Voice Memos transfer from iphone to Mac?

December 8, 2024 6:56 AM

Does anyone have a simple solution for this?

Apple has made these tasks amore challenging than solving astrophysics equations. There's vast conflicting info online.. Not sure why I can't just plug in the phone, open up iTunes and transfer but that's no longer an option.
Thanks!

posted by Liquidwolf to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

I do this using my iCloud subscription, where it just syncs up automatically, despite the fact that my Mac is on an older OS. Requires paid subscription but it’s worth it for me.
posted by nandaro at 7:07 AM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

Have you tried Airdrop? Open the memo, click the 3 dots, choose Share, and then Airdrop. Make sure your laptop has airdrop on.
posted by hooray at 7:44 AM on December 8, 2024 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: hooray,
Yeah I use Airdrop but I have so many voice memos that it'll take a long time using that method. Hoping for something where I can mass move.
posted by Liquidwolf at 8:36 AM on December 8, 2024

To expand on what Nandaro said, I have recent versions of iOS and MacOS. I just opened the Voice Memos app on my Mac for the first time. It gave me a message and then synced and I had all my iPhone voice memos on my Mac.

Can you see if you have the Voice Memos app on your Mac? I believe it is a recent addition. Do you use iCloud syncing for other features, like photos? What versions of MacOS and iOS are you using?
posted by Winnie the Proust at 8:45 AM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

Liquidwolf, nandaro was mistaken - iCloud Voice Memos sync works even with the free 5GB iCloud tier included with every Apple account. No need to do a wired transfer these days, it will automatically pull over all your old memos.
posted by eschatfische at 8:47 AM on December 8, 2024 [3 favorites]

To mass-select and Airdrop a lot of voice memos all at once, tap 'Edit' in the upper right corner of the memo list. You'll now see an empty circle to the left of every memo. If you want to select lots of them you can just slide your finger down the column of circles and you'll now see blue check marks in them. Tap the Share button in the lower left corner and you'll get the usual share menu where you can select Airdrop.
posted by theory at 4:09 PM on December 8, 2024 [3 favorites]