Convert an iPhone Voice Memo (.m4a) to MP3. No iTunes, no upload.
Drop an .m4a or .aac file — iPhone Voice Memos, Apple-recorded clips, songs, podcast snippets. We re-encode it as MP3 right here in your browser tab. Works on iPhone Safari, Android Chrome, and any desktop browser. Batch a folder full of voice memos and get a zip back.
drop your M4A here
or click to pick. AAC files also supported.
Why iPhones save voice memos as M4A, not MP3
Apple set AAC (the codec inside M4A) as the default for everything its devices record. At equal sound quality, an .m4a file is around 20% smaller than the equivalent MP3 — better for storage and for syncing across iCloud. The trouble starts when you try to share that file. Plenty of older players, recording apps, transcription tools, and Android devices either can't open M4A directly or do something wrong with it. Re-encoding to MP3 is the universal escape hatch.
What this is good for
- Send a voice memo to someone on Android — drop the .m4a, get an .mp3 they can play in any messaging app.
- Upload to Otter, Notta, Notion AI, Fireflies for transcription — most accept M4A in theory but ingest MP3 more reliably, especially for batches.
- Import a voice memo into Audacity — Audacity won't open .m4a without the FFmpeg add-on. Convert here and skip the install.
- Send a memo as an email attachment — MP3 is the format Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail all preview inline.
- Drop into a DAW that doesn't accept M4A — Reaper, older Pro Tools, FL Studio old versions.
- Archive a long Voice Memos library to a single folder — drop all of them at once, get a zip of MP3s.
How to get your voice memo off iPhone first
- Open the Voice Memos app and find the recording.
- Tap the three-dots menu, choose Share, then Save to Files — or email it to yourself.
- Open this page in your iPhone's Safari, drop the file in. The MP3 downloads back to Files.
On a Mac, voice memos sync automatically to ~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.voicememos/Recordings/ if you have iCloud enabled. Drop them in from Finder.
How it works
Your browser already decodes AAC inside M4A natively (it's how Safari plays Apple Music previews). We hand the decoded samples to a tiny JavaScript MP3 encoder running in your tab. No upload, no codec install, no server round-trip. The first conversion warms up the encoder; subsequent files are near-instant.
FAQ
How do I convert an iPhone voice memo to MP3 without iTunes?
You don't need iTunes. Share the voice memo from the Voice Memos app to Files (or email it to yourself), open this page in your browser, drop the .m4a in, and download the MP3.
Will converting M4A to MP3 reduce the audio quality?
Slightly, in theory — both are lossy formats so re-encoding adds a tiny generation loss. At 192 kbps or higher the difference is inaudible for voice memos and almost all music.
Will the MP3 be bigger than the original M4A?
Usually yes, by about 20–30% at equivalent quality. AAC is just a more efficient codec than MP3. If size matters, pick 128 kbps.
Does it work on iPhone Safari?
Yes. Open the page in Safari, drop the .m4a, get the MP3 back. Very large files (>200 MB) can hit iOS memory caps on Safari — desktop is safer for those.
Can I convert a whole folder of voice memos at once?
Yes. Select all of them in the file picker (or drag the whole folder onto the drop target). You'll get a zip of MP3s back, original filenames preserved.
Does my file get uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in your browser. Open this page, switch to airplane mode, drop a file — it still works.
How big can the file be?
Around 500 MB on a typical laptop. Past 1 GB the browser starts running out of memory.