How do I screen record on an iPhone?
- Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to open Control Center.
- Tap the gray Record button (a solid circle inside a ring).
- Wait for the three-second countdown.
- Exit Control Center — recording continues in the background, and the status bar turns red.
- To stop, tap the red status bar at the top of the screen and confirm, or open Control Center again and tap the Record button.
Apple's support page confirms Control Center can also capture audio during the recording. Recordings save automatically to the Photos app once you stop.
My iPhone doesn't have a Screen Recording button — how do I add it?
On current iOS, Control Center customization happens inside Control Center itself, not through a Settings menu:
- Open Control Center (swipe down from the top-right corner).
- Tap the edit button in the top-left corner of Control Center to enter editing mode.
- Tap Add a Control to open the controls gallery.
- Find Screen Recording and tap it to add it to Control Center.
- Swipe up from the bottom center of the screen to close editing.
Caveat: older iOS versions (iOS 17 and earlier) added Control Center controls through Settings > Control Center instead. If your iPhone still shows that path, use it the same way — find Screen Recording in the list and tap the green plus button next to it. Check which layout you're on before following either version of the steps.
How do I screen record on a Windows laptop?
- Press Windows+G to open Xbox Game Bar.
- Press Windows+Alt+R to start recording the active app window.
- Do whatever you want to capture on screen.
- Press Windows+Alt+R again to stop.
Microsoft's support documentation confirms the recording saves as an MP4 file under Videos > Captures, with the app name and the date/time in the filename. You can toggle the microphone during recording with Windows+Alt+M, or grab a quick screenshot mid-recording with Windows+Alt+PrtScn.
How do I screen record on a MacBook?
- Press Cmd+Shift+5 to open the Screenshot app toolbar.
- Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion (a Record Selected Window option is also available on macOS Tahoe 26 and later).
- Optionally click Options first to choose a microphone or a save location.
- Click Record to begin.
- Click the Stop button in the menu bar (a dark circle icon) when you're done.
The finished recording opens as a thumbnail in the corner of the screen, and it saves to the desktop by default unless you set a different location in Options.
Sound, storage and battery notes
iPhone screen recording captures on-device audio (app sounds, video playback) by default, and adding your own voice is a separate step — long-press the Record button before you start and turn the microphone on. Skipping that step is the most common reason a Nigerian creator's screen recording comes out silent on voice-over.
On a Windows laptop, Xbox Game Bar records audio from the app you're capturing plus your microphone if you toggle it on with Windows+Alt+M; it does not add a separate system-wide narration track after the fact, so check your mic is on before you start, not after. On a MacBook, the Options menu inside Cmd+Shift+5 is where you pick a microphone before recording — there's no way to add narration once the recording has stopped.
Screen recordings are video files, so they use noticeably more storage than a screenshot and can drain battery faster on a phone, especially over long sessions. If you're recording a long tutorial or demo, keep the phone or laptop plugged in and check available storage first — a recording that stops mid-way because storage ran out is a common frustration this guide is meant to help you avoid.
People also ask
Does iPhone screen recording capture sound?
Yes, device audio is captured by default. To also record your voice through the microphone, press firmly on (or touch and hold) the Record button before starting, then tap the microphone icon to turn it on.
Where do Windows laptop screen recordings get saved?
Xbox Game Bar saves recordings as MP4 files in the Videos folder, inside a subfolder called Captures, according to Microsoft's support documentation.
Can I record just part of my MacBook screen instead of the whole thing?
Yes. In the Cmd+Shift+5 toolbar, choose Record Selected Portion instead of Record Entire Screen, then drag to set the area before clicking Record.