M4A to text: transcribe M4A recordings from your iPhone, Mac or recorder
If a recording came from an Apple device, there's a good chance it's an M4A. Voice memos, QuickTime recordings and GarageBand exports all use it, and so do plenty of Android recorders and meeting apps. This page turns an M4A into text with a timestamp on every line, and the guide below explains where these files come from and how to get them to the tool.
What is an M4A file?
M4A stands for MPEG-4 Audio. It's the same container as an MP4 video, just without the picture, which is why some apps label it "MPEG-4 audio". Inside, the sound is usually compressed with AAC, a codec that keeps speech clear at small file sizes.
Some M4A files use Apple Lossless (ALAC) instead. For a voice recording they sound the same to your ears, but they're several times larger, which matters for the free tool (more on that below). One lookalike to know about: an .m4p file is a copy-protected track from the old iTunes Store, and it can't be transcribed.
Where M4A files come from
- iPhone and iPad Voice Memos. Every recording is saved as an M4A. Our voice memo to text guide walks through exporting one step by step.
- QuickTime Player on a Mac. File, New Audio Recording saves an M4A, which makes QuickTime a quick way to record a talk or a call on your laptop.
- GarageBand. When you export a project to disk and choose AAC, the result is an M4A. Podcasters who edit in GarageBand often end up here.
- Zoom local recordings. When you record a meeting to your computer, Zoom often saves an audio-only M4A next to the video. It's much smaller than the MP4 and transcribes just the same.
- Android recorders. Many recorder apps, including Samsung's Voice Recorder, save M4A by default or offer it as an option.
- Audio sent in chat apps. A recording forwarded from an iPhone keeps its M4A format. WhatsApp voice notes are different: they're usually Opus files, so use the audio file transcriber for those.
How to find and share an M4A file
On an iPhone, most apps have a Share button with a Save to Files option. Save the recording there, come back to this page in Safari, tap the upload box and pick the file from the folder you saved it to.
On a Mac, type m4a into the Finder search bar and sort by date to find the newest one. Then drag it straight into the box at the top of this page.
On Windows, search File Explorer for *.m4a and drag the file onto this page. If the recording is still on your iPhone, AirDrop won't reach a Windows PC, so email it to yourself or save it to iCloud Drive or another cloud folder first.
How to transcribe M4A to text
- Drop the M4A into the box at the top of this page, or click to choose it.
- Press Transcribe. A speech recognition model writes down every word and notes when each line starts. The language is detected for you.
- Read your M4A transcript on the page and copy what you need.
- Download it as .txt, .txt with timestamps or an .srt subtitle file with a free Claras account.
Lossless files and the 4 MB limit
Your first file is free with no account. The tool takes files up to about 4 MB and transcribes the first 10 minutes. A compressed AAC voice recording usually fits several minutes into that space, while a lossless M4A can reach 4 MB in about a minute.
If your iPhone records Voice Memos in lossless, you can switch new recordings back to compressed under Audio Quality in the Voice Memos section of the Settings app. For a big file you already have, re-export it as AAC or MP3 from GarageBand or another editor, or open it in the Claras app, which has no 4 MB limit.
M4A or MP3: does the format matter?
Not much. For transcription, what counts is how clearly the voices were recorded, not the container. AAC in an M4A generally sounds a little better than MP3 at the same small file size, so there's no reason to convert an M4A to MP3 just to transcribe it.
Converting only makes sense when you need to share the audio with a device or app that doesn't play M4A, or when a lossless file is too big. Each conversion between compressed formats loses a little detail, so if you do convert, start from the original recording.
When an M4A won't upload
- "Too big for the free tool." The file is over 4 MB. Trim it, re-export it compressed, or transcribe it in the Claras app, which takes files several hours long.
- "We couldn't read the audio." The file may be damaged, copy-protected (like an .m4p) or not really audio. Export it again as M4A or MP3 from the app that made it.
- It's actually a video. Camera clips and screen recordings are video files even when you only care about the sound. If yours is an MP4, use MP4 to text.
- It's an MP3 or WAV. This page only takes M4A. Use MP3 to text or the general audio file transcriber instead.
Getting an accurate M4A transcript
Most M4A recordings are made on a phone or laptop mic, so distance and room sound matter most. Put the phone between the people talking rather than at one end of the table, and choose a room with carpet and curtains over an echoey one.
For calls you record on a Mac, ask people to mute when they aren't talking. Two voices at once is the most common reason a line comes out garbled. And as with any transcript, check names, numbers and jargon before you share the text.
Longer M4A files in Claras
For a full meeting, a lecture or an hour of interviews, use the Claras app. It transcribes files several hours long, then gives you a summary with a TL;DR and key points, and an Ask AI chat whose answers cite the timestamp they come from. You can export to TXT, PDF or .srt, or send the transcript to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or NotebookLM.
The free account covers 1 hour of file transcription a month without a card. Pro is $5 a month for 10 hours, Unlimited is $12 a month for 100 hours, and both start with a 14-day free trial. See the pricing page for everything that's included.