Updated: Dec 26, 2019

How To Convert Voice Memos to MP3/WAV in iTunes

How To Convert Voice Memos to MP3/WAV in iTunes

This is how to convert voice memos to mp3 in iTunes. Whether you recorded a melody, Foley, or anything from your iPhone, iPod, etc, you can transfer voice memos from your iPhone to your computer and turn them into a WAV file or even an MP3. These can be used in a Digital Audio Workstation (or DAW) to make sound effects, plan out musical notes, or even to use in a podcast.

Now recording with your phone or iPod microphone isn't the most glamorous option but when you're in a pinch, it can be the only way.

And hey, if you don't have a professional mic, you can get away with a lot just by using your phone.

Don't miss another opportunity when you're not in the studio or don't have a mic handy. Let's find out how.

Step 1: Connecting your Device

First, open up iTunes and connect your device to your computer, unless you already have your voice memos in iTunes.

Step 2: Sync your Device

An arrow pointing to the Device icon near the top left of iTunes.

Click on the devise icon near the top left, select this computer (under Backups), and if you want, under Options you can select “Sync only checked songs and videos”.

Showing the location of the Backup location, syncing options, and the sync button location in the devices page.

Then, click Sync. When it's done syncing, go to Songs on your computer's library.

Step 3: Changing Import Settings

Displaying the "Edit" dropdown and having Preferences highlighted.

After you're set up, go to the top left menu and select Edit > Preferences. When the window pops up, select “Import Settings”.

Having the "Import Settings" button pressed and accessing the file type dropdown to select the desired conversion.

Here you can select what file type you will be converting to such as WAV, MP3, AIFF, AAC, and Apple Lossless.

Pressing okay on both popup windows in iTunes to save changes.

Step 4: Converting Voice Memos

Once you've selected the format you want to convert to, select all of the files you want to convert and go to File > Convert > Create WAV/MP3.

Showing the dropdown for the "File" menu with "Create WAV/MP3 selected in the "Convert" sub-menu.

If you want to create a different file type, go back to Step 3 and change the Import Settings to a different Encoder.

Step 5: Displaying File Format

To help you find the ones that have already been converted, go to the category bar and right-click. Go down to "kind" and select it.

The right-click dropdown menu for the category bar with "Kind" being enabled.

This will show you the file format of everything in iTunes and you’ll notice the new files will be directly below the original voice memos.

Step 5.2 (optional): Alternative File Format Location

You can also check what format your voice memo is by right-clicking the file in iTunes and clicking "voice memo info" or “Song info” depending on what file it is.

The Right-click menu for both voice memos and MP3/WAV files.

Go to the File tab and it will show you the format on the top.

Accessing the File tab for the selected audio file.

Not only will it show you the file format but also other helpful information such as the size, bit rate, sample rate, and file location.

Step 6: Export Your New WAV/MP3 File

After that, you'll be able to drag and drop your file to any folder you'd like and start using it in your projects!

Dragging a file from iTunes to a folder on the computer.

You can even drag voice memos out of iTunes to create your own file backups or have the ability to move them manually between devices.

Summary of How to Convert Voice Memos To MP3

  1. Open iTunes and connect your device (e.g. iPod, iPhone, iPad).
  2. Click the device icon near the top left, select “this computer”, then click sync.
  3. Go to the top left menu and select Edit > Preferences, then “import settings”.
  4. Select all the files you want to convert and go to File > Convert, then create a new version.
  5. Right-click the category bar and enable “Kind” to see the file format of each AAC or MP3 file.
  6. Drag and drop the MP3 or WAV files from iTunes to any folder you would like.

That’s it, I hope it helped! If you still aren’t sure how to convert voice memos to MP3 or WAV in iTunes, feel free to leave a comment below asking for some help.

Or, leave a comment on my YouTube channel where I check it more often and can have an easier time responding.

As always, thanks for reading.

Featured Post


Featured blog post

Best Free DAWs


Join the newsletter for free stuff and some knowledge too!

Everything you need. No Spam. A heads up before others do.

By signing up for the newsletter you accept to receive direct Emails and newsletters to the email entered above. We will never spam or distribute your email address to anyone. We respect your privacy.


Comments are currently disabled