How to export a Voice Memos transcript on iPhone (as text, SRT or Markdown)

Voice Memos cannot export its transcript as a file. On iOS 18 through iOS 27 the only way out is the More button on a recording: Copy Transcript for all of it, or View Transcript to select a part, and then you paste it somewhere. If you need a real .txt, .srt or Markdown file, save the recording to Files and open it in a transcription app that exports — this guide shows both ways.

What can Voice Memos do with a transcript?

More than most people realize, and less than most people need. According to Apple's iPhone User Guide, Voice Memos transcribes speech on an iPhone 12 or later in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Chinese, though "not in all countries or regions". You can watch the transcript live while recording (swipe up from the top of the waveform, then tap the Transcription button), search every memo's transcript from the search field, and tap a word to jump the playhead there. Recordings made on iOS 17 or earlier are transcribed automatically the first time you open them.

What it does not do is hand you a document. There is no "Export transcript", no file format to pick, no timestamps in what you copy, and nothing in Apple's guide about telling speakers apart.

How do you copy a Voice Memos transcript into a document?

1. Open Voice Memos and tap the recording.
2. Tap the More button (the three dots).
3. Choose Copy Transcript to copy all of it, or View Transcript, select the part you want, and tap Copy.
4. Paste it into a note, an email, a Pages or Google Docs document — and save that document as the file you need.

That works for a one-off. It gets tedious fast for a weekly meeting, and the pasted text is one long block: no speaker names, no times, no paragraphs where the conversation changed hands.

Why can't you get SRT subtitles from Voice Memos?

An SRT file is the transcript cut into short lines, each with a start and end time, so a video player knows when to show it. The text Voice Memos copies has the words but none of those times, so no amount of pasting turns it into subtitles. The timing has to come from the tool that made the transcript.

How do you get a .txt, .srt or Markdown file on the iPhone?

Move the recording to an app that exports. With Pithflow it takes three steps, and the transcript is made on the phone, so the memo never gets uploaded anywhere.

1. Save the memo to Files. In Voice Memos, tap the recording, tap More, tap Share, scroll down and tap Save to Files, pick a folder and tap Save. It saves as an .m4a file (Apple's default).
2. Import it into Pithflow. In Pithflow's Notes library, tap Import audio, choose the Language of the recording, then Choose a file and pick the memo. It is transcribed on the phone, the speakers are separated, and the notes are written.
3. Export the format you need. Open the note, tap Share, and choose Text (.txt), Subtitles (.srt), Markdown (.md) or Audio.

Importing and exporting files come with the Pithflow Notes plan ($4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $49.99 once). If you record the memo in Pithflow in the first place, the first 2 minutes of every recording are transcribed free and you can copy the text without paying anything.

Getting the transcript out	Voice Memos	Pithflow
Copy the text	Yes (Copy Transcript)	Yes, free
Plain text file (.txt)	Paste into another app and save	Yes (Notes plan)
Subtitles with timestamps (.srt)	No	Yes (Notes plan)
Markdown with headings and notes	No	Yes, with summary, key points and action items (Notes plan)
Speaker names in the text	Not mentioned by Apple	Yes, renameable
Where it is transcribed	Apple's guide does not say	On the iPhone

Which format should you export?

• Text (.txt) when the words are going into an email, a document or a chat. It opens everywhere.
• Subtitles (.srt) when the recording is, or will be, a video. Any editor that takes captions reads it, and the timing is already done.
• Markdown (.md) when it is going into a notes app that reads Markdown. The summary, key points and action items arrive as real headings and lists instead of a wall of text.
• Audio when someone needs the recording itself.

Questions people ask

Can Voice Memos export a transcript as a file?

No. Apple's iPhone User Guide offers two ways to get the text out, both through the More button on a recording: View Transcript to select and copy part of it, and Copy Transcript to copy all of it. You then paste it into another document.

Can I get subtitles (SRT) from a voice memo?

Not from Voice Memos itself, because the copied transcript has no timestamps. Save the recording to Files, import it into an app that exports SRT, such as Pithflow, and export Subtitles (.srt).

Why don't I see a transcript in Voice Memos?

Apple lists the requirements: an iPhone 12 or later, a supported language (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean or Chinese), and a country or region where the feature is available. Our troubleshooting guide walks through each check.

Is the transcript in Pithflow made on the phone?

Yes. Pithflow transcribes and separates the speakers on the iPhone or iPad, and the audio never leaves it. Importing files and exporting TXT, SRT, Markdown or audio come with the Notes plan; copying the text is free.