4A, and you'll do this often | Shortcuts with Encode Media |
| An MP3 for a car, an old player or an upload form | Safari converter |
| A WAV to edit in GarageBand or on a computer | Safari converter |
| To choose the bitrate | Safari converter |
| A folder of clips converted in one go | An App Store app with batch mode |
| To work with no internet at all | Shortcuts, or an app |
Not sure which format to save? MP3 plays everywhere. M4A sounds slightly better at the same size and is native to Apple's apps. WAV is for editing. I compare all of them in MP3 vs. WAV vs. M4A.
Why is my extracted audio silent?
Two iPhone habits cause this. The first is screen recordings: iOS records the screen with the microphone off unless you long-press the record button in Control Center and tap Microphone. Streaming apps also block their own audio from screen recordings, so a recording of a show or a song often contains silence by design.
The second is videos that never had sound, such as clips exported with the audio muted in Photos. A good converter tells you the file has no audio track instead of handing you an empty MP3. Mine does.
Why is my audio file only 3 seconds long?
You probably picked a Live Photo. Each Live Photo carries a short MOV of about three seconds, and the Photos picker can hand that clip over as if it were a video. Filter Photos to Videos before you pick, and you'll get the clip you meant.
How do I extract audio from only part of a video?
Trim the video first. Open it in Photos, tap Edit, drag the yellow handles to the part you want, then tap Done and choose Save Video as New Clip. Convert that new clip, and the original stays untouched. You can also trim the audio file afterwards in GarageBand.
Where does the file go?
Both Shortcuts and Safari save to the Files app, not to Photos, because Photos only stores pictures and videos. Safari uses the Downloads folder by default. From Files you can share the audio to WhatsApp or Mail, open it in GarageBand, or add it to Apple Music on a Mac.
The short version
For an M4A and a reusable button, build the Encode Media shortcut once. For an MP3, a WAV or any choice of quality, open the video to audio converter in Safari and keep the tab in front until it finishes. If you want the words rather than the sound, video to text turns the speech into a transcript instead.