Transcribe M4A without converting it
Choose an M4A file and AI (Whisper or SenseVoice) transcribes it as it is, inside your browser. The audio never reaches a server, and there is no account or payment.
You can normally leave this on Auto. Change it only if the result clearly has the wrong number of speakers
No file? Record with your microphone. Transcription starts after you stop recording (up to about 000 min on this device with the selected model). Your recording is not sent to any server either.
Transcribing iPhone voice memos on a computer
- In Voice Memos, tap the recording, tap the More button (…), then tap Share and choose AirDrop or “Save to Files”. To get it onto a Mac, use AirDrop or iCloud sync; on Windows, save it to iCloud Drive and open it with iCloud for Windows or iCloud.com.
- Open this page in a browser on your computer and choose the M4A file. Transcription starts as soon as the file is loaded, so set the model, language and speaker diarization first.
- Check the result and choose TXT, Word, SRT or another format under "Download".
About M4A
M4A usually stores audio compressed with AAC, and it is the save format used by iPhone Voice Memos, some Android recording apps and voice recorders. The compression inside can differ with the audio quality setting, but the extension is M4A either way, and this tool loads it without conversion.
If you tap Options in the Voice Memos share sheet and choose Editable, you get a QuickTime Audio file instead of M4A. For transcription, leave Editable unselected and export the default M4A file.
On iPhone 12 and later with iOS 18 or later, voice memos can be transcribed on the iPhone itself (not available in some countries or regions). However, you can only copy the text out: there is no feature to split lines by speaker or to export a subtitle file (SRT). For meetings and interviews it is easier to move the recording to a computer and process it with this tool.
If something goes wrong
- Processing a long recording on the iPhone itself can stop for lack of memory. Move it to a computer and process it there.
- To move files from Android, save them to Google Drive from the recording app's share menu, or connect over USB and open the recordings folder.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to convert M4A to MP3?
No. M4A loads as it is. Converting between compressed formats can lower the audio quality, so choose the original M4A.
Can I use it directly on an iPhone?
Yes. Save the voice memo to the Files app from the share menu, then choose that file on this page. Phones run in a reduced-memory mode and can process shorter lengths at once than a computer, so a computer is recommended for long recordings.
Can it tell speakers apart (speaker diarization)?
Yes. With speaker diarization on, lines are split by speaker (up to eight). You can rename speakers and merge a person who was split into two on screen.
Is there a file size limit?
No. There is no time limit either. How long a recording can be processed at once depends on your device's memory and the selected model.
Getting the audio ready, and after transcribing
Help us improve the service
Sending us the circumstances of a run — successful or failed — helps us track down problems (a failure rate needs both). Knowing which devices and settings fail most often lets us revise the recommended defaults and fix the bugs behind them. If you don't mind, leaving this on is a real help.
What is sent
Your device specs (GPU model, memory, core count), browser and OS, the model and language you chose, your speaker diarization setting (on or off, and the number of speakers you set), the page's display language, how far the run got (including when you stopped it or closed the page), the error type and details, the file's format with a rough size and length, and how long it took. A temporary number that links runs in the same tab (it is deleted when you close the tab). On the result screen: how many times you used editing (such as renaming speakers or splitting lines), translation, summaries and subtitle imports, the formats you chose under “Download”, how often you used “Copy text” and “Download all”, and the translation language pair.
What is never sent
Audio, transcripts (including speaker names and translations), file names, and IP addresses. The data goes only to this site's own server, never to a third-party service.