On a computer (Windows or Mac)
- Open the audio extractor in Chrome, Edge or Safari.
- Choose the format: MP3 to play anywhere, M4A for a quick copy with no quality change, or WAV for editing.
- Drop the video in, press Extract, listen to the preview and save.
A computer is the most reliable place to do it, especially for long videos. The video is read on your computer, so a two-hour recording doesn’t have to be uploaded first.
On Android
- Open fitvideo.app/extract-audio-from-video/ in Chrome.
- Tap Choose a video and pick it from your gallery or files.
- Extract, then Save. The file goes to your Downloads folder, where music and recorder apps can open it.
If the video is in Google Photos and only stored in the cloud, download it to the phone first; a file that is still downloading can stop being readable part-way.
On iPhone
Open the extractor in Safari, choose the video from your library, and extract. Two things are different on iPhone:
- Pick M4A if MP3 fails. Safari before iOS 26 can’t decode sound itself. FitVideo works around that for most videos, but if you see “Your browser can’t read this video’s sound”, choose M4A: an iPhone video’s sound is already AAC, so M4A copies it without decoding. It plays in every music app.
- Find the file in Files. Saved audio goes to the Files app, usually under Downloads, not to Photos.
Without a website, the built-in Shortcuts app can do it too: make a shortcut with the Encode Media action and turn on Audio Only. It saves an M4A.
MP3, M4A or WAV: pick by where it’s going
| Where the audio is going | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A car, speaker, older player or a friend | MP3 | Plays on everything |
| Your iPhone or Mac, or a podcast app | M4A | Same sound as the video, often copied in seconds |
| A transcription service | MP3 or M4A | Small, and every service accepts both |
| An audio or video editor | WAV | No further compression while you edit |
| An iPhone ringtone | M4A, under 40 seconds | iPhone ringtones must be AAC; cut it with the audio cutter |
For speech, MP3 at 128 kbps is plenty: about 1 MB a minute, so an hour-long lecture is around 60 MB. For music, 192 kbps captures everything a phone recorded.
Only part of the sound
Extract the whole sound, then cut the part you want with the audio cutter, which shows the waveform so you can find the start by ear and by eye. Or trim the video first with Trim video and extract from that.
When it doesn’t work
- “This video has no sound to extract.” The video really has no sound track: screen recordings with the microphone off, muted clips, some downloaded GIF-style videos.
- The audio file is silent. The sound track exists but is empty, which happens when a phone recorded with the microphone blocked or a call app took over the microphone.
- “That’s a sound file, not a video.” The file is already audio (a voice note or an M4A). Use the audio converter to change its format.
- It stops part-way on a phone. Keep the page open with the screen on; phones pause pages in the background. More causes in when a video won’t process.
Only extract audio from videos you made or have permission to use.
Free toolTry it now: Extract audio MP3, M4A or WAVQuestions
How do I extract audio from a video on iPhone?
Open the audio extractor in Safari, choose the video and extract. If MP3 fails on an older iOS, choose M4A. The file is saved to the Files app.
Is extracting audio lossless?
M4A from a phone or camera video usually is, because the sound is copied as it is. MP3 is re-encoded, which loses a little detail you’re unlikely to hear at 192 kbps.
Where does the audio file go on my phone?
On iPhone, the Files app, usually in Downloads. On Android, the Downloads folder.
Can I extract audio from a YouTube video?
Only from a video file on your device that you have the right to use. FitVideo doesn’t download from websites.
Is the video uploaded?
No. The sound is extracted on your device and nothing is sent anywhere.