How to convert video to MP3 on iPhone

M4A or MP3: what your iPhone can make

Apple’s own tools save audio as M4A, which is AAC sound in an MPEG-4 file. M4A plays on iPhone, Mac, Windows, Android and most websites, so for many uses it is all you need. A real MP3 matters when an older car stereo, a school portal or an upload form accepts only .mp3 files.

Renaming a file from .m4a to .mp3 does not convert it. The sound inside is still AAC, and strict players or upload forms may reject it or play nothing. If you need MP3, convert the audio properly, either in Safari on the phone or later on a computer with a player such as VLC.

Save the audio with the Shortcuts app

Shortcuts is preinstalled on current iPhones (you can get it from the App Store if you deleted it). You build the shortcut once and reuse it for every video.

1. Open the Shortcuts app and tap + to create a new shortcut.
2. Tap Add Action, search for Select Photos and add it. When the shortcut runs, this lets you pick a video from your library.
3. Search for Encode Media and add it below. Expand the action’s options and turn on Audio Only.
4. Search for Save File and add it as the last action, with Ask Where to Save turned on.
5. Rename the shortcut (for example, Video to audio) and tap Done.
6. Tap the shortcut to run it, choose a video and pick a folder. The .m4a file appears in the Files app.

Action names and the layout of their options can vary slightly between iOS versions. Videos kept only in iCloud are downloaded first, so long clips can take a moment before encoding starts.

To run the shortcut from the Photos app instead, open the shortcut’s details and turn on the option to show it in the share sheet. Then open a video in Photos, tap the share button and pick the shortcut from the list. In that case the video is passed in directly, so you can remove the Select Photos action.

Get a real MP3 in Safari

For an actual .mp3, a browser converter avoids installing an app. The steps below use a converter that works on the phone itself instead of uploading your video; other web converters follow a similar pattern.

1. Open the video to MP3 page in Safari.
2. Tap to choose a file, then pick Photo Library or Choose File to find your video.
3. Check that Save as is set to Audio only and the format is MP3, then tap Save MP3.
4. Tap Download MP3. By default Safari puts the file in the Downloads folder in the Files app.

Find and use the audio file

Open the Files app, go to the folder you chose (or Downloads) and tap the file to play it. Touch and hold it to rename, move or share it, or attach it to a message or email from those apps.

• Trim first if you only need part of the sound: in Photos, tap Edit, drag the ends of the timeline, tap Done and choose Save Video as New Clip, then convert that clip.
• Keep the original video. Both methods create a new audio file and leave the video untouched.
• Use Wi-Fi for long videos stored in iCloud, since they are downloaded to the phone before converting.