Transcriber

Transcribe M4A without converting it

Choose an M4A file and Whisper AI transcribes it as it is, inside your browser. The audio never reaches a server, and there is no account or payment.

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OnBeta

You can normally leave this on Auto. Change it only if the result clearly has the wrong number of speakers

Transcribing iPhone voice memos on a computer

  1. In Voice Memos, press and hold the recording and choose AirDrop or “Save to Files” from the share menu. AirDrop is fastest on a Mac; on Windows, use iCloud Drive or a USB connection.
  2. 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.
  3. Check the result and export it as a TXT or SRT file.

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 pick “Export Movie” in the Voice Memos share menu, you get an MP4 file instead of M4A. MP4 transcribes as it is too, so there is no need to go back and choose again.

On some iPhone models, voice memos can be turned into text on the iPhone itself. That cannot split lines by speaker or export a subtitle file (SRT), though, so for meetings and interviews it is easier to move the recording to a computer and process it with this tool.

If something goes wrong

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 files are capped at 500 MB, so a computer is recommended for long recordings.

Can it separate speakers?

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?

Up to 2 GB per file, or 500 MB on phones. There is no time limit.

Getting the audio ready, and after transcribing

MP3 transcriptionPick an MP3 file and turn it into text.Video (MP4) transcriptionExtract the audio from MP4 and other videos and turn it into text.Subtitle (SRT) generationGenerate timecoded subtitles from audio or video.Transcription with Whisper AIUse Whisper to transcribe without installing anything.Meeting transcriptionTurn meeting recordings into minutes, split by speaker.Recording transcriptionTurn voice recorder files and long recordings into text.See all featuresTranscribe audio and video files entirely in your browser. No account and no upload — your audio never leaves your device. Free with no time or usage limits. Whisper AI transcription of MP3, WAV, M4A, MP4 and more, plus speaker diarization and SRT subtitle export.

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, how far the run got, the error details, the file's format with a rough size and length, and how long it took.

What is never sent

Audio, transcripts, file names, and IP addresses. The data goes only to this site's own server, never to a third-party service.