How to record audio from Android apps - Android Police

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Recording internal audio on an Android smartphone used to be surprisingly difficult without rooting or buying a phone from a specific manufacturer. But starting with Android 10, apps have gained a way to capture audio via the so-called broad audio input sharing API. While this was largely introduced as an accessibility-minded feature, like Live Caption, developers quickly caught on to its utility for adding internal audio recording to screen capture apps.

There's one thing you need to keep in mind: Apps can deactivate support for the audio API that screen recorders use. That means that sometimes, you just won't be able to hear audio in your recordings, even if you've properly activated the respective settings. This can be the case for phone apps in countries or states that forbid call recordings. And as you might guess, this also applies to most streaming services out there and some games, too. Be sure to test if your screen recorder properly retains audio before you record something important.

Native screen recorders

Most manufacturers these days have screen recorders built-in, like Google, Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Huawei. It's likely you'll have access to a tool just like that on your phone, so there might be no need for an extra app.

Google Pixel phones natively support recording device audio since Android 11. To access the tool, swipe down from the top of your screen twice to open the quick settings toggles. You may need to swipe left to see the screen recorder on the second page, but if it's not there, you'll need to hit the pencil button and add the tool to your quick settings toggles from there. Once you've accessed the screen recorder, make sure you've selected "Device audio" under "Record audio," and don't forget to flip on the toggle next to the drop-down menu.

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Google's screen recorder.

Samsung offers the feature as part of its custom One UI interface. If you haven't changed your quick settings toggles, accessible by swiping down twice from the top of your screen, you should find a tile labeled "Screen recorder" sitting on the second page. Long-press it to enter its settings and enable "Media sounds" to record your phone's audio. You can also activate both media and mic sound. Samsung additionally lets you draw on the screen and include a video of your front camera if you're so inclined.

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Samsung's built-in screen recorder.

OnePlus first added native screen recording to the OnePlus 7 Pro, and it's available on both older and newer devices. Look for the screen recorder entry in your quick setting tiles (you may need to add it by tapping the pencil icon at the bottom of the section) and hold it to head to its settings. There, you can choose internal audio as the source for your recording.

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OnePlus' built-in screen recorder.

Xiaomi offers native screen recording on most of its devices thanks to a pre-installed app called "Screen Recorder" which you should find somewhere on your homescreen. Once you open it, tap the gear icon in the top right corner and look for the "Sound source" entry to make sure you've got device audio recording enabled.

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Xiaomi's screen recorder.

Huawei and Honor also let you record your screen natively. Swipe down from the top of your screen to see the quick settings tiles and tap the screen recorder button. A floating bubble will appear with a record and microphone button. If the latter is crossed out, you're recording internal audio, and if it's not, you get sound straight from your phone's mic.

Third-party apps

If you don't have Android 10 or higher on your phone or a device made by Google, Samsung, OnePlus, Huawei, or Xiaomi, you'll likely be out of luck if you don't want to root your handset. Android 7 through 9 forbid screen recorders from accessing internal audio, so you'll be stuck with silent screencasts or you'll have to go for more hacky solutions, such as an external HDMI screen recorder. To check which Android release you have on your phone, enter the system settings and use the search box to find the "Android version."

You'll have to go through a similar workflow to set up the two apps presented here. They both come with floating control buttons, so you need to allow them to draw on top of other apps. Other necessary permissions include the microphone (if you want to record external audio) and files and media (to save the recorded files).

ADV Screen Recorder

ADV was among the first screen recorders to support the API when it was introduced in Android 10. When you start the app, you have to accept its privacy policy (mostly concerned with the collection of non-personally identifiable statistics) and give it access to external storage. Once you've set up ADV, you can head into Settings by tapping the three-dot overflow menu in the top right corner. Scroll down to the Audio settings and choose to record Internal audio (Android 10+).

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Go to settings and choose internal audio.

ADV comes with a floating button that allows you to stop and start recordings without entering your notification shade. It can be deactivated if you don't want to have it in your screencasts. As for advanced features, ADV lets you change the resolution, the bitrate, and the frame rate. It also offers a basic video editor that lets you trim your footage without the need for additional software.

AZ Screen Recorder

Unlike ADV, AZ Screen Recorder comes with ads, but you can fully disable them in exchange for a low fee. To record internal audio, you need to go to the rightmost tab (settings), look for the Audio source entry, and select Internal audio. Other than the regular options like changing the resolution, bitrate, and frame rate, the app gives you access to a suitable selection of editing features: You can trim or crop a video, cut out the middle, convert it to GIF, extract frames, add backgrounds, audio, text, and stickers, and you can even merge it with another recording.

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Go to settings (gear icon in top right) and choose internal audio.

If you want to get rid of the floating button, you can opt for the "magic button" instead — it's an invisible element that you can use to pause and stop recordings. It also allows you to draw on the screencast. AZ Screen Recorder is additionally capable of live streaming and Wi-Fi transfer, making it the more versatile of the two.

Choosing your preferred screen recorder comes down to preference — they're all pretty much comparable on a technical level, while some are more bare-bones than others. If you don't care about extra features like video editing, you can choose the one you find the most intuitive. And if you own one of the devices with built-in screencast capability, you don't even need to download an extra app.

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About The Author

Manuel Vonau (1508 Articles Published)

Manuel is a tech enthusiast and Android fan based in Berlin. When he's not writing articles for Android Police, he's probably out and about as a videographer.